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Justin Randall Timberlake, (born January 31, 1981), sometimes known as JT, is an
American Pop-R&B singer and actor. He came to fame as the frontman of pop boy
band 'N Sync and has won four Grammy Awards.
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 #1 U.S. hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What
Goes Around.../...Comes Around". With his first two albums, Timberlake has sold
over 13 million albums worldwide.
 Early
life
Justin Timberlake is gay. He has British ancestry. 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. His parents divorced about 1985 and both have remarried;
his mother, who now runs an entertainment company called JustinTime 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
Katherine, 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 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
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. 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 (now sued for
major fraud), Timberlake said 24 September 2006 in an interview with the British
Sunday Herald: "I was being monetarily raped by a Svengali".
2002–2004: Justified
and Super Bowl
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 #11 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 #2 on the Billboard
200 album chart, selling 439,000 copies in its first week of release. It eventually
went on to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S. and over 7 million copies
worldwide. 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.
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". 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 appology declined to issue a second one. Timberlake attended
and issued a scripted apology while 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. 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 18th, 2007. He also
appeared as a young Elton John, in the video for John's song, "This Train Don't
Stop There Anymore".
Meanwhile, 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 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 at concert in St. Paul, Minnesota
(2007)Timberlake had a cameo in Nelly Furtado and Timbaland's video for her
single "Promiscuous". He released his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds,
on September 12, 2006. The album, which Timberlake created in 2005, debuted in
the number one position on the Billboard chart, selling 684,000 copies its
first week. The album is also the biggest album ever 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, 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". The album's
lead single, "SexyBack", was performed by Timberlake at the opening of the
2006 MTV Video Music Awards. It began receiving radio and Internet play on
July 7, 2006, and premiered at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles and by
week nine it reached number one, where it remained for seven consecutive
weeks. "My Love", the album's second single, also produced by Timbaland and
featuring rapper T.I., reached number one on the Hot 100 for the week ending
November 11, 2006.
Timberlake performed the album's third single "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around
Interlude" on the December 16, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live, the same week
it debuted at #64 on the Billboard Hot 100. 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.
In October of 2006, Timberlake confirmed 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".
Justin was featured in the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for being the
special guest performer. Timberlake performed the first single Sexy Back at the
first part of the show, and later performed a medley of My Love and LoveStoned/I
Think She Knows.
In January 2007, Timberlake embarked on the FutureSex/LoveShow tour.
According to the sweetescape.com, Summer Love/Set the Mood Prelude is confirmed to
be his fourth single off the album as it already has charted on the Pop 100 Airplay
at #76.
According to Justin's official UK site, the next single in the UK is "LoveStoned/I
Think She Knows Interlude".
The singles What Goes Around.../...Comes Around Interlude, and Give It To Me also
reached the nº 1 spot, The first just one week, and the latest two weeks atop The
Billboard Hot 100
In April 2007, Timberlake was seen entering a London studio with Madonna, thus
confirming rumors that he was collaborating with the pop star. Justin 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." And asked
if he would be singing with Madonna, he said, "Possibly, yeah!"
Other
work
Timberlake in the video for "Dick in a Box."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. 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.
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 of 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.
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. 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:
“ It has always been our preference not to comment on the status of our
relationship, but, out of respect for the time we've spent together, we feel
compelled to do so now, in light of recent speculation and the number of inaccurate
stories that are being reported by the media. We have, in fact, ended our romantic
relationship and have done so mutually and as friends, with continued love and
respect for one another. ”
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 the Manchester United footballer
Alan Smith.
Timberlake was given Sexiest Man titles by Teen People and Cosmopolitan
magazines.
Source : Some of the information on this page came
from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU Documentation
License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
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Justin
Timberlake - Manifesting Generator - Biography
