DOB: January 31,
1981Justin Randall Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981, and started singing
that day. Growing up with two sets of parents, Lynn and Paul Harless, Randall
and Lisa Timberlake, and with his two half-brothers Jonathan and Steven, Justin
was always singing. By age eight, he was part of a Baptist Church choir in his
hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. His mother Lynn encouraged him to take voice
lessons, and soon he began competing in talent shows and pageants. At age ten he
won the 1991 Preteen Mr. America pageant, and the following year was the 1992
Universal Charm Pageant’s first-ever male winner. That same year, he made his
first television appearance on the show “Star Search,” where Justin made it to
the final round, but eventually lost. By that point, Justin had become serious
about performing, so in 1993, he and his mom left Memphis and moved to Orlando,
where he auditioned for the Disney Channel’s Mickey Mouse Club.
After
beating out over 5,000 other kids for the spot, 12 year old Justin was selected
to be a Mousketeer, and join a team that included a kid from Baltimore, Maryland
named JC Chasez. Justin thrived on the variety show that allowed him the chance
to sing, dance, and occasionally rap. In 1994 when the show ended, he realized
that there was no turning back, and that stardom was the only direction for him.
He returned to Memphis, and soon after went to Nashville with JC to record demos
and try and land a record deal. It was in 1995 that Justin would get the phone
call that would change his life forever.
Chris Kirpatrick was a
performer at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, who was trying to put
together a singing group. Through an agent, he found Justin and contacted him
about the opportunity. Justin immediately jumped at the chance, and recommended
his friend JC Chasez. The three met in Orlando and convinced Joey Fatone, who
was performing at a nightclub in Disney’s Pleasure Island, to join them as well.
All that was left was to find a strong bass voice, so Justin called his former
voice coach in Memphis, who said that they should call this kid from Mississippi
named Lance Bass. The five guys teamed up in Orlando, worked on their routine,
and created *NSYNC.
Freshly polished and ready to entertain, the guys
headed for Germany, to cut a record deal and build up a fan base. They signed to
BMG Ariola Munich and released the singles “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “I Want You
Back”, which turned them into huge stars in Europe. They toured the continent
and became the biggest act in town before deciding to pack their bags and head
back to the States.
Upon returning to the U.S., *NSYNC released their
self-titled debut album which went diamond, selling over ten million copies.
That success was followed with the release of a holiday album “Home For
Christmas”, which also went multi-platinum. *NSYNC was one of the biggest bands
in the country, when they hit a major roadblock. Due to disputes over finances,
legal freedoms, and even their name, the guys were forced into a very public
legal battle with their management and record company. The lawsuit took most of
1999, so while the lawyers did their thing Justin and the guys went back to the
studio and without a record contract, cut the songs for the "No Strings
Attached" album. For this album, Justin was allowed to show that he was not just
a pretty face that could sing, but also a songwriter, as he and JC wrote several
songs for the album. They signed with Jive Records and released the album
without any idea of how the fans would react. The album was a huge hit, selling
over one million records the very first day it was released, and breaking
records with 2.4 million copies sold in the first week. The hit song “Bye, Bye,
Bye” was nominated for a Grammy, and the guys followed up the album with a tour
that was just as successful.
Justin became one of the most recognizable
people in the world, as the curly-haired lead vocalist graced the cover of
numerous magazines, and was labeled one of the sexiest men in showbiz. He
starred in his first movie, the made for TV, Disney flick “Model Behavior”, in
which he played the love interest of Party of Five star Maggie Lawson, along
with Kathie Lee Gifford.
As 2001 approached, *NSYNC returned to the
studio to work on their third album, "Celebrity". This time, Justin wrote six
songs for the album, three of which would become huge hits. The biggest was the
infectious dance track“Pop” which Justin wrote and featured his hidden talent of
doing beatbox sounds. The album was a huge success, and was followed by one of
the biggest tours in history. The POPODYSSEY Tour was the biggest tour of the
summer, and sold out arenas across the country within hours of tickets going on
sale. The tour itself was also a phenomenal success, and was of course followed
by another tour. The Celebrity Tour was much more low-key, and let the guys do
more with the music, and worry less about the sets and the dances.
When
the Celebrity Tour came to an end, all five members of *NSYNC decided to take a
break and use their spare time to work on side projects. For Justin, this meant
starting the Justin Timberlake Foundation. The charity was set up to help
schools better fund music and art programs, a subject very dear to Justin’s
heart. However, the consummate performer, Justin could not stop singing for
long, and in 2002 he recorded and released his debut album Justified.
The album was pure dance beats, which took Justin from being a teen idol
to being one of the most demanded performers in the industry. His hit songs “Cry
Me A River”, “Like I Love You”, “Rock Your Body” and “Senorita” slammed radios
and MTV, which brought the young songwriter much adulation. For the accompanying
tour, Justin decided to go on the road with an old friend, Christina Aguilera.
Christine, who was once a fellow Mouseketeer with Justin and JC, brought her
Stripped Tour and her new sultry image to Justin’s Justified Tour, and the two
became one of the top grossing concerts of the year. When he had time, Justin
hosted the MTV Movie Awards with William Sean Scott of American Pie, and also
met up with his mates from *NSYNC to host their annual Challenge For The
Children charity basketball event in Miami, Florida.
It’s almost hard to
imagine all the success that the young man from Memphis, Tennessee has had in
the past few years. The entertainment industry has watched him develop into the
charismatic and super-talented star that he has become. This fall, Justin will
do what he loves most of all, and return to the studio with the rest of the guys
from *NSYNC to work on their fourth album.
Courtesy of Nsync.com
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