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1/26/07, 5:21 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Noelle Ibrahim on Justin Timberlake (San Diego)

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.


JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - 1/8/07

by Noelle Ibrahim
Age: 23

On a cold winter night in San Diego, giggly blonde girls dressed in low-cut tops made their way to the ipayOne Center, vying for the attention of newly single Justin Timberlake during the opening night of his FutureSex/LoveShow tour Jan. 8.

Some of the lucky ones sporting neon wristbands filed into a lounge and bar area built into an elaborate in-the-round stage, where they nabbed spots up front, hoping to catch the crooner’s eye.

Before the lights dimmed, the shrieking began. But nothing compared to the racket that erupted when the singer’s lanky frame was projected across a giant curtain-like screen.

Looking debonair in an ivory three-piece suit, Timberlake proved he was more than eye-candy once he opened his mouth. High-energy hits like “My Love” gave the arena a club vibe, with everyone dancing out of their seats. Oldies like the guitar-accompanied ‘N Sync smash “Gone” had fans whipping out their cell phones and pressing record.

Though Timberlake’s fancy footwork diverted attention away from his broken finger (“You should have seen the other guy,” he explained during sound check), it couldn’t mask his broken heart. Early in the nearly three-hour set, the singer took his place at the piano and belted Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” in honor of what would’ve been the King’s 72nd birthday. Was it also a nod to his recent breakup with actress Cameron Diaz?

“Sometimes love can’t be so easy,” Timberlake told the audience before injecting soul into ballads “Take it From Here” and “Last Night” off the “Justified” album. Hurt turned to anger during “What Goes Around,” as he turned a handheld camera on himself, exposing emotions of pain and vengeance.

Despite a too-long DJ interlude by Timbaland, Timberlake and his sidekick brought “SexyBack,” and the crowd’s energy back, to close out the night.

-- Rolling Stone

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Comments

madl nxwyesog | 4/9/2007, 10:06 pm EST

vsrl nbrzuqx zrocln pmoz lverok ymae tahozln

Anonymous | 2/2/2007, 5:08 am EST

Nice work. You defentiely kept my glazed over ees glued to the computer screen all the while a vivid picture in my head of each scene of events that occured from the over-enthusiastic fans to the emotions practically gushing out of his every move throughout the shoe. But I must agree with a previous critic — a bit US weekly driven…

Albatross | 2/1/2007, 6:03 pm EST

Good work! Way to explain the whole scene and not just JT. Most of the reviews I read are written by people who are more square than Sponge Bob’s pants. But not yours, a good well rounded synopsis.

B. | 1/29/2007, 5:09 pm EST

This is a very good submission for a piece in Us Weekly and I am now very well-informed of the facts that girls like Justin Timberlake and that Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake are no longer an “item”. It’s almost as if I attended the concert myself…

Claudia | 1/29/2007, 1:58 pm EST

After reading everyones comments, I have to add that all of you who said negative things about this article are just haters who can’t write. I personally thought that this article was very descriptive and showed emotion through out its entirety. Good luck Noelle, I am sure that your article will come out doing well in this competition. Oh, and one other thing Noelle, forget about all those ignorant people who said bad things about it. You are obviously more talented than they will ever be in writing.

C.C. | 1/29/2007, 1:36 am EST

Much like “Magret” below, I too have a journalism degree, and I have to agree that this is a very solid piece given the length and the subject. The details are great - it really gave me a clear picture of the concert, from Justin to the fans. And while the ending of the piece is a bit abrupt, I believe this is probably not Noelle’s first article, and in fact, that she has some serious writing experience in her background.

Very enjoyable piece. Well done.
-C.C.

Antoinette | 1/29/2007, 12:36 am EST

Great Job Noelle…I was at the concert and you captured the most captivating moments of the night. Great Job! :)

J.R. | 1/29/2007, 12:10 am EST

Justin Timberlake isn’t my cup of tea, but I have to admit, this article kept me entertained and made me want to keep reading.
You’ve got talent.

Magret | 1/28/2007, 11:47 pm EST

Great article! Well written with vivid details. Who are you people to criticize? I have a journalism degree, do you? I bet you have a G.E.D. Please submit your own work before you criticize someone who is obviously talented.

MsLatte | 1/28/2007, 6:35 pm EST

I really wanted to go to this concert - thanks Noelle for allowing me to “feel” the event. I grew up with a mother who was an incredible writer (writing for TIME, LIFE, etc.), so I have a decent eye for talent. You definitely have talent — this piece did all it was supposed to and then some.
Great work!

DonnyDarko | 1/28/2007, 6:21 pm EST

I genuinely enjoy reading this piece because it reports the facts, of course, but also adds some intimate touches and truly brings out the performer’s emotion. Sure, writing about “Pop” may not be as ‘popular’ with some of you as the name might suggest; nonetheless, it is a solid piece of writing.

Do I even need to ask the rest of you to consider the irony of EVANxTHExSEAN’s comment? Rolling Stone probably won’t be hiring you, at least not as a writer, if the company cares about their “futer” at all. I mean, hiring someone who can actually spell correctly instead of you? Yeah, what a “totall” downgrade that would be. Keep your chin up, though. It sounds like you’ve mastered the art of running a magazine at - let me just take a guess here - age 16? No, really, Evan, thank you for that peerless writing and positively insightful commentary.

Love you too.

Nice work, Ms. Ibrahim — stay strong.

-C

XhardcoreXsuckssX | 1/28/2007, 5:56 pm EST

Well, sean, im going to have to disagree with your ignorant comment on this article, and in the “futer” you may want to check your spelling. Anyways, this article was very well written and I enjoyed the read.

Brenda | 1/28/2007, 4:57 pm EST

This is a rocking review! Makes me feel like I was there.

EVANxTHExSEAN | 1/28/2007, 2:33 pm EST

ok ive seen much better writing than that and if you call that anything more then a sophmore english paper then you are mental and totally incapable of having a decent magazine in the futer seems like a totall downgrade from here

Love
Evan

James | 1/27/2007, 7:45 pm EST

I was there and had seen it completely different. But good job!

Brad | 1/27/2007, 6:50 pm EST

OKAY it’s good. But how could I be beat by a Justin Timberlake fan!

Vegas Nikki | 1/27/2007, 12:54 pm EST

Okay, that drivel beat my friend’s article???

jen480 | 1/26/2007, 9:12 pm EST

Kind of dull. Reminds me of something I would have read in my high-school newspaper.

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