Justin Timberlake is making music again; everything is right with the world. And this month his brand new album is finally released. But that’s not the only thing he’s been up to.
Saturday night saw JT hosting Saturday Night Live for the fifth time – making him part of the SNL Five Timers club which includes legends such as Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. They both made an appearance, along with Candice Bergen, Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Martin Short and Chevy Chase, in a sketch where Justin was officially inducted into the uber exclusive Five Timers club. They spend their time watching the new cast members fight to the death, don’t you know. “I always thought if an ‘NSYNC member made the Five-Timers Club, it would be Joey Fatone,” joked Steve Martin.
Justin first hosted in 2003, and the internet had been buzzing with excitement since it was announced he would be hosting again. Justin exceeded expectations, doing double duty as both the host of the iconic American show, and the musical guest. He performed both ‘Mirrors’ and ‘Suit and Tie’, with Jay-Z even making a surprise appearance. Timberlake parodied Elton John, did the Harlem Shake, and reunited with former cast member Andy Samberg to play the characters from the infamous Saturday Night Live Digital Shorts they appeared in together, ‘D*ck in a Box’, ‘Motherlover’ and ‘3-Way (The Golden Rule).’ Justin clearly put his all into the hosting gig, reminding us just how talented he is, both with his voice and his comedic timing. Justin has won several Creative Arts Emmys for his previous work on Saturday Night Live, and I’ll be damn surprised if he doesn’t pick up another one for this episode.
He’s going to continue to dominate US television by appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon every day from March 11th. Justin and Jimmy have been good friends for ten years, first meeting at the 2002 MTV VMA’s, and appearing in sketches together during some of Justin’s early SNL hosting gigs. During Timberlake’s previous appearances on Late Night, he and Jimmy performed the instantly-viral ‘History of Rap’ (and later followed that up with ‘History of Rap Part Two’, and then ‘Part Three’). Fallon has promised a bunch of surprises for the week dubbed ‘Justin Timberweek,’ and Justin will be performing tracks from his upcoming album.
And then there is the album itself, ‘The 20/20 Experience’ which drops on March 19th. This is Justin’s first album since 2006, and his third studio album overall. Justin says the album “goes a lot of different directions. I think there’s probably a little bit of what was reminiscent on the first album and then a little bit of what’s reminiscent of the second album, and then some new stuff.” If you ask me, it’s not just Justin Timberweek, its Justin Timbermonth.