Justin Timberlake biography

Timberlake and Chasez met up again in Nashville when working on separate solo projects but when they returned to Orlando they agreed to join Chris Kirkpatrick's new venture which would eventually become *NSYNC. Joey Fatone and Lance Bass would make up the rest of the five piece and it was Justin's mum Lynne who came up with the band's name by using the last letter in each boy's first name. (Timberlake's parents split up when he was young although he remains close to both. He has two step-brothers. He also had a twin sister, Laura who died minutes after birth.)

Managed by former New Kids on the Block manager Johnny Wright, *NSYNC were eventually formed in 1995. Enlisting hit pop producers Kristian Lundin (Backstreet Boys), and Denniz Pop and Max Martin (Robyn, Ace Of Base ), the team recorded a collection of teen-oriented pop/dance tracks. The band found success in Europe first on the strength of their singles, I Want You Back and Tearin' Up My Heart. A tour of American roller rinks introduced them to the US audience, as a result of which I Want You Back became a US No.13 hit in May 1998. Their self titled debut album was released in 1998 selling millions of copies in Europe and the US

*NSYNC's second album, No Strings Attached, was released on Jive in 2000 and was even more commercially successful; No Strings Attached went double platinum in only one week, and the singles Bye Bye Bye and This I Promise You became major hits. By now Timberlake had become the most prominent member of the group owing to his personal relationship with Britney Spears his elastic limbed dance moves. For the band's third album, Celebrity, released in 2001, Timberlake undertook co-writing and production duties on some of the urban flavoured tracks which would presage his solo material. With the boyband thing licked, Timberlake was ready to temporarily branch out on his own for his highly anticipated solo effort.

Timberlake's Justified album saw him hook up with prominent urban songwriting and production heavyweights the Neptunes and Timbaland. He co-wrote all of the material on Justified in a marked attempt to distance himself from 'N Sync's adolescent fanbase and woo a more mature audience. "This is much better than anything I've done with *NSYNC," he told Q magazine in 2003. The album displayed a surprisingly well-rounded appreciation of varying musical styles including R&B, hip hop, rock, blues and country. "It's not like I set out to create some new sound, I just wrote what I wanted to hear and drew inspiration from the past," he says.

The debut single Like I Love You owed more than a passing nod to Michael Jackson and featured verses provided by the Neptunes' protégés the Clipse. The album also included a collaboration with Michael's sister Janet (And She Said Take Me Now). The album's standout single, Cry Me A River was rumoured to be about his breakup with Britney Spears. The video featured a blonde Britney lookalike and the song suggested it was the teen pop queen who had been unfaithful. Timberlake seemed to cope with the breakup better than Britney and was soon dating backing dancers and a host of Hollywood starlets including Alyssa Milano and more recently, Cameron Diaz.

A 2003 appearance as a guest host on America's satirical TV show, Saturday Night Live show led to a slew of film offers for our young hero. He told Q magazine in 2003 that he had turned down a chance to appear as the new Superman although he has already starred in a TV movie, Model Behaviour and been importuned by the ferret-wigged Elton John to play a young Elton in his video for This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore. He has also started his own organisation, the Justin Timberlake Foundation to help provide funds for music education in US public schools. Hip popster, in-demand actor and philanthropist, like those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he loves so much, it's enough to make you sick isn't it?

Discography