The Complicated Life of Pop Superstar Justin Timberlake

In early 2002, *NSYNC entered an indefinite hiatus, creating the opening Timberlake needed to step away from the group format. The band had spent years touring, recording, and dominating teen pop, but the pause allowed each member to consider what came next.

For Timberlake, that next step was the most dramatic. He had been one of the group’s most visible figures, and now he had the chance to prove whether he could survive without the other four members. The boy-band chapter was slowing down, but his solo story was just starting.