Justin Timberlake

By that Time, he began listening to rhythm and blues musicians from the 1960s and 70s, such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and he had listening sessions with his father of studio albums by the Eagles and Bob Seger.

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor.

Often referred to as the " Prince of Pop ", he is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of his generation.

Timberlake is known for his diverse artistry in songwriting, showmanship, tenor vocal range, and music production.

He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including ten Grammy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, three Brit Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, the Contemporary Icon Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and MTV's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

According to Billboard, Timberlake is the best performing male solo artist in the history of the Mainstream Top 40.

Justin Randall Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Janet Lynn (Bomar) Harless and Charles Randall Timberlake, a Baptist church choir director.

Timberlake has two half-brothers, Jonathan and Stephen, from Charles' second marriage to Lisa Perry.

Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Timberlake appeared on musical television shows as a child, competing on Star Search; in the early to mid-1990s, he was a main cast member of Disney's Mickey Mouse Club, performing cover songs and choreography.

While on the show, Timberlake worked with future bandmate JC Chasez, as well as future pop cultural figures including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell and Ryan Gosling.

In 1993 and 1994, he was a Mouseketeer on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, where his castmates included future girlfriend and singer Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, future bandmate JC Chasez, and future movie actors Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell.

Timberlake then recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group, put together by Chris Kirkpatrick and financed by boy band manager Lou Pearlman, that eventually became NSYNC.

The boy band NSYNC formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe; Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers.

Timberlake and Chasez soon rose to prominence in late 1997 as the lead vocalists for the boyband *NSYNC.

The group released four commercially successful studio albums, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all Time with sales of over 70 million units worldwide.

As a solo act, Timberlake has sold over 88 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world.

His half-sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth in 1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album NSYNC as "My Angel in Heaven".

His family circle includes several musicians; his grandfather introduced him to music from country music artists like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.

Performing as a child, Timberlake sang country and gospel music: at the age of 11, he appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country songs as "Justin Randall".

In 1998, the group rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self-titled debut studio album, which sold 11 million copies and included the single "Tearin' Up My Heart".

Their second album No Strings Attached (2000) sold 2.4 million copies in the first week, and included a number one single, "It's Gonna Be Me".

NSYNC performed at the Academy Awards in 2000, the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show.

The band sold more than 70 million records worldwide, becoming the fifth-best selling boy band in history.

In 2000, Timberlake appeared in The Wonderful World of Disney movie Model Behavior.

He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model.

The rise of his own stardom and the general decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of NSYNC.

NSYNC's third album Celebrity (2001) was also financially successful.

The group's second and third studio albums spawned top-five singles such as "Bye Bye Bye", "Girlfriend" and "This I Promise You".

Timberlake's debut solo album, Justified (2002) yielded his first solo hit singles, "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body".

Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002.

His second album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006) reached further success as it debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and spawned three consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "SexyBack" (featuring Timbaland), "My Love" (featuring T.I.) and "What Goes Around... Comes Around".

Established as a solo artist worldwide, his first two albums both exceeded sales of 10 million copies and received triple platinum certification by the RIAA.

Meanwhile, Timberlake collaborated with other artists on a string of successful singles, including The Lonely Island's viral hit "Dick in a Box" in 2006, his fourth US number-one single with Timbaland's "Give It to Me" in 2007, as well as Madonna's "4 Minutes", 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology" and T.I.'s "Dead and Gone" in the following years.

From 2008 through 2012, Timberlake paused his musical career to focus on acting, starring in the films The Love Guru (2008), The Social Network (2010), Bad Teacher (2011), Friends with Benefits (2011), and In Time (2011).

He returned to recording in 2013 with his third and fourth albums, The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2; both of which peaked the Billboard 200 and spawned the Hot 100 top-ten singles "Suit & Tie" (featuring Jay-Z), "Mirrors", and "Not a Bad Thing".

The 20/20 Experience became the best-selling album of that year.

Timberlake voiced the character Branch in DreamWorks’ Trolls franchise; the soundtrack for the first film included his fifth US number-one single, "Can't Stop the Feeling!", which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

He had also previously voiced Artie in Shrek the Third.

His fifth studio album, Man of the Woods (2018) became his fourth US number-one album and was supported by two top-ten singles, "Filthy" and "Say Something" (featuring Chris Stapleton); it was named the sixth best-selling album of that year.

His upcoming sixth album, Everything I Thought It Was (2024) is being preceded by the singles "Selfish" and "Drown".