Current:Home > MarketsJustin Timberlake exudes sincerity at Baltimore show a week after apparent joke about DWI -NextFrontier Finance
Justin Timberlake exudes sincerity at Baltimore show a week after apparent joke about DWI
View
Date:2025-04-12 22:33:25
BALTIMORE – The volcanic talent of Justin Timberlake is unquestionable.
He oozes charisma and crooked grins, scoots across the stage as if his gleaming white sneakers were perched on a cloud and can still nail a falsetto as ably at 43 as he did as a boy band prince in NSYNC.
On the 27th date of The Forget Tomorrow World Tour Wednesday at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena, Timberlake worked to shake off the tarnish that accompanied his DWI arrest in New York June 18 with two hours of taut showmanship and apparent graciousness.
Midway through the two-hour show, while standing with an acoustic guitar on the auxiliary stage of the sold-out arena, he addressed the crowd.
More:Justin Timberlake's arrest, statement elicited a cruel response. Why?
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
“I hope you feel this feeling we have had together for three decades,” Timberlake said. “You have been such a special part of my life … I have so much gratitude.”
It was much different than what was captured at his show a week ago when Timberlake appeared to make light of his arrest.
Timberlake had appeared to joke about his DWI arrest while performing at the TD Garden in Boston on June 29, videos shared on social media showed.
"Is there anyone here tonight that is driving − no, I'm just kidding," Timberlake said while addressing the crowd, stopping himself before finishing the sentence.
As the crowd cheered and laughed at Timberlake's apparent quip about his DWI, he finished the sentence in a different way, asking, "Is there anyone here tonight that it's your first time here to the show?"
Timberlake’s lukewarm new songs thrive live
Timberlake long ago reached pop icon status and this tour, which kicked off in April, heads overseas later this month and returns to the U.S. in October until the end of the year, has been such a firm success is testament to his ample catalog and enduring personal appeal.
His sixth album – and impetus for his first road show since 2019 – “Everything I Thought It Was,” is a lukewarm stew of R&B/funk/pop. All hallmarks of his sound, yes, but ones that flared more brightly on past works, even with modest hits “Selfish” and “No Angels” garnering radio attention.
But some of this humdrum new work received a boost in live form. “Technicolor” swooped from the harmonies of Timberlake’s three background vocalists and the freewheeling “Play,” which he sang while bopping down a pathway to the secondary stage, was funky fun.
However, the centerpiece of the stage production, a towering rectangular structure that served as a video screen, levitating lightbox and, at show’s end, a floating stage, was the most interesting thing about “Infinity Sex” and “Drown,” which featured the striking image of Timberlake being swallowed by water as he sang in front his mammoth visage.
More:One year of Sphere: dazzling illuminations, audio, livestream 'push boundaries'
Justin Timberlake stages a fiesta of hits
Any tour behind a new album is going to be stocked with songs fans might not love yet, but Timberlake sprinkled enough hits to sate the faithful throughout the show.
Synth bloops merged with the clip-clop beat for a funkified version of “Like I Love You” while“My Love,” one of those falsetto showcases for Timberlake, eased into a booming kick capped with a sizzling electric guitar solo.
Members of his multitalented band, the Tennessee Kids, frequently joined him in lockstep with a dance troupe, reminding of the coordinated beauty of some Motown greats and Prince & The Revolution.
At one point, there were so many people on stage that it looked as if Timberlake were hosting his own Las Vegas club night as he and his comrades unveiled a fiesta trifecta of “Let The Groove Get In” (from 2013’s “The 20/20 Experience”), “Señorita” (its call-and-response bridge an everlasting concert staple) and “Summer Love,” performed under a torrent of lights.
Justin Timberlake continues to evolve as a performer
After ending his secondary stage segment with a guitar-centered version of “What Goes Around … Comes Around,” with a snippet of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” sewn in, Timberlake pumped up the volume.
The effervescent “Can’t Stop the Feeling” proved the ideal song to accompany his bouncing back to the main stage, and its segue into “Rock Your Body,” paired with Chic’s “Good Times,” showcased Timberlake’s bona fides as a student of music.
With more than 30 years of entertaining on his resume – let’s not forget his start as a cast member on the Disney Channel’s “Mickey Mouse Club” – Timberlake dazzles as a polished performer. But even decades into performing live and blessed with a supple voice and inherent geniality, he continues to evolve. And that, too, is undeniable.
Brendan Morrow contributed to this report.
veryGood! (54773)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Brown rejects calls to divest from companies in connection with pro-Palestinian protests on campus
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to make first appearance before trial judge in sex trafficking case
- When will Christian McCaffrey play? Latest injury updates on 49ers RB
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- McDonald's Chicken Big Mac debuts this week: Here's what's on it and when you can get one
- North Carolina governor signs Hurricane Helene relief bill
- Harris faces new urgency to explain how her potential presidency would be different from Biden’s
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Stanley Tucci Shares The One Dish Wife Felicity Blunt Won’t Let Him Cook for Christmas
Ranking
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- When will Nick Chubb return? Latest injury updates on Browns RB
- A Shopper Says This Liquid Lipstick Lasted Through a Root Canal: Get 6 for $8.49 on Amazon Prime Day
- Atlantic City mayor and his wife plead not guilty to beating their daughter
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Close call at Nashville airport came after planes were directed to same runway, probe shows
- NFL MVP race: Lamar Jackson's stock is rising, but he's chasing rookie Jayden Daniels
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 16 players to start or sit in Week 6
Recommendation
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
The Latest: Harris visiting Nevada and Arizona while Trump speaks in Michigan
Florida picking up the pieces after Milton: 6 dead, 3.4M in dark. Live updates
7-year-old climbs out of car wreck to flag help after fatal crash in Washington
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Youngest NFL coaches 2024: Mike Macdonald replaces Sean McVay atop list
Trump-Putin ties are back in the spotlight after new book describes calls
Pitching chaos? No, Detroit Tigers delivering playoff chaos in ALDS