Born in Memphis, Tennessee Justin Timberlake is an American singer-songwriter and actor.
In 1993 at the age of 13 Justin appeared in 'The New Mickey Mouse Club' which ultimately kick started his career where he met former band member JC Chasez.
In 1995 Chris Kirkpatrick who, after auditioning and failing to get into the Backstreet Boys, organised a meeting with Lou Pearlman about forming a second group. Pearlman agreed to help the group financially if Kirkpatrick could find four young male singers - which eventually he did. Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez and Jason Galasso. After Galasso decided that he never wanted to become a teenage idol, Lance Bass was immediately accepted into the group after months of trying to find a replacement for Galasso. The boy band adopted it's name from the last letter of each original members first name Justin, Chris, Joey, Jason and JC.
Alongside various RIAA awards, two Diamond awards, four Platinum home video releases the group received groundbreaking success in 2000 after releasing 'No Strings Attached' selling 2.42 million copies in the first week. By December of that year, it had sold 9.9 million + copies which made it the album of the decade. In 2002 after touring to promote their third album 'Celebrity' N Sync decided to take a break. They were meant to continue recording that September, however the band delayed this because Timberlake said that he wanted to focus on a solo career of his own. Despite this, the band still attended award shows and events together.
Justin started his solo career by releasing his debut single 'Like I Love You' which featured on his first album Justified. Justified later went on to sell over 7 million copies worldwide. Timberlake tried to venture away from the pop music produced by the group, and tried to adopt a more R&B style.
Justified received positive reviews, however some music critics criticised it for its lyrically content. Nevertheless, the album received 4 Grammy Award nominations and won 'Best Male Pop Vocal Performance' for 'Cry me a River' at the 2004 Grammys. 'Cry me a River' and 'Rock Your Body' peaked in at number 2 in the United Kingdom's official chart.
In 2006, four years on from Justified, Timberlake surprised fans with his second solo album; FutureSex/LoveSounds. Although, it shares much of the same lyrical content as Justified, it interfuses different sounds like R&B, pop, rock and techno creating a new feel to Timberlake's music. FutureSex/LoveSounds received many Grammy Award nominations, just like his first album had done several years earlier. The album has also been certified multi-Platinum in many countries across the world and has now sold over 10 million copies.
So despite Timberlake's roaring musical success why did he fall off the music radar and leave fans with only two albums? Perhaps, Justin wanted to have a break and focus on his acting career?
In 2010 Timberlake starred in David Fincher's film The Social Network, based on the creation of Facebook. He also features in the 2011 Friends with Benefits with Mila Kunis and In Time with Amanda Seyfried. Timberlake will appear on our screens late September when he plays the lead role in Brian Koppelman's Runner, Runner.
Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z performing at London's Wireless Festival in July |