99 Fun Facts About Justin Timberlake

Which singer co-headlined the 2003 Justified and Stripped Tour with Timberlake?

Christina Aguilera had been his Mickey Mouse Club castmate ten years earlier; a ceiling grid collapsed over the stage in Atlantic City before one show, and the wrecked gear forced several dates to move.

At age 11, Timberlake competed on Star Search singing country songs under what name?

Justin Randall paired his first and middle names; he lost his round to a singer named Anna Nardona, then won a place on The All New Mickey Mouse Club.

Which future film star was a fellow Mouseketeer of Timberlake on The All New Mickey Mouse Club?

Ryan Gosling, a Canadian, spent part of his time on the show living with Timberlake and his mother, after his own mother had to return home for work.

Which boy-band manager financed the group that became NSYNC in 1995?

Lou Pearlman, who had already created the Backstreet Boys, bankrolled the group; NSYNC later fought him in court to break free, and he died in prison while serving 25 years for a Ponzi scheme.

Which NSYNC album sold a record 2.4 million US copies in its first week in 2000?

No Strings Attached kept the one-week sales record for 15 years, until Adele's 25; its title, a nod to puppets cutting their strings, marked the group's break from their old management.

Timberlake wrote the NSYNC single 'Gone' around 2001 for which artist, who turned it down?

Michael Jackson passed on 'Gone', so NSYNC cut it for Celebrity; Jackson later asked to record it as a duet.

Timberlake premiered his debut solo single, 'Like I Love You', at which 2002 event?

The MTV Video Music Awards gave him his first solo stage months after NSYNC paused so that he could record alone; the group did not release another new song until 2023, about two decades later.

Timberlake's debut solo album Justified was mostly produced by Timbaland and which duo?

The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, picked Timberlake up from his hotel and drove him around playing old Earth, Wind & Fire albums to set the mood for Justified.

'Cry Me a River' was widely thought to be inspired by Timberlake's break-up with whom?

Britney Spears is never named in the song, but Timberlake later said he wrote it straight after an angry phone call, walking into Timbaland's studio visibly furious.

The 2004 Super Bowl halftime 'wardrobe malfunction' happened during Timberlake's duet with whom?

Janet Jackson's breast was briefly exposed at the end of 'Rock Your Body' in Houston, and Timberlake's apology gave the language the phrase 'wardrobe malfunction'.

Which network produced the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show?

MTV built the show around its Choose or Lose voting campaign; after the uproar the NFL cut ties with the network and shut it out of future halftime shows.

What was Timberlake's first solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

SexyBack spent seven weeks at number one even though Timberlake's voice is distorted throughout and he sings it in a rock style, a sharp turn from his R&B hits.

Which producer joined Timbaland and Timberlake to make most of the album FutureSex/LoveSounds?

Danja, born Nate Hills, built the tracks with Timbaland at Thomas Crown Studios while Timberlake kept most of the lyrics in his head instead of writing them down.

In 2005, Timberlake had surgery to remove what?

Throat nodules on his vocal cords were removed in May 2005 after he noticed the problem while recording 'Signs' with Snoop Dogg.

Which 2006 SNL Digital Short with Andy Samberg won Timberlake his first Emmy?

Dick in a Box was bleeped 16 times on air, so NBC put the uncensored cut online that night and it went viral; it won the 2007 Emmy for Original Music and Lyrics.

Timberlake's four Primetime Emmys are two for Original Music and Lyrics and two for what?

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series went to Timberlake in 2009 and 2011 for hosting Saturday Night Live; the song he sang as his 2011 opening monologue won him a music Emmy too.

On SNL, Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon played which brothers in a recurring talk-show sketch?

Barry and Robin Gibb were played by Fallon and Timberlake in 'The Barry Gibb Talk Show', which began in 2003; the real Barry Gibb walked on to sing and dance with them in 2013.

In The Social Network (2010), Timberlake played which real person?

Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became Facebook's first president, was not flattered: he called the film 'a complete work of fiction'.

Which character does Timberlake voice in the Trolls films?

Branch is gray for a reason: as a child his singing led a troll-eating Bergen to his grandmother, and the guilt drained his colour and made him swear never to sing again.

Which Swedish hitmaker co-wrote 'Can't Stop the Feeling!' with Timberlake and Karl Schuster?

Max Martin wrote and produced it with Timberlake and Shellback for Trolls; Timberlake opened the 2017 Oscars with it, but the song lost its category to La La Land's 'City of Stars'.

Which animated character did Timberlake voice in Shrek the Third (2007)?

Artie Pendragon, Fiona's teenage cousin and the reluctant heir to Far Far Away, is fetched from his boarding school, Worcestershire Academy, by Shrek.

In which 2011 sci-fi thriller does Timberlake play a factory worker in a world where people stop aging at 25?

In Time turns lifespan into money: everyone carries a countdown clock on their arm, and Timberlake's Will Salas goes on the run with an heiress played by Amanda Seyfried.

Which album ended Timberlake's six-year break from music, which he had spent acting in films?

The 20/20 Experience arrived in March 2013 as his first album since 2006 and debuted at number one; after the long wait he released a second volume, 2 of 2, six months later.

Which rapper features on "Suit & Tie" and co-headlined the 2013 Legends of the Summer tour with Timberlake?

Jay-Z raps a verse on 'Suit & Tie' and shared the stadium tour; Timberlake returned the favour that summer by singing the hook on Jay-Z's 'Holy Grail'.

What is the name of Timberlake's big-band-style backing ensemble, introduced on his 2013 tours?

The Tennessee Kids, horns and backing singers included, also share the billing of his 2016 concert film, which opens by introducing the players one by one.

Which acclaimed director made Timberlake's 2016 Netflix concert film?

Jonathan Demme, director of The Silence of the Lambs and Stop Making Sense, shot the final 20/20 Experience show at the MGM Grand for Netflix.

Timberlake's 2018 album Man of the Woods is named after which family member?

His son Silas, born in 2015, has a name taken to mean 'man of the forest'; the album came out two days before Timberlake headlined the Super Bowl halftime show.

Where was Super Bowl LII, which Timberlake headlined in February 2018, held?

Minneapolis hosted it at U.S. Bank Stadium, and Timberlake duetted with a projection of the late Prince, a Minnesota native, on 'I Would Die 4 U'.

Timberlake married Jessica Biel in October 2012 in which country?

Italy's Puglia region hosted the wedding, and the couple broke the news themselves in a joint statement: 'It's great to be married, the ceremony was beautiful.'

Timberlake joined the ownership group of which NBA team in 2012?

Timberlake took a minority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies, his hometown team, when Robert Pera's group bought the franchise in 2012.

In 2011 Timberlake became a part-owner of which struggling social network?

Myspace was sold to Specific Media for about $35 million, a sliver of the $580 million News Corp had paid six years earlier, and Timberlake took a stake to help plan its comeback.

Which clothing label did Timberlake launch in 2005 with his childhood friend Trace Ayala?

William Rast joins the first name of Timberlake's grandfather to the surname of Ayala's; the pair started it as a denim line.

Which New York restaurant did Timberlake co-own from 2007?

Southern Hospitality was opened in honour of his Granny Sadie: he said her pecan pie was so good it inspired the restaurant.

Who starred opposite Timberlake in the 2011 romantic comedy Friends with Benefits?

Mila Kunis and Timberlake nearly lost their title: a rival comedy with the same premise was first called Friends with Benefits too, until its director agreed to rename it.

Who duetted with Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards?

Chris Stapleton shared the stage with him for two songs; days later his debut album, Traveller, re-entered the Billboard 200 straight at number one.

Timberlake live-debuted his 2024 single 'Selfish' at a free hometown concert at which venue?

The Orpheum hosted the free one-night show where he first sang 'Selfish'; the same day he revealed the title of his next album in a trailer narrated by Benicio del Toro.

Where was Timberlake arrested for driving while intoxicated in June 2024?

Police in Sag Harbor, New York, stopped him shortly after midnight for running a stop sign; that September he pleaded guilty to a lesser traffic offense and the DWI charge was dropped.

Which NSYNC hit found a new audience in 2024 after it featured in the film Deadpool & Wolverine?

Bye Bye Bye plays over the opening credits while Deadpool fights off a squad of agents and dances the routine from the song's own video, a scene that sent its streams soaring.

Timberlake's Yellowstone Club house, bought in 2015, is near Big Sky in which state?

Montana is nicknamed Big Sky Country, a name the resort area of Big Sky shares; the Yellowstone Club there is a private ski community whose members have included Bill Gates and Tom Brady.

Timberlake performed 'Better Days' for the televised inauguration special of which US president?

Joe Biden's inauguration special showed Timberlake and Ant Clemons singing at the Stax Museum in Memphis; they had first performed the song at Stacey Abrams's Rock the Runoff fundraiser.

Timberlake was the first celebrity fooled on which hidden-camera prank show in 2003?

Punk'd, Ashton Kutcher's show, convinced him that government agents were seizing his house over unpaid taxes; he teared up on camera and later admitted he had been stoned.

Which Hanna-Barbera sidekick did Timberlake voice in a 2010 live-action/animated film?

Boo-Boo joins Yogi and Ranger Smith to save Jellystone Park when the mayor plans to sell it to loggers; Dan Aykroyd voiced Yogi opposite Timberlake.

Timberlake starred opposite Cameron Diaz in which 2011 comedy?

In Bad Teacher Diaz's lazy teacher chases Timberlake's wealthy substitute; the two were real-life exes, having dated from 2003 until a split announced in January 2007.

'4 Minutes', Timberlake's 2008 duet with Madonna, led which of her albums?

Hard Candy's lead single was first called '4 Minutes to Save the World'; its message of urgency was inspired by the suffering Madonna had seen on a visit to Africa.

Timberlake was the star guest performer at which international event in 2016?

The Eurovision Song Contest booked him as its interval act in Stockholm, an American with no country in the race, just as the final was shown live in the US for the first time.

Timberlake starred with Kate Winslet and Juno Temple in which 2017 Woody Allen drama?

Wonder Wheel is named after the Ferris wheel at Coney Island, where the story is set in the 1950s and Timberlake's lifeguard is pursued by a carousel operator's wife and daughter.

In 2014 Timberlake relaunched his own version of which tequila brand?

Sauza 901 took its number from his hometown's area code; two years later he also put money into the beverage company Bai Brands.

Timberlake lent his name to a Las Vegas tournament from 2008 to 2012 in which sport?

Golf's PGA Tour renamed its Las Vegas stop the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open; he played in the pro-am and hosted a charity concert during tournament week.

Which word opens Timberlake's book title, before '& All the Things I Can't See…'?

Hindsight, published in 2018, is more scrapbook than memoir; in it he reveals that he wrote 'Cry Me a River' in two hours because his feelings were too strong to hold back.

Timberlake played a younger version of which British singer in a music video directed by David LaChapelle?

Elton John had Timberlake dress in his 1970s stage outfits for the 'This Train Don't Stop There Anymore' video, with Paul Reubens playing his longtime manager.

Timberlake was paid a reported $6 million to sing a 2003 advertising jingle for which fast-food chain?

McDonald's built a worldwide campaign around the song, which grew out of a German ad idea, and Timberlake has since said he regrets the deal.

Which NSYNC hit became an annual April meme because of the way Timberlake pronounces its last word?

It's Gonna Be Me ends on a word Timberlake sings like the month of May, a joke that began with a 2012 Tumblr post and even caught Barack Obama's attention.

Which actress plays Timberlake's love interest in the video for 'What Goes Around... Comes Around'?

Scarlett Johansson was cast after Timberlake and director Samuel Bayer decided to use real actors, and her character ends the video in a fiery car crash.

At his 2018 Super Bowl halftime show, Timberlake sang beside a projection of which late star?

Prince appeared on a multi-story sheet singing 'I Would Die 4 U' while Timberlake played piano, after the late star's family ruled out any hologram.

Who played Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg opposite Timberlake in the 2010 film The Social Network?

Jesse Eisenberg earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role, and the film won three Academy Awards, including one for its screenplay.

Which actress voices the upbeat Poppy opposite Timberlake in the DreamWorks Trolls films?

Anna Kendrick joined the cast in 2014 and plays the optimist to Timberlake's gloomy survivalist, a pairing that carried two sequels.

NSYNC's first-week US sales record, set with Timberlake in 2000, fell to which singer in 2015?

Adele passed the mark with her third album, 25, ending a fifteen-year run in which no release had outsold the boy band's opening week.

Timberlake co-wrote and sang the chorus of 'Where Is the Love?', a 2003 worldwide hit for which group?

Black Eyed Peas could not credit Timberlake on the single, because his label feared overexposing him while he was promoting his own debut album.

After finishing a world tour in July 2025, Timberlake revealed a diagnosis of which illness?

Lyme disease explained the nerve pain and fatigue he had been feeling on stage, he wrote, adding that he had chosen to keep performing anyway.

Which single was Timberlake singing when the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show ended in scandal?

Rock Your Body closed the show as a duet, with Timberlake arriving on stage as an unannounced surprise guest for the final number.

A servicewoman's 2011 YouTube invitation took Timberlake to which armed service's birthday ball?

Marine Corps member Kelsey De Santis asked him out in a video that July, and Timberlake escorted her to the ball in Richmond, Virginia, four months later.

Timberlake's 2016 selfie prompted a bill in his home state to allow photography in which locations?

Polling stations were off limits for photos when he posted from a voting booth, so a state senator drafted a bill to allow them and the senate approved it.

Which singer joined Timberlake on a 2007 duet version of his ballad 'Until the End of Time'?

Beyoncé re-recorded the ballad with him for the album's deluxe edition, and the duet stayed her highest-charting single on US adult R&B radio until 'Love On Top' in 2012.

Timberlake co-wrote 'Rehab', a 2008 single he improvised in the studio, for which singer?

Rihanna was travelling with his 2007 tour when Timberlake improvised the song over a Timbaland beat, and he called it her bridge to being accepted as an adult artist.

Which NSYNC member, a fellow former Mouseketeer, shared lead vocal duties with Timberlake in the group?

JC Chasez joined on Timberlake's own recommendation, after the pair had spent time writing songs and recording demos together in Nashville.

Timberlake's Trolls song lost the 2017 Best Original Song Oscar to a number from which film?

La La Land won with 'City of Stars', but it was Timberlake who opened the ceremony, with a performance of his nominated hit.

Timberlake starred with Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams in which 2012 drama about an ageing baseball scout?

Trouble with the Curve cast Timberlake as Johnny Flanagan, a former player turned Red Sox scout who falls for the veteran's daughter.

Timberlake and NSYNC voiced themselves in a 2001 boy-band episode of which animated series?

The Simpsons put Bart in a boy band whose songs hid Navy recruiting messages, and Timberlake had to record his lines apart from his bandmates.

Timberlake hosted the 2012 annual shareholders' meeting of which American retail giant?

Walmart booked Timberlake to host its 2012 meeting even though his own fashion label had sold a limited one-month collection through rival chain Target.

Which director of The Social Network later made Timberlake's monochrome 'Suit & Tie' music video?

David Fincher reunited with his former cast member for the 2013 shoot, and the result won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

Which rapper, suggested by producer Timbaland, performs the guest verse on Timberlake's 'My Love'?

T.I. got the call after Timberlake finished the second hook and decided a rapper would sound good on it, though he doubted the star would agree.

Which Canadian singer joined Timberlake as a guest on Timbaland's 2007 number one 'Give It to Me'?

Nelly Furtado shares the vocals on the track, which became the only Hot 100 number one of Timbaland's career as a lead artist.

Timberlake co-wrote and sang on 'Love Sex Magic', a 2009 top-ten hit for which R&B singer?

Ciara scored her fifth US top-ten hit as a lead artist with the duet, whose retro video was inspired by the Crazy Horse cabaret show.

In which Coen brothers film, set in 1961, does Timberlake play a folk singer named Jim Berkey?

Inside Llewyn Davis has Timberlake's character rope the struggling hero into recording a space-travel novelty song, and the cast performed the music live.

Which future star of Felicity and The Americans was a Mouseketeer alongside Timberlake in the 1990s?

Keri Russell was a regular on the show from 1991 to 1994, and it was her dancing at the audition that helped her win a spot in the cast.

In which Florida city did Timberlake's group NSYNC form in 1995?

Orlando was where founder Chris Kirkpatrick worked at Universal Studios, and the group found its baritone, Joey Fatone, among his theme-park colleagues.

Which relative of Timberlake inspired the name NSYNC by remarking on how well the group's voices blended?

His mother, Lynn, said the five sounded 'in sync', and the name also plays on the last letter of each original member's first name.

In which European country did NSYNC, with a teenage Timberlake, first reach the top ten in 1996?

Germany embraced the group first: its label was based in Munich, and the debut album topped the chart there before it reached American shops.

Timberlake debuted his own version of which sneaker line, designed with Tinker Hatfield, in 2018?

Air Jordan had made Timberlake a brand ambassador, and the shoe's debut at his Super Bowl halftime show was valued at $2.86 million in marketing for Nike.

Which fashion designer created more than 600 exclusive pieces for Timberlake's 2013–15 world tour?

Tom Ford began dressing Timberlake in 2011 and has praised the singer's effortless cool for making classic menswear tailoring feel modern.

Timberlake's 2018 'Fresh Leaves' clothing collection was a collaboration with which denim brand?

Levi's became his second denim venture, more than a decade after he co-founded a jeans label of his own with a childhood friend.

Which music college gave Timberlake an honorary doctorate in 2019, alongside Missy Elliott?

Berklee made him a Doctor of Music in the same year that the Songwriters Hall of Fame gave him its Contemporary Icon Award.

Timberlake gave $100,000 of his 2007 tour proceeds to Wildlife Warriors, founded by which TV naturalist?

Steve Irwin's charity received the gift from the proceeds of Timberlake's Australian shows, months before he gave the same sum to two hometown music causes.

Which comedy group, featuring Andy Samberg, recorded the 2009 sketch song 'Motherlover' with Timberlake?

The Lonely Island wrote the song with Timberlake days before it aired, then recorded it in an all-night session and shot the video in 20 hours.

Timberlake played Frankie Ballenbacher in which crime drama based on a real kidnapping?

Alpha Dog was the closing film of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and gave Timberlake one of his earliest dramatic roles.

Timberlake played rival hockey goalie Jacques Grandé in which widely panned 2008 Mike Myers comedy?

The Love Guru won Worst Picture at the Golden Raspberry Awards, and Timberlake's character keeps goal for the Los Angeles Kings against Toronto.

In which 2021 drama does Timberlake play a former college football star just released from prison?

Palmer follows his character as he takes a job as a school janitor and slowly bonds with Sam, a neighbour's young son left in his care.

Timberlake plays a realtor whose girlfriend is found murdered in which 2023 Benicio del Toro thriller?

Reptile was the first feature from music-video director Grant Singer, and it spent three weeks as the most-viewed English-language film on Netflix.

Timberlake plays a student pulled into an online gambling empire run by Ben Affleck in which thriller?

Runner Runner sends his character to Costa Rica to confront the site owner he believes cheated him, only for the tycoon to offer him a job.

Which Timberlake album features a reunion with his NSYNC bandmates on the track 'Paradise'?

Everything I Thought It Was took four years to make, by Timberlake's own account, and entered the US album chart at number four.

Which name did Timberlake give his 2024–25 world tour, reported to be the fastest-selling of his career?

Forget Tomorrow opened in Vancouver in April 2024 and, with its festival extension, ran until a final night in Istanbul fifteen months later.

Which 2023 song for a Trolls sequel was NSYNC's first release with Timberlake in more than twenty years?

Better Place began as a Timberlake demo before he decided to reunite the band, and posters for the film teased it with a hidden web address.

Which Man of the Woods single has a video in which Timberlake demonstrates a robot at a tech conference?

Filthy cast him as an inventor modelled on Apple's co-founder, presenting the machine in Kuala Lumpur in the year 2028, in a clip by Mark Romanek.

Timberlake teamed up with which singer on 'The Other Side', the lead single from Trolls World Tour?

SZA let slip in an August 2019 interview that she had been in the studio with Timberlake, six months before the duet was released.

Timberlake endorsed 'Play', a men's fragrance from which French fashion house, in 2009?

Givenchy was one of his major endorsements that year, alongside Sony electronics and the Audi A1, all managed by the agency IMG.

Timberlake and Timbaland recorded 'Good Foot' for the soundtrack of which 2004 DreamWorks animated film?

Shark Tale came during his break between solo albums, three years before he voiced a character for the same studio in a Shrek sequel.

Which network's 1998 concert special, first offered to the Backstreet Boys, made Timberlake's NSYNC stars?

Disney Channel aired the show after the Backstreet Boys withdrew because a member needed heart surgery, and NSYNC's sluggish album sales took off.

Which singer duets with Timberlake on 'Morning Light', the eighth track on his album Man of the Woods?

Alicia Keys shares the song on an album whose other featured guest, a country star, had come to Los Angeles expecting only to write.

Timberlake briefly dated which member of the Spice Girls in 2003, the year after a much-publicised break-up?

Emma Bunton's brief romance with him came in the same year he began a relationship with Cameron Diaz, whom he met at the Kids' Choice Awards that April.