Justin Timberlake

I've been impressed with this guy for a long time. He's insanely talented, women will murder to get next to him, and he's a great actor, dancer and singer. But what impresses me most of all, is that he is a genuine, humble guy, despite the hordes of money and women at his disposal.


I wasn't a fan of his boy-band, "N'Sync". This is because boy-bands typically just follow pop-song formulas and put out uninspired, rehashed songs about love, with each song sounding exactly the same; "N'Sync" was no different. But when Justin Timberlake went solo, he seriously surprised me. One of his first solo songs was "Rock Your Body", a smooth, mellow tune with some hip-hop flavor; Justin even beat-boxed in the song. It was such a 180 from the type of songs I thought he'd be doing. To this day, I've never heard a Justin Timberlake song I didn't like.

Justin is also a great dancer. And I don't mean in the way other pop-stars like Britany Spears or most boy-bands are; they really aren't good dancers, they just have great choreographers. You can tell who's a real dancer and who's just following steps, the same way you can tell a real martial artist from an actor throwing kicks in a movie. While Justin Timberlake comes off like the Jackie Chan of dancing, other pop-stars just seem fake like Ben Afflek in "Daredevil".

But one day, I saw something on T.V. that completely changed my opinion of Justin. I saw him on a commercial for the "Kid's Choice Awards" on Nickelodian. He was not only the host, but in the commercial, he was doing goofy, funny little skits during the commercial. I remember thinking that it was really brave for a huge, successful entertainer to do something like that, and not be all wrapped up in his image.










Then, there was his "Saturday Night Live" peformances, where he did the now famous "Dick in a Box" sketch, and even dressed up in a woman's leotard during a sketch with Beyonce, which poked fun at her "Single Ladies" video. There is no pop-star alive, who in his right mind, would dare do something that could make them look so rediculous; but because Justin isn't concerned with image, and just has fun being a performer, he pulled it off, showing that he is a great comedian as well.






The pic just above is from "Black Snake Moan", starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. In this movie, Justin plays a man who's full of fear and uncertainty. Most entertainers just want to play a cool tough guy, whenever they cross over into movies; not Justin. He just wanted to play a good role, of an interesting character in a good movie. This is why he was so great when he actually played a cool character in "The Social Network". He cares more about making a good movie, than stroking his commercial ego.


Justin Timberlake is just naturally cool. That's why he doesn't have to be afraid to look silly, as long as he's having fun doing it. I applaud him for taking risks, and letting the pressure of "image" keep him from doing what he loves. But above all, it's his humility and grounded, down-to-earth nature which enables him to be that way.

Justin Timberlake; more people, not just celebs, should be like him.