Justin Timberlake was influenced by music at a young age, with his own father being a Baptist church choir director. The "Can't Stop the Feeling" artist spent his early days in a town called Shelby Forest, which is about 13 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee. Before he was bringing sexy back, Timberlake was singing "Hallelujah" in the church choir where he first honed in on his vocal skills.
The future pop superstar continued to be surrounded by musical influences as a kid, including his grandfather, who'd once played guitar with Elvis Presley (no big deal). After learning guitar himself, a young Timberlake listened to an eclectic range of music, courtesy of his elders, including the works of legends, such as Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and B.B. King, rock influences like the Eagles and Queen, and those who reigned during Hollywood's Golden Age, from Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He also began taking voice lessons at age 8 with Bob Westbrook in Memphis, who told CNN of the youngster's clear star qualities, "Just his mannerisms and his charisma, his hair, the whole bit, his natural stage feel."
His humble beginnings in the South would later be eclipsed by his skyrocket to fame during his teens. In 2017, Timberlake admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that those days feel nonexistent. "I have some faint images from my childhood, but no, I can't really remember not being famous," he recollected (via ET).
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