Published Jan. 21, 2003, in the Kansas State Collegian

Review by Matthew Webber

Although it's tearin' up my heart to write this, I love the new Justin Timberlake album, "Justified."

Since critics are expected to criticize today's "Totally Hits," I feel like a sellout for justifying an erstwhile *NSync member's unabashed attempt to cut his puppet strings. Clearly, "Justified" is Timberlake's vision of what serious, grown-up pop music sounds like, which means the album sounds like the frivolous, adolescent poppycock of similar not-a-marrionette-not-yet-a-musician pop stars.

Here's the scorecard if you're playing at home: Today's hot producers? Check. R & B flava? Got it. Emotionally expressive but vague lyrics about love and its messy fallout? Yup.

But as Timberlake himself says in "Like I Love You" -- the best Michael Jackson song since "Billie Jean" -- "Sometimes people just destined, destined to do what they do... Now everybody dance." And you will dance, because Timberlake was destined to make music like this. Unlike many of his boy band peers, Timberlake has real charisma, pop sensibility and yes, musical talent, so"Justified" sounds like something an adult would want to listen to.

This I promise you: The songs on "Justified" are more innovative than almost anything else you will hear on mainstream radio. As ubiquitous as producers the Neptunes and Timbaland have been in the past few years, they somehow were able to save some of their all-time dopest beats for this former Mouseketeer.

Timberlake shakes his ass and gets his freak on. He works it, and it sounds hella good. Also, unlike most mainstream hits, Timberlake's songs are fun and sometimes funny. Listen to the boys vs. girls singalong in "Senorita" or his inspirational gobbledygook at the end of "Like I Love You."

What is most surprising about the album is not how fresh or contemporary it sounds, but rather how credible it is as an R & B project. Most white people don't even perform white music as convincingly as Timberlake performs black music. Granted, Timberlake will never sing as soulfully as Marvin Gaye, Prince or Aretha Franklin, but then again, neither will B2K or Ashanti.

Of course, Timberlake's voice and image most closely resemble one of his idols, Michael Jackson, 2002's King of Flop. Like Jackson's "Off the Wall," Timberlake's solo debut is a declaration of independence from his teenybopper past. Whether Timberlake croons, yelps or sings in falsetto, he shows the same range Jackson showed when he had his original nose. "Justified" is several more hit singles and a chimp away from being this generation's "Thriller."

Because of his high profile breakup with Britney Spears and his stalker-esque "Cry Me a River" video, Timberlake's personal life has overshadowed his music. As coy as Timberlake can be regarding Britney in his interviews, I bet she thinks these songs are about her, and I bet she's right. Like any great artist, Timberlake (who co-wrote every song) has turned his pain into our pleasure.