Someone had to make pop music suck less. That someone was Justin Timberlake. Though he first emerged with 'N Sync in the middle of American music's darkest hour, the kid grew up, and so did his music. Debuting his first single, ""Like I Love You,"" at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, a grimmer future seemed to be on the horizon. Donning a hat and gloves, delivering a deathly serious performance full of dance breaks and falsettos, his solo career seemed doomed to be more of the same old crap—a dime-store Michael Jackson for teeny boppers. But Timberlake hit his stride quickly. He honed his vocal skills. He forged relationships with strong producers. While the Neptunes produced that disappointing first single, they also produced ""Rock Your Body,"" one of the best pure pop songs of the decade. Working with Timbaland led to two of the best scorned lover songs of recent years in ""Cry Me a River"" and ""What Goes Around ... / ... Comes Around."" He also developed a great public sense of humor about himself. In an era of humorless A-Listers like Kanye and Bono, Timberlake instead became the only must-see ""Saturday Night Live"" host of his generation. It's easier to get away with saying you're bringing sexy back if you're willing to follow it up with ""Dick in a Box."" It has allowed him to become his own persona and make a cultural imprint beyond his music (well, that and showing us half of Janet Jackson's rack).
Honorable Mention - Justin Timberlake
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