Following the release of his second blockbuster album Future Sex / Love Sounds pop icon Justin Timberlake talks exclusively to Enigma about music, mayhem and conquering the charts.
It was entirely unexpected. The baby faced boy with the tight mousy brown curls, the boy band puppet, the ultimate manufactured pop product metamorphosed in an icon of cutting edge cool. ‘N Sync’s front man Justin Timberlake went from cute, cuddly and not to be taken too seriously, to hot, sexy and dangerous in the space of a single year. In 2002, after six whirlwind years with the biggest boy band of the 90’s, Timberland ditched his teenybopper girlfriend – the breakup with Britney Spears heavily influencing his first solo album – hooked up with The Neptunes and Timbaland, the world’s hottest hip hop producers. He sexed up his dance moves and released Justified, an edgy, catchy and hot under the collar album which went on to sell over seven million copies worldwide. The next 365 days belonged to Timberlake with single after single, including Cry Me a River and Rock Your Body soaring up the charts. Suddenly Timberlake Version 2.0 was being compared to none other than living legend Michael Jackson. But then, Timberlake hadn’t just picked any old songs for his solo outing, the album boasted several tracks which had originally been created to be part of MJ’s Invincible album but didn’t make the final cut. Leftovers never tasted so good!
Timberlake also uped the ante in his personal life. After hooking up with a series of high profile celebs, including janet Jackson and Alyssa Milano, the unstoppable star fell inlove with one of the sought after women in the world. Timberlake chose none other than the highest paid actress in Hollywood, the vivacious, vampy silver screen sweetheart Cameron Diaz. Their eyes met across a crowded Kids Choice Awards in 2004 and ever since they’ve been inseparable. Much has been made of the eight and a half year age gap between the beautiful pair, with Cameron 33 years of age to his 25. But when you’re young, loaded and incredibly famous who cares? The public can hardly get enough of the constantly canoodling pair and rumours of engagement have plagued them constantly. Yet despite Diaz sporting a fat diamond on her ring finger, sources close to the couple have always maintained that it is not true.
In the meantime, Timberlake tried his hand and at acting, featuring as a journalist in the thriller Edison Force. He’s also set to appear in Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly‘s Southland Tales, and voice a young King Arthur in the animated film Shrek the Third set for release early next year. Oh and there’s the small matter of a second blockbuster album. Timberlake locked himself up in the studio with Timbaland, will.i.am, Rick Rubin and launched his second stellar album FutureSex/LoveSounds; another sizzling steamy phenomenal record which debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, selling 684,000 copies its first week, and becoming the biggest album ever for pre-orders on iTunes. The album’s lead single SexyBack raced up the Billboard charts remaining at the number one spot for an incredible seven consecutive weeks. My Love, the album’s second single featuring rapper T.I. also elbowed its way to the number one spot on the Hot 100, and at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards he was crowned ‘Best Pop Act’ and ‘Best Male’. In the space of four short years he has gone from baby faced boy band puppet to the international Crown Prince of Pop. Justifiably.
What have you been up to since the last album?
I took some time off because I was just burnt creatively. I know that my label definitely wanted me to put a record out right away and I would have if I thought that it would have been as good as the last one, but I just felt like I needed a break. So, I found some other things to do; film, snowboarding, golf! (laughs). It made me appreciate the beauty of creating again and it made me hungry again to do another record and with this one I feel like I’ve come up with a sound that’s unique and of the future.
Was there a lot of pressure on you with this album because of the success of the last?
Initially I felt the pressure of competing with the first record. I mean, the first record was the first record. There was nothing to compare it to, so there really was no pressure. I don’t think people expected what they got, which is good. I felt I started to kind of subside a little bit after I started coming up with the music because what I was creating was so unique compared to that first album that it kind of sat alone on its own plateau. It definitely has a consistent sound to it and I love it.
How was it working with Timbaland again?
We have great chemistry in the studio. I just think we touched on it a little bit with Cry Me A River and with the first record. I think when we came back to do this record, we knew each other. We’re two of the same kind of guys. We’re both from the South and we look at music the same way. We’re both looking to do something new. I think we both said to ourselves, ‘There’s no point in doing this unless we can feel like we created something new.’ And we both took that approach at it. We would just push each other to be better than we were. It was a really great creative environment making this record with him.
You have also done some work as a producer for other artists. Tell us about that…
I’ve been getting into the world of production as well as producing for other artists. I did a couple of things for Macy Gray and Charlie Wilson and I’m working on something with my old band mate, JC, which is really cool. You’re talking about a guy who can sing pretty much anything. When we started working together, it was kind of like old times, only new music. It was really fun to try and figure out a direction for him.
How was it to work with Rick Rubin?
It’s been amazing. It’s sort of the opposite of working with Timbaland. I mean, everything I’ve done with Rick Rubin is very scaled down and unique in that sense where it’s all live. It takes music back to the basics and it’s reminiscent of older soul records because he arrangements are so basic
How did you pick the movies you did?
I got a lot of offers for leading roles and big budget popcorn films, which I’m not saying it wouldn’t be fun to do one day if it felt right, but for me, I wanted to kind of sink my teeth into juicier roles and better stories that were a little more developed. And just the right opportunities came up at the right time and I didn’t want to turn on a blessing in disguise. They really were. I had an amazing, amazing time making those films with the director and the actors that I worked with. It’s been a great start, if it’s a start of something big or just a one off thing, it still was an amazing experience.
What’s the difference between making music and film?
Obviously, it’s different and there’s a lot of waiting. There’s not a lot of hurrying up. In the music business, you have to hurry up to wait, but in film, you just wait and wait and wait.
What makes film challenging for you?
The challenge was to keep the psychology of a character, and hold onto it until it was time to actually perform it; because you could sit there and psycho-analyse it all day, but then you have to get into that zone when the scene comes up. Acting, in a sense, is sort of like golf or chess where you have to plan your attack and I think that music is a more ‘fly by the seat your pants’ experience.
What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?
I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep, which I don’t think I’m going to get anytime soon! Whenever that comes around, that’ll be good. I’m looking forward to the films coming out and just the exploration of all that and what it holds. I sort of did the films hoping they would come out before the record did and then it all came out around the same time, so that’s kind of weird, I didn’t actually plan it that way, but I guess it’s a blessing in disguise, too. I want to do film and I want to do music and if I could have my wish, it would be that both of them co-exist in their own world. I think how you do that is by choosing the right projects to do and being selective about it and that’s at least what I’m attempting to do.