Personnel: Justin Timberlake (vocals); Bubba Sparxxx, Clipse (rap vocals); Bill Pettaway, Benny Kenny (guitar); Damon Bennett (flute); Scott Storch (clavinet); Thaddaeus Tribbett, Nathan East (bass); Prescott Ellison, George "Spanky" McCurdy (drums); Vidal Davis, Frankie "Knuckles" Walker (percussion); Janet Jackson, Pharrel Williams, Lainie Aguilar, Timbaland, Marsha Ambroise, Tyrone Tribbett, Vanessa Marquez, Greater Annointing (background vocals); Brian McKnight; Charles Veal & The Southwest Chamber Orchestra.
Producers: The Neptunes, Timbaland, The Underdogs, Williams and Hugo, Brian McKnight.
JUSTIFIED won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The album was also nominated for Album Of The Year. "Cry Me A River" won for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
2002 Australian import has a bonus exclusive track, "Worthy Of."
JUSTIFIED may represent Justin Timberlake's attempt to break out of the boy band mold and be taken seriously as a musician, but N Sync and, more specifically, ex-beau Britney Spears continue to serve as red flag reminders of these specific times. Ballads like "Never Again" and "Nothin' Else" bear the markings of classic break-up songs but, far from licking his wounds throughout the rest of this debut, Timberlake includes a number of cuts that celebrate being single including the Timbaland-produced cut "Right for Me" and equally the thumping "Rock Your Body." Other names this teen idol nabbed in a quest for credibility are red-hot producers the Neptunes and P. Diddy.
In keeping an R&B element as the touchstone for this debut, Timberlake dishes out a number of surprisingly stellar songs including the very mellow, Stevie Wonder-flavored "Nothin' Else," Latin-soaked "Senorita," and infectious "Like I Love You." In delivering such a mature record, Justin Timberlake has created a springboard to bigger and better future projects.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (12/26/02, p.112) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2002"
Rolling Stone (11/28/02, p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The Neptunes' brilliant, impertinent, full-body funk is, for the most part, what stays with you from JUSTIFIED..."
Entertainment Weekly (11/1/02, pp.66-7) - "...His smooth falsetto is an easy fit for the slinky quirks and rhythmic accents of the Neptunes and Timbaland...JUSTIFIED is a cohesive and fairly lean work..." - Rating: B
Q (01/01/04, p.83) - Ranked #5 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" - "[T]imberlake deliver[s] a masterclass in playful, pop-friendly R&B..."
Uncut (1/03, p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...On 'Let's Take A Ride' he offers to deliver you from your humdrum existence. Go with him..."
