JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

What do you do when you see a great looking lad, who knows how to sing his tunesand work hisubersexy back? Well, you patronize him! And that’s exactly what millions of fans did with Justin Timberlake over the years. 

Justin Timberlake is born “Justin Randall Timberlake” in 1981. It has been said that he was interested in performing, more particularly in singing on stage, and was eager to enter show business at a very early age. In fact, at age 11, Justin competed in a singing competition on television entitled, “Star Search” where he sang Alan Jackson's "Love's got ahold on you". While he lost in the said competition, he didn’t lose his hope of making it to the entertainment business.

A year after his failed attempt at the said singing competition, the entertainment gates opened for Justin when hejoined the cast ofDisney Channel'snew television show, “The New Mickey Mouse Club” in 1993. Along with him on this show were future singer and tourmate Christina Aguilera, future pop superstar and future girlfriend Britney Spears, future band mate JC Chasez and future big screen lead actor Ryan Gosling. The show was a revival of the long running 1950s show, “The Mickey Mouse Club.” In this show, Justin and other cast members would entertain audience members in habitual creative segmentstotalling to a variety show for kids. The show also featured the popular “Mouseketeer Roll Call” where the cast would introduce themselves one by oneusing their real name. The delightful Justin was noted in this show and so were his good humor, youthful energy, irresistible charm, and extraordinary talent. The show, however, only lasted for two years.

After his stint as a mousketeer, Justin joined the all male pop band, N’SYNC in 1995. Along with him in the band were former fellow mouseketeer, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass. The band enjoyed humongous global success. This catapulted Justin’s popularity more than those of his band mates, him being the band’s leader, main vocalist and main dancer. The band popularized chart topping songs and their second album, “No Strings Attached” achieved worldwide success, selling record-breaking copies in just a few days. They also performed sold-out concerts and sang with music legends including Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion and many more. In 2002, the band announced its intent to take a break. However, the band never made any record after that. But instead of being a hindrance to Justin’s career, the band’s break up paved the way for Justin to seal his mark in Hollywood as an A-lister. 

Justin then went on to make his own record. In 2002, months after NSYNC took a break, Justin released his “Justified” album. The sale of this album gradually earned success. Years after that, he continued to collaborate with different artists such as the Black Eyed Peas in the song, “Where is the Love?” He also appeared in different films, including “Alpha Dog”, “Black Snake Moan”, and “Southland Tales.” He also lent his voice to the character of Prince Artie Pendragon in “Shrek: The Third”. 

In 2006, Justin released his second album, “Future Sex/ Love Sounds”. This earned better success compared to his first album. The album’s lead single, “Sexy Back” debuted on top of the charts and broke records. Justin immediately embarked on a US tour after the album’s release. In the same year, he also collaborated with Madonna in the single,”4 Minutes”.  In 2008, Justin was awarded with two Grammy awards.

Justin ceased to record songs and make albums after that. His acting work, however, has drastically increased.  In 2010, Justin appeared in the drama film, “The Social Network” where his performance gained positive reviews. In this movie, he played the role of Sean Parker, the founder of Napster where he, together with the other members of the cast depicted how the social network, Facebook came to exist. 

In 2011, Justin appeared with Cameron Diaz in the comedy film, “Bad Teacher.” Here, Justin plays the character of Scott Delacorte, a wealthy substitute teacher in the fictional John Adams Middle School.Elizabeth Halsey, played by Cameron Diaz, tried to win him over after being dumped by her ex-fiance who learned that she was merely after his money. The movie earned well in the box office but it gained mix reviews, performance-wise. This did little to reinforce what Justin already established in his previous film.

In the same year, Justin appeared in the romantic comedy film, “Friends with Benefits.” Here, Justin plays the character of Dylan, an art director for a small internet company in Los Angeles. The movie earned really well in the box office. This time, however, the movie got positive reviews from critics and Justin’s reputation as an actor has intensified. 

Justin has indeed undergone a significant transition in his career. While doing really well as a movie actor, we could only wish that he make more music records. After all, he was a singer first before being an actor.