Information about Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31 1981^[1]) is an American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. He came to fame as one of the lead singers of pop boy band 'N Sync and has won four Grammy Awards as well as an Emmy Award. In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which sold over seven million copies worldwide. Timberlake's second solo release, FutureSex/LoveSounds, was released in 2006 with the U.S. number-one hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". With his first two albums, Timberlake has sold over 15 million albums worldwide. He has started a record label called Tennman Records and a fashion label, William Rast.

Life and music career

Early life

Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Randall Timberlake and Lynn (née Bomar). He has British ancestry.^[2] His paternal grandfather, Charles L. Timberlake, was a Baptist minister, and Timberlake was raised in the Baptist religion, although he considers himself more "spiritual than religious", though still a Christian.^[3][4] His parents divorced about 1985 and both have remarried; his mother, who now runs an entertainment company called Just-in Time Entertainment, remarried to Paul Harless, a banker, when Justin was aged 5; while his father, a choir director at a Baptist church, has two children, Jonathan (born c. 1993) and Stephen (born c. 1998), from his second marriage to Lisa. A half-sister, Laura Chwieseni, died shortly after birth in 1997 and is mentioned on one of Timberlake's record acknowledgments as "My Angel in Heaven". Timberlake grew up in Millington, a small town just north of Memphis. His first attempts at a singing career saw him singing country music songs on Star Search as "Justin Randall".

In 1993, he got a real taste of fame when he joined the ranks of The Mickey Mouse Club. There he met future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, and future bandmate JC Chasez. When the show ended in 1995, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in a new all-male singing group Lou Pearlman (an Orlando swindler, now indicted on criminal charges of investment fraud) was forming with Chris Kirkpatrick. The group would come to be known as *NSYNC. In 1999 Justin acted as Jason Sharpe in the made-for-TV movie Model Behavior.

1995–2002: 'N Sync

Main article: 'N Sync

Timberlake was a member of the popular 1990s boy band, 'N Sync, and was considered a teen idol. The group formed in 1995 and started their career 1996 in Germany and hit it big in the States two years later in 1998, eventually releasing the fastest-selling album of all time, No Strings Attached in 2000.^[5] In 2002, after the completion of their Celebrity Tour and release of "Girlfriend", the third single from their 2001 album Celebrity, the group decided to take time off, at which point Timberlake began work on his first solo album. The album signaled a transition from his squeaky-clean boy band image to a sexier, more mature look and feel.

Looking back at those days concerning the management by Lou Pearlman, Timberlake said 24 September 2006 in an interview with magazine Rolling Stone: "I was being monetarily raped by a Svengali".^[6]

2002–2004: Justified and Super Bowl

See also:

In August 2002, after months of recording the album, Timberlake performed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, where he premiered his first single, "Like I Love You", a sparse dance track produced by The Neptunes. The song reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. Following the single, Timberlake released his debut solo album, Justified, on November 5 2002. The album was also a success, despite selling considerably less than previous 'N Sync efforts. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 439,000 copies in its first week of release. It eventually went on to sell over three million copies in the U.S. and over seven million copies worldwide.^[7] The album contained several tracks which were created to be part of Michael Jackson's Invincible album but did not make it to the final selection of songs used for it . The album also received critical acclaim, thanks to its heavy R&B influence provided by hip-hop producers The Neptunes and Timbaland. It spun off hits throughout late 2002 and 2003, including the top ten singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body".

Timberlake supported the album by co-headlining the Justified/Stripped Tour with Christina Aguilera in the summer of 2003. For many dates, The Black Eyed Peas served as the opening act; Timberlake appeared uncredited on their smash hit "Where Is the Love?" which was also released in the summer of 2003. His record company did not want Timberlake to be credited for fear that it would take focus away from his solo releases; still, Timberlake often appeared with The Black Eyed Peas to perform the track live, including during the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards. By the end of the year, Timberlake recorded a song entitled "I'm Lovin' It". It was used by McDonald's as the theme to their "I'm Lovin' It" campaign. The deal with McDonald's earned Timberlake an estimated $6 million.^[8]

In February 2004, during the halftime show of the Super Bowl XXXVIII, Timberlake performed with Janet Jackson before a television audience of over 140 million viewers. At the end of the performance, Timberlake tore off a part of Jackson's black leather costume in a "costume reveal" meant to accompany a portion of the song lyrics, "gonna have you naked by the end of this song". Part of the costume became detached, and Jackson's breast was briefly exposed. Timberlake apologized for the incident saying that he was "sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl... It was not intentional and is regrettable".^[9] The phrase "wardrobe malfunction" has since been used by the media to refer to the incident and has entered pop culture.

As a result of the controversy, Timberlake and Jackson were banned from the 2004 Grammy Awards unless they agreed to apologize on screen at the event. Jackson, who already gave a public apology, declined to issue a second one. Timberlake attended and issued a scripted apology when accepting the first of two Grammy Awards he received that night (Best Pop Vocal Album for Justified and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Cry Me a River"), causing some from the black entertainment community to label him a "punk" and"sell out" and call for his "Black Pass" to be revoked.^[10] He had also been nominated for Album of the Year for Justified, Record of the Year for "Cry Me a River", and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Where Is the Love?" with The Black Eyed Peas.

2004–2006: Collaborations and acting

After the Super Bowl controversy, Timberlake put his recording career on hold in an attempt to jumpstart his acting career. Timberlake had a few minor acting roles during his early music career, including a bit part as a model in the 2000 made-for-television film Model Behavior, and a cameo in the 2001 film On the Line, but was seeking more substantial roles. The first role he took during this time was as a journalist in the thriller Edison Force, which was filmed in 2004 and received a direct-to-video release on July 18, 2006. He also appeared in the films Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, and voiced a young King Arthur in the animated film Shrek the Third, released on May 18, 2007. He also appeared as a young Elton John, in the video for John's song "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore".

He continued to record with other artists. After "Where Is the Love?", he again collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas on the 2005 track "My Style" from their album Monkey Business. Additionally, Timberlake was featured on Nelly's song, "Work It", which was remixed and included on Nelly's 2003 remix album. When recording the 2005 single "Signs" with Snoop Dogg, Timberlake discovered a throat condition. Nodules were subsequently removed from his throat^[11] in an operation that took place on May 5, 2005. He was advised not to sing or speak loudly for at least a few months. In the summer of 2005, Timberlake started his own record company, JayTee Records.

2006–present: 'FutureSex/LoveSounds'

Timberlake had a cameo in the video for Nelly Furtado and Timbaland's single "Promiscuous". He released his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, on September 12 2006. The album, which Timberlake created in 2005,^[12] debuted in the number one position on the Billboard chart, selling 684,000 copies its first week. It is the biggest album for pre-orders on iTunes, and beat Coldplay's record for the biggest one-week sales of a digital album. The album was produced by Timbaland and Danja (who produced a bulk of the album), will.i.am, Rick Rubin and Timberlake himself,^[13] and features guest vocals by Three 6 Mafia, T.I. and will.i.am. A studio representative described it as being "all about sexiness" and aiming for "an adult feel".<ref name="sofeminine" />

The album's lead single, "SexyBack", was performed by Timberlake at the opening of the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for seven consecutive weeks.^[14] "My Love", the album's second single, also produced by Timbaland and featuring rapper T.I., reached number one on the Hot 100, as did third single "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around Interlude". The song is reported to have been inspired by the break-up of his childhood friend and business partner, Trace Ayala, with actress Elisha Cuthbert.^[15] In October 2006, Timberlake said that he would focus on his music career rather than his film roles, specifying that leaving the music industry would be a "dumb thing to do at this point".<ref name="1013break" /> He was the special guest performer at the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for being where he sung Sexyback. In January 2007, Timberlake embarked on the FutureSex/LoveShow tour. "Summer Love/Set the Mood Prelude" was the fourth U.S. single off the album, and the next single in the UK was "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows Interlude". The song "Give It to Me", a Timbaland single on which Timberlake guests with Nelly Furtado, reached the Hot 100 number-one spot.

In April 2007, Timberlake was seen entering a London studio with Madonna, thus confirming rumors that he was collaborating with the pop star. He revealed that "we actually wound up with 5 or 6 really good songs, some finished, some unfinished, and we're gonna go back in July and finish some more stuff." When asked if he would be singing with Madonna, he said, "[p]ossibly, yeah!".^[16]

In August 2007, Timberlake sold out two concerts at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, and then played two sold-out shows in Winnipeg at the MTS Centre.^[17]

In November 2007, Timberlake will tour around Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand concerts were scheduled to take place at the end of October but after 2 concerts sold out a decision was made to put on a third concert and for all three concerts to take place in November.

Timberlake might Re-realese the album in 2007 fall, possibly including "Crowd Control (song) (Featuring Nelly Furtado)" and "Until The End Of Times (Featuring Beyonce Knowles)"

Other work

Timberlake has opened several restaurants in the United States. In 2005 he launched the William Rast clothing line, sold in Bloomingdale's, with childhood friend Trace Ayala. The 2007 line will contain cord jackets, cashmere sweaters, jeans and polo shirts.^[18] In 2004, ABC hired Timberlake to write a song for its NBA coverage. In October of 2005, the Grammy Association awarded Timberlake for humanitarian efforts in Tennessee, alongside writer/director Craig Brewer, also a Memphis native.

Near the end of 2002, Timberlake was the first celebrity to appear on Punk'd, a "candid camera" type show created by Ashton Kutcher to trick celebrities. Three episodes later, he set up Kelly Osbourne to be "punk'd", thus making him the first celebrity to appear on the show more than once. Timberlake later spoofed Ashton Kutcher and Punk'd in a 2003 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live. In 2006 he hosted the European MTV Music Awards. On December 16 2006, he hosted Saturday Night Live, doing double duty as both host and musical guest for the second time. During this appearance, he and Andy Samberg performed an R&B song for a skit entitled "Dick in a Box," which some radio stations have aired as an unofficial single from Timberlake and has become one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. Apart from Nite Runner, Justin Timberlake is recording another track with Duran Duran, called Falling Down.

In 2007, Timberlake made an appearance on 50 Cent's third album, Curtis. Timberlake, along with Timbaland, is featured on a track called "Ayo Technology", which was the album's fourth single. Also, another possible collaboration will occur with Lil Wayne for his upcoming album Tha Carter III with Nelly Furtado and Timbaland.^[19] In an article featured on ABC News, Timbaland talks about a possible collaboration with Britney Spears in which Timberlake offers his support in the efforts to resurrect the starlet's career.^[20]

Personal life

Two early teen romances, first to a school sweetheart and then to aspiring pop singer Veronica Finn predated intense media interest, but both ended unhappily. Timberlake then entered a high-profile celebrity relationship with fellow pop singer Britney Spears, with whom he had worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club. This ended abruptly in March 2002, amidst allegations of Spears' infidelity with choreographer Wade Robson, a mutual friend of Spears and Timberlake. Lynn Harless says as a mother she too was devastated regarding the break-up, but to this day speaks warmly of Spears, "Britney grew up on my living room floor. I still love her to death. They (Justin and Britney) were together 10 or 11 years and had, from day one, instant chemistry between them. She's a sweet girl. I just hate what she's going through now." The breakup influenced the lyrics and theme of Timberlake's hit "Cry Me A River", one of the most popular singles from Justified.^[21]

Timberlake later dated actress-dancer Jenna Dewan (in mid-2002) and actress-singer Alyssa Milano (between September and October of 2002). Timberlake began dating actress Cameron Diaz soon after they met at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in April 2003. Regular rumours of break-ups reported in the tabloid press were invariably denied.^[22][23] On the December 16 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live, Diaz introduced Timberlake as the night's musical guest, and the couple actually did split up shortly afterwards. They issued a joint statement on January 11 2007:^[24]

Insert the text of the quote here, without quotation marks.

In January 2007, Timberlake was linked to Jessica Biel when pictures surfaced of the two snowboarding in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival. On May 12 2007, the gossip was refueled with the release of romantic pictures of Timberlake and Biel on multiple dates, specifically caught kissing while dining in the UK accompanied by producer/mogul Timbaland and then Newcastle United footballer Alan Smith.^[25][26] Timberlake was given sexiest Man titles by Teen People and Cosmopolitan magazines.

Awards/Nominations

List of Justin Timberlake's awards and nominations

Discography

Main article: Justin Timberlake discography

Albums

• 2002: Justified
• 2006: FutureSex/LoveSounds

Number-one singles

Year	Single	[27][28]Peak positions[29][30]
		WORLD	U.S.	UK	CAN	AUS	GER
2003	"Rock Your Body" (feat. Lene)	2	5	2	33	1	25
2006	"SexyBack" (feat. Timbaland)	1	1	1	1	1	1
	"My Love" (feat. T.I.)	1	1	2	8	3	4
2007	"What Goes Around...Comes Around" (feat. Timbaland)	2	1	4	3	3	5
'''Total Number-one hits		2	3	1	1	2	1

Featured singles

• 2002: "Work It" (Nelly featuring Justin Timberlake)
• 2003: "Where is the Love?" (Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake)
• 2005: "Signs" (Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson & Justin Timberlake)
• 2007: "Give It to Me" (Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake)
• 2007: "Ayo Technology" (50 Cent featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
• 2007: "Falling Down (Duran Duran featuring Justin Timberlake on backing vocals)
• 2007: "Nite Runner" (Duran Duran featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland on backing vocals)
• 2007: "The Nature" (Talib Kweli featuring Justin Timberlake)
• 2007: "Crowd Control" (with Nelly Furtado)

Grammy Awards

Year	Category	Genre	Title	Result
2002	Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals	Pop	"My Kind Of Girl" (with Brian McKnight)	Nominated
2003	Best Rap/Sung Collaboration	Rap	"Like I Love You" (with Clipse)	Nominated
2004	Album of the Year	General	Justified	Nominated
2004	Record of the Year	General	"Where Is The Love?" (with The Black Eyed Peas)	Nominated
2004	Best Rap/Sung Collaboration	Rap	"Where Is The Love?" (with The Black Eyed Peas)	Nominated
2004	Best Pop Vocal Album	Pop	Justified	Won
2004	Best Male Pop Vocal Performance	Pop	"Cry Me A River"	Won
2007	Album of the Year	General	FutureSex/LoveSounds	Nominated
2007	Best Pop Vocal Album	Pop	FutureSex/LoveSounds	Nominated
2007	Best Rap/Sung Collaboration	Rap	"My Love" (with T.I.)	Won
2007	Best Dance Recording	Dance	"SexyBack"	Won

Filmography

• The Love Guru (2008)
• Southland Tales (2007)
• Shrek the Third (voice) (2007)
• Black Snake Moan (2007)
• Alpha Dog (2006)
• Edison Force (2005)
• On the Line (2001)
• Model Behavior (2000)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of celebrities who have been Punk'd on Seasons 1 to 5

Books

• Martin Roach, Justin Timberlake, The Unofficial Book, Virgin Books, London, 2003.
• Sean Smith, Justin, The Biography, Simon & Schuster, UK, 2004.

Footnotes

External links

Official

• Official website
• Justin Timberlake at MySpace

Biographical or discographical

• Justin Timberlake's ARTISTdirect Page
• Justin Timberlake at People.com
• Justin Timberlake at All Music Guide
• Justin Timberlake at the Internet Movie Database
• Justin Timberlake Fafarazzi Profile

Other

• Justin Timberlake Events at Zvents

•  • [ e] Justin Timberlake
Discography
Mainstream albums: Justified • FutureSex/LoveSounds
Singles
Singles: "Like I Love You" • "Cry Me a River" • "Rock Your Body" • "Seorita" • "I'm Lovin' It" • "SexyBack" • "My Love" • "What Goes Around...Comes Around" • "Summer Love" • "LoveStoned" • "Until the End of Time"
Guest singles: "Where Is the Love?" • "Work It" • "Signs" • "Dick in a Box" • "Give It to Me" • "Ayo Technology" • "Nite Runner"
Filmography
Films: Model Behavior • On the Line • Edison Force • Alpha Dog • Black Snake Moan • Shrek the Third • Southland Tales • Ice Age: A New Beginning

•  • [ e] 'N Sync
Lance Bass • JC Chasez • Joey Fatone • Chris Kirkpatrick • Justin Timberlake
Discography
Studio albums: *NSYNC • No Strings Attached • Celebrity
Other albums: Home for Christmas • The Winter Album • Greatest Hits
Singles
"I Want You Back" • "Tearin' Up My Heart" • "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" • "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" • "Bye Bye Bye" • "It's Gonna Be Me" • "I'll Never Stop" • "This I Promise You" • "Pop" • "Gone" • "Girlfriend"

Preceded by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jack Black	MTV Movie Awards host 2003 (with Seann William Scott)	Succeeded by Lindsay Lohan
Preceded by Sacha Baron Cohen (as Borat)	MTV Europe Music Awards host 2006	Succeeded by TBA