In late 2002 Justin Timberlake managed to make the leap that many young stars never accomplish—the leap from teen idol to full-fledged, adult artist. In the late 1990s, he was one-fifth of the wildly popular boy band ‘N Sync, considered to be the cute, funny one, and a headline maker thanks mostly to his on-again, off-again romance with pop princess Britney Spears. But, having hit the ripe old age of twenty-one, Timberlake decided to leave the safety of his supergroup to launch a solo career. His debut CD, called Justified, was released in December of 2002, and its funky mix of hip-hop and R&B clicked with both old fans and new. More importantly, Timberlake gained the respect of critics and peers. In 2003 he took home several awards for his freshman effort, including three MTV Video Music Awards, and in February of 2004, Timberlake snagged two Grammies, considered the highest achievement in the music industry. It seemed the pop idol had grown up, and as Jenny Eliscu commented in Rolling Stone, Timberlake “attained the one thing he wanted more than anything else: credibility.”
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