Justin Timberlake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Timberlake

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. Born and raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an artist with the release of his debut solo album, the R&B-focused Justified (2002), which yielded the successful singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", and earned his first two Grammy Awards.

Multi Grammy and Emmy winning American pop singer and aspiring actor Justin Timberlake came to fame as the frontman of pop boy band *NSYNC. In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which sold more than 7 million copies worldwide followed by his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The success of his first two albums made him one of the most commercially successful singers in the world. Aside from music and his acting career, his other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality.

Born on Jan. 31, 1981, Justin Randall Timberlake grew up in the suburb of Millington, TN, just outside the city of Memphis. The grandson of a Baptist mister, Timberlake was raised in the religion and even attended the same Baptist church where his father, Randall, served as choir director. Randall Timberlake and Justin's mother, Lynn Bomar Timberlake, divorced in 1985. However, Lynn remained an active part of her son's life and career well into his adulthood. Showing a proclivity for singing early on, the 11-year-old Timberlake appeared as a contestant on "Star Search" (syndicated, 1983-1995) in 1993. Performing under the stage moniker of "Justin Randall," Timberlake crooned cute country-western tunes to an appreciative audience. While he did not go home a winner that night, Timberlake's career was officially launched.

Soon after his "Star Search" appearance, Timberlake was tapped by an Orlando casting for a remake of the popular children's variety series, "The Mickey Mouse Club." Timberlake and JC Chasez were on The Mickey Mouse Club simultaneously in their pre-*NSYNC days, and they kept working together when *NSYNC was formed. *NSYNC got started in Orlando, FL, in 1996, when Timberlake and Chasez teamed up with Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Joey Fatone. Released by RCA/BMG in 1998, the vocal quintet's self-titled debut album sold millions of copies in both the U.S. and Europe and contained the smash hits "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart." *NSYNC's second album, No Strings Attached, was released on Jive in 2000 and was even more commercially successful; No Strings Attached went double platinum in only one week, and the singles "Bye Bye Bye" and "This I Promise You" became major hits.

Jive released Celebrity, *NSYNC's third album, in 2001, and after that, Timberlake started recording as a solo artist. Justified, 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). 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.

After the 2004 Super Bowl controversy, Timberlake put his recording career on hold to act in several films. The first role he took during this time was as a journalist in the thriller Edison Force, which was filmed in 2004 and received a direct-to-video release on July 18, 2006.

Timberlake returned to music in 2006 with the release of his second solo album FutureSex/LoveSounds, which produced the US number-one hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around". In February 2008, Timberlake won two Grammies; the Male Pop Performance Award for "What Goes Around...Comes Around", and the Dance Recording Award for "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows”.

After securing his position as one of the modern music's most reliable artists, Timberlake sought to tackle Hollywood with roles in indie features like "Alpha Dog" (2006) and "Black Snake Moan" (2006), before stepping up to voice roles in "Shrek the Third" (2007) and "Shrek Ever After" (2010). He earned laughs for a stint of hosting duties on "Saturday Night Live' (NBC, 1975- ), which included a hilarious digital video song with Andy Samberg called "Dick in a Box," which went on to become one of the most viewed on YouTube. Meanwhile, Timberlake received critical praise for his part in the Oscar-baiting drama, "The Social Network" (2010), before turning in a charming lead performance in the romantic comedy "Friends With Benefits" (2011), all proving that he had far more depth and range than most had anticipated from the former head of a '90s boy band.

Charities

Timberlake has been active in several charitable pursuits, initially through 'N Sync's "Challenge for the Children" aimed at a range of charities, and since 2001 through his "Justin Timberlake Foundation," which initially funded music education programs in schools, but now has a much broader agenda. In October 2005, the Grammy Association presented Timberlake with an award for his humanitarian efforts in Tennessee, alongside writer/director Craig Brewer, also a Memphis native.

On November 12, 2007, the PGA Tour announced that Timberlake, an avid golfer who plays to a 6 handicap, would become the host of the tour's Las Vegas tournament starting in 2008. With Timberlake's agreement to host the tournament, its name was changed to the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He played in the celebrity pro-am on the day before the competitive tournament and hosted a charity concert during the week of the tournament. The activity was a success, and was repeated in 2009. A review of the value of celebrities to fundraising concluded that Timberlake's contribution to Shriners Hospitals for Children was the single most valuable celebrity endorsement in the US during 2009, and worth over $US9 million.

Personal Life

On a personal level, in 1999, Timberlake began what eventually became a high-profile celebrity relationship with fellow pop singer Britney Spears, with whom he had worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club. This ended abruptly in March 2002, amidst tabloid press speculation on Spears' infidelity with choreographer Wade Robson, a mutual friend of Spears and Timberlake.

Post-Spears, Timberlake has generally refused to discuss his personal life with the media, as a result of which his relationships have been the subject of much speculation in the tabloid and celebrity press. He has been involved with singer-actress, romantically linked with actress-dancer Jenna Dewan and actress-singer Alyssa Milano. Timberlake began dating actress Cameron Diaz soon after they met at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in April 2003 till 2007. Since then he has been linked to Jessica Biel when pictures surfaced of the two snowboarding in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival.

Sources: Wikipedia, Yahoo Movies