Justin Timberlake's Biography
Justin Timberlake Personal facts:
Birth Name |
Justin Randall Timberlake |
Birth Date |
January 31, 1981 |
Birth Place |
Memphis, Tennessee |
Height |
6' 1" |
Nationality |
American |
Hair Color |
Blonde |
Eye Color |
Blue |
Education |
Attended E. E. Jeeter elementary school, Tennessee |
Justin Timberlake's Family |
Father |
Randall Timberlake |
Mother |
Lynn Bomar |
Brother |
Jonathan Perry, Stephen Robert (younger half-brothers) |
Sister |
Laura Katherine |
Justin Timberlake's Biography
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is a two-time
Grammy Award-winning American pop/R&B singer, and actor.
He came to fame as the frontman of pop boy band 'N Sync.
In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which
went on to sell over seven million copies worldwide. Timberlake's
second solo release, FutureSex/LoveSounds, was released on
September 12, 2006 including the hit songs "Sexyback" and "My
Love".
Justin Timberlake Early life
Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Randall
Timberlake and Lynn Harless. His paternal grandfather,
Charles L. Timberlake, was a Baptist minister, but Timberlake
considers himself more "spiritual than religious".
His parents are now divorced and both have remarried;
his mother, who now runs an entertainment company called
JustinTime Entertainment, has remarried to Paul Harless,
a banker, while his father, a choir director at a Baptist
church, has two children, Jonathan and Stephen, from
his second marriage.
Timberlake grew up in Millington, a small town just north of Memphis. In 1993,
he got his first 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, perhaps most importantly, future bandmate
JC Chasez. When the show ended in 1995, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in
a new all-male singing group he was forming with friend Chris Kirkpatrick.
The group would come to be known as 'N Sync. In 1999 Justin acted as Jason
Sharpe in the made-for-TV movie Model Behavior.
Timberlake's biggest inspiration is The King of Pop, Rock & Soul Michael
Jackson, which is noticeable in his dancing and singing style.
Justin
Timberlake: 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.
He hoped the album would shed him of his squeaky-clean boyband image in favor
of a sexier, more mature look and sound. Around this same time, in March of
2002, Timberlake split from long-time girlfriend and fellow popstar Britney
Spears. The break-up heavily influenced Timberlake's writing for his upcoming
album, as many songs touched on the topic, most notably the hit single "Cry
Me A River".
Justin
Timberlake 2002-2004: Justified era
Justified, 2002On August 29, 2002, after months of
recording the album, Timberlake gave a performance 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 became a hit,
reaching #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 didn't 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.
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.
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
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 declined. 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"). 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.
Justin
Timberlake 2004-2006: Collaborations and acting career
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 he wanted
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 will also appear in the
films Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly's Southland
Tales, and voice a young King Arthur in the animated
film Shrek the Third, which will be released in 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.
Justin
Timberlake 2006-present: FutureSex/LoveSounds era
FutureSex/LoveSounds, 2006Timberlake 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,
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. "LoveStoned" is rumored to be
the third single due to him performing it at the 2006 European MTV Music Awards.
In October of 2006, Timberlake confirmed that he would
focus on his music career rather than his film roles,
specifying that it would be a "dumb thing to do
at this point" to leave the music industry.
Justin Timberlake Other work
Timberlake has opened several restaurants in the United
States. He also started 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 an episode of NBC's Saturday Night
Live. He recently hosted the 2006 European MTV Music
Awards.On December 16 2006, he set to host Saturday Night
Live doing double duty as the host and musical guest,
he prevouisly hosted in 2003.
Justin Timberlake Personal life
Timberlake dated fellow pop singer Britney Spears for
several years. The two appeared on the New Mickey Mouse
Club together and broke up in 2002, amid rumors of Spears'
infidelity. Timberlake has since dated actress-singer
Alyssa Milano (between September and October of 2002).
Timberlake is currently dating actress Cameron Diaz.
In June 2006, several tabloids reported that the couple
had broken up, citing the age difference between them
and Justin's apparent desire to 'sow his wild oats' when
he embarks on a world tour in the near future (dates
unknown). A representative for the couple says that the
two are still together.
Timberlake was given Sexiest Man titles by Teen People
and Cosmopolitan magazines. |
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