Justin Timberlake isn't quitting music. He's just not putting songs together let alone know if he'll ever put together an album again.
Okay then.
The popstar turned movie star opened up about his life and career -- past, future and present -- in a wide-ranging Q&A with Playboy Magazine. Now that he's scoring big film roles -- he starred, of course, in last year's "The Social Network," and is top lining "Friends with Benefits" and "Bad Teacher" this summer -- he doesn't have the time, or passion to commit full time to music.
"You go through these spurts when you miss it. In a perfect world I'd love to be able to involve myself in music and films as they come and go. But I'm always writing music, always thinking about ideas for songs," he told the magazine. But that doesn't mean there's going to be a Justin Timberlake song to buy anytime soon.
"I don't have a single song ready to go. People keep asking me when a new song or album is coming out, and I don't know what to say," he admitted. "Music is not my focus right now. It may be someday. It could happen next month or next year, but right now it's not where it's at for me."
It's really a matter of passion -- and time commitment.
"Unfortunately, the business of music is what taints an artist's desire to make music. I don't want to paint a picture of being jaded, because I love making music. I honestly love it. But there is a level where making music becomes a total life-sucking commitment. For instance, to do an album and a tour, you have to be absolutely certain that whatever you have to say is from the heart, because you're going to say it a thousand times--and on nights when you don't feel like performing. You need to feel inspiration to get to a level where you're performing like that. But I haven't felt that level of conviction the past few years. And without that conviction it's crazy to put yourself out there."
It's hard to blame Timberlake -- he's been at it for years now, since his time with "The Mickey Mouse Club." Then, of course, came 'N Sync, which was quite the overwhelming experience. Except, surprisingly, given his celebrity hookup track record, with girls.
"I hate to disappoint you, but I was the youngest one in the group, so the other guys were getting more of that action, and they were protective of me. I think I was the one who cared about what we were doing onstage. My role was, we'd come offstage every night and get a DVD of the show, just like an athlete watching tape from a game. We'd get on the bus, and I'd go, 'Okay, here's what we did right; here's what we did wrong,' and we'd fix it for the next day. But yeah, the girl stuff definitely was a heavy part of it, and it would play with your mind. I remember looking down once--we were playing Madison Square Garden for an HBO special--and this girl put her arm out. She had a mural of me tattooed along her whole arm. I just remember looking at it and thinking, Holy sh*t, that's never going to come off."
He still had lots of fun, despite the hard work -- something he revealed recently to Vanity Fair.
"It was exciting that we were having so much success and we could do whatever we wanted. And I mean that about everybody: Backstreet Boys, 'NSync, Britney, Christina," Timberlake recalled. "At that time, we could literally go, 'Oh, man, let's go to Bali,' and we'd be on a plane to Bali. We were little kids with big toys. You do the math--that's not going to last... Ryan [Gosling] and I used to steal golf carts and go driving in the middle of the park to get milk shakes, and we never got in trouble for it. We thought we were big shit."
Now 30 years old, Timberlake likes to take time to relax. Which includes golfing and more action-packed sports. And, well, smoking marijuana.
"Absolutely," he answers when asked if he's a pot smoker. "The only thing pot does for me is it gets me to stop thinking. Sometimes I have a brain that needs to be turned off. Some people are just better high."
For much more, click over to Playboy.
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