Justin Randall Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee to Lynn (Bomar) Harless and Charles Randall Timberlake, a Baptist church choir director. Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a small community between Memphis and Millington. He has two half-brothers, Jonathan (born September 12, 1993) and Stephen (born August 14, 1998), from Charles’ second marriage to Lisa Perry. His half-sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth on May 12, 1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album NSYNC as “My Angel in Heaven”. His family circle includes a number of musicians; his grandfather introduced him to music from country artists like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Performing as a child, Timberlake sang country and gospel music: at the age of 11, he appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country songs as “Justin Randall”. By that time, he began listening to rhythm and blues musicians from the 1960s and 70s, such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and he had listening sessions with his father of studio albums by the Eagles and Bob Seger.

In 1993 and 1994, he was a Mouseketeer on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, where his castmates included future girlfriend and singer Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, future bandmate JC Chasez, and future movie actors Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell. Timberlake then recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group, organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman, that eventually became NSYNC.

The boy band NSYNC formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe; Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers. In 1998, the group rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self-titled debut studio album, which sold 11 million copies and included the single “Tearin’ Up My Heart”. Their second album No Strings Attached (2000) sold 2.4 million copies in the first week, and included a number one single, “It’s Gonna Be Me”. NSYNC’s third album Celebrity (2001) was also financially successful. The group’s second and third studio albums spawned top-five singles such as “Bye Bye Bye”, “Girlfriend” and “This I Promise You”. Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002. In its lifetime, NSYNC was internationally famous and performed at the Academy Awards, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl, as well as selling more than 70 million records worldwide, becoming the fifth-best selling boy band in history.

In late 1999, Timberlake appeared in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model. It was released on March 12, 2000. The rise of his own stardom and the general decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of NSYNC. Band member Lance Bass was openly critical of Timberlake’s actions in his memoir Out of Sync. By 2002, when the group went on a hiatus and members were following individual projects, he partnered with Pharrell Williams of the producing team The Neptunes–and Timbaland to start working in new music. The idea of going solo was strengthened a year earlier. Timberlake originally wrote the single “Gone” around 2001 for Michael Jackson, but he turned the song down, and was instead recorded by NSYNC. Before its release, however, Jackson contacted him. Timberlake declared in a later interview that the first time he felt confident to go solo happened after that conversation. In a retrospective article in 2020, Billboard staff considered Celebrity “the group’s swan song, setting the stage for Timberlake’s equally massive solo career.”

In early 1999, Timberlake began dating fellow former The All-New Mickey Mouse Club cast member and singer Britney Spears. Their relationship ended abruptly in March 2002. Both Spears and Timberlake graduated high school via distance learning from the University of Nebraska High School; Timberlake received his diploma onstage during a concert in Memphis in 2000. In 2003, he was briefly linked to British singer Emma Bunton. In April 2003, he began dating actress Cameron Diaz soon after they met at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. After much speculation of breakups throughout their relationship, the couple split in December 2006 shortly after she introduced him as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

In August 2002, Timberlake performed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, where he premiered his debut solo single “Like I Love You”; it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. His debut solo studio album Justified was released in November and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 439,000 copies, fewer than previous ‘N Sync releases. It went on to sell over three million copies in the U.S. and more than ten million copies worldwide. Its R&B influence, provided by hip-hop producers The Neptunes and Timbaland, was complimented by music critics. About the musical direction of the record, he commented, “I just want to do R&B. It’s what I grew up listening to”. The album spawned the top-five singles “Cry Me a River” and “Rock Your Body”. In summer 2003, Timberlake and Christina Aguilera headlined the Justified/Stripped Tour. Later that year he recorded a song “I’m Lovin’ It”, used by McDonald’s as the theme to its “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign. The deal with McDonald’s earned Timberlake an estimated $6 million. A tour titled Justified and Lovin’ It Live was included with the deal, following his initial Justified World Tour. Timberlake was featured on Nelly’s song, “Work It”, which was remixed and included on Nelly’s 2003 remix album.

Near the end of 2002, Timberlake was the first celebrity to appear on Punk’d, a “candid camera” type show created by Ashton Kutcher to trick celebrities. Timberlake, who cried during the episode, later admitted to being under the influence of cannabis when he was pranked. Three episodes later, he set up Kelly Osbourne to be “punk’d”, thus making him the first celebrity to appear on the show more than once. Timberlake later spoofed Ashton Kutcher and Punk’d in a 2003 episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Timberlake co-starred in skit titled The Barry Gibb Talk Show alongside comedian Jimmy Fallon, where the duo portrayed Bee Gees brothers Barry and Robin Gibb. It marked the beginning of a long-running friendship and collaboration with Fallon.

Longtime critic Robert Hilburn for the Los Angeles Times praised Timberlake’s act after attending the Justified and Stripped Tour in 2003, considering him “born for the stage (with) the savvy instincts to put together a show that works. Rather than make himself the constant center of attention, he was comfortable enough at times simply to be part of a talented ensemble.” In 2013, Timberlake introduced his big-band orchestra called the Tennessee Kids for Legends of the Summer and The 20/20 Experience World Tour which includes guitarists, dancers, background singers, drummers, bassists, keyboardists, trumpeters, a music coordinator, a percussionist, a saxophonist, among others musicians. The 20/20 Experience allowed Timberlake to throw back to the big-band era, its stage production embraced a vintage sheen and everyone in classic suits. For the tour, Timberlake had a horn section onstage with him called The Regiment Horns. The Hollywood Reporter’s Emily Zemler described him as a performer who is “genuinely having fun,” whereas Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that the singer “reveals something darker, more fiery and intense” while performing post-breakup revenge songs, such as “Cry Me a River” and “What Goes Around… Comes Around”. Billboard editor Phil Gallo praised Timberlake’s medley performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, saying he “gave the show its heart and center,” also mentioning his place as a modern recording artist and a solid link in the lineage of the most acclaimed performers in the show’s history. The New York Times’ editor Katie Rogers highlighted Timberlake’s crossover appeal after his performance with Chris Stapleton at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards. Described by critics as a “consummate showman,” Timberlake usually plays guitar, piano and keyboard in his shows.

In 2003, Rolling Stone named him the biggest pop star of the year and featured him on the magazine’s cover, commenting that he “attained the one thing most pop stars don’t, and the one thing he wanted more than anything else: credibility.” For Entertainment Weekly his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, “redefined pop’s cutting edge”; for Vibe it “pushed boundaries more forcefully” than works by his male contemporaries. Fuse TV’s editor Jason Lipshutz stated it “changed the game. [The album] was steely and sweaty, a universal dance opus that made room for intimacy. It had the best first half of any pop album in 25 years. You have to go back to 1979 for Off the Wall, to find a pop album with a first half that matches up.” He was ranked 66th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time. Timberlake appeared for the first time on the Time 100 list of most influential people in 2007. In 2013, he made his second appearance on the 100 list, with Stevie Wonder writing “Justin has accomplished a lot at a young age, taking advantage of all the possibilities, and yet he’s found time to give of himself too—he gets and gives back. He has a spirit. He does God’s work through using the most of his talent.”

Timberlake has co-owned or provided celebrity endorsement for three restaurants in the United States: “Chi” opened in West Hollywood, California, in 2003, and “Destino” and “Southern Hospitality” in New York opened in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2005, Timberlake launched the William Rast clothing line with childhood friend Juan (“Trace”) Ayala. The 2007 line contained cord jackets, cashmere sweaters, jeans, and polo shirts. The pair reports inspiration from fellow Memphis native Elvis Presley: “Elvis is the perfect mixture of Justin and I,” Ayala says. “You can go back and see pictures of him in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and a nice button-down shirt, but then again you can see him in a tux and a collared shirt with rhinestones on it and slacks. We like to think ‘If he was alive today, what would he be wearing?'” Target has announced that a William Rast collection, including denim, outerwear and sportswear for men and women, would launch in December and be available for a month. In 2015, the clothing line earned him a Lord & Taylor’s Fashion Oracle Award at the Fashion Group International’s Night of The Stars Gala. An avid amateur golfer, in 2007 Timberlake purchased the run-down Big Creek Golf Course in his hometown of Millington, Tennessee, which he redeveloped as the eco-friendly Mirimichi Golf Course at the cost of some $US16 million. It was reopened on July 25, 2009 but closed again on January 15, 2010 for further improvements expected to take six months. In October 2011, Timberlake received the Futures Award at the Environmental Media Awards for his green-conscious golf course. It was reported on November 7, 2014, that Timberlake had sold Mirimichi to Three Star Leasing LLC for $500,000. In October 2018, Timberlake and Levi’s debuted their collaborative clothing line collection “Fresh Leaves.”

In February 2004, during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, broadcast on the CBS television network from Houston, Timberlake performed with Janet Jackson before a television audience of more than 140 million viewers. At the end of the performance, as the song drew to a close, Timberlake tore off a part of Jackson’s black leather costume in a “costume reveal” meant to accompany a portion of the song lyrics. Jackson’s representative explained Timberlake intended “to pull away the rubber bustier to reveal a red lace bra. Part of the costume detached, and Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed. Timberlake apologized for the incident, stating he was “sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl…” The phrase “wardrobe malfunction” has since been used by the media to refer to the incident and has entered pop culture. Timberlake and Jackson were threatened with exclusion from the 2004 Grammy Awards unless they agreed to apologize on screen at the event. Timberlake attended and issued a scripted apology when accepting the first of two Grammy Awards he received that night (Best Pop Vocal Album for Justified and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Cry Me a River”). He had also been nominated for Album of the Year for Justified, and Record of the Year along with Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Where Is the Love?” with The Black Eyed Peas.

After the Super Bowl incident, Timberlake put his recording career on hold to act in several films, having starred in a few feature films earlier in his career. The first role he took during this time was as a journalist in Edison Force, filmed in 2004 and received a direct-to-video release on July 18, 2006. He also appeared in the films Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales, and voiced Prince Artie Pendragon in the animated film Shrek the Third, released on May 18, 2007. He also appeared as a young Elton John, in the video for John’s song “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore”. Timberlake was considered to play the role of Roger Davis in the film version of the rock musical Rent, but director Chris Columbus had insisted that only the original Broadway members could convey the true meaning of Rent, so the role was reprised by Adam Pascal.

He continued to record with other artists. After “Where Is the Love?”, he again collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas on the 2005 track “My Style” from their albu m Monkey Business. When recording the 2005 single “Signs” with Snoop Dogg, Timberlake discovered a throat condition. Nodules were subsequently removed from his throat in an operation that took place on May 5, 2005. He was advised not to sing or speak loudly for at least a few months. In 2005, he began his own record company, JayTee records.

Timberlake has been active in several charitable pursuits, initially through NSYNC’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.

Timberlake released his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, on September 12, 2006. The album, which Timberlake created from 2005 to 2006, debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 684,000 copies its first week. It became the biggest album for pre-orders on iTunes, and beat Coldplay’s record for the biggest one-week sales of a digital album. The album was produced by Timbaland and Danja (who produced a bulk of the album), will.i.am, Rick Rubin and Timberlake himself, and features guest vocals by Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia, T.I. and will.i.am. A studio representative described it as being “all about sexiness” and aiming for “an adult feel”.

The album’s lead single, “SexyBack”, was performed by Timberlake at the opening of the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for seven consecutive weeks. “My Love”, the album’s second single, also produced by Timbaland and featuring rapper T.I., reached number-one on the Hot 100, as did third single “What Goes Around… Comes Around”. The song is reported to have been inspired by the break-up of his childhood friend and business partner, Trace Ayala, with actress Elisha Cuthbert. In October 2006, Timberlake said that he would focus on his music career rather than his film roles, specifying that leaving the music industry would be a “dumb thing to do at this point”. He was the special guest performer at the 2006 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show where he sang “SexyBack”, “My Love” and “LoveStoned”.

Timberlake hosted many music events, including the European MTV Music Awards in 2006. On December 16, 2006, Timberlake hosted Saturday Night Live, doing double duty as both host and musical guest for the second time. During this appearance, he and Andy Samberg performed an R&B song for a skit titled “Dick in a Box”, which some radio stations aired as an unofficial single from Timberlake. Called “one of the most iconic musical moments in the show’s history” by Billboard, it became a viral hit and one of the most viewed videos on YouTube at the time. Rolling Stone listed the skit at number three on their “50 Greatest ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketches of All Time”. The song earned him an Emmy Award and was later featured on The Lonely Island’s debut album Incredibad.

Justified’s single “Cry Me a River,” which is also considered by Rolling Stone to be one of the 500 greatest songs of all time, ranked at number 20 on the magazine’s 100 Best Songs of the 2000s. Marilyn Manson further cited it as one of the main songs that influenced him. Billboard editor Jason Lipshutz named the song’s music video “one of the more brilliant musical moments in pop music since the dawn of the century.” His second album FutureSex/LoveSounds was placed at 46 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of the 2000s, the ninth best album of the decade for Entertainment Weekly, and the greatest of the decade for Vibe. The lead single, “SexyBack,” helped introduce EDM sounds to top 40 radio, as it brought together variations of electronic dance music with Timberlake’s R&B tone. Aside from earning critical acclaim for its parent album, Sia Michel of The New York Times noted that he was responsible for popularizing in 2006 the catchphrase “I’m bringing sexy back”.

In January 2007, Timberlake embarked on the FutureSex/LoveShow tour. Following singles off the album, “LoveStoned/I Think She Knows (Interlude)” and “Until the end of Time”, peaked within the top 20 on the Hot 100, while the sixth single “Summer Love” reached the top 10. The song “Give It to Me”, a Timbaland single on which Timberlake guests with Nelly Furtado, reached the Hot 100 number-one spot. Eventually, FutureSex/LoveSounds was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s musical library and archive.

The song “4 Minutes”, was first played by Timbaland at Philadelphia’s Jingle Ball on December 17, 2007. When released on March 17, 2008, “4 Minutes” was revealed to be a duet between Timberlake and Madonna, with backing vocals by Timbaland. It was lead single from Madonna’s eleventh studio album Hard Candy, which featured four other song-writing collaborations with Timberlake, being also one of the executive producers. The single was an international hit, topping the charts in over 21 countries worldwide. Timberlake also appears in the music video, which was directed by Jonas & François. On March 30, 2008, Timberlake performed the song at Madonna’s Hard Candy Promo Show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. On November 6, 2008, Timberlake performed the song with Madonna on the Los Angeles stop of her Sticky & Sweet Tour.

In June 2007, Timberlake co-wrote, produced and provided vocals for the songs “Nite Runner” and “Falling Down” for Duran Duran’s album Red Carpet Massacre, released on November 13, 2007. “Falling Down” had been released as a single in the UK on the previous day. Also in 2007, Timberlake made an appearance on 50 Cent’s third album, Curtis. Timberlake, along with Timbaland, is featured on a track called “Ayo Technology”, which was the album’s fourth single. Also, another possible collaboration was to occur with Lil Wayne for his album Tha Carter III with Nelly Furtado and Timbaland. With the wrapping up of the FutureSex/LoveSounds tour of Australasia and the Middle East in November 2007, Timberlake resumed his film career. Projects underway early in 2008 were starring roles in Mike Myers’ comedy The Love Guru (released June 20, 2008) and Mike Meredith’s drama The Open Road (released August 28, 2009). In March 2008 it was announced that he was to be an executive producer in an American adaptation of the hit Peruvian comedy My Problem with Women for NBC. On November 20, 2008, TV Guide reported that Timberlake’s next single, “Follow My Lead”, which also featured vocals by Timberlake’s protégée, former YouTube star Esmée Denters, would be available for exclusive download through Myspace. All proceeds would go to Shriners Hospitals for Children, a charity dedicated to improving pediatric care for sick children. In February 2008, Timberlake was awarded two Grammy Awards. At the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony, he won the Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “What Goes Around…Comes Around”, and the Award for Best Dance Recording for “LoveStoned/I Think She Knows”.

In January 2007, Timberlake began dating actress Jessica Biel. They became engaged in December 2011 and married on October 19, 2012, at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Fasano, Italy. Their son, Silas Randall Timberlake, was born in April 2015. In September 2020, ex-NSYNC member Lance Bass said that Timberlake and his wife had another child in July of 2020, a son whose name has not been announced.

The New York Times’ editor Sia Michel wrote in 2007, “Since his last tour, for 2002’s multiplatinum Justified, he has learned how to project sex-symbol edge” adding “he’s a rock star who can commit.” Napster’s founder Sean Parker, portrayed by Timberlake in The Social Network, stated “I don’t think I look anything like Timberlake, but it’s not so bad being played by a sex symbol.” Timberlake was given Sexiest Man titles by Teen People and Cosmopolitan magazines. On February 17, 2009, Timberlake was named the “Most Stylish Man in America” by GQ magazine. In 2011, he ranked No. 46 on AskMen’s annual rundown of the 49 Most Influential Men. VH1 listed him at number three on its 100 Sexiest Artists List. In Nielsen Music’s U.S. report for 2015, Timberlake led the “Top 10 Musicians Among Millennials” list. Wax statues of Timberlake are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Nashville, Berlin, Amsterdam, and London. His costume for the Saturday Night Live skit “Dick in a Box” is displayed at “Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition” in New York.

In November 2007, he donated $100,000 from takings from his Australian tour to Wildlife Warriors founded by Steve Irwin. On March 23, 2008, he donated $100,000 to the Memphis Rock N’ Soul Museum and another $100,000 to the Memphis Music Foundation.

On November 12, 2007, the PGA Tour announced that Timberlake, an avid golfer who plays to a six 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 U.S. during 2009, and worth over $US9 million. However, in 2012, the event’s chair Raoul Frevel told reporters Timberlake would no longer be involved with the event: “We tried everything we could to get him more involved with our kids and the hospitals. But it seemed that when the TV cameras weren’t on, he disappeared.”

In 2008, a collaboration between Timberlake and T.I., “Dead and Gone” featured on T.I.’s sixth studio album, Paper Trail, and was released as its fourth single late in 2009. In November 2008, it was confirmed that Timberlake would make a guest appearance and produce some tracks on R&B/pop singer Ciara’s upcoming album Fantasy Ride due out May 5, 2009. Timberlake featured on Ciara’s second single “Love Sex Magic”, the video being shot on February 20, 2009. The single became a worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in numerous countries and peaking at number-one in several countries including Taiwan, India, and Turkey. The song was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Timberlake hosted the 16th ESPY Awards, which musical number “I Love Sports” was later nominated for an Emmy award. Timberlake and his production team The Y’s, along with Mike Elizondo, produced and co-wrote the song “Don’t Let Me Down” for Leona Lewis’s second studio album, Echo, released on November 17, 2009. Timberlake also co-wrote and performed on “Carry Out”, the third single from Timbaland’s album Shock Value II, released on December 1, 2009. Timberlake appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s debut as host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 2, 2009. Timberlake was the executive producer on the MTV reality series The Phone, which premiered on April 21, 2009. In late 2009, Barbadian singer Rihanna released the album Rated R, with Timberlake being one of the writers and producers. They both worked together previously for her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad.

Forbes magazine began reporting on Timberlake’s earnings in 2008, calculating that he earned $44 million between June 2007 and June 2008 for his music, tour, commercials, and hospitality, making him the world’s 4th best-paid music personality at the time, above Madonna and Celine Dion. They placed him twelfth on the Celebrity 100 list and second on the “Best-Paid Celebrities Under 30” list. According to Billboard, Timberlake was the third highest-paid musician of 2013, with earnings of $31 million. He was ranked 26th with earnings of $57 million on the Celebrity 100 list for 2014, and 19th on the 2015 list with $63 million. Timberlake was listed at number three on Billboard Money-Makers List of 2014. Forbes listed him 41st on their 2019 Celebrity 100 list.

Timberlake provides celebrity endorsement for many commercial products, this aspect of his business being managed by IMG since April 2008. Major endorsements in 2009 included Sony electronic products, Givenchy’s men’s fragrance “Play,” the Audi A1, Callaway Golf Company products, and in 2011, Myspace. In 2012, he hosted Walmart’s annual shareholders meeting saying, “I buy a lot at Walmart.”

From 2010, Timberlake increased his acting work. He played Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, in the acclaimed film The Social Network (2010). He also appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010. In 2011, he starred alongside Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher and then alongside Mila Kunis in Friends with Benefits, and played Will Salas, the protagonist of In Time, a science fiction film by Andrew Niccol. He provided a feature and appeared in the music video for the song “Motherlover” from The Lonely Island’s second album Turtleneck & Chain, and directed and made a cameo in the FreeSol music video “Hoodies On, Hats Low” which was released in August 2011. The Late Night with Jimmy Fallon sketch “History of Rap” was performed for the first time by both Fallon and Timberlake in 2010. In July 2011 United States Marine Kelsey De Santis uploaded a YouTube video asking Timberlake to be her date to the United States Marine Corps birthday ball; they attended the event on November 13, 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. His fifth Saturday Night Live episode, as host and musical guest, was the most-watched episode since January 7, 2012, with Charles Barkley as host and Kelly Clarkson as musical guest.

Timberlake has donated items for auction for several charities, including by Ten O’Clock Classics and MusiCares. In 2010, Timberlake participated in the Hope for Haiti Now telethon performing “Hallelujah”. The cover was made available for digital download with all proceeds donated to organizations doing relief work in Haiti. In 2016, Timberlake was featured in a new version of “Where Is the Love?”. The proceeds of the charity single will go to educational programs. In 2017, Timberlake and Eminem helped raise over $2 million for Manchester Arena bombing victims.

After New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, he voiced his support for LGBT equality in the U.S., stating, “We’re people and we’re different, all of us. And we should be using our differences to bring ourselves closer together.” Timberlake and his wife Jessica Biel received the Inspiration Award at the GLSEN Respect Awards in 2015, with the executive director saying, “They are two vocal and committed allies to the LGBT community who are also devoted to charitable works that improve the lives of youth.”

Timberlake began work on his third studio album The 20/20 Experience in June 2012, with “no rules and/or end goal in mind”. He publicly announced his return to the music industry in January 2013, releasing the album’s lead single “Suit & Tie” featuring Jay-Z later that month, which would eventually peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. After four years not performing in concert, Timberlake appeared the night before the 2013 Super Bowl and performed during the “DirecTV Super Saturday Night”, on February 2, 2013 in New Orleans. On February 10, 2013, he performed “Suit & Tie” with sepia-toned lighting at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, with Jay-Z joining him from the audience. On February 11, 2013, “Mirrors” was released as the second single from The 20/20 Experience. The song would eventually peak at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-one on the UK Singles Chart. The 20/20 Experience was released on March 19, 2013 through RCA Records due to the disbandment of Jive Records. The album set a digital sales record for being the fastest-selling album on the iTunes Store and debuted at number-one on the charts by moving just over 968,000 copies in the U.S., the biggest sales week of 2013. It eventually became the best-selling album of the year in the country.

In late 2012, Timberlake and his wife Jessica Biel volunteered in Far Rockaway, Queens, over the weekend after the Hurricane Sandy. Joined by their friend Timbaland, the couple helped distribute backpacks of supplies to members of the community who were still struggling after the hurricane.

Timberlake performed at the “In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul” concert, held in the East Room of the White House and hosted by President Barack Obama, celebrating Memphis soul music from the 1960s. Afterward, Timberlake officially announced The 20/20 Experience World Tour, following his and Jay-Z’s co-headlining concert tour Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour. Timberlake also appeared on Jay-Z’s twelfth studio album Magna Carta… Holy Grail on three songs: “Holy Grail”, “BBC” (along with Nas, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Niigo & Beyoncé) and “Heaven”. On August 25, 2013, Timberlake received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. He also took home three competitive awards, including Video of the Year for “Mirrors”.

Timberlake’s fourth studio album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 was released on September 30, 2013 and debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. Its lead single “Take Back the Night” was released on July 12, 2013, following by the second single “TKO”. Timberlake was given a production and writing credit on track six on Beyoncé’s self-titled fifth studio album, which was released in December 2013. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, Timberlake was nominated for seven awards, eventually winning three: Best R&B Song for “Pusher Love Girl”, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Holy Grail”, and Best Music Video for “Suit & Tie”, which was directed by The Social Network director David Fincher. On February 25, 2014, “Not a Bad Thing” was released as the third single from The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. The song reached the top 10 on the Hot 100 and topped the Mainstream Top 40 chart. In 2014, Timberlake appeared on Michael Jackson’s second posthumous record Xscape on the song “Love Never Felt So Good”, which was produced by Timbaland, Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon and Timberlake. On May 14, 2014, a music video was also released featuring clips of Jackson, with Timberlake accompanied by a number of Jackson’s fans performing some of Jackson’s signature moves. The video was directed by Timberlake and Rich Lee. During 2015, Timberlake performed along with Jimmy Fallon the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary’s cold open, returned to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as a guest to perform a sixth edition of the sketch “History of Rap”, and performed along with Chris Stapleton at the Country Music Association Awards.

Throughout his solo career, Timberlake has sold over 32 million albums and 56 million singles globally, and a further 70 million records with NSYNC, making him one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Timberlake has won ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, seven American Music Awards, three Brit Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, and eleven MTV Video Music Awards. His Grammy wins include categories on the pop, dance and R&B genres; while his Emmy wins consist of two Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and two Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Timberlake received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and the Innovator Award at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Among other awards, he won the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year for “Mirrors” in 2013 and the Billboard Music Awards for Top Artist with the Top Billboard 200 Album for The 20/20 Experience in 2014. Timberlake received the inaugural Decade Award at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards for his continuous achievements since the release of FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006).

According to Billboard, FutureSex/LoveShow was the third highest-grossing concert tour of 2007 and highest solo. The 20/20 Experience World Tour was an international success and became Timberlake’s most successful tour to date. The tour was the highest-grossing led by a solo artist in 2014, and one of the highest grossing tours of the decade. For its associated album, The 20/20 Experience, Timberlake was named 2013 Artist of the Year with the top-selling album by iTunes’ annual list of best-sellers.

In 2014, Timberlake partnered with Sauza Liquors to re-launch his own version of the beverage as part of the Sauza franchise: Sauza 901. In 2016, he became an investor in beverage company Bai Brands. In 2017, Tiger Woods and Timberlake acquired an ownership stake in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.

In October 2015, he was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, becoming its youngest member. On April 30, 2018, Timberlake reunited with his NSYNC bandmates to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2019, Timberlake received a Contemporary Icon Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music.

Timberlake voiced the lead character in DreamWorks Animation’s musical comedy Trolls opposite Anna Kendrick. The film was released in November 2016, and will return for its sequel Trolls 2 in 2020. He also served as the executive music producer, performing original music for the film, The lead single, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”, was released on May 6, 2016. Timberlake was invited by Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), to perform “Can’t Stop the Feeling” live during the interval act at the grand finale of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 on May 14, 2016. The single debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top spot in other 16 countries. It became his eighth U.S. Mainstream Top 40 number-one song, at the moment being the most among male artists. It became the best-selling song of the year in the U.S. with 2.4 million downloads sold. On February 26, 2017, Timberlake opened the 89th Academy Awards with a performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”, since the song earned him a nomination. Also that year, Timberlake starred with Kate Winslet and Juno Temple in Woody Allen’s drama film Wonder Wheel, and headlined several festivals and live sets, including Rock in Rio, the United States Grand Prix, and the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, which he co-produced.

Speaking of his fifth studio album in 2016, Timberlake stated, “I think where I grew up in America has a lot of influence. Growing up in Tennessee—very central of the country—Memphis is known as the birthplace of rock & roll, but also the home of the blues, but Nashville’s right down the street so there’s a lot of country music.” In following interviews, Timberlake confirmed working with producers Timbaland and Pharrell Williams, while stating, “It sounds more like where I’ve come from than any other music I’ve ever made… It’s Southern American music. But I want to make it sound modern – at least that’s the idea right now.”

Timberlake has been referred to as the “President of Pop” and “Prince of Pop” by contemporary journalists. In a 2016 article of The Hollywood Reporter, editor Scott Feinberg stated Timberlake is “widely regarded as one of the greatest all-around entertainers in the history of show business.”

In the United States, five of Timberlake’s singles have topped the Billboard Hot 100, his most recent being “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”. The latter became the 41st Hot 100 number one song to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He topped nine Billboard Year-End charts for 2013, including Billboard 200 Artists and Billboard 200 Albums. For 2014, Timberlake was named Billboard Top Male Artist. Billboard published a list of “Greatest of All Time Pop Songs Artists” in 2017, where Timberlake ranked at number 5, being the top male soloist. The magazine also ranked him 25 on their “The Top 60 Male Artists of All-Time” list in 2018, and 64th on “The Hot 100’s Top Artists of All Time.” In 2019, Billboard ranked him 20th on their decade-end chart for “Top Artists” of the 2010s, and 74th on “Top 125 Greatest of All Time Artists Chart”.

His fifth studio album Man of the Woods was released on February 2, 2018, two days before he headlined the Super Bowl LII halftime show in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 4, where Timberlake performed a medley of his songs featuring both the Tennessee Kids and the Minnesota Marching Band alongside him, as well as a duet of “I Would Die 4 U” with a video projection of late singer Prince on screen. The show contained multiple selections from Man of the Woods, which is named after his son Silas, whose name means “from the forest.” The album’s first single, “Filthy”, was released on January 5, along with its accompanying video directed by Mark Romanek. The electro-funk song has reached number nine in the US and number 5 in Canada. The songs “Supplies”, “Say Something” featuring Chris Stapleton and “Man of the Woods” were also released along with music videos ahead of the album. His collaboration with Stapleton also reached the top 10 in the US and Canada.

Man of the Woods topped the Billboard 200 with the biggest first week sales of the year at the time, selling 293,000 total units. Man of the Woods also marks Timberlake’s fourth consecutive No. 1 album and has since been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Man of the Woods concluded 2018 as the sixth best-selling album of the year. An accompanying tour of the same name began on March 13, 2018 in Toronto, Canada and concluded on April 13, 2019 in Uncasville. The Man of the Woods Tour was the sixth-highest-grossing tour of 2018.

Considered a pop icon by media outlets, his work has influenced numerous artists, including Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Olly Murs, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Lorde, Joe Jonas, Thomas Rhett, Ed Sheeran, Jason Derulo, Tori Kelly, Liam Payne, Bridgit Mendler, Hunter Hayes, BoA, Seungri, Taeyang, Rain, Lloyd Banks, Maluma, Rosalía, and Jungkook. Bieber and Nick Jonas have cited him as one of their role models, with the latter stating is for “not only transitioning from where he started, but also balancing acting and singing.” Christian hip hop artist tobyMac has stated Timberlake’s work inspires him, commenting “he’s setting himself up to be a classic, making decisions and moving on them. That’s a great place to be.” In the context of male artists that achieved commercial success after leaving their boy bands, Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone wrote “Timberlake and Michael Jackson set a high bar for what could be attained by solo success in that they not only scored numerous number-one hits but they also crafted the mold for what it meant to be a male pop star,” while for Variety’s Jeremy Blacklow the singer is “the modern case study.” Multiple music publications have deemed Justified as the standard for post boy-band solo albums and teen pop stars seeking credibility. Billboard critics discussed in 2018 whether Timberlake is “the Best Male Pop Star of the 21st century;” those in favor named his crossover appeal, career longevity, showmanship and credibility within the industry among the reasons.

On August 10, 2018, the cover page of his book Hindsight & All the Things I Can’t See In Front of Me was revealed. The book, launched on October 30, 2018, cover some on and off camera candid images, singer’s early life and inspiration for songs. According to publisher HarperCollins, Hindsight includes a “collection of anecdotes, reflections, and observations on his life and work.”

In May 2019, Timberlake received an honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music. Missy Elliott and Alex Lacamoire also received doctorates at the ceremony.

Following the announcement of Trolls World Tour, Timberlake teased potential collaborations with a number of artists, through a series of Instagram posts, which included frequent collaborators Pharrell Williams, Nathaniel Hills and Rob Knox, as well as new collaborators such as Anderson. Paak, Brandy Norwood, Lizzo, and Meek Mill. Singer SZA has also confirmed that she had been in the studio with Timberlake. On 26 February 2020, SZA and Timberlake released the single “The Other Side”, a song part of the Trolls World Tour soundtrack, alongside its music video. On March 9, 2020, Timberlake released a teaser for his upcoming song “Don’t Slack”, which features Anderson. Paak and is a song part of the Trolls World Tour soundtrack. The song was released on March 10, 2020.

In September 2020, Timberlake and producer Timbaland teased a potential upcoming collaboration with Canadian musician Justin Bieber, as well as collaborations with Justine Skye, Hit-Boy and Ty Dolla $ign.