Entertainer Evolution

The early months of 2013 have been kind to fans of the millennial pop era. Aaron Carter went on tour, and he even made Syracuse one of his first stops! (See the Syracuse New Times’ Q&A with him here.) Justin Timberlake returned to music and confirmed that there’s more to come!

Timberlake’s new album, The 20/20 Experience, hit stores March 19 (with streaming on iTunes available the week before), and for some fans, like The Boston Globe’s Meredith Goldstein, it was the moment they had been waiting for. It’s not as though Timberlake fell off the grid between now and his last album, 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds, but music is what made him the star he is today. Who can blame them for celebrating his entertainment homecoming?

And it is more of a homecoming than a comeback, because even though Timberlake the musician may have taken a hiatus, Timberlake the entertainer never really went away. If anything, his acting career and popular Saturday Night Live appearances completed his transformation from boy-band wonder to entertainer extraordinaire. While it might have been interesting to see what kind of Timberlake would have emerged from the woodwork had he spent his musical hiatus out of the spotlight, visible Timberlake has managed to keep his likability factor high—not always a guarantee when artists take on new ventures.

Will longtime fans embrace Timberlake’s new tunes? The prospects are looking good so far. As for Carter, we’ll see if the millennial nostalgia factor gives him any boost when his album, The After Party (same name as his current tour), drops later this year.