"Gone" was initially written by Justin Timberlake as a collaboration with Michael Jackson in 2001. However, Jackson passed on the song, which allowed Timberlake to introduce it in an A&R meeting for NSYNC's next album, Celebrity. It was the first album Timberlake cut on his own, as he brought it to the group to record together. Jackson eventually changed his mind and requested to be featured on the song as a duet; however, the song was already released, and the two couldn't find a way to revamp it. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Timberlake expressed his reaction:
I'm on the phone, I'm literally punching myself in the face, because I said, 'I can't do that. Could we do an 'N Sync track featuring Michael Jackson? Or Michael Jackson featuring 'N Sync?' And he was very absolute about the fact that he wanted it to be a duet between himself and I.
In an interview with Billboard, JC Chasez described the song's significance on the group:
is about as raw as it gets. It's just us and a beat-box, with just a tiny accent of acoustic guitar and violin. That song is a proud moment for us; it really shows how tight we are as a group.
Critical reception
Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that the song established "Timberlake as a solo artist long before he was actually a solo artist, and remains one of his very best singles to date." He also mentioned that it makes NSYNC's previous single "Thinking of You " sound like "child's play". In 2018, Billboard staff ranked the song 24 on their list "The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time," writing, "the bridge is downright surreal, as the sparse beat drops out entirely, the meter all but dissolves, and the five members sound like they're swarming Timberlake's subconscious, until he breaks out for a final chorus of matserful ad libs. But it all comes back to that one word: harrowing, relentless and unmistakably final." In 2015, Rolling Stone staff ranked it as the 30th greatest boy band song of all time.
Chart performance
"Gone" peaked at number eleven on the BillboardHot 100 on November 13, 2001. It also reached number fourteen on the Hip Hop/R&B Airplay charts, becoming the only pop boy band to chart there. The single also hit number 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It also reached number twenty eight in Canada, number twenty four in the UK, number twenty one in Japan and number forty three in Sweden.
Music video
The music video for "Gone" was directed by Herb Ritts and filmed in August 2001. However, the music video itself was not released until late September 2001, due to the September 11 attacks. The video is shot in black-in-white, and has shots similar to Charlie Chaplin-esque footage. The video is a mixture of flashbacks of Justin Timberlake's video girlfriend, played by Croatian fashion model Korina Longin, and his world currently, all filmed in an apartment. The video shows flashbacks of his girlfriend's birthday party, and random parts in their apartment where emotional moments taken place. The video became NSYNC's eighth number 1 video for TRL and MuchMusic. This video and their other music video "Pop" even got spins on BET's 106 & Park, making NSYNC the only all-white band to ever get rotation on the show. The video debuted on an episode of TRL on September 27, 2001, and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to "Without Me" by Eminem.
