Rollingstone 2003

Justin  Timberlake has had a jampacked couple of months,  with the release of his first solo album, Justified, the constant scrutiny about who he  is or isn’t shtupping, rehearsals for co-hosting  the MTV Movie Awards and furious prepping for the  U.S. leg of his summer tour with Christina  Aguilera. Before that kicks off, though, he has  taken a quick spin through Europe. It is the first  time he has hit the stage without four guys next  to him, which was daunting, he admits, but he  appears to be over it. “It’s been pretty damn  fun,” he says during a stop in England. “The  outcome has been way more than I could have ever  hoped for. And they sing every song.” And now, a  chat with the man whom Pharrell Williams calls a  dope individual.

How’s it going in  England?

Honestly? It’s crazy over  here. This is my first [solo] tour. I don’t know,  maybe I should have done clubs instead of this.  It’s madness — the schedule, the touring, the  demand. The dynamic is completely different than  what I’m used to, you know what I mean? You’re in  a different territory — just being out of  America, it gives you kind of this weird, anxious  feeling. Before my feet hit the stage, I was like,  ”Uh, I wonder how this is going to go?” And then,  of course, as soon as the lights were up and the  crowd was into it, I was OK.

I do some bits,  some stuff that I wrote for the group.  A lot of the stuff I kept in medley  form because I wanted the show to feel  continuous. I hate going to a show and  feeling like it’s a recital. I’d  rather it feel continuous, like a  club. You go to a club and the DJ  doesn’t stop, he just spins from one  song to the next.

What’s been the best rumor you’ve  heard about yourself lately?

Well, the  playboy rumors are funny. They call me  ”trouser snake” here now. At first I  was like, “What does that mean?”  Trouser snake! Honestly, I don’t read  the stuff anymore.

But  most of it is positive.

Most of it,  yeah. I’m not on heroin or cocaine yet  in the press, so . . .

Well,  you’re young.

Yeah. There’s  room to grow.

What  song do you think Christina should  cover?

You know, the  cool thing about Christina is she can  basically do so many things with her  voice. You hear “Beautiful” and you  hear “Fighter,” and you’re like, “Wow,  these are two different people.” You  know what would be really cool to hear  Christina do? Something by Billie  Holiday.

What’s the biggest misconception about  her?

People think  she’s a lot more ghetto than she is.  Because she’s got the diva voice, you  automatically think that she’s a diva  because that’s supposed to come with  it. For the most part, she’s more  reserved than most people would think.