Justin Timberlake has a good work ethic.
You can just tell by the way he performs. Maybe it's because he grew up in the South and has been performing since he was a child and all those years on the Mickey Mouse Club taught him a little something about putting on a good show. It's that same upbringing that makes him incapable of addressing elders without the requisite "Sir" or "Maam" -- the sort of politeness that he exhibits when he's Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher and still manages to say "please" and "thank you" to the people breaking his stuff.
You know that JT has a good work ethic because even though doors opened at 11:00 pm and he didn't go on until 1:30 am, he arrived at Roseland at 9:30 pm and was dutifully performing the sound check along with the other musicians while we, and hundreds of others, stood outside Roseland. It's that same work ethic and sincerity that renders it impossible to believe that he really doesn't give a fuck whether the crowd at Roseland enjoyed his show or not.
JT wants us to believe he doesn't care. And he wants us to know he's bad and no longer a Mousekateer or *NSYNCer -- that's why he uses the middle fingers (both, actually) now, swills beers between songs and pantomimes smoking pot. He's eager to look bad. And he knows how to do eager well. That eagerness and sincerity is the essence of Justin Timberlake. That eagerness is why we love JT.
But the thing is, you can't fault JT for the fronting -- or frontin' as he might be likely to say. Justin is a born performer and that very same eagerness and general love for what he's doing can also translate as dorkiness. But when he tries to seem bad, it's not like K-Fed trying to seem bad. This partly has to do with one being talented and one being K-Fed. But it's more than that. JT actually seems like a nice guy and someone that is dedicated to make you feel the same way about music that he does. And K-Fed seems like the type of guy who makes his pregnant wife jog next to his golf cart while he drinks a frappuccino and smokes.
All you have to do is watch the video of his entrance to understand the dilemma that JT faces. Here, standing in general admission and having waited two and three and four hours in line to see him perform are all the girls that made JT's career. Sure, they're older and a little worse for wear than when they listened to No Strings Attached, but they're still there. And they know how to scream.
And then up in the mezzanine you have the celebrities -- many of them familiar with crafting their image to serve a certain role and fill a gap in the music industry. The folks we saw -- Pink, Diddy (who I half-expected to have had someone with him to clap for him), Nick Lachey are there either as fans or friends or both. And Justin as a performer, performs to them as well.
It all reminded of the scene in Grease where Danny is all excited to see Sandy but when his friends catch this excitement he reverts back into "cool" and "aloof" Danny. As a musician, if the audience doesn't like the songs of FutureSex/LoveSounds, he's comfortable issuing the big FU. As a performer with fans, he's got to let us know he loves us.
Even with the frontin' -- actually even because of the frontin' -- Justin Timberlake knows how to give his fans a memorable and, dare I say, amazing performance. He brings his musical guests up on stage with a sort of grace similar to someone inviting a dear friend into their living room after a long trip. He makes you believe that his job up on stage is not only to entertain the concert goers, but also those who have stopped by to say hello. As Ben said in his own post, this graciousness and comfort in letting others perform their own stuff on his stage makes you realize what confidence is really about. It's certainly not just saying he doesn't care, it's taking the chances and showing he cares through taking risks. It's these risks and talent that make Justin someone you're willing to fly across the country to see perform.
[1] The title refers to the saddest line uttered on Punk'd, maybe MTV for that matter (at around 3:25 in this clip).
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