When Justin Timberlake was 13, he wrote his first song. And what was the inspiration that first moved the eventual Grammy and Emmy award-winner to put pen to paper?
An earring.
The young teen wanted to get his ear pierced. His parents' answer demonstrated how they subtly encouraged Timberlake toward a path in music. My parents said, If you write a song about it, we'll take you to get your ear pierced.'
This was just one of the many stories the singer, songwriter, and actor recounted casually from the stage in a packed Berklee Performance Center the day before he'd be given an honorary doctorate-along with Missy Elliott and Alex Lacamoire B.M. '95-at the 2019 commencement proceedings. Before getting to those stories, he had an exceptionally hyper crowd to calm, as he walked out to an uproarious standing ovation that lasted almost two minutes without losing a decibel of volume.
Listen to a snippet of the crowd's reaction as he was introduced by Panos Panay, vice president of innovation and strategy:
Favoring ripped jeans over a graduation robe, Timberlake sat for an informal interview with Panay and regaled the students in the audience with stories behind his hit songs, his collaborations with the likes of Madonna, and inking his first major deal with NSYNC-the latter of which he did at age 15, just two years after his ode to earrings. Here are some highlights from that conversation.
On Not Fearing Clich s People say, I don't want to be clich . But clich s are the truth over and over again, so that's okay. Because the truth is always what we need. Not always what we want, but it's what we need.
Music vibrates. Music does move a vibration. And there are certain keys that move different vibrations. E-flat minor is one-it's an awesome key to write music in. But also? C is a great key to write in. C is the clich of musical keys because it's true over and over again.
When you hear the opening C chord in Can't Stop the Feeling!'-that's what I want. I want that [immediate excitement]. It's not a science, it is an art.
On Gaining Confidence as a Songwriter I started to gain more confidence when I started working with [pop songwriting powerhouse] Max Martin. I was 16, and in a group that you may or may not have heard of. We [the members of NSYNC] had just signed a deal. I was 15 when we actually signed the deal. But I was 16 years old when they sent us to Stockholm to work with this group of hitmakers.
I was really lucky to be exposed at such a young age to [Martins] tenacity of just writing a song. Turning over every stone to see what could sound wrong and right at the same time, and the way they worked.
Read More
Learn more about Timberlake, Missy Elliott, and Alex Lacamoires experience at the 2019 commencement proceedings. The most important thing you can do as a songwriter is listen. To really hear what's happening.
Being cool is not a thing. It's an un-thing. Be passionate, be angry, frustrated, or be sad, or happy-just don't try to be cool. Your confidence will come from within. Just keep writing.
[For Cant Stop the Feeling!]: That song specifically-I just don't know how I was so lucky to stumble into that idea. Every song feels that way. I could tell you where these ideas come from, but I don't remember how, from that point, it ended up being finished. There's this wave of creativity that rushes over you when you find inspiration.
On Trying to Save the World with Madonna With Madonna, our writing process [for the song 4 Minutes] was such that she had a journal. It was very personal. It's a very personal experience to cowrite with people. The songs have to come from an honest place.
[To Madonna]: These lyrics are so heavy. Can we lighten it up a little? And she said no-she's Madonna; she can say no. And I finally was just like, Oh my God, we have four minutes! We can't save the world in four minutes! [pauses] Ok, we're gonna save the world in four minutes-that's what the song was gonna be.
On Failure and Daring to Suck I only have one rule in the studio: dare to suck. There are no wrong answers when it comes to creating art, because it's only going to lead you to what feels good to you. And if you're going to connect that to other people, it has to feel good to you first.
Life happens in the grey area. It happens when you're misunderstood. That's like, when the really good stuff happens. You can learn from failure and success. There's never a wrong answer. I think we are defined by what happens right after we feel like we've failed.
Related categories:
News
Related Reading
Missy Elliott, Alex Lacamoire, Justin Timberlake Honored at Commencement The music icons received honorary doctorates for their lasting contributions to music and popular culture.
Star-Studded Commencement to Honor Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott, and Alex Lacamoire Berklee Today
Spring
2019
Volume
30
Number
3
Missy Elliott, Alex Lacamoire, and Justin Timberlake to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee Commencement Berklees commencement ceremony takes place on Saturday, May 11, at the Agganis Arena at Boston University.
More from Berklee Now
Most Popular
What Its like to Be a Woman in the Music Industry Erin Barra, a professor in Berklees Songwriting Department, and researcher Becky Prior share key findings from the first-ever study on women working in the music industry, published by Berklee and Women in Music.
Latest
Justin Timberlake Talks Songwriting Secrets, Clich s, and Earrings The multiplatinum recording artist shared stories from his two-decade career while on campus to receive an honorary doctorate.
BerkleeNYC Launches Community Fund The BerkleeNYC Community Fund will raise money for scholarships, pr
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
The Very Small Creatures
Jaime's Treetop Tales
Emerald
BooSnoo! Christmas Mashup
Pip & Posy's Spooktacular Party
The Very Sm...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
Brand new rewards are coming to Sky customers, with free ...
When Justin Timberlake was 13, he wrote his first song. And what was the inspiration that first moved the eventual Grammy and Emmy award-winner to put pen to paper?
