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Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American actor, businessman
and singer-songwriter. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star
Search and The New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In early 1999, Timberlake began dating
fellow former The New Mickey Mouse Club cast member and recording artist Britney Spears.
Their high-profile relationship ended abruptly in March 2002; the breakup influenced the lyrics
and theme of Timberlake's hit "Cry Me a River”. 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 Diaz
introduced Timberlake as the evening's musical guest on Saturday Night Live. In January 2007,
they denied allegations of an alleged affair between Timberlake and Scarlett Johansson. In
January 2007, Timberlake began dating actress Jessica Biel, with whom he had been
photographed on multiple occasions. The couple initially refrained from publicizing their
relationship. Timberlake and Biel separated in March 2011, but he later proposed to her in the
mountains of Jackson, Wyoming in December. The couple married on October 19, 2012 at
the Borgo Egnazia resort in Fasano, Italy. He has said he has obsessive–compulsive disorder
mixed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to fame as
the lead singer and youngest member of the boy band 'N Sync, whose launch was financed
by Lou Pearlman. During the group's hiatus, Timberlake released his solo studio albums Justified
(2002) and FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). The former spawned hits "Cry Me a River" and
"Rock Your Body", while the latter debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced
the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around...
Comes Around”. With each album exceeding sales of seven million copies worldwide, he was
established as one of the most commercially successful singers. From 2007 through 2012,
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Timberlake focused on his acting career, effectively putting his music career on hiatus; he held
starring roles in the films The Social Network, Bad Teacher, In Time and Friends with Benefits.
In 2013, Timberlake resumed his music career with his third and fourth albums “The 20/20
Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2”. The former became one of the best-selling
records of the year and spawned hits "Suit & Tie" and "Mirrors", while the latter is preceded
by lead single "Take Back the Night". Timberlake's work has earned him six Grammy
Awards and four Emmy Awards. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records,
fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality. Timberlake has
also received a total of seven nominations at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best
Pop Vocal Album (The 20/20 Experience - The Complete Experience), Best Pop Duo/Group
Peformance (Suit & Tie with Jay-Z), Best Pop Solo Performance (Mirrors), and Best R&B Song
(Pusher Love Girl).
Justin Timberlake writes his own songs and he collaborates with a lot of other people. He
has collaborated with T.I., Jay Z, Snoop Dogg (at the time he was Snoop Dogg), The Lonely
Island, Nelly, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and many more artists. His vocal type is Tenor, which
means the highest Male voice and the 3 highest Unisex vocal (It being from highest to lowest
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass). His vocal range is 3 octaves and 2 notes. He can also
beat box.
I’m going to explain the meaning two sentimental songs to him. The song “Mirrors” is a
tribute to his beloved grandfather, who died in December. The promo for Mirrors begins with the
dedication “For William and Sadie”, Timberlake’s maternal grandparents who were married for
63 years before the former firefighter’s death late last year. The eight-minute clip, directed by
Floria Sigismondi, centers around a grieving widow as she remembers her late husband through
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flashbacks to their younger years. Their love story plays out before Timberlake appears to catch
his grandmother’s wedding ring as it falls through the air. William Bomar passed away on 29
December after suffering heart trouble and dementia. According to reports, his failing health
prevented him from flying to Italy for Timberlake’s wedding to actress Jessica Biel in October.
The song “Cry Me a River” has a huge back story. There was a huge scandal surrounding
a company called Enron. George Bush decided not to leave any children behind and created
the Department of Homeland Security (you know the people who are always saying “if you see
something, say something”). The U.N. held a world summit on big development. In
commemoration of all that and more, Justin Timberlake wrote a song about his epically awful
break-up with fellow pop superstar Britney Spears. Yes, those were the days—when Britney and
Justin were young and innocent, fresh out of the Mickey Mouse Club. The pair met when they
were barely teens, and dated from 1999 until early 2002, when they abruptly broke up. Although
both have been extremely reticent to share details with the media, the rumor that Spears cheated
on Justin with a close friend of his was really popular around that time. “Cry Me A River,”
which was released in late 2002 as the second single off of Timberlake’s debut solo album, was
the perfect pop song for the rumors of their heated breakup. Of course, “Cry Me A River” was a
song Timberlake co-wrote with others, and it may or may not have been about Spears at all. It’s a
bizarre perception regarding celebrity that makes us think pop singers need to be literal and
personal in their repertoire; pretty much every pop singer under the sun has done at least some
songs that were not about their own lives. On the other hand, JT did take it to another place with
the “Cry Me A River” music video, released in 2003. The woman who plays the rich cheating ex
in the video looks strikingly similar to Spears, and she never completely shows her face from
behind her newsboy cap and sunglasses. In step with their usual approach to gossip, both Britney
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and Justin denied that the video contained any personal content, and absolutely everyone in the
world believed them both, because celebrities “don’t lie.” “It’s not about her, it’s about me,”
Timberlake told the press. Then he dressed up as an omelet and made everyone love him. Let’s
be real. There’s no way Justin Timberlake and his handlers could have overlooked the possibility
that “Cry Me A River” might be interpreted as a stab at Britney. The man might be cute, but he’s
not stupid. Plus, in 2002, Spears still had a pretty good reputation and was considerably more
famous than JT (she was, for example, the #1 image-searched woman of 2002 according
to Google; good looks or not, Timberlake didn’t even make the top ten, beat out by dudes
ranging from Brad Pitt to Marilyn Manson). It’s probably wise to just accept that “Cry Me A
River” is part-lament, part-publicity-stunt, all good pop music, and call it a day. Point
Timberlake.
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Citations!
http://www.shmoop.com/cry-me-a-river/meaning.html
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Timberlake
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirrors_(Justin_Timberlake)