They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Justin Timberlake shouldn’t be what he is. Starting out in a boy band doesn’t normally signal the beginning of a long career. N’Sync was, like most boy bands before them, a meteor, designed to burn hot and then disappear. But a funny thing happened: Justin Timberlake emerged out of what was left and got to work transforming himself into a star.

When N’Sync put itself on the shelf in 2002, Justin responded by putting out his first solo album, Justified. He made no secret of his ambitions, stating he’d like to pattern himself after Michael Jackson. A lofty goal, but Timberlake put the time in, touring hard and putting out danceable tunes with wide appeal. His next album, though, would put the world on notice.
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