Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Rio Hondo College Newspaper

El Paisano

Timberlake powers through his sickness for ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

When most people are sick, they tend to not want to do anything but rest, and will usually take a sick day from work. Justin Timberlake, however, is not most people.

Just days after he performed at the I Heart Radio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Timberlake put on a show for over 10,000 fans, all while feeling under the weather. To kick off the season, Jimmy Kimmel Live! hosted a free two day concert event featuring none other than Sir Paul McCartney and Justin Timberlake.

Paul McCartney played a show the first night and Timberlake on the second.  Kimmel shut down about a quarter of a mile worth of Hollywood Boulevard for the event, stretching from Highland Avenue to Sycamore Avenue. “Timberlake enthusiasts” did not simply get tickets for the gig; every ticketed attendee won them from either a radio show or a lottery drawing from 1iota.com

Fans started lining up as early as 1 p.m., in attempt to avoid traffic jams, ushers struggled to keep the lines orderly and eventually started wrapping nearby buildings with people.

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With the number of people attending growing rapidly, the event workers had no choice but to start checking tickets and separating the priority ticket holders from the general.

After receiving a wristband and going through security, ushers guided fans to their sections. Priority ticket holders occupied the space from Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue to Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive; the general admission started behind the partition on Orange Drive all the way down to Hollywood Boulevard and Sycamore Avenue.

As if standing in the heat had not made the fans a bit cranky already, having to stand for at least another four hours among such a huge crowd did not help.

Though most of the attendees were filled with excitement, some grew tired and impatient; “stop bumping into me!” one fan had scolded another. Some people even resorted to sitting on the pavement just to rest their feet for a few moments. While they waited for the concert to start, the fans were able to listen in on the taping of that day’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Timberlake was also guest on the show that day.

As the sun began to slowly but surely set, the crowd’s enthusiasm intensified. The sky grew darker and darker until finally the band and back-up singers walked out on stage. The burst of exhilaration throughout the crowd was instantaneous as Timberlake took the stage.

The fans erupted in applause, cheers, and screams. Timberlake immediately told his audience he was not feeling too well so they were going to have to help him sing, to which the crowd had no objection.

He opened with show with, “Take Back the Night,” from his new album “The 20/20 Experience Part 2 of 2.” During this song, Timberlake reached for one lucky fan’s iPhone and filmed the crowd from his perspective.

He took a quick drink of water when the song finished, turned to the fans and asked if he “could play something new.” Thousands of screams signaled an approval, and Timberlake went on to sing, “TKO,” also off his new album.

As the band transitioned to the next song, Timberlake took a moment to socialize with his audience in saying, “Women are crazy… like f*****g crazy. Sometimes you just gotta let ‘em know.” Fans went ballistic when they recognized the tone of, “Cry Me a River,” playing. Timberlake threw in his own little rendition of “Bandz a Make Her Dance” before transitioning into the first verse to “Cry Me a River.”

Apparently, Timberlake felt a change of pace was in order when he told the fans, “Okay enough of that emo R&B crap.”

Though sick, he still managed to beat box, and rapped a part of Jay-Z’s, “N****s in Paris,” his way into his pop hit, “Rock Your Body.” The already blissful audience raved when Timberlake made a notion that resembled the passing of a joint every time the lyrics, “Said the air is thick, it’s smelling right, so you pass to the left and you sail to the right,” came on.

Also from his newest album, “Mirrors,” was supposed to be the final song of the night, or so Justin Timberlake thought. He even made the band stop at the beginning of the song to give a few final encouraging words, “If I’m going do this, I need to hear everyone singing,” he instructed the audience. “I don’t want to see you big-time me. I know this is Hollywood. F**k all that.”

The fans complied obediently. Timberlake faced the microphone out to the fans for most of the song. When “Mirrors” ended, Timberlake thanked the crowd.

The fans, however, were not satisfied just yet and relentlessly chanted “one more song.” Unwilling to disappoint his fans, Timberlake gave in and came back on stage for an encore. The final song of the night was none other than his chart-topping single, “Sexyback.”

Timberlake uplifted the crowd into a dancing mood when he encouraged the audience saying, “Let me hear you say hell yeah, I’m feeling sexy tonight!”

Justin closed the night with thanking the fans, the band, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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