Hip Online Interview: JC
(3/16/04) Hip Online (thanks chasezsugamomma!)

Check out this interview by Charlie Craine at Hip Online.

"I'm Beatboxing as Fast as I Can!"
Exclusive excerpts from Justin Timberlake's upcoming memoir
(3/16/04) Spin Magazine (thanks Eva!)

Justin Timberlake recently sold the rights to his memoirs for a reported seven figures. We couldn't wait until the book comes out this fall, so we called in a few favors and got our hands on some chapters in progress.*

CHAPTER 2: MOUSES
"This is so much better than school," I told my mom after our first rehearsal. It was true. At school, I always had to think for myself. Nobody gave me the answers to any of the tests. At the Mouse Club, all you had to do was follow directions. "Dance this way, Justin." "Hit that mark, then say the funny joke, Justin. Now shrug your shoulders like you don't know that what you just said was too clever for a little kid to say." "What's in your pants, Justin? Cover that thing up, or we're gonna have to separate you and Christina." I loved it! I remember having lunch with Britney after a taping. She kept hogging all the french fries, but I let her 'cause she was fine. I wasn't that hungry anyway 'cause of the Ritalin they put in everything. I said, "Isn't this great, Pinky? I hope this lasts forever. And if not, I hope some day a morbidly obese Svengali will take over for Mickey and mold me into a pop automaton." And she said, "Yeah, I know what you mean. It'll be much more of a media-captivating event when we finally rebel against our domineering puppet masters and say 'Lookit, I'm independent, y'all.'" Then I totally got to third base.

CHAPTER 9: BYE X 3
Things looked good from the outside. Lou was gone, and we were holding our own against those Backstreet @#%$. But I felt trapped. It was like that cartoon lightbulb? What's the, like, real word for that? It just turned on over my head! We were doing another dance rehearsal--in costume, 'cause some of us couldn't nail the moves in our lame, ice-blue train-conductor outfits. So we're practicing the "Bye Bye Bye" hand-wave/spin combo, and when we go into the "choo choo" in-and-out thing, I put my hand on Lance's waist, and I'm waiting for Joey to grab mine and thrust, but it's like...no grab. I see him go down. He's just not limber. Never was. Anyway, he grabbed my jock with his big sweaty hands, and I was like, "Lightbulb! Synchronized dancing with other boys is super gay." How come I didn't realize that before? Damn! I watched him flop around on the floor like he was having another heart attack and Lance started crying 'cause he's like that. JC tried to help him up, ut he couldn't do it alone, and Chris started fixing his hair--like that's gonna help! I knew this would be the last time we did any of Wade's moves together. You know how you just know? I said to myself, "J, you need new moves, dawg. Straight moves." Straight up. Next day, I shaved my head and called Pharrell. Next day!

CHAPTER 15: CRY ME, LIKE, A WHOLE OCEAN
I'm haunted by this one memory of Michael Jackson. This was, like, before Celebrity dropped. I got invited to Neverland and brought Britney, but found myself alone with M.J. We were eating jellybeans out of this big bowl--the fancy ones that taste like chicken and waffles and lobster and Rohypnol. And I said to him, "You, King, how did you write all those songs back in the day? Like, where did "Billie Jean" come from?" He turned to me and whispered, "They came from God." Later, I thought, "Maybe God isn't the only way to be inspired to write songs. Maybe I have to get my heart ripped out and stepped on by my drunk-ass, chain-smoking, just-discovered-her-own-kitty-tricks-after-I-popped-it-open-for-her girlfriend!" And the rest--as they say--is Grammy gold, yo.

CHAPTER 19: DIAZ YOU LIKE IT!
I was still on the rebound when I met Cameron. I was a little lost. Doing crazy sh!t like going onstage dressed as a dolphin with the guys from 90210. Makin'Alyssa Milano scream "You the boss! You the boss!" while I was hittin' it. But mostly, you know, just lost in, like, an existentialism full of ill sh!t. Anyway, I showed up at this party one night, just looking to maybe smoke out with some black people or whatever, and she was with her whole crew. She was clocking me, like, really intensely. I was with my homeboy Trace, sure, but what could he really do if things got, like, seriously on? Lucy Liu was there, and she knows kung fu and sh!t, so I'm wondering, like, "Is this about to go down?" Then Cameron and her people start steppin'. We're looking at each other, face to face. And I said, "We gonna fight?" I think my voice broke a little. She stared at me and shook her head. I'm like, "What's she want, then?" The DJ threw on "Like I Love You," and she started shaking her ass, but, like, not moving her eyes, which are still totally on me. I'm thinking," Damn, is the girl from Something About Mary challenging me to a dance-off?" Turns out she didn't wanna dance. She wanted some of this. Girl had a hungerin' for some Timbersnake. She wanted me to clear her leaves with my Timberrake. She wanted to throw her clam on my Timberbake. Hey, I got a million of 'em.

CHAPTER 20: WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
"Wardrobe malfunction." That's gonna haunt me. Like dancing with boys haunts me. Look, it was the first thing that came into my head. Actually, it was the second. I can't front. The first thing was "titty mishap," but I checked that quick. Truth is, during rehearsal I had a flap over my trousers, too. J.J. was supposed to yank me open next, for all America to peep. I was down 'cause I'm proud of it, but my manager nixed the idea. I was like, "But what about the whole creating-a-scandal-that-will-be-debated-on-24-hour-cable-news-as-though-it-were-a-homeland-security-issue thing?" And he was like, "We can accomplish the same with just the booby reveal. Then you can plead ignorance and sympathize with the outraged moralists." And I was like, "All right, bet."

*Justin didn't write any of this. None of the above events actually happened. We made it all up. Used our imagination when we were alone in our room. You know, like fan fiction.

Timberlake in hush-hush festival gig
(3/16/04) Leigh Norton ic North London Online UK


Pop sensation Justin Timberlake is will make a surprise appearance at this year's V Festival.

According to The Sun, the singer's aides are in talks with event organisers to get him on stage with US group N.E.R.D.

JT's management are eager for him to do it to as they want him to be seen as a credible musician and not an ex-boyband member.

Justin, who is on a well-earned break after his exhausting world tour, is friends with N.E.R.D star Pharrell Williams and often gets on stage with the group at concerts.

Organisers of the festival have offered to pay for Justin to fly in for the event, which takes place on the weekend of August 21-22.

At present the plan is for Justin to perform with N.E.R.D and not on his own, as this would be a costly affair.

A V Festival source said: “All the stops are being pulled out to secure Justin.

“So far the talks are going well. He has no other UK dates this year and wants to keep his fans here happy.

“Justin loves hanging out in the UK and has always wanted to experience one of our big festivals. At the moment the idea of performing with N.E.R.D is attractive because it means he can be more relaxed about the whole thing.

“However, if the logistics and money are in place, he may bump it up to a full solo show.”

The V Festival is at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and Weston Park, Staffordshire, tickets go on sale this Saturday (Mar 20) at 9am.

Acts that have already been signed up to perform are Muse, Dido, The Strokes and The Pixies.