The New King of Pop

Lynn Harless says that Timberlake's success this year has come as a welcome surprise. "At the VMAs, when he won the award [for Best Male Video] and Eminem and 50 Cent stood up to applaud, that left such an impression on him," she says. "That was respect from a part of the industry that had dogged the boy-band thing. Not that he's ever been lacking in confidence -- because the child would argue with God -- but I think it's made him feel more confident."

It wasn't all smooth sailing for Timberlake this year. When I ask whether he would change anything that happened in 2003, he laughs and says, "The SARS concert in Toronto. That was really tough for me to go through." It was a rude awakening for a guy who was feeling pretty on top of the world. At the summer benefit concert, Timberlake was the odd pop star on a bill headlined by the Rolling Stones and also featuring AC/DC, the Guess Who and Rush. During his three-song set, an audience full of angry Canadians pelted him with water bottles. "It messed with my head for a good two weeks," he says. "But I saw it coming. I woke up that morning, and I said, 'I think these people who are coming to the show are just really going to hate me.' But when Mick Jagger asks you to come do a benefit concert, do you say no? And then he says, 'I want you to do "Miss You" with me, as well.' I'm like, 'Are you kidding? I might actually spontaneously combust if I get to grace the same stage with you. I might actually shoot a wad into the crowd.'"

[Excerpt From Issue 938/939 — December 25, 2003]