Justin Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake, born January 31, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee, is one of the most complete entertainers of his generation, a singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and dancer whose mastery of virtually every dimension of pop performance has made him one of the most consistently successful and critically respected mainstream artists of the past three decades. He grew up in Millington, Tennessee, in a musical Baptist household where he sang gospel and country from an early age, and was cast on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club at age eleven alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell, beginning a career in the entertainment industry that would run uninterrupted for over thirty years. He rose to global stardom as a core member of the boy band NSYNC (1995-2002), one of the best-selling music acts in history, before launching a solo career that began with Justified (2002), his first number-one album, featuring the single Cry Me a River — a raw, accusatory breakup song produced by Timbaland that announced a far more sophisticated artistic voice than his boy band past had suggested. FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006) produced SexyBack and produced millions of album sales. The 20/20 Experience (2013) was widely praised as a masterclass in modern pop production. Man of the Woods (2018) and Everything I Thought It Was (2024) continued his output. His acting career produced credible dramatic work in The Social Network (2010, playing Sean Parker with sharp, predatory wit), Friends with Benefits (2011), and Runner Runner (2013). He is a ten-time Grammy winner and holds multiple MTV Video Music Awards records.