Justin Timberlake wrote a song for Michael Jackson, who turned it down
Around 2001 Justin Timberlake wrote a ballad called Gone with Michael Jackson in mind. Jackson passed, so NSYNC recorded it instead, but before release Jackson phoned him. Timberlake later said that conversation was the moment he first felt confident enough to leave the boy band and go solo.
Timberlake was born in Memphis on 31 January 1981; his father directed a Baptist church choir, and his grandfather raised him on Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. At 11 he sang country songs on Star Search under the name Justin Randall, while quietly absorbing the soul of Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. From 1993 to 1995 he was a Mouseketeer on Disney's revived Mickey Mouse Club, alongside a remarkable class that included Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling and his future bandmate JC Chasez.
NSYNC formed in 1995, financed by manager Lou Pearlman, and broke through in America in 1998. After legal fights with Pearlman they moved labels, and No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies in its first week in 2000, a record that stood until Adele's 25 in 2015. The group sold over 70 million records before an indefinite break in 2002. Lance Bass later criticised Timberlake's role in the split in his memoir.
Going solo, he teamed up with Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes and with Timbaland, explaining that R&B was what he grew up on. Justified, released in November 2002, and FutureSex/LoveSounds each passed 10 million sales, the second producing chart-toppers such as SexyBack. Around the same period he became the first celebrity pranked on Punk'd, began a long comedy partnership with Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live, and earned an estimated 6 million dollars from McDonald's for the I'm Lovin' It jingle.
Acting ran in parallel, from The Social Network to voicing Branch in Trolls, whose song Can't Stop the Feeling! became his fifth US number one and earned an Oscar nomination. The 20/20 Experience was America's best-selling album of 2013. His awards include ten Grammys and four Emmys.
Source: Justin Timberlake
