Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. A best-selling music artist, Timberlake has sold over 32 million albums and 56 million singles. He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Brit Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, the Contemporary Icon Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. According to Billboard, he is the best performing male soloist in the history of the Mainstream Top 40.
Born and raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. Timberlake won two Grammy Awards for his R&B-focused debut solo album Justified (2002) and its single "Cry Me a River". Another single from the album, "Rock Your Body", was also successful.
His critically acclaimed second album FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), characterized by its diversity in music genres, debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the Hot 100 number-one singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". Established as a solo artist worldwide, his first two albums both exceeded sales of 10 million copies, and he continued producing records and collaborating with other artists. From 2008 through 2012, 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, Friends with Benefits, and In Time.
Timberlake resumed his music career in 2013 with his third and fourth albums The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, exploring neo soul styles, partly inspired by the expansive song structures of 1960s and 1970s rock. The former became the best-selling album of the year and spawned the top three singles "Suit & Tie" and "Mirrors". Timberlake voiced Branch in DreamWorks Animation's Trolls (2016), whose soundtrack includes his fifth Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single, "Can't Stop the Feeling!". His fifth studio album Man of the Woods (2018) became his fourth number-one album in the US. Supported by the two top ten singles, "Filthy" and "Say Something", it concluded 2018 as the sixth best-selling album of the year.