In 2001, when Justin Timberlake was the leader of 'N Sync, a pop phenomenon of that period, he received a strange phone call from Michael Jackson. The call was about a song called "Gone" that was specially written for Jackson, but the King of Pop had declined to perform it solo.

“[During the call] Michael called me on the phone and said that he wanted to cut the record, but he wanted it to be a duet between himself and I, and I said, 'Well ... we've already cut the song as an 'N Sync record. Could we do, like, ''N Sync featuring Michael Jackson', or 'Michael Jackson featuring 'N Sync'? And he was very absolute about the fact that he wanted it to be a duet between himself and I."

As the musician recalls, this was the exact moment when he believed in his own abilities and became convinced of the need for his solo career. However, it would be a mistake to begin evaluating his musical talent directly with 'N Sync, as he had already become a full member of show business at the age of 12. 

"The Mickey Mouse Club" was the name of a television show created by Disney, in which Justin participated alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Reynolds, and musician JC Chasez. Later, in 1995, Justin and JC Chasez became members of the band 'N Sync. It's also worth noting that one of the group's producers was Lou Pearlman, who years earlier had created the iconic project Backstreet Boys. At first glance, everything was ready for us to see the next supergroup of the 90s, and that's exactly what happened.

“Someday in the not-too-distant future, when every song ever recorded will be implanted inside our cerebral cortex, your grandkids will go through your attic and ask why anyone wasted their time listening to music on those plastic circles (CD). But for now, let’s look back at the year 2000, when the boys of *NSYNC sold A LOT of those weird little discs. Like, more than anyone ever had in a single week.” - This is how the American publication Billboard responded to the dizzying success of the group, which followed their 2002 album ‘No Strings Attached’.

Selling 2.4 million albums in just one week was an event that had previously been considered unimaginable by many. Despite the fact that they had already released 2 albums, it was ‘No Strings Attached’ that was the catalyst that brought the band to the forefront of the music industry. 4 albums released in 4 years indicated their amazing productivity, but after the year's most profitable ‘PopOdyssey tour’, the band decided to disband.

 The initiator of this disbandment was Justin Timberlake, inspired by Michael Jackson's call, who reportedly began working on a solo album while still in the group. The process of working on the album was significantly secretive, but the fact was that Justin wanted to work more in the R&B style than be a member of a pop band.

“I wasn’t consciously trying to make a non-‘N Sync record. I was trying to make a multi-dimensional record; a record that captured the vibe of my favorite time in music, the ’60s.” - The 6-week work process was carried out in collaboration with Timbaland and Pharrell Williams, which was ultimately reflected in the album. “I got to live in my own musical dream world and play a little hip-hop, a little old-school R&B, a little classic rock. It was so much fun — and I learned a lot about making music in a totally different way than I was used to”  

"Cry Me a River", "Rock Your Body", and "Señorita" - even mentioning these three compositions is enough to perceive what Justin offered to the musical world with his debut album Justified. In 2018, when Billboard was summarizing debut albums, it noted that Justified “May possibly be the most iconic debut album from a former band member in pop music history”.

Such a beginning already showed that the American musician's solo career would repeat the success that he had experienced in 'N Sync, but Justin wanted to create a distinctive musical world first and foremost. The pivotal point when his creative separation from 'N Sync occurred, in Justin's opinion, is the composition "SexyBack," which followed his studio session with Timbaland.

This composition became the leading hit of the 2006 album ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’, which brought Justin a Grammy Award. Both "SexyBack" and the entire album were more focused on dance music than the musician's previous works. In addition, the influence of rock aesthetics was noticeable, which Justin explained as follows: "I wanted to sing like a rock and roll singer and not an R&B artist."

This means that if his debut album was more inspired by Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, here the influences of David Bowie and Prince were more evident. It was clear that after the release of this record, the pop world had no brighter star than Justin Timberlake, and this created hope that the next few years would be dominated by him, but Justin's unpredictability was evident here as well.

Instead of working on the next album, he devoted time to collaborations with various artists, resulting in Timbaland's "Give It to Me," 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology," and Madonna's "4 Minutes." In parallel, he decided to pay more attention to his acting career.

His steps in the film industry also proved successful, where in a short time he participated in quite a few films, including Alpha Dog (2006), Shrek the Third (2007), The Social Network (2010), Friends with Benefits (2011), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Critics especially praised him for his role in David Fincher's ‘The Social Network’, where Justin plays the role of Facebook's first president, Sean Parker.

In 2012, he finally returned to music and began working on a new album. "No rules and no motives" - this is how the musician assessed the process of working on the album. However, everything was soon revealed when the album was released in two parts in March and September of the following year, and in total gave us such compositions as "Suit & Tie," "Mirrors," "Take Back the Night," and "TKO."

Timberlake's manager Johnny Wright emphasized the fact that Timbaland's involvement in this album was also important: "Their relationship is like a brotherhood. They feel very comfortable with each other, both in a musical and personal context. This allows the process to proceed in a short time and painlessly."

This album turned out to be just the beginning of the American musician's return to his career, as he soon appeared in an album released after Michael Jackson's death, and then announced a new hit "Can't Stop the Feeling!" which spread like a virus throughout the industry.

In 2018, he became the main headliner artist of the Super Bowl and once again reminded his listeners that his musical legacy is still alive and relevant. His performance was modest for many, but Justin specifically refused large-scale show elements so that the entire focus would be on the music. In the same year, the musician returned with his fifth studio album ‘Man of the Woods’, where the leading compositions are "Filthy," "Supplies," and "Say Something."

The album turned out to be commercially successful and became Justin's fourth consecutive album to top the Billboard chart. Las Vegas Weekly called this work the artist's "most experimental album," though the musical direction of the recording was easy to understand for Justin's listeners.

At the same time, he once again turned to the film industry and returned to his role in the animated film "Trolls World Tour" sequel. For this film, he also created a large part of the soundtrack, including singles "The Other Side" (with SZA) and "Don't Slack" (with Anderson .Paak). The third part of the film turned out to be the beginning of many other new developments.

"Justin is eager for the project to return" - a rumor that spread in 2023 was about the return of 'N Sync, who eventually recorded the song "Better Place" for the animated film. This was the group's first recording in more than 20 years - the group's reunion was a big surprise for fans and also stirred up old nostalgia for Justin's listeners. This was followed by numerous rumors that the band was also working on an album, which Justin partially confirmed.

It's a fact that he spent a lot of time in the studio with the band, but it seems he didn't cut time for his own solo project either. The artist started 2024 with big news, his fifth solo album ‘Everything I Thought It Was’, which features Calvin Harris, Cirkut, and his well-known producers Danja and Timbaland.

Along with the well-known R&B aesthetic, the musician has perfectly explored the boundaries of new disco, pop, and hip-hop. This was followed by a massive tour that began in Vancouver and will also visit Georgia. At the Vancouver show, journalist Stuart Derdeyn noted: "If you attended this show, then you know that you saw the best show that a singer has ever had in this city."

‘The Forget Tomorrow World Tour’ turned out to be more successful than expected, which is why new shows and new locations were added - a story that began in 2024 continues into the next year and includes the Starring Georgia project.

As part of the Starring Georgia project, Georgian audiences have already been treated to world-class stars, but Justin Timberlake represents a significant chapter in pop music history that absolutely needed to become part of this project.

Creating expectations for this show is a endless task, because where there is a 30-year history of pop music, it is difficult to predict anything except an unforgettable experience.

Follow The Stars 23 July, Dinamo Arena | Tickets