Justified by Justin Timberlake
Justified is the debut studio album by American pop singer Justin Timberlake. Released during the hiatus of the group N'Sync, the album signaled Timberlake's desire to craft a more mature image than that of a "boy band member". The album features guest performances by Timbaland, Clipse, Bubba Sparxxx and Janet Jackson. The final song, "Never Again", features Brian McKnight on nearly all of the instruments. The album received positive reviews from critics and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and was nominated for Album of the Year while the single Cry Me a River won for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The album also won Best International Album at the Brit Awards. As of 2011, it has sold over ten million copies worldwide.
Freed from the rigours of commercial pop’s factory floor, Justin Timberlake concocts a solo debut that manages to—somehow—be both drum-tight and boundlessly inventive. Of course, <i>Justified</i> is also a monument to the bottled-lightning production of The Neptunes (the earthy snap of “Señorita”, the glistening, space age funk of “Rock Your Body”) and Timbaland (layered, percussive alchemy on “Cry Me a River” and “Right for Me”). But those sumptuous beatscapes would be nothing without the focal point of Timberlake’s MJ-worthy falsetto, emancipated swagger and full-beam star power.
