<P> Often cited as a pop icon, Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Brit Awards, and nine Billboard Music Awards . According to Billboard in 2017, he is the best performing male soloist in the history of the Mainstream Top 40 . Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and 2013 . His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality . </P> <P> Justin Randall Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Lynn (Bomar) Harless and Charles Randall Timberlake, a Baptist church choir director . Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a small community between Memphis and Millington . He has two half - brothers, Jonathan (born September 12, 1993) and Stephen (born August 14, 1998), from Charles' second marriage to Lisa Perry . His half - sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth on May 12, 1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album NSYNC as "My Angel in Heaven". His family circle includes a number of musicians; his grandfather introduced him to music from country artists like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson . Performing as a child, Timberlake sang country and gospel music: at the age of 11, he appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country songs as "Justin Randall". By that time, he began listening to rhythm and blues musicians from the 1960s and 70s, such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and he had listening sessions with his father of studio albums by the Eagles and Bob Seger . </P> <P> In 1993 and 1994, he was a cast member in The Mickey Mouse Club, where his castmates included future girlfriend and singer Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, future bandmate JC Chasez, and future movie actors Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell . Timberlake then recruited Chasez to be in an all - male singing group, organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman, that eventually became NSYNC . </P> <P> The boy band NSYNC formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe; Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers . In 1998, the group rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self - titled debut studio album, which sold 11 million copies and included the hit single "Tearin' Up My Heart". Their second album No Strings Attached (2000) sold 2.4 million copies in the first week, and included a No. 1 single, "It's Gonna Be Me". NSYNC's third album Celebrity (2001) was also financially successful . Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002 . In its lifetime, NSYNC was internationally famous and performed at the Academy Awards, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl, as well as selling more than 50 million copies worldwide, becoming the third - best selling boy band in history . </P>

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