I saw Justin Timberlake live and it was erotic

I’ve been waiting for over 20 years to see Justin Timberlake in concert. But when it came time to buy tickets for his last date in Europe on a resale site, I was really afraid that he wouldn’t be what he was in the 2000s. I’ll tell you about this roller coaster.
“Oh nooo, Justin, why did you do that?”, I said to myself, my heart in my socks, last June. On the 18th, precisely, when the American tabloids told me that the idol of my adolescence had been arrested “under the influence” while driving. “NOT FAIR WHEN I BUY TICKETS!!” When he was arrested, he himself is said to have said:

“This will compromise the tour…”
Justin Timberlake
Timberlake’s fall, minute by minute
Finally, his European tour will take place. Phew. I’m counting down the days until his concert in Lyon on September 7, the last date on the Old Continent.

With some apprehensions, however. His latest album, Everything I Thought It Was, released at the beginning of the year, is neither bad nor good. The previous one, Man of the Woods? Not great. In fact, since 2013 and The 20/20 Experience, with hits like Mirrors, the American has left us wanting more… Hence my doubts: haven’t I waited too long to see Justin Timberlake on stage?

“I’m 57, and you?”

After a trip from Geneva on a disgusting TER, my friend Pauline and I arrive in Lyon. We meet a lot of other Swiss fans, the tour not stopping on Swiss soil.

We are in the pit, the first part is supposed to start at 7:30 p.m. and we hope we won’t be too badly placed. As we walk at a run, a woman from Marseille approaches us.

“I’m 57, I have a seat, and you? I’m too old to stand for hours!”
A fan from Marseille
In the crowd, we can see that several generations are mixing. There are a few teenagers, but mostly thirty-somethings, forty-somethings, fifty-somethings. In fact, the teenagers are there… with their parents. A little bit old. It’s true that when you think about it, I was barely 11 when his first solo album, Justified, came out, and I didn’t really know his boy band period with NSYNC.

“HE’S GOING TO PASS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!”
In the pit, we position ourselves near an aisle. “He’s going to pass here,” a spectator assures us. Perfect, we’ll be 20 centimeters away. But first, a DJ provides the opening act. He plays almost exclusively hits from the 2000s. It’s fantastic and it sets the tone: we’re all here to relive our youth. The crowd is stamping its feet and dancing…

.. And getting tired. An hour of mixing is nice, but WE WANT JUSTIN! Ahhh, that’s it, the DJ says goodbye, the lights go out. The tension is palpable, the wait is endless.

Justin Timberlake makes a fool of himself then apologizes with humor
The giant screen, even bigger than the stage, lights up. In a desert setting at sunset, reminiscent of the aesthetic of his last album, Justin finally appears, in a black suit over a white t-shirt. Simple, terribly effective. He starts the show with No Angels, from the last album. Apart from the fans who paid a fortune to be in front, the audience doesn’t know the words. Damn, we’re here for your iconic hits! Phew, he follows up with LoveStoned/I Think She Knows, then… Like I Love You. I’m 12 and a half, I’m melting. It’s wonderful.

Justin Timberlake in concert in Lyon.
Twilight and desert atmosphere.
Image: margaux habert
In a sort of desert with this time post-apocalyptic accents, the star comes to pick us up with My Love. And it’s clear that yes, ladies and gentlemen, Justin Timberlake is still in the game. The choreography is similar to that of the video released in 2006, and his hip swaying still gives us hot flashes. A video that I had recorded from MTV on a video cassette to learn the steps; bam, he’s old again.

A hot audience, an erotic atmosphere
Even if we don’t all know the next song, Infinity Sex, the atmosphere is crazy: part of the screen, a kind of big block, has come off and sublimates the performance. It’s frankly spectacular, I’ve never seen anything like it in concert. The details of the videos broadcast on the screen and this independent block are crazy. Oh wow. It goes to FutureSex/LoveSound, one of my favorite songs.

This one. Listen to it. 10 times. Thank you.
The atmosphere has become downright erotic. His way of dancing with the microphone stand, the images of bodies entwined in more than suggestive positions on the block just above him… It’s suddenly hot, right? Besides, spectators are really fainting and being evacuated. If I fall, leave me on the ground, thank you very much.

The songs follow one another, notably with Drown, “to drown” in French. The block, behind the star, broadcasts a video of him, as if imprisoned in this box, while the water rises. It is extremely well done, the image supports the message. It is sublime, spectacular. The staging of this concert, after the immersion in the desert, is crazy.

Justin Timberlake in concert in Lyon.
It is really very beautiful, it tells a story.
Image: margaux habert
Moreover, the transition is perfect: from Justin locked in an aquarium filled with water, here is… Cry Me A River. The scene is as if caught in the middle of a storm. First the rain, the thunder, then powerful waves. The block, held by cables, leans dangerously over the artist, the raging waters become a molten magma. It is magnificent, have I said it already or not?

He could not sing and let us continue the concert in his place. Here they are, the hits of the 2000s! We can recognize the first notes of Señorita. In the part of the song where he usually tells men what to repeat, then the same thing for women, he replaces the words with…

“I don’t even have to explain, do I?”
Justin Timberlake
Indeed, we all know very well what our job is. Same on Summer Love. In our corner of the audience, there is singing, there is dancing. But not as much as Justin, who shows us once again that at 43, his hip swaying still provokes childish giggles.

“He’s thereeeeeee! JUSTIIIIN!”
On the next song, the security guards in front of us are getting excited, making sure that this aisle, marked out only by tape on the ground, in the middle of the audience, is clear, that nothing is lying around. The agents deploy a simple rope to keep the fans in their place, without a barrier.

“Look, he’s there! JUSTIIIN! I LOVE YOUUUU!”
All of us

Animated GIF
Oh hello, you.
margaux habert
He actually passes… a few centimeters from us. Causes mass hysteria. And then kindly continues his concert on a smaller stage, at the back of the audience, with Suit and Tie. He stays there for several songs, including Say Something, Until The End Of Time and What Goes Around Comes Around, which he sings and plays on the guitar (this man can definitely do everything). And to think that we were afraid that the golden boy had become some kind of cheesy old man… Besides, he takes the opportunity to tell us how lucky he is to be there.

“It’s the last date in Europe… The best for last!”
Justin Timberlake
Visibly moved, Justin wipes away a tear and tells us that he recognizes some faces. “It’s been 20 years, 25 years, we grew up together…”, he smiles. It’s really, really true. My youth is literally singing and dancing a few meters away from me. (I repeat, if I faint, leave me on the floor, thank you.) “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid,” he assures us. Same here, Justin.

A grand finale
While we’re also on the verge of tears, Justin has the good idea to resume the show. Phew, it was starting to become emotionally difficult to bear. With Can’t Stop The Feeling, he revives a joyful atmosphere. Which goes up another notch with Rock Your Body, one of his biggest – and oldest – hits. In the video, released in 2003, he sports a hideous goatee and big diamonds in his ears. There is still some good in getting older – or growing up, as he says.

Here is the cocktail that finished Justin Timberlake
Here is a song that hasn’t aged a day: SexyBack. The LDLC Arena is going to explode. Once again, the use of block is crazy: in shades of red, Justin’s face floats almost menacingly above the stage.

Let’s shiver!
Let’s shiver!

Image: @justintimberlake
The production is masterful, we really have the impression that he is in relief, in 3D. “He’s going to finish with Mirrors,” I say (or rather I shout) in Pauline’s ear. With a pang in my heart, these are precisely the first notes of this song that ring out. Well, it’s been almost two hours since the concert started, it’s true. Time has

sse much faster here than in the decrepit Soviet TER.

Held by cables, the artist sings on the block, which moves above the crowd. Everything is beautiful, everything is perfect. To the point that emotion takes over and finally brings a tear to my eye. And to think that we were afraid that Justin would no longer be in the game… On the contrary. The show, American style, is timed, calibrated, spectacular, aesthetic, without sacrificing the emotions he shares with the audience. On the last notes of Mirrors, the block carries Justin away, who greets us with a heart and hands behind the stage. Sigh. How good it was.

“Will we go back, when he comes back to Europe?”
Pauline
Of course. And this time, we won’t wait 20 years. “Or else, we’re going to Montreal on October 4th, for my birthday!”, I answer my friend. It is with this perfectly unrealistic idea, but strong enough to face the torrents of water that are falling on Lyon, that we leave. Bye Bye Bye, Justin!