Justin Timberlake Independence Days

No longer just attached to a band ('Nsync) or his onetime girlfriend (oh, you know, what's-her-name), Justin Timberlake - on the eve of his breakthrough album - is solo, single and ready to talk about his music, his inspirations (Michael Jordan) an the real story behind all those romance rumors.

By Jeremy Helligar & Lori Majewski

One Friday night last April in the lounge at Los Angeles's Standard Hotel, the o-so-chic clientele was buzzing about Justin Timberlake, the newly single pop star in their midst. Timberlake, 21, though, seemed oblivious to their star-struck stares. In a corner booth, he mingled with friends and talked excitedly about the solo album he had just begun to won on. Throughout the night, a number of female patrons tried to get closer, and two even succeeded, squeezing in on either side of him. Timberlake responded politely to their flirtatious talk - but that's all. So where, then, does he get his recent rep as a raging Lothario?

'That's the thing I laugh at - and sometimes I cry about it too,' Timberlake tells Us. 'It's happened for at least six months now, this whole image of everybody portraying me as a playboy. That's not me. When I go out, I go out with my group of friends'. He adds, 'Any girl who approaches me in a club and tries to win me over, I'm gonna go for it. If I see a girl [out] by herself to nights in a row, [she's] not exactly the girl I want to take home to Mom. That's the type of person I am.'

Timberlake is ready to clear up a lot of misconceptions. Since his breakup with Britney Spears, 20, last March, after a four year romance, independence has been a running theme in his life. For years identified as either one-fifth of teen pop's hottest boy band 'Nsync or Spears's boyfriend, the now solo singer is best known these days as, well, just Justin Timberlake (make that 'J' to his friends). And that's fine by him. With his single 'Like I Love You' already earning raves (leaked to an L.A radio station, it became the No. 1 requested song) and the November 5th release of his debut solo album. Justified, hotly anticipated, industry insiders are buzzing that the ferociously talented, suddenly grown up former teen-idol - the first 'Nsyncer to put out his own record - is on the brink of becoming pop's biggest male star since George Michael ditched Wham! in 1986.

'He's definitely moving in an edgier direction, and a lot of fans are going to grow with him' says Seventeen music editor Laura Morgan, who has heard a number of Timberlake's new R&B and hip-hop influenced tracks.

I doesn't hurt that the performer - scheduled to make his official solo bow on August 29 when he sings 'Like I Love You' at the MTV Video Music Awards - also has good looks (he's sprouted to a muscular six-foot-one) and charisma to spare (he still calls elders ma'am and sir). 'Everybody loves this cat', says Sean 'P.Diddy' Combs, who produced a track for Justified. 'I don't think there's a turnoff bone in his body.' In fact, so charmed was P. Diddy by Timberlake - who personally invited Diddy to work on his album - that he recently added to Timberlake's new watch collection with a pricey diamond-laden Jacob design for his January 31 birthday. 'I'm almost up to 10,' says Timberlake of his stash. 'All of them have diamonds.'

Separation Anxiety
Though he was always regard as 'Nsync's standout, the transition hasn't been easy. 'Justin has always kind of pulled back [from stealing the spotlight] and tried to maintain that 'I am part of a group,' says his mother, Lynn Harless, 47, her son's co manager (they talk several times a day). 'It's taken a while for him to come to grips with, that it's OK, that he wasn't betraying anyone else'. He still talks to at least of one the four other members - Lance Bass, 23, J.C Chasez, 26, Joey Fatone,25, and Chris Kirkpatric,30 - once a day. In fact, just minutes before his US Interview in New York, he spoke by phone with Kirkpatrick.
'And you know what the last I said to him was?' 'I Love you,' Timberlake says,' You know, those are my brothers.'

As for the other break in his life - from Britney - Timberlake refuses to address reports from sources that Spears cheated on him. 'Something happened, Something Very Bad Happened,' is all he says. Johnny Wright, who manages both stars, elaborates: 'He's handled it better than me. Knowing how much in love he was and having a bump in the road but still having to be focused on going into the studio, making deadlines, doing photo shoots, having interviews and keeping a straight face and being professional is tough when your insides are hurting.' Adds Wright: 'He's taken that pain and hurt and turned it into music. It be came an energy for him.'

Says Timberlake, who co wrote all 12 tracks on his album:' The ideas and emotions that I felt, they were just different, and I had to find a way to say them.' The album's midtemp track 'Cry Me a River,' which details the aftermath of a stormy love affair, certainly seems to be about a particular ex. 'You know exactly what I'm thinking about.' he says. 'That's all I'll say about it.' He pauses and reconsiders: 'Songs come from ideas and feelings. They don't necessarily have to be something that specifically happened to you; sometimes they are...I know what everybody's gonna think they hear that song. I know why I wrote it. That's all I can say.'

Other Loves?
Timberlake does, however address the romance rumors that have been spinning since he split. For the record, he insists, he is not involved with dancer Jenna Dewan, 21. 'I'm single'. He also shoots down reports that he's had public make out sessions with Janet Jackson and Christina Aguilera. 'Make out in a club?' I didn't do that when I was with Britney,' he says. 'Why would I do it with somebody I just met? From what I hear, I've been with [Jackson]; I've heard stories about Christina. Think about it logically: If I didn't do it when I was with somebody I had been with for four years, why would I do it with somebody I don't know well?'

One thing is clear: If he is romantically involved with anyone, he would have a hard time squeezing it in. A famous workaholic, Timberlake has a tough schedule that keeps him from his homes in Orlando, Florida, Memphis, Tennessee, and L.A. (he just bought a $8 million, five-bed room mansion 4.4 miles from Spears's house which they used to share). He cranked out the album in a six-week spurt last spring; he'll embark on a world tour in 2003. He'll travel, no doubt, on a private plane (he rarely has flown commercially since September 11). In addition to safety concerns, 'It's really hard for him to get into airports,' says Trace Ayala,21, his best friend 'since birth' (their moms are best friends). 'Even the people behind the counters get freaked out.'

Still, Timberlake is in no way about to rest on his reputation. He works slavishly in the studio, dances up to five hours a day (which accounts for his lean physique; he hasn't hit a gym in two months) and eats a vegetable-heavy diet. His goal? Career dominance. His role model? Michael Jordan. 'You think Jordan backing the '90s; he never failed,' he says. 'He never shows weakness. The look in his eye was the eye of the tiger. I grew up watching those eyes with six championships.' Ayala sees that same intensity in his pal. 'If you want to know the truth, he normally ends up being the best at anything he does,' he says, noting Timberlake's recent domination in video games on his Xbox.

More about Growing Up and What's Next on the scans.....
 

Posted by Ruben

The guy is clearly implying something with as much respect as possible. You figure it out for yourselves, but there's been facts put on the table for a long time. You fit the puzzle pieces together. This time, I don't want to get out of my place,  I'm just gonna let whatever he's referring to unravel with time. If you want to read opinions and rants about this, off the record, visit a WoB Forum thread here.