Justin Timberlake Reveals What Confirmed His Decision To Go Solo
Why did Justin Timberlake break from *NSYNC and go solo? *NSYNC manager Lou Pearlman, Michael Jackson and Puff Daddy have all been said to inform his decision. But now Justin reveals who convinced him to actually take the leap: Chad Hugo of the Neptunes.
Justin says he entertained the idea since the Neptunes produced *NSYNC’s final single, 2001’s “Girlfriend.” But he wasn’t sure until he heard Chad playing this acoustic guitar and beatboxing rhythm that became the basis of Justin’s debut solo single “Like I Love You.”
“I was like, ‘This just sounds like nothing I’ve heard!'” he says on Pharrell and Scott Vener’s Beats 1 show OTHERtone. “It reminds me of the feeling I get from certain things that I love. That moment was so much of a confirmation for me.”
The Neptunes went on to produce the majority of Justin’s 2002 solo debut Justified. Watch Justin talk about that pivotal moment via Us Weekly below.
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