Timberlake, Justin

Singer and actor

B orn Justin Randall Timberlake, January 31, 1981, in Memphis, TN; son of Randy Timberlake and Lynn Harless (maiden name, Bomar).

Addresses: Office—Tennman Records, PO Box 18765, Beverly Hills, CA 90209.

Career

A ppeared on All-New Mickey Mouse Club, Disney Channel, 1989-94; member, ’N Sync (pop group), 1996-2002; launched film acting career with Longshot, 2000; began solo singing career, 2002; signed deal with Turner Broadcasting to be special sports correspondent, 2003; signed agreement to become spokesman for McDonald’s, 2003; appeared in film Edison, 2005; founded William Rast clothing line (with Trace Ayala), 2005; appeared in films Alpha Dog, Southland Tales, and Black Snake Moan, all 2006; appeared on Saturday Night Live, 2006; co-founded (with Eytan Sugerman) first restaurant, Destino’s, 2006; chairman and chief executive officer, Tennman Records, Beverly Hills, CA, 2007—; provided voice for Shrek the Third, 2007; songwriter, producer, and singer for tracks on Duran Duran’s album Red Carpet Massacre, 2007; served as co-executive producer for television series My Problem with Women, 2008; songwriter and producer for tracks on Madonna’s album Hard Candy, 2008; hosted the ESPYs, 2008.

Awards: Grammy Award for best pop vocal album, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, for Justified, 2003; Grammy Award for best male pop vocal performance, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, for “Cry Me a River,” 2003; MTV Europe Music Award for best pop artist, 2006; MTV Europe Music Award for best male artist, 2006; Grammy Award for best dance recording, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, for “Sexy-Back,” 2006; Grammy Award for best rap/sung collaboration, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, for “My Love,” 2006; People’s Choice Award for favorite R&B song, for “SexyBack,” 2007; MTV Video Music Award for best choreography for “My Love,” 2007; MTV Video Music Award for best direction for “What GoesAround ComesAround,” 2007; BRIT Award for international male solo artist, British Phonographic Industry, 2007; MTV Video Music Award for quadruple threat of the year, 2007; American Music Award for male artist of the year, 2007; American Music Award for favorite male pop artist, 2007; World Music Award for best male pop artist, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, 2007; Grammy Award for best male pop vocal performance, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, for “What Goes Around Comes Around,” 2007; Grammy Award for best dance recording, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, for “LoveStoned/I Think She Knows,” 2007; People’s Choice Award for favorite male singer, 2008; People’s Choice Award for favorite pop song, 2008.

Sidelights

M oving from being a member of international boy band phenomenon ’N Sync to an accomplished solo artist, Justin Timberlake became an internationally respected singer on the strength of two solo albums, Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds. He used his musical success to launch a number of other enterprises including a record label, clothing line, and numerous product endorsements. Timber-lake began his career on the All-New Mickey Mouse Club, and became a serious film actor in the early 2000s by appearing in films such as Alpha Dog.

Born on January 31, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee, Timberlake is the son of Randy Timberlake and Lynn Harless. Raised in a small Tennessee town, he was a shy child until the age of eight or nine. Around that time, the young Timberlake had a realization that performing would bring him attention and that he enjoyed it. He discovered he had natural talent, and soon began working professionally, with an appearance on Star Search.

Timberlake’s performing career began in earnest when he was cast on the Disney Channel’s All-New Mickey Mouse Club. Appearing on the show from 1989 to 1994, he was not the only cast member to achieve success. His co-stars included J. C. Chasez, who also became a member of ’N Sync, actress Keri Russell, and singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Timberlake and Spears later became ro-mantically involved during his ’N Sync days.

After All-New Mickey Mouse Club was cancelled, Timberlake found success again. Within two years, he had joined the singing group ’N Sync. Initially guided by boy-band guru Lou Pearlman, five members—Timberlake, Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick—quickly established themselves as a pop singing powerhouse with their self-titled 1998 debut album and a large teen following. Following a 1998 Christmas album, ’N Sync released two more albums, 2000’s No Strings Attached and 2001’s Celebrity. The group sold more than 26 million albums total in the United States alone over the course of their career.

During his time with ’N Sync, Timberlake went from being the baby of the group to its front man and a sex symbol, seemingly outgrowing his teen following by the early 2000s. He emerged as the stand-out among the five, creating tension between the members. Questions swirled over whether the group would last. Celebrity sold only 4.8 million copies, millions less than previous releases. Even before the “Celebrity 2002” tour in support of ’N Sync’s last album, Timberlake began recording what became his first solo album and would change the course of his career.

Released in November of 2002, Timberlake co-wrote all 13 tracks on Justified with the leading writers and producers in hip-hop and R&B including Tim-baland, the Neptunes, and Bryan McKnight. The sound was far more mature, sophisticated, and sexually raw than anything released by ’N Sync, and was influenced by a variety of musical styles. Critics were somewhat surprised by the change, but generally praised the direction the multi-talented Timberlake took. The New York Daily News’s Jim Farber called the record, “a sexy, funny, and surprisingly bold work that ultimately has a lot more to say about this 21year-old’s current creativity than his musical or romantic past.”

Explaining Justified’s origins to Elysa Gardner of USA Today, Timberlake says, “I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Al Green, Michael Jackson, Prince. If you know that, then this album makes perfect sense. It’s not a departure from anything I’ve done, because I haven’t done anything on my own. ’N Sync is great, but this is different—not only from ’N Sync, but from anything out there . People aren’t used to hearing me in this way, and it may take them a few listens to get it.”

Fans embraced the new Timberlake as well, sending singles “Like I Love You,” “Cry Me a River,” and “Rock Your Body” to the top of the charts. Within two months of the release of Justified, more than 2.2 million copies were sold in the United States alone. The album later went at least triple platinum, and sold seven million copies worldwide by mid2006. With the success of Justified, Timberlake left ’N Sync behind and the group went on what was assumed to be a permanent hiatus.

In between tours in support of his solo album— including a co-headlining outing with Aguilara— Timberlake pursued other interests. In 2003, he inked a one-year agreement with Turner Broadcasting to serve as a special correspondent for TBS and TNT sports programming. Timberlake contributed segments and features, which aired during NBA games, as well as stock car racing, golf, and college football. That same year, he also signed a two-year deal to become a spokesman for McDonald’s worldwide. As part of the agreement, he recorded vocals for the company’s signature “I’m Lovin’ It” commercials.

While Timberlake was sitting on top of the world, he became caught up in a controversial event. Singing at the half-time show of the 2004 Super Bowl, he accidentally tore part of the costume of co-star Janet Jackson and revealed much of one of her breasts on national television. While Timberlake was supposed to tear off part of the outfit at that time, both the inner and outer pieces were unintentionally removed in what came to be known as a “wardrobe malfunction.” The incident caused an uproar, and the network broadcasting the Super Bowl, CBS, potentially faced fines.

The storm surrounding the Super Bowl incident did not greatly affect Timberlake’s career or outside projects. Thus, in 2005, he launched his own clothing line, William Rast, with his best friend from childhood, Trace Ayala. Inspired by Timberlake’s distinctive style, Ayala did most of the designing while Timberlake oversaw fashion shows and other details. To avoid the celebrity clothing line trap, it was not even publicly announced that Timberlake was part of the project until shortly before an October of 2006 fashion show. That same year, Timber-lake also co-founded his first restaurant, Destino’s, with Eytan Sugarman.

Though Timberlake’s outside projects were satisfying, his primary focus remained music. In September 2006, he released his second album, FutureSex/ LoveSounds. As with Justified, Timberlake co-wrote the tracks with leading artists like Timbaland, and also co-produced the record. Building on the dance/ hip-hop sound he created for Justified, FutureSex/ LoveSounds’ first single “SexyBack” was a number-one hit as was “My Love.” FutureSex/LoveSounds debuted as the number-one album in the United States the first week of release as well as in multiple other countries, and sold six million copies worldwide by May of 2007.

Critics praised both the album and how Timberlake was managing his singing career, with Andrew Dansby of the Houston Chronicle noting “he’s successfully reinvented himself as a modernized pop practioner.” Writing in the New York Times, Jon Pare-les commented “Mr. Timberlake has suavely made a rare kind of transition: from boy-band trouper to self-determined songwriter and bandleader. He doesn’t hide who his mentors are . To compensate for what he lacks in grit and wildness, Mr. Timber-lake makes smart choices for producers and brings rappers into his songs.”

As FutureSex/LoveSounds was becoming Timberlake’s second major hit, his acting career was also growing. He made a well-regarded appearance as a guest host on Saturday Night Live in December of 2006. Among the show’s highlights was a digital short he made with Andy Samberg which parodied R&B sex songs. The short, “D*** in a Box,” became a You-Tube hit, viewed more than ten million times in December of 2006.

While that short brought Timberlake a wide audience, he wanted to be taken seriously as an actor. After launching his film career with Longshot in 2000 and playing a reporter in the 2005 direct-to-video release Edison Force, he had three meaty film roles in 2006. One was Alpha Dog, based on a true story. In the film, Timberlake played a member of a Los Angles gang of bored teens who helped kidnap and kill the brother of another teenager who had betrayed them in a drug deal. His character, Frankie Ballenbacher, tries to prevent the killing of the young hostage.

Of his secondary career and Alpha Dog, Timberlake told John Hiscock of the Toronto Star, “To me, acting is a hobby. I’ve been lucky enough to have a musical career that has gone pretty good and acting is something I have always wanted to do. I’ve been offered a lot of different things I have turned down without thinking twice about, but Alpha Dog was an opportunity for me to sink my teeth into something. It just spoke volumes to me.”

In addition to Alpha Dog, Timberlake also appeared in Southland Tales and Black Snake Moan in 2006. In the latter film, he had a small role as a troubled soldier and impressed his director, Craig Brewer, with his work in the film. Brewer told Reed Tucker of the New York Post, “When I see him in other movies and on SNL, I really respect how he’s handling himself. Even his critics and detractors are looking at him, shrugging their shoulders and saying ‘God, am I really loving Justin Timberlake?’ It’s about time.”

While Timberlake appeared in another film in 2007—providing the voice for Artie in the animated Shrek the Third—he spent much of the year focusing on music again. He toured in support of FutureSex/ LoveSounds several times and filmed his stop at New York City’s Madison Square Garden for an HBO music special. Timberlake also launched his own record label. A joint venture with Interscope Records, Timberlake served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Tennman Records. In addition, Timberlake’s musical career took a different turn when he began contributing to other artists’ works as a songwriter, producer, and performer. In 2007, he helped write, produce, appeared on one track, and co-wrote and co-produced two others tracks on the Duran Duran release Red Carpet Massacre.

Timberlake’s career continued to remain diverse in 2008. He co-wrote and co-produced five songs on Madonna’s album Hard Candy. Timberlake also sang on one track, “4 Minutes,” which was a number-one hit in the United Kingdom. His producing career also extended to acts signed to his label, as he worked with songwriter Matt Morris on his first album for Tennman Records. In addition, Timberlake acted in two films scheduled for release in 2008, the Mike Myers comedy The Guru and The Open Road. Timberlake added executive producer to his list of accomplishments as he acted in that capacity for a television series scheduled to air on NBC, My Problem with Women. He continued to capitalize on his celebrity by endorsing products such as a new line of men’s fragrances put out by Parfums Givenchy.

Describing the appeal of Timberlake as a singer and larger cultural symbol, producer/songwriter Jimmy Jam told Jon Bream in the Vancouver Province, “He’s got It—whatever It is. Whatever Eminem has. Whatever the Elvises had back in their day. Whatever It is for this generation, Justin has got It.”

Selected Discography

(With ’N Sync) ’N Sync, Jive, 1998.

(With ’N Sync) Home for Christmas, Jive, 1998.

(With ’N Sync) No Strings Attached, Jive, 2000.

(With ’N Sync) Celebrity, Jive, 2001.

Justified, Jive, 2002.

FutureSex/LoveSounds, Jive, 2006.

Sources

Books

Complete Marquis Who’s Who Biographies, Marquis Who’s Who, 2008.

Periodicals

Associated Press, September 8, 2006.

Birmingham Evening Mail (Birmingham, England), November 2, 2007, p. 42.

Business Wire, March 28, 2003.

Canada NewsWire, October 25, 2007.

Chicago Sun-Times, November 10, 2002, p. 1.

Daily News (New York, NY), October 30, 2000, p. 38; October 28, 2002, p. 41; May 8, 2003, p. 105. Entertainment Weekly, March 28, 2008, p. 15; April 25, 2008, p. 58. Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), January 18, 2007, p. A1.

Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX), September 12, 2006, p. 1.

Music Week, May 10, 2008, p. 28.

New York Post, January 7, 2007, p. 36.

New York Times, September 2, 2006, p. B7; October 22, 2006, sec. 9, p. 1; December 23, 2006, p. B11.

PR Newswire, June 19, 2006; September 20, 2006; May 28, 2007; February 22, 2008.

San Diego Union-Tribune, September 5, 2003, p. E3.

San Francisco Chronicle, March 6, 2002, p. D1; February 3, 2004, p. A1.

Toronto Star, January 5, 2007, p. D3.

Toronto Sun, December 23, 2002, p. 38.

USA Today, October 28, 2002, p. 1D.

Vancouver Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), September 2, 2003, p. B3.

Village Voice, February 14, 2007.

Winnipeg Sun (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), January 7, 2007, p. C4.

—A. Petruso