JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (3 stars)
January 19, MGM Grand
Timberlake sang, danced, rapped, sat at a piano, stood at a keyboard, strummed a guitar and even toasted his mom's birthday, coming off more like a budding Prince than an ex-boy bander who turns 26 this month. Okay, his guitar chops didn't really remind anyone of His Purple Majesty, but credit the kid for developing as a performer since last he toured arenas as Christina Aguilera's opening act.
JT's audience has also matured noticeably. A smattering of teens turned out, squealing when he launched into *Nsync's "Gone" and snapping cell-phone cameras at a seated Kevin Federline, who showed up to see his ex-wife's ex-boyfriend strut his stuff. But most of the fans encircling a center-floor stage were old enough to hit the nightclubs afterwards, jump-starting their evening with the provocative, danceable tunes off 2006's Futuresex/Lovesounds.
The first set—yes, Timberlake took an intermission in the great pop tradition of the London Philharmonic and Grateful Dead—straight sizzled with energy, the sea of bodies in nonstop motion during the title cut, "My Love," "What Goes Around" and the rest, as the headliner and his dancers, instrumentalists and vocalists took advantage of a nifty stage setup featuring long gangways, raisable band positions and translucent, circular curtains onto which live footage and other effects were projected.
A Timbaland DJ set maintained momentum during the break, but soon after returning to the stage, Timberlake, along with most of his admirers, hit the wall, done in by a limited songbook, a "Cry Me a River" clash between out-of-tune vocals and screeching guitars and the poor decision to hold megahit "SexyBack" until the last moment. Chalk it up to leftover growing pains.