Why is Justin Timberlake so hottttttt?

September 8, 2007 7:10 PM

Why is Justin Timberlake so hot?

My pals and I are watching JT's HBO concert for the 1 gazillionth time. We all agree that JT isn't above average in looks. So what is it that makes all us 20 and 30-something hetero ladies LURVE him so much? Dancing? Singing? Attitude? Confidence?

posted by k8t to media & arts (73 comments total)

Step 1: Cut a hole in a box.
posted by SpecialK at 7:16 PM on September 8, 2007 [17 favorites has favorites]

could be all of that. I don't hate him, but I don't particularly see what's so awesome about him, either.
posted by bitterkitten at 7:18 PM on September 8, 2007

My pals and I are watching JT's HBO concert for the 1 gazillionth time.

Not sure, why are you and your pals so obsessed with watching him?
posted by R. Mutt at 7:18 PM on September 8, 2007

Well, he brought sexy back.

As a heterosexual male I have to admit he pulled off the button-up shirt james-bondish thing really well. The first time I saw the video I went, "huh, I guess I see what you're doing there."

I am pretty sure it's just basically confidence + competence. He does, I have to admit, make pretty good music. I don't think it has anything to do with the dancing in particular, it's more about the overall impression he makes.

I can't believe I am answering this question seriously, but well, hey, it's Saturday.
posted by blacklite at 7:19 PM on September 8, 2007

I dunno. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's insanely wealthy and that you've never seen him absent the flattering lights, lenses and make-up that is omnipresent in the saccharine world of consumer entertainment.

Or he maybe he just has a really, really symmetrical face.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 7:19 PM on September 8, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Because he's fly.
posted by JekPorkins at 7:19 PM on September 8, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

Symmetric face, signifying good genes, good diet.
Narrow face with prominent cheekbones signifying testosterone.
Dancing: implies physical health, ability to engage in co-ordinated group activities, absence of motor or cognitive defects.
Singing: implies absence of cognitive defects, ability to engage in co-ordinated group activities.
Attitude, confidence: suggests alpha-male status, ability to provide for or establish societal position of progeny.
Celebrity, implying other women find him attractive, plays to your subconscious assortive-mating strategy.
posted by orthogonality at 7:22 PM on September 8, 2007 [31 favorites has favorites]

Coz he's not? Pity crush?
posted by MiffyCLB at 7:24 PM on September 8, 2007

Srsly? Boy, can that man mooove! I could watch that ripped torso 4eva! He was not hot while in N'Sync...but then he got all peeping tom in hotel rooms and ripping JJ's bra off in front of millions. He also likes to jerk out his crotch and he knows he's the top shit for landing Diaz and Beil. ZOMG, soooo hawt!*

*Opinion from 19 year old female. YMMV (Okay, so I really watch his filmclips for the hot chicks but whatev, man)
posted by liquorice at 7:27 PM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm a chick, and I think JT's pretty "hottttttt". I don't think it's necessarily the rich-people-have-good-lighting issue either. I mean, he looks pretty damn scruffy here, but also kinda cheeky and lovable. There's also the fact that he dated an older woman for a long time, and somehow I find that improves my opinion of him. Plus he makes it possible for me to enjoy Michael-Jackson-style pop without getting skeeved out by actual Michael Jackson.
posted by web-goddess at 7:29 PM on September 8, 2007

Because you're easily led by marketing.
posted by anaelith at 7:31 PM on September 8, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

[a few comments removed. jesus people, answer the question or go play your chimp games in metatalk.]
posted by jessamyn at 7:32 PM on September 8, 2007

He does nothing for me. I think he looks like a wuss.
posted by b33j at 7:39 PM on September 8, 2007

Dang. Makes me wish I had been refreshing thIs page instead of watching the concert again. Chimp games?
posted by k8t at 7:39 PM on September 8, 2007

He's got a great publicist.
posted by milarepa at 7:49 PM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

He is a package, built and marketed by the big machine. You had better think he is hotter then hell or else they wasted a lot of money and some one would lose their job.
posted by bkeene12 at 7:50 PM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

My wife and I were trying to estimate what percentage of the women would actually have sex with JT after the show if he asked them, and we settled on somewhere in the high 70/low 80 percent range. Hell, I'd seriously think about it, and I'm not even slightly bi!

Personally, I think it is a combination of the dancing and the emotional vulnerability -- any man who could write "What Goes Around" and "Cry Me A River" is a man who is in touch with his feelings.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:50 PM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

AskMe: "The Dillon Brothers: A Study in Hotness"
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:53 PM on September 8, 2007

b33j said it.
posted by iguanapolitico at 7:59 PM on September 8, 2007

(Straight male here, but I'll try.)

He looks completely unthreatening while being masculine in other ways. He's in ridiculously good shape. He's got a square jaw. He's uncommonly talented and an amazing dancer.
posted by callmejay at 8:41 PM on September 8, 2007

Justin Timberlake is "hot" for the same reason Zac Efron, Orlando Bloom, or Leo is "hot". They're totally non-threatening, they're extremely well marketed, and girls dig celebrities who can fit the prince charming mold. Justin fits that mold to a T. He's boy band experiences, his relationship with da Brit-ster, his new album that is filled with good dance fairytale land songs in it...I mean, it really isn't that hard to know why Justin is popular and, lets face it, "popular" = "hot". Not everything fades away after high school.

this really isn't that hard of a question to answer. he's the female version of pamela lee. no guy really wants her but she sure as hell gets a lot of attention.
posted by Stynxno at 9:12 PM on September 8, 2007

Hair. Good hair. Go figure.
posted by Camofrog at 9:27 PM on September 8, 2007

I am a heterosexual female and I do not find Justin Timberlake attractive.
posted by rhapsodie at 9:47 PM on September 8, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

I don't think he's physically attractive, but I like him because he seems a lot smarter and more competent as a musician than I would expect of an ex-boyband member. And it's kind of sexy that he has transcended his career as a teenage heartthrob rather than becoming a complete joke, unlike the boys of Hanson.
posted by arianell at 10:02 PM on September 8, 2007

"So what is it that makes all us 20 and 30-something hetero ladies LURVE him so much? Dancing? Singing? Attitude? Confidence?"

You forgot; Money. Fame. He's on TV. A publicist who sells his image as that of a sex-symbol to the media who in turn sell it to you and you buy it.

Take away all of that and Timberlake becomes nought more than another schmuck who has no talent trying to get through life as best they can.

I honestly don't mean to sound snarky. This is my honest to god belief.
posted by Effigy2000 at 10:20 PM on September 8, 2007

He's not hot. His straggly beard is gross, his high voice is obnoxious, and his dancing sucks. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Martha Stewart is hot, so I shouldn't judge.
posted by HotPatatta at 10:36 PM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

People leave out the combination of scoring the hottest celebs on the planet and also having the "aw shucks i'm just a down home boy from a town outside a town outside of memphis and i love all my fans so much." He's got the 'approachable' thing down, and does not play to a 'bad boy' image that a lot of other pop stars do.

Plus he is actually a genuinely nice guy.
posted by softlord at 10:39 PM on September 8, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Aren't these sort of questions inherently unanswerable since they are dependent solely on personal taste?

Why is Justin Timberlake so hot?

Because a lot of people disagree with you and your pals about him being only average in the looks department.
posted by The Gooch at 10:59 PM on September 8, 2007

Someone once said that Justin Timberlake is a great example of a relatively attractive person taking what they have and making the most of it. This was in regards to his hair: when he cut it short, he found what looked good, and he stuck with it. (Compare pre- and post-haircut pictures to see what I mean.)

And yeah, he's got the confidence that comes from having dated some very attractive women (let us not forget that Britney Spears was quite popular back when they were together).
posted by bijou at 11:26 PM on September 8, 2007

Because he's a musician. He gives you orgasms through your ears, and he's up on stage with people screaming admiration and adoration at him.

(Seriously--music is a sensual experience, and if you find his music pleasurable, then add on things like: he's in great shape; other, famously beautiful women find him desirable; he's famous and rich; he can dance, which means he moves well, if you know what I'm sayin'; etc.; it's kind of obvious, I think.)

(Disclaimer: written by a musician, so I may be a bit biased toward this opinion.)
posted by LooseFilter at 11:31 PM on September 8, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Stynxno writes "Justin Timberlake is 'hot' for the same reason Zac Efron, Orlando Bloom, or Leo is 'hot'. They're totally non-threatening, they're extremely well marketed, and girls dig celebrities who can fit the prince charming mold. "

Let's stipulate that's true (I don't think it is, ut let's stipulate). Then the obvious next question is, why is non-threatening and celebrated (celebrity) attractive?

It's like saying, "people like sweets". That's true, they do, but why do people like sweets so much more than, say, brussels sprouts. If your answer is "because sweets are sweet and brussels sprouts are not", you haven't answered the underlying question.

What makes sweets desirable? Well, we need sugars, and we needed then even more when we were hungry hunters and gatherers. Whereas, at that time, the precursors of brussels sprouts while nutritive also contained toxins and teratogens.

What (if you're correct) makes non-threatening and celebrated desirable? Why don't women instead get really "hot" for, say, hirsute and sweaty guys, or grossly obese guys (female elephant seals do!) , or long-nosed men, or big-eared Prince Charles clones, or double-jointed guys?

What makes "hot" desirable? Like the answer for sweets, it is possible that the desired trait is inherent, or is a sign or by-product of, something useful. (But it's also possible it's runaway sexual selection, like the peacock's tail.)

In other words, whenever we see, in nature, something that is expensive to produce, or is highly sought after, we have to ask the simple question, "what is that good for?" and "for whose benefit is this thing produced, for whose benefit is it sought after?"

Always we must ask, cui bono? Cui bono!
posted by orthogonality at 12:36 AM on September 9, 2007

Charisma and stage-presence. Good dresser. In interviews he comes across as quite grounded and has a sense of humour. Good actor.

I have a hetero-boner for JT
posted by slimepuppy at 2:15 AM on September 9, 2007

I have never found him to be even remotely attractive either and cannot for the life of me understand the fuss over him while genuinely hot musicians like Ben Folds and Damon Albarn go practically unnoticed.
posted by triggerfinger at 2:38 AM on September 9, 2007

I agree with Slimepuppy- his humor (Dick in a Box, dressing as a giant cup of soup, The Barry Gibb Talk Show etc.) combined with the fab muscial ability is a potent combination.

I also have a theory that to be that funny consistently requires a higher-than-average level of intelligence. His presence of mind in off-the-cuff situations shows he's got it going on upstairs.

For me that's what's attractive- that someone so good at performing can also be smart. There are plenty of hotter dudes but they're just eye candy because they present themselves in a way that leads me to believe they aren't the sharpest tool in the shed.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:47 AM on September 9, 2007

Ben Folds? Love the music but (pretending to) be a beta-male extraordinaire is the heart of his schtick.
posted by MattD at 5:33 AM on September 9, 2007

I bet the not-above-average but-still-attractive thing is actually part of the appeal. It provides an accessibility / relatibility that makes fantasizing about him slightly less far-fetched than other celebrity fantasies. He doesn't come off as an impossible catch, just a 99.99999999% impossible catch, and that can spark a different form of interest.
posted by yorick at 7:06 AM on September 9, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Just for the record, I'm a 20-something hetero lady and I don't lurve him. I don't think I'd ever describe him as "sexy." I think I do have more respect for him after seeing him on SNL and realizing he doesn't take himself that seriously, but I still don't find him sexy.
posted by srah at 7:13 AM on September 9, 2007

And it's kind of sexy that he has transcended his career as a teenage heartthrob rather than becoming a complete joke, unlike the boys of Hanson.

Hanson have ten times the actual talent Timberlake does.
posted by jonmc at 7:30 AM on September 9, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

I'm a hetero male, but I'm fairly sure that if I was attracted to men, I wouldn't be into JT. Why not? Because he looks like a boy to me. While not criticizing it, I don't understand people's attraction to boyishness (including college-boy-age-ishness). I was stunned when Leo DiCaprio became The Hot Guy. And I felt the same way about Keanu Reeves. They're CHILDREN!

If I was into men, I'd be into MEN -- not boys. Men include George Clooney, Clive Owens, and Harrison Ford.

But this probably has something to do with when I was born. When I was growing up, the stars I liked were people like Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. Even when I was in high school, I was attracted to older people. I couldn't wait to mature and be part of that adult world. Most of my friends were the same. So what started this cultural shift towards youth worship? I mean the shift that makes even 30-year-olds get into boyish men and women.

By the way, I feel the same way about women. The young ones (Brittany, etc.) have nice bodies, but they're boring. They're not WOMEN. I really like this crop of 40-something (and older) movie stars that have managed to stay stars: Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, Hellen Mirren, Susan Sarandon, etc...
posted by grumblebee at 7:39 AM on September 9, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

I'm a hetero male, but I'm fairly sure that if I was attracted to men, I wouldn't be into JT. Why not? Because he looks like a boy to me. While not criticizing it, I don't understand people's attraction to boyishness (including college-boy-age-ishness). I was stunned when Leo DiCaprio became The Hot Guy. And I felt the same way about Keanu Reeves. They're CHILDREN!

For 'modern' women, I understand that a lot has to do with not feeling threatened. I mean, we live in a skeeeeeery world. There's creeps behind every telephone pole and shrubbery according to the news and the girls' parents. Therefore sane women pick a guy that can thrill them with confidence and talent without going over the top on the manliness scale. JT has this pegged -- muscular definition without giant biceps and pectoral boobs, a beard but one that a younger man would be more likely to wear, a higher voice, and enough confidence to fill his jeans with something besides a rolled tube sock. Just read the comments above left by women.
posted by SpecialK at 8:21 AM on September 9, 2007

Female, hetero and I completely agree with grumblebee. I really want to like Smallville but Tom Welling is too bloody young/young-looking. OTOH, Lex's father, John Glover is a great. Masculine not boyish.

Same reason I can't stand the Spiderman movies and the general increasing tendency to cast young people into what used to be roles for grown men (or least it seems that way). I'm not going to ooh and ahh after Tobey Maguire. He may be my age but he looks like a little kid and he's not remotely sexy to me. I want to pat him on the head and send him to play with his friends not screw him.

Oh and Justin Timberlake is not sexy either. I agree that much of the OP's feeling for him is marketing. Somebody mentioned his haircut. For example, do you seriously think Justin Timberlake got a haircut, compared it to his before photos and make the decision to stick with it? No, that was his stylist/marketing team/publicist/what have you.

On preview: SpecialK, I don't think I'm the only "modern" hetfem to like John Glover's look in Smallville and he definitely doesn't look non-threatening (at least when he was rocking the bearded look). (Somebody needs to replace the yucky photo of him on wikipedia with something decent. Damn, that's a bad photo.)
posted by who squared at 8:31 AM on September 9, 2007

Justin Timberlake? Wasn't he in N'Sync? Lameness is not sexy, sorry.
posted by footnote at 8:32 AM on September 9, 2007

Hanson have ten times the actual talent Timberlake does.

But does anyone think they're sexy?
posted by smackfu at 8:35 AM on September 9, 2007

Wow, the hair thing is true.

So maybe JT is hot because of image and marketing. Maybe he just figured it out. Maybe he fired the idiots who made him wear his hair like he used to. Maybe he was ostracized as a boy for looking so goddamn ridiculous and that let him develop musical talent and read some books.

Because, ladies and gentlemen, he's the one on the left. That was probably 1998, so both he and Britney would have been ... damn. 17.

Scary.
posted by blacklite at 9:02 AM on September 9, 2007

Maybe he fired the idiots who made him wear his hair like he used to.

Well, that's an interesting point. He certainly had stylists before he went solo, but their goal wasn't necessarily to make him hot and sexy. He was part of a group, and he had a role in it. From that photo, I can't imagine what his role was (little brother???), but still.
posted by smackfu at 9:17 AM on September 9, 2007

I always linked perceived personality to attractiveness.
JT is one of less than a handful of famous men I find attractive.
When I saw him in one of the first punk'd and he wasn't an ass that lost his cool it made him all the more appealing.

George Clooney isn't the best looking guy but god, that confidence without taking himself to seriously.
posted by beccaj at 9:29 AM on September 9, 2007

I really want to like Smallville but Tom Welling is too bloody young/young-looking.

Blasphemy! He's supposed to be the young Superman! In 10 years Tom Welling will be a paradigm of masculine beauty. JT, not so much. He'll just be a badly aging boy.
posted by footnote at 9:30 AM on September 9, 2007

Definitely have to throw in with approachable good looks + talent + intimations of intelligence + correct mixture of masculinity and vulnerability. You know, the image is of a guy who can relate to your feelings but still make you feel feminine. (That pretty much sums up every man I have ever dated.) It may just be an image, sure, but I think that is an appealing combo of characteristics (which is why a publicist would settle on it, of course).
posted by dame at 10:35 AM on September 9, 2007

Also, boyishness is hotter than manliness because men have hair in their ears. Seriously.
posted by dame at 10:36 AM on September 9, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

The short list: personal trainers, sympathetic lighting, make-up, Sony BMG's marketing and public relations departments, and Photoshop.

...and I'd fall into the category of those who do think he's hot. But I'm under no illusions that my libido isn't being manipulated for the purpose of separating me from my money.
posted by Weebot at 10:46 AM on September 9, 2007

what is it that makes all us 20 and 30-something hetero ladies LURVE him so much?

Data point: I'm a heterosexual woman in her thirties, and I fine him vaguely offputting. That's a promotion from "thoroughly offputting" due to his performance on SNL, which surprised me. I figured he was a talentless lackwit, but he managed some funny, funny moments.

I don't imagine he'd be all heartbroken that he's still thoroughly unattractive to me.

But I'm pretty unplugged from the media machine, so I'm not the perfect test case, either.
posted by Elsa at 11:22 AM on September 9, 2007

Heterosexuality.
posted by Reggie Digest at 11:27 AM on September 9, 2007

Het woman, early 40's. I seriously do not get the big whoop about Justin Timberlake. Dick in a Box was hilarious, but I look at him and see a little kid instead of a hot man.

My tastes do run more to the George Clooney and Daniel Craig's of the world, so there's that. And like Elsa, I'm not exactly the audience for what he's selling.

(And because I must - JT didn't write Cry me a River - Arthur Hamilton did in 1953. Ella Fitzgerald's version is legendary. And if anyone can find a better clip from earlier in her career I would be very happy indeed.)
posted by Space Kitty at 12:16 PM on September 9, 2007

Space Kitty, JT's Cry Me A River is a completely different song. He didn't write it by himself, Timbaland and Scott Storch both also have credits, but it's unrelated to the standard except in its title.

I think it's interesting that this thread has become a series of "I'm a woman and I don't find him hott" vs. "I'm a man and clearly you're just buying what JT is selling" vs. some actual attempts to quantify his appeal. I don't find him especially attractive, but his finest moments are when he combines his boyishness with cockiness, so I've always assumed that was the heart of his appeal. And his new, cocky image ("Gonna have you naked by the end of this song") appeared at the same time as the short hair and association with Timbaland.
posted by SoftRain at 12:49 PM on September 9, 2007

d'oh!
posted by Space Kitty at 12:51 PM on September 9, 2007

I think it's interesting that "I don't think he's hot" is somehow considered a valid answer to "why do people think he's hot?"
posted by smackfu at 12:51 PM on September 9, 2007

I don’t know. I’m embarrassed at how adorable and watchable I find Justin Timberlake. It might be that elusive thing called star power, a gestalt of many seemingly objective traits. I couldn’t name another pop star in my lifetime who has had the same effect.

Interestingly, years ago he did whatever Steven Klein asked of him for a story in Arena (photo, blog post).

Incidentally, I believe the biggest heterosexualist-male fanboy on this esteemed Filter is Anil Dash. Take it away, Anil.
posted by joeclark at 1:18 PM on September 9, 2007

But does anyone think they're sexy?

When my youngest sister was in 6th grade she had a crush on the middle one.
posted by jonmc at 1:31 PM on September 9, 2007

For 'modern' women, I understand that a lot has to do with not feeling threatened. I mean, we live in a skeeeeeery world. There's creeps behind every telephone pole and shrubbery according to the news and the girls' parents. Therefore sane women pick a guy that can thrill them with confidence and talent without going over the top on the manliness scale.

Oh please. Some women have always liked non-threatening girly boys. These women are mostly actually 10-13ish-year-old girls. This is hardly a phenomenon unique to the current world we live in, and I don't think it has much of anything to do with JT. He is not completely non-threatening in the way Orlando Bloom is non-threatening, or say, the kids in Hanson were non-threatening. His music has grown up into rather aggressively sexual content, which makes him sexier to us grown-up ladies. Usually when people talk of the appeal of non-threatening men they don't mean men that look like they won't beat you up, but men that are cute without making you actually think about SEX.
posted by ch1x0r at 1:48 PM on September 9, 2007

He does exude sexuality, especially at the end of the "Lovestoned" video or whatever the song's called. But that made me laugh, seemingly without that being intended. I quickly changed the channel, whereas before I'd been impressed with the tailored Bond-ish look and convincing soul screams and whatnot. He seemed smart and adult, but still trapped a bit in his past.

I'll consider him fully matured when he combine the humor people talk about with the more aggressively sexual image. The best of classic R&B and funk had a bit of a wink, or more than a bit of it. It's sexy and satirical simultaneously. Prince had/has this going on as well. JT doesn't have that in-on-the-ludicrousness, yet unself-conscious thing going yet. I can see him getting there, but he ain't there yet.
posted by raysmj at 2:47 PM on September 9, 2007

I think it's interesting that "I don't think he's hot" is somehow considered a valid answer to "why do people think he's hot?"

Well, in my case at least, I was offering a counterpoint to the original statement that all us 20 and 30-something hetero ladies LURVE him so much.
posted by Elsa at 3:01 PM on September 9, 2007

I have to say, I'm stunned by the number of people whose kneejerk reaction is "YOU'RE ALL MARKETING SLAVES, YOU SHEEP." Bitter much?

I'm a gay man, so maybe I'm a statistical outlier, but Justin strikes me as maybe one of the hottest men on the planet. Why? Well for starters, the number of people who are claiming he's of "average' physical attractiveness are quite frankly crazy. Dude's got a gorgeous face, and a truly outrageous body. And on the boyish-star scale, he's nowhere near the level of boyishness/effeminacy of Leo DiCaprio, Zac Efron, etc., which I also find totally gross.

And he really is talented. Not genius/savant-level talented, and he needs a good collaborator to get to his highest levels, but he's more than competent musically and is much smarter, or at least more grounded, than comparably popular musicians. The genetic & social lottery just paid off for him. Even if he wasn't a musician, I feel like if he walked into our office tomorrow and somebody said "This is Justin, he's our new legal aide," I'd still have a massive crush on him. It's got nothing to do with the publicity, the music, etc. Dude is just hot.
posted by logovisual at 3:23 PM on September 9, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

if he walked into our office tomorrow and somebody said "This is Justin, he's our new legal aide," I'd still have a massive crush on him.

Dreamy.
posted by k8t at 4:10 PM on September 9, 2007

smackfu: "I think it's interesting that "I don't think he's hot" is somehow considered a valid answer to "why do people think he's hot?""

Well, it is a chatfiltery question (that apparently wasn't deleted because the question was framed correctly) so most responses are valid, I think.
posted by who squared at 4:22 PM on September 9, 2007

Space Kitty,

The MetaFilter Lounge is pleased to present MetaFilter's Own, miss lynnster!
posted by Rock Steady at 6:32 PM on September 9, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

He's ugly and has a pretty unsymmetrical face, but his music and personal style have been great lately. He, or someone working with him really knows how to get the details right.
posted by crabintheocean at 8:31 PM on September 9, 2007

I think it can be boiled down to: 'Anyone who can move like that on stage ...'

It's not rocket surgery.
posted by Lucie at 10:15 PM on September 9, 2007

Though they have the decorum to deny it now, a lot of 20-something women who find him hot today were the same girls/teens who were crushing on him when he was "the cute one" in N'Sync. It's not that big a leap. His appeal broadened in recent years, but it didn't exactly come out of nowhere last week. Same principle that allows everyone from David Cassidy to Paul McCartney to still sell out concerts (oh shut up. as of Sir Pail would ever sell a record today if he'd hadn't been "the cute one" of his boy band). With proper marketing support, anyone's high school celeb-crush can be extended indefinitely.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 11:41 PM on September 9, 2007

I haven't been into boy bands since elementary school, when New Kids on the Block were the big thing. But last month, I went with two friends to see Justin Timberlake. At almost thirty, we seemed to fit in somewhere between the target demographic and the moms who brought the target demographic to the show. But whatever, it was fun, he puts on a good show, he's got some catchy songs, and I'm too old to be a music snob.

As to why he's so hot? Charisma. He's got that quality that turns nominally attractive men, like Ewan McGregor, into panty melters. There's a confidence that's just on the line of cockiness, mingled with a willingness to make fun of himself. And personally, I'm a sucker for a man in a suit, so there's that, too. His stylist should get an award for that.
posted by Ruki at 8:55 AM on September 10, 2007

someone's going to flame me for this, i'm sure:

i never paid a second's attention to JT until he started showing up in movies.

now, he's no ________________ (fill in the blank with an actor whose chops you admire), but seeing him act gave me a whole new "respect" for him.

i thought his 'ronnie' in "black snake moan" was pretty remarkable, all things considered. those were real tears, and i think it took some guts to realistically portray a young man with severe anxiety issues.

(i stopped short at writing, "i respect justin timberlake's acting." whew.)
posted by CitizenD at 9:13 AM on September 10, 2007

(30-something hetero guy)

JT has unbelievable charisma. He's magnetic. He has also carefully cultivated a unique sexual image.

I watched a bit of his concert last night- I found it very interesting that he opened up with a documentary-style bit that featured him and his band+dancers talking about family, influences, and related stuff. His crew is racially mixed, but he himself is surrounded by black men and women. It's a deliberate nod, IMO, to the image he's carefully cultivated that he's down with black people.

It's a brilliant move- it gives him cred and an edgier sexuality (c.f. Elvis) while he continues to straddle his boyish, slightly effete, "safe" image. It's why he'll surpass Britney Spears (the other great manufactured pop icon of the decade) in popularity and staying power.
posted by mkultra at 9:56 AM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

It's why he'll surpass Britney Spears

Surpassed.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:13 AM on September 10, 2007

I'm actually surprised that women in their 20s and 30s think he's hot - especially 30s. I am 29, and was in college when his band (uhhh, which one was it) first emerged, and everyone in my world rolled our eyes at the next incarnation of the Monkeys/Spice Girls/etc. That people my age and older would be into him nearly a decade later is a surprise. I thought he was a teen heartthrob? But with all this gushing, I think I'm going to cue up the concert On Demand.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:00 PM on September 10, 2007