Joey Fatone, along with his longtime friend and manager Joe Mulvihill, are working to make Orlando the epicenter of the entertainment world.

They say home is where the heart is, and for Joey Fatone his heart and home will always be in Orlando. No matter how many accolades he receives, what types of opportunities present themselves or how much acclaim is thrown his way, this is where he is meant to be.

An international superstar entertainer, Fatone is easily most recognized for his work as a member of NSYNC, the powerhouse pop group that was formed here in the mid-’90s and catapulted to become one of the most successful acts of all time, selling over 70 million records.

When the group went on hiatus in 2002, Fatone found new creative outlets on the big screen, on the silver screen, on Broadway and beyond to keep him plenty busy. He’s also worked on several projects alongside his longtime friend and manager Joe Mulvihill. The two have spent decades forming a lasting bond that has allowed them to not only seek out new business ventures, but to also create significant opportunities for others. And it’s important for them to do so here in Orlando, rather than running toward the glamor and glitz of entertainment hubs like New York or Los Angeles.

“The talent in Orlando is so underrated,” Fatone says. “I see other people like me waiting on a call for a gig, where I feel like we invent the call.”

More recently, Fatone has been back in the music spotlight as he is currently on the road with AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys on a tour that runs through the end of the summer. This coming on the heels of his reunion with his NSYNC bandmates earlier this year at a Justin Timberlake concert in LA and the group’s subsequent appearance in the hit animated film Trolls Band Together.

We caught up with Fatone and Mulvihill just before the second leg of the tour kicked off to find out more about their fondness for Orlando and why they are showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

ORLANDO FAMILY MAGAZINE: You’ve been pretty busy of late with the recent reunion with NSYNC and now you’ve been on this tour run with AJ McLean. How have you been enjoying being back on the road and in front of fans? 

JOEY FATONE: It’s been addicting. AJ and I keep saying how awesome this is and how fun it is to just be us and celebrate the music and celebrate people. … I can’t wait for the next run of dates.

OFM: To see you get back together with your former bandmates recently and see that you all still have that shared bond and camaraderie; that had to be a special feeling. 

JF: Yes, it’s like no time has passed, we all got right back into it. We have all come to realize how special our run was. The people all these years later have really reacted, it’s pretty damn cool.

OFM: Do you still get the same rush from performing after all these years? 

JF: Maybe more now. I have learned to appreciate these moments more and I am in the moment which is a rush in and of itself.

OFM: I’m curious to know which current artists you really are into. Is there anything on your playlist someone may be surprised to learn? 

JF: Teddy Swims, Scary Pockets, Lake Street Dive … musicals.

OFM: With the current state of the music industry, do you think it has changed for the better or worse when you factor in the way not only people consume music these days, but also the reality that new artists can put material out themselves, market themselves, etc.? 

JF: It seems there are no more genres or groups coming out anymore. And where’s the sing along songs? Where are the songs with stories? It feels like there are lots of great beats and chants, but where is the lyrical content? Country music still has it, but pop, R&B and hip-hop—where are the groups?

OFM: Let’s talk about Orlando and coming here as a young teen. Did it take you a while to embrace the change of coming from New York to the Sunshine State? 

JF: We loved the weather and socially, my brother, my sister and I adjusted well. We all found our thing and although we missed some things, we learned a different way of life.

OFM: When did you meet your good friend, manager and long-time collaborator Joe Mulvihill?

JF: I met him while I was in Dr. Phillips High School and working at Universal. I was a 17-year-old trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do once I graduated.

OFM: Dr. Phillips High School has produced some of the bigger names in entertainment. What were both of your experiences like there?  

JF:  Oh that school changed my life. Joe went years before me, but from his year to my year, we had some insane classmates.

JOE MULVIHILL: I was there at the opening, it was the first high school of its kind. … Johnny Damon was a freshman, Wayne Brady was in my classes; we all knew each other.

JF: I had DJ Khaled, Luis Fonsi, AJ Pierzynski, I can go on and on. It was crazy.

JM: What the school did was allow a combo of cultural and economic backgrounds. It was the first school in the country to be state of the art with technology, design and even the damn biology class. I dissected a frog my sophomore year at a previous school. My junior year at Dr. Phillips, I dissected a damn shark. A full shark.

The school showed Joey and I, and other middle-class kids, that anything is possible. I saw some kids driving BMWs for the first time, but we all got along, there was no separation.

OFM: Of course, NSYNC was also formed in Orlando. I’ve read that you already knew Chris Kirkpatrick, but did you guys know any of the other guys prior? 

JF: I knew Justin [Timberlake] and JC [Chasez] from The Mickey Mouse Club and I met Chris while working at Universal.

JM: I knew Chris from Universal as well. He actually brought [talent manager] Lou Pearlman to the Beetlejuice show to see Joey perform. I can remember that day. Lou managed the Backstreet Boys, so we knew he was capable of something.

JF: That might have been the best show in history as everyone was trying to impress Lou and have him invest in them [laughs]. After the show, Chris and I talked, and that was the beginning.

OFM: Having only been in Orlando for a handful of years and then finding yourself in this new group, was that a bit daunting at all or did you think you were ready for the moment? 

JF: I was pumped. I was graduating from high school and working at Universal. I was just happy and being in this group was just a part of it. I have been in other groups, but this felt different. We rehearsed the same four songs for over a year so we were ready.

JM: I remember telling them, “Oh this is great,” and then walking away saying to myself, “They are never going to make it,” Boy was I wrong!

JF: [Laughs] Yeah we actually thought about quitting a few times. Then a call from Germany came. We went over and we rehearsed the same four songs, so we were prepared and we blew them away. That was the start.

OFM: Joey, your father also spent time as part of a singing group. Did he have any good advice for you as you embarked on that new journey?

JF: He did, but very soon the things we were doing were beyond any of our wildest dreams. I think he loved watching it all unfold.

OFM: In those wildest dreams, could you guys have ever envisioned your careers blowing up the way that it did? I mean at what point did you realize that you went from being in a group to not being able to go outside without creating a mob scene?

JF: What’s odd is in Germany we couldn’t go anywhere, but in the States no one cared. It wasn’t until the Disney concert special [in 1998] that the States went crazy. Looking back on it, it was wild.

JM:  I remember being in a hotel and I got a call from one of the guys because they wanted food and room service was closed. I wanted to say, “Go get your own food.” But the truth was they couldn’t leave the hotel as there were maybe 2,000 people outside. It was a mad house. So I got up and went to get them food [laughs].

OFM: After all these years and all the success you’ve had, you and Joe still call Orlando home. What is it about this area that keeps you guys connected and grounded? 

JF: My parents live here and I just like being here. I tried LA; the taxes and the traffic was enough for me. I really didn’t feel at “home” there.

JM: When you get to travel the world, your home needs to feel like a home. Orlando, for me, is the perfect spot. … Orlando allows me to live a normal non-LA, non-New York entertainment business life. That is important to me.  I just found a way to make it work out of Orlando and it works well. … My sister, nephews, Mom and Dad were all here and so there is no reason for me to leave.

OFM: What do you think is one of the more underrated parts about living here? 

JF: The lifelong friends I’ve had since high school. It’s just a great place to raise kids and live a good enjoyable life. I like living in a place where I don’t have to go out to industry events. I also enjoy the theme parks; I go at least once a month to one of them. I just love watching families enjoy the entertainment.

JM: The quality of life. I found many are more active because the weather is fantastic eight months out of the year. My office is five minutes from my house and the majority of my life is within four miles.

And the friendships have been there before any of us “made it,” so they all treat us the same. Orlando keeps me grounded. It reminds me of this dream life I get to live out. I learned lots from working at Disney, at Universal, for the Orlando Magic … they were our building blocks.

OFM: Why is it important for you both to create opportunities for others here at home?

JF: We try to come up with businesses for our friends to benefit and enjoy. The majority of the work I have, we invented on a napkin or came up with it on a plane ride.

JM: I find not being in the “mix” in LA or New York allows us to be creative without having everyone telling us what to do. We have found incredible success keeping things simple, not “Hollywood.” Sure, we miss opportunities not being in in LA or NYC all the time, but those opportunities are work-for-hire things. We changed our focus a few years back to ownership, back-end and residual income. I’ve been asked, “How are you doing this from Orlando?” That is the indicator we are doing something right, different and beneficial.

OFM: Outside of music, of all the opportunities that have followed from acting, hosting, podcasting, etc. Do you gravitate toward one more than the others?

JF: Honestly, the music thing has been the most rewarding. To invent and produce a show that started as “Joey Fatone and Friends,” then AFTR PRTY with [Boyz II Men’s] Wanya Morris, AJ Mclean and Nick Carter [of the Backstreet Boys], to now “A Legendary Night” with AJ, it’s really been cool because I missed the music. I didn’t want to do an album or anything crazy, I just wanted to perform and make people happy, and that’s really been my drive the last few years.

OFM: Joey, you’re also a father to two daughters and Joe has 3 daughters himself. How challenging is it to raise children when you’re living your life in the public eye? 

JF: They are used to it. I keep life pretty simple and they are enjoying some of the benefits. The crazy thing is they are nine years apart, so it’s challenging in some areas. My oldest is 23, she is independent. My 14-year-old still needs rides to school, to after-school events and other things. People come up and ask, “Are you Joey Fatone? I’m like, “Yes, I am!” They are surprised I do the normal things like other parents do.

JM: My kids are getting to the age where they are going to movie premieres, award shows, sporting events, etc. with me. I love taking them along and letting them see the results of the countless phone calls. They are kind of understanding what it is that I do.

OFM: Now that they are getting a bit older, how has your relationship with them grown? 

JF: My oldest and I really have some deep conversations about life. My youngest is enjoying her own life and both of them have no desire to be in entertainment. They both are turning into young ladies. It’s crazy to think I’m their dad [laughs].

JM: The key is each of my daughters have their own path and we all support that path even if it’s completely different than we thought. My job is to model hard work and support my daughters’ self-worth, so they can realize anything is really possible. The thing that makes me the most proud is I never missed a milestone with any of them.

OFM: In the rare times when you don’t have a lot going on at once, how do you like to unwind? Any particular hobbies or passions?

JF: I love vacations … I love hanging out. I go on some kind of trip every few months and do nothing but just hang out. I’m trying to teach Joe to not always feel like he has to work.

OFM: I know you are a big food guys and obviously had the food truck for a while. Do you see yourself getting back into that world ever again? 

JF: We are right now working on a brick and mortar spot here in Orlando. We are just finalizing the project.

OFM: Where are some of your favorite spots around town to grab a bite?

JF: Bosphorus [Turkish Cuisine], NYPD pizza and there is restaurant in Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jiko, that I really like. And once a week I have taco night at my house with my parents.

OFM: So, you are embarking on some more tour dates, but what comes next? Anything on the horizon you can share with us? 

JF: We announced dates through August and I’m working on a few things. Maybe return to Broadway, maybe do a film.

JM: As long as Joey remains humble like he always has, opportunities we haven’t even thought of will present themselves. This guy’s talent is his charm and his relatability. I look forward to the next phase for this guy.