 By 2002, when the group went on a hiatus and members were following individual projects, he partnered with Pharrell Williams of the producing team The Neptunes–and Timbaland to start working in new music.The idea of going solo was strengthened a year earlier.Timberlake originally wrote the single "Gone" around 2001 for Michael Jackson, but he turned the song down, and was instead recorded by NSYNC.