Justin Timberlake delivered blow after blow to a sold out audience at Bridgestone Arena eventually leaving an audience that ranged from 'N Sync heydayers to teenage girls still screaming for the Prince of Pop. His performance was as well-manicured as the Tom Ford suit the Tennessee native rocked on stage.
So looking back, what was the 20/20 Experience like? Timberlake's follow up to his mind-blowing 15-minute set at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, was a near three-hour set complete with its own intermission.
Sure Timberlake has been busy on the sets of his successful (and unsuccessful) movies, holds the biggest selling album of the year and (moon)walked away with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. But this young man keeps both feet on the ground and his roots right at home in Tennessee. As a matter of fact, Timberlake flanks himself on stage with a 15-piece ensemble known as The Tennessee Kids.
Timberlake showed Tennessee some more love love when he took a break 45 minutes into his set in order to thank Puckett’s in Leiper’s Fork for hosting he and his crew the previous day. Timberlake continued to give them props for their turnip greens, telling the crowd they were seriously missing out if they hadn't tried them yet.
Timberlake rattled off tracks from his two-part album release The 20/20 Experience but also sprinkled in some smash hits including “Cry Me a River” and “Love Stoned/I Think She Knows.” For a local touch, his poignant cover of Elvis's "Heatbreak Hotel" served as a highlight as he traveled to a B stage at the back of the arena, allowing fans in the still not so cheap seats hundreds of feet closer to achieving a 20/20 glimpse of the star.
If there’s one thing a young performer can learn from the 32-year old industry veteran, it's how to work a room. The comedian, the dancer, the performer and the soulful singer blended all his talents and still remained to stay connected to the fans.During his set, Timberlake constantly interacted between songs, acknowledging friends and family he saw throughout the crowd. He even went as far as doing a shot with fans on his B stage.
But Timberlake wasn't the only performer knocking it out of the ring and causing us to do a double take. Serving as support on a leg of the 69 city tour is Canadian artist The Weeknd. Making a strong appearance earlier this year on Saturday Night Live, the singer's upcoming Hunger Games soundtrack cut, "Devil May Cry," will leave fans of any genre weeping.