The attention focused on whether Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around..." is about his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears threatens to obscure the fact that this is one of the most gorgeous pop melodies of the year. The intimate strings and circular sounding production that match the elliptical nature of the lyrics cause the melody to linger long in the memory.
As both a member of *NSYNC and a solo artist, Southern superstar Justin Timberlake has played a major role in the teen pop explosion of the '90s and 2000s. Like similar teen pop favorites -- who have included the Backstreet Boys, C-Note, Christina Aguilera, Hanson, the Spice Girls, and Britney Spears -- Timberlake usually doesn't get much respect from rock critics (who, in many cases, tend to be very alternative-minded and anti-commercialistic).
Jive released Celebrity, *NSYNC's third album, in 2001, and after that, Timberlake started recording as a solo artist. The singer had performed live as a solo artist before *NSYNC, but it wasn't until the early 2000s that he actually recorded an album as a solo act. Justified, Timberlake's first solo album, was released on Jive in November 2002.
Timberlake continued his success by appearing on the Black Eyed Peas smash hit "Where Is the Love?" and in the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII, where he pulled off part of co-performer Janet Jackson's top in the now infamous "wardrobe malfunction" incident. That event, however, didn't stop him from winning two Grammys that year, and though he stayed out of the studio for a few years in order to concentrate on acting opportunities, Timberlake returned to the music world in 2006 with his Prince-inspired FutureSex/LoveSounds, which featured production work from Timbaland and Rick Rubin, and was followed by a brief club tour.
Timberlake's first solo album, was released on Jive in November 2002. "Like I Love You," the album's first single, became a major hit and was followed by a second single, "Cry Me a River" (not to be confused with the melancholy Arthur Hamilton standard that was a hit for the late jazz singer/actress Julie London in 1955). Now a bona fide star -- the album had reached number two on the Billboard 200 -- and heartthrob to millions of girls, Timberlake continued his success by appearing on the Black Eyed Peas smash hit "Where Is the Love?" and in the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII, where he pulled off part of co-performer Janet Jackson's top in the now infamous "wardrobe malfunction" incident.
Timberlake is part of the more modern school of teen pop, which is mindful of dance-pop, urban contemporary, and hip-hop and got started with the rise of New Kids on the Block, Debbie Gibson, and Tiffany in the late '80s. New Kids, in fact, were the male group that paved the way for NSYNC as well as the Backstreet Boys and Take That (who were meant to be a British equivalent of New Kids). And just as Tiger Beat (the bible of bubblegum) was obsessed with the New Kids in the late '80s, it would become equally obsessed with NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys in the '90s.
Like Spears (who Timberlake became romantically involved with), Aguilera, and NSYNC's JC Chasez, Timberlake got his start on the Disney Channel's '90s version of The Mickey Mouse Club. Timberlake and Chasez were on The Mickey Mouse Club simultaneously in their pre-NSYNC days, and they kept working together when NSYNC was formed.
As both a member of NSYNC and a solo artist, Southern superstar Justin Timberlake has played a major role in the teen pop explosion of the '90s and 2000s. Like similar teen pop favorites -- who have included the Backstreet Boys, C-Note, Christina Aguilera, Hanson, the Spice Girls, and Britney Spears -- Timberlake usually doesn't get much respect from rock critics (who, in many cases, tend to be very alternative-minded and anti-commercialistic).
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