NSYNC played a part in Simu Liu’s journey to releasing his new single “Don’t”.

Liu chatted to ET Canada’s Jed Tavernier on the set of his Cheetos commercial, with the Canadian actor being the new face of the much-loved brand.

As talk turned to music and Tavernier questioned how his musical career started, Liu admitted: “If I’m honest, I think it came from sixth grade. I had a massive crush on Jacqueline Dobson.

“I had no game, no rizz, as they call it. And I was like, ‘The only way I can get this girl’s attention is if I became NSYNC.'” 

“All the guys in class had a crush on Jacqueline Dobson. And Jacqueline Dobson loved NSYNC. Like, was an NSYNC superfan. And so, at that point in my life, I had no game, no rizz, as they call it.

“And I was like, ‘The only way I can get this girl’s attention is if I became NSYNC.’ And so I bought the CD. I remember it was called No Strings Attached. I bought the No Strings Attached CD that just came out. And I watched all the music videos and I tried to like, you know, I taught myself how to sing like Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez.

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“‘Dirty Pop!’ So imagine a 12-year-old me just in my room being like, ‘Sick and tired of hearing all these people talking about,’ you know? ‘What’s the deal with this pop life and when is it going to fade out?'” he sang along to the band’s 2001 hit “Pop”.

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As Tavernier asked, “Did you get Jacqueline?” Liu shared: “We had a little… we had nothing is what we had,” before adding of what she’s up to now: “She’s doing great. She’s doing wonderful. I think we still send a message here and there.

“But yeah, that’s where it came from. And that’s where, like, my love of music and pop songs and kind of everything came from.

“I want to make more. I want something longform to come out in the near future.”

“As with many things in my life, the impetus for learning something has been because a girl that I like really liked that. And so I always try to impress them,” he continued.

The “Barbie” star went on, “But it’s amazing because I’ve also learned so many random skills through life, because I’ve been trying to impress different girls and yeah, I’m so happy that now I have an opportunity to experiment with my own sound.

“You know, I don’t have to do JT impressions anymore. I can find what the right sound is and what the right tone is for me, and put something out there that hopefully resonates with people.

“And that’s really exciting, reading and hearing about the ways that ‘Don’t’ has impacted people. And hopefully, you know, I intend to see this through. I want to make more. I want something longform to come out in the near future.”