Hits South Florida with Two Shows in March
By Lynn Peithman Stock
Child star. Singer. Actor. Pop star. Promoter. Comedian. Star of perennial holiday Saturday Night Live sketch. Married man. What is it Justin Timberlake hasn’t done?
After taking a few years’ break from singing and pop songs, Timberlake is in the midst of a whirlwind solo tour that started last October. He kicks off the next leg of his solo 20/20 Experience World Tour with two sold-out shows in Edmonton, Canada, in January, ventures west, back to Canada and then visits South Florida in March. He performs at the BB&T Center in Sunrise on March 4 and at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on March 5.
By the time this tour ends in August in San Jose, Calif., Justin will have been on the road more than a year if you count his concerts with Jay Z last summer.
Whew! So JT may be a married man, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down. Ever since March, he’s been in full throttle mode with a new music releases, promotional jaunts on Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and a dash over to the Cannes Film Festival. He has a supporting role in a Coen brothers movie, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” that opened nationwide in December and in which he tackles a new genre — folk music, writing songs with T. Bone Burnett. Last fall, he starred with Ben Affleck in the high stakes gambling thriller “Runner Runner.”
In November, Timberlake won three American Music Awards, including Favorite Male Artist, Pop Rock; Favorite Male Artist, Soul R&B; and Favorite Album, Soul/R&B: Justin Timberlake, “The 20/20 Experience.”
His AMA acceptance set Twitter feeds a buzzing not because he was on stage but because his wife was nowhere to be seen. Biel took to Twitter herself, responding with: “I’m watching from home tonight. Calm down, Internet.”
In early December, Timberlake received seven 2014 Grammy nominations, including;
• Best Pop Solo Performance for “Mirrors”
• Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Suit & Tie” with Jay Z
• Best Pop Vocal Album for “The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience”
• Best R&B Song for “Pusher Love Girl,” with James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon and Timothy Mosley and which Timberlake also wrote
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Holy Grail” by Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake
• Best Rap Song for “Holy Grail” with Shawn Carter, Terius Nash, J. Harmon, Timothy Mosley and Ernest Wilson; songwriters Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, by Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake
• Best Music Video for “Suit & Tie” by Timberlake featuring Jay Z
While that’s a respectful list for the 2014 Grammys which will be announced on Jan. 26 on CBS, music pundits couldn’t help but note that Timberlake was passed over for the top Grammy categories — album, song and record of the year, even though his latest album was 2013’s biggest selling release.
The four-time Emmy winner started his concert jaunts in mid-2013 with the Legends of the Summer Tour with Jay Z, who appears on Timberlake’s recent single “Suit & Tie” and they performed together on Saturday Night Live in March.
Timberlake has returned to his musical roots and touring after concentrating on his acting for several years. Those roots started early: “Not a lot of 10-year-old Caucasian kids were running around Millington, Tenn., singing Stevie Wonder and Al Green songs, which were the songs I felt most connected to.”
According to IMDB, Justin Randall Timberlake was born on Jan. 31, 1981, in Memphis. In 1983, when he was 11, he appeared on the show “Star Search” but didn’t win. Still ambitious, he went on to “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” in 1989, where his costars included Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, Christina Aguilera and future band-mate J.C. Chasez. At age 14, Justin became a member of the boy band *NSYNC. In 1998, the group released their self-titled debut album.
Justin’s successful solo career started in 2002, with the hit songs “Rock Your Body” and “Cry Me A River.” His “Bring Sexy Back” debuted in 2006. A few years later, he tried his hand at acting, and impressed reviewers starring in “The Social Network” in 2010 and “Friends with Benefits” in 2011. He co-starred with screen legend Clint Eastwood in 2012’s “Trouble with the Curve.”
His wicked sense of comedic timing has been most evident when he seamlessly glides from one sketch to another on Saturday Night Live, most recently in March. Back then he joined the show’s “Five Timers Club,” an elite group of actors and entertainers who have hosted the esteemed show at least five times: Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck, Bill Murray, Drew Barrymore, Paul Simon and Alec Baldwin. He has a ways to go to beat or even match the host with the mosts — Steve Martin, with 15 hosting gigs.
One of March’s skits reunited Timberlake with Andy Samberg, reprising their characters first made famous in 2006 in the music video, “D*** in a Box.” The video has been a holiday favorite and viral Internet sensation since then. “Girl you know it’s Christmas and my heart is open wide/Going to give you something so you know what’s on my mind/So look inside, it’s my d*** in a box.” The song, penned by Timberlake, even won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.
Before this latest burst of creative energy in movies, pop songs and concert tours, Timberlake married Jessica Biel in October 2012. The guy has some romantic chops: Jessica walked down the aisle while Justin serenaded her with a song he wrote just for her. (We certainly hope it was nothing like that Saturday Night Live ditty.)
Unlike many child prodigy entertainers, Justin has pretty much shied away from negativity. Well, there was that little nip slip during the Super Bowl halftime performance in 2004 when the planned ripping off of Janet Jackson’s jacket went a bit too far, by accident. He later commented about the “wardrobe malfunction,” saying: “I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance.”
His own wardrobe has evolved through the years. Back in the NSYNC days, he was prone to wearing full leather outfits, shaded in red, or baggy pants and goofy hats. Today, he opts for svelte suits, skinny ties and elegant tuxedos. Up top, the tight curls are gone and his hair is often straight and slicked back.
Whatever his evolution, his hard work has paid off. “I think people sometimes don’t pay enough attention to what they do. I’ve done well, but the reason is pretty simple: I’ve worked my ass off. Anything I’ve done well has taken many, many hours of preparation. And then the trick, of course, is making that work look invisible. The toughest thing a performer can do is make it look as if it comes easy. You have to devote yourself 100 percent when you’re figuring stuff out, whether it’s with sports or music — or movies, which has been the main focus for me lately.”
No matter what the musical genre, “I think music will always be a big part of my life. I can’t go five minutes without singing, sometimes unconsciously. And people stare at me, and I’m wondering why they’re staring, and then I’m realizing that I’m belting out a tune.”
And while most of the world swoons over this musical Renaissance man, including a nod by Complex magazine, writing, “Justin Timberlake is a king,” the guy is truly just like the rest of us.
Timberlake replied on Twitter: “@ComplexMag: Justin Timberlake is a king. #AMAs Thank you for the shout-out! I’m currently at home taking the trash out. #LikeAKing”