Justin Timberlake biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Justin Randall Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee. Raised a Baptist, Timberlake grew up singing in the church choir. From 1993 to 1995, he performed on The New Mickey Mouse Club, along with pop stars Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and JC Chasez. Afterward, Timberlake and Chasez, along with Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick, formed the all-male singing group 'N Sync. The boy band would go on to become one of the hottest pop groups of the 1990s, releasing No Strings Attached in 2000 and Celebrity in 2001.

Solo Career

In 2002, Timberlake decided to pursue a solo career, debuting with the hit song "Like I Love You." Later that year, he released his first solo album, Justified, which sold over 7 million copies worldwide. He received two Grammy Awards in 2004 for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The wins came on the heels of a controversial Super Bowl performance with Janet Jackson in which Timberlake accidentally tore off a portion of Jackson's costume revealing her bare breast.

Successful Collaborations

As a solo artist, Timberlake has often collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas, receiving an Grammy nomination with the band for "Where Is The Love?" He has also worked with Nelly, Snoop Dogg and Nelly Furtado and started his own record company, JayTee Records, in 2005. The following year, he released his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. The album's lead single, "SexyBack", spent several consecutive weeks at No. 1. In 2008, Timberlake helped make Madonna's single, 4 Minutes", a top ten hit. Not only did he provide some of the vocals, he was also a co-writer of the song. Timberlake also contributed to several other tracks on Madonna's Hard Candy album.

Acting Pursuits

Also pursuing an acting career, Timberlake has experienced limited success. While parts in Alpha Dog (2006) and Black Snake Moan (2006) garnered little notice, he did hit it big as the voice for a young King Arthur in 2007's smash animated film Shrek the Third, which featured Mike Myers as the title character. Timberlake continues to seek out new roles. Reteaming with Myers, he appeared in the 2008 comedy The Love Guru. He will also appear in the upcoming drama The Open Road with Jeff Bridges and Mary Steenburgen, plans to reprise his role as Artie in the fourth Shrek movie, and is in talks to play Green Latern in an upcoming DC Comics film remake.

In addition to acting, Timberlake has also opened several restaurants, started a clothing line and participated in humanitarian efforts in his native Tennessee.