
Justified is the debut solo studio album by American singer Justin Timberlake. It was released on November 5, 2002, by Jive Records. The album was written and recorded in a six-week period as Timberlake’s band NSYNC was on hiatus. Half of the tracks were originally written for Michael Jackson by the Neptunes and later modified. For his solo album, Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an R&B artist opposed to the previous pop music recorded by the group. The majority of the album was produced by the Neptunes (credited as “Williams and Hugo”) and Timbaland, and features guest appearances by Janet Jackson, Clipse, and Bubba Sparxxx. Primarily an R&B album, Justified also contains influences of dance-pop, funk, and soul music.
Justified received generally positive reviews from critics, who complimented the mature progression of Timberlake’s material, although some criticized its lyrical content. The album earned Timberlake four Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year, and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Justified debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 and sold 439,000 copies in its first week. It was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having sold over 3.9 million copies in the US. As of 2012, the album has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Four singles were released from Justified. The lead single “Like I Love You” peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the follow-up singles “Cry Me a River” and “Rock Your Body” peaked within the top five on the chart. “Like I Love You”, “Cry Me a River”, and “Rock Your Body” peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and in the top ten in Australia (with “Rock Your Body” topping the Australian chart), Ireland, Netherlands, and Belgium. To promote the album, Timberlake performed on several television shows and award ceremonies, including the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, where he made his solo debut appearance. Furthermore, Timberlake embarked on two concert tours—The Justified World Tour and the Justified and Stripped Tour—with Christina Aguilera accompanying him on the latter.
- “Señorita” 4:54
- “Like I Love You” (featuring Clipse) 4:43
- “(Oh No) What You Got” 4:31
- “Take It from Here” 6:14
- “Cry Me a River” 4:48
- “Rock Your Body” 4:27
- “Nothin’ Else” 4:58
- “Last Night” 4:47
- “Still on My Brain” 4:35
- “(And She Said) Take Me Now” 5:31
- “Right for Me” (featuring Bubba Sparxxx) 4:29
- “Let’s Take a Ride” 4:44
- “Never Again” 4:34
Lainie Aguilar – background vocals (track 1)
Marsha Ambrosius – background vocals (track 5)
Damon Bennett – flute (track 11)
Clipse (Pusha T & Malice) – rap (track 2)
Vidal Davis – percussion (track 11)
Nathan East – bass (track 9)
Omar Edwards – keyboards (track 11)
Prescott Ellison – drums (track 13)
Larry Gold – conductor and string arrangements (tracks 5, 10, 11)
Chad Hugo – instruments (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 12)
Janet Jackson – additional vocals (track 10)
Ben Kenney – guitar (track 11)
Vanessa Marquez – additional vocals (track 6)
Harvey Mason, Jr. – music (track 9)
George “Spanky” McCurdy – drums (track 11)
Brian McKnight – instruments and vocal arrangements (track 13)
Bill Meyers – conductor and string arrangements (track 13)
Bill Pettaway – guitar (track 5)
Bubba Sparxxx – rap (track 11)
Scott Storch – clavinet (tracks 5, 10)
Damon Thomas – music (track 9)
Timbaland – background vocals (tracks 3, 5, 10, 11),
Justin Timberlake – lead vocals, background vocals, vocal arrangements
Thaddeus Tribbett – bass (track 11)
Tye Tribbett & G.A. – background vocals (track 5)
Charles Veal & The Southwest Chamber Orchestra – strings (tracks 4, 8)
Frank “Knuckles” Walker – percussion (track 11)
Pharrell Williams – instruments and vocal arrangements (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 12), additional vocals (1, 2, 8)
Benjamin Wright – conductor and string arrangements (tracks 4, 8)