Back in 2011, after the one-two sucker punch of film flops “Friends with Benefits” and “In Time,” the pop-culture collective was practically begging Justin Timberlake to stop acting and return to his musical roots. This year, we may have got more than we bargained for. Timberlake, 32, put out not one, but two studio albums, caused panties to drop left and right on a world tour and starred in two films (including “Inside Llewyn Davis,” out Friday), not to mention a slew of television appearances and music videos. But can one man really do it all? We take JT to school for a year-end review.
Music Grade: B
JT’s first album of the year, “The 20/20 Experience — 1 of 2,” topped the Billboard 200 its first week out, in March, and ended up with 2013’s biggest first-week sales (968,000 copies). His follow-up, “The 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2” (inset), snagged the No. 1 spot upon its September release, but sold less than half as many albums as the first. The critics adored the first album — Rolling Stone gave it four out of five stars; but the second produced a more mixed reaction.
“Part one came out with such a huge bang, and the excitement surrounding [the album] lifted it up higher than the quality of the music was doing on its own,” says Elvis Duran, host of Z100’s “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.” He adds, “Part two is great listening, too, and essential to a collection.”
Timberlake’s first singles fared well, with “Mirrors” hitting No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Suit & Tie” topping out at No. 3. But the second album’s singles have failed to make as strong an impact — “Take Back the Night” stopped at No. 29 and the most recent outing, “TKO.” hasn’t yet risen above No. 37. (The Jay Z track “Holy Grail,” which guest-stars JT, peaked at No. 4.) It didn’t help that Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” stole a bit of Timberlake’s falsetto thunder this year.
Performance Grade: A+
Timberlake spent the summer on a victory lap, touring with pal Jay Z (left). Then, last month, he kicked off a massive world tour at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center; he’ll be traveling across the US and Europe through next August.
But it was his performance at the MTV Video Music Awards this summer that will go down as legendary. Leading up to his acceptance of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Timberlake showed off an epic 15-minute medley of hits, ranging from “Sexy Back” to “Cry Me a River” to “Bye Bye Bye” (with his former bandmates in NSYNC).
Buzz Grade: B+
No one can compete with Gaga’s domination (40 million Twitter fans and counting), but Timberlake makes a big mark on social media with more than 28 million Twitter followers. His peak social moment was August’s VMA performance with NSYNC (left), which garnered 2.9 million social-media mentions during the broadcast. That puts him second only to Miley Cyrus’ twerktacular mess.
Film Grade: C+
In October, Timberlake starred opposite Ben Affleck in the gambling drama “Runner Runner,” which bombed hard at the box office (earning less than $20 million so far) and also with reviewers. Post
critic Kyle Smith wrote, “At what point will Hollywood realize that a five-minute video isn’t quite as useful as five feature-length films in determining whether Timberlake is a movie star? He isn’t. He’s proven it.”
But the new film “Inside Llewyn Davis” (left, with Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan), a Coen brothers production, has incited the opposite reaction. A serious awards contender, the movie — a loving ode to the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene — sits at a healthy 92 percent critics- approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Timberlake’s role as a musician is small, just as with his previous Oscar fare “The Social Network,” but Variety says he “makes the most of every minute.”
TV Grade: A
Through five stints hosting “Saturday Night Live,” Timberlake has proven himself gifted at sketch comedy. His March gig on the show (right; he was also musical guest) was no different, bringing “SNL” its highest ratings in more than a year — 8.4 million viewers and a 3.4 rating with adults 18 to 49.
For the week of March 11 through 15, Timberlake took over Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night” with performances and sketches. Success again: The stint brought the show its biggest nightly ages 18 to 49 audience, excluding nights with sports lead-ins, in more than a year.
Style Grade: B
It says a lot that Timberlake kicked off his latest stylistic reinvention with a single titled “Suit & Tie.” Ever since, he’s mostly sported versions of buttoned-up old Hollywood glamour, complete with a slicked-back coif. And unlike many of his music contemporaries, Timberlake looks absolutely natural in a tuxedo.
But stylist to the stars Phillip Bloch says Timberlake’s split personality — pop-music star and Hollywood star — has left his look a little confused.
“Sometimes he’s coming out very George Clooney, old Hollywood,” says Bloch. “And then he has these other moments where he’s walking a fine line, wearing like a porkpie hat [right]. It’s hard to be an elegant, mature leading man and be a pop star.”