Justin Timberlake: I Looked Like a ‘Moron’ During *NSYNC Years

*NSYNC was oh-so stylish back in the day.

In the late '90s, there were few people cooler than the boy band *NSYNC — at least according to teenage girls. And they thought frontman Justin Timberlake was the coolest! Grinning or trying to look tough from
under his curly, bleach-blond hair, and wearing chunky necklaces and jackets coordinated with his bandmates, he seemed to believe the hype. Now 31, however, J.T. reveals to Details magazine that looking back, he thinks he looked pretty ridiculous while working with JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, and Chris Kirkpatrick. "There were many moments in my teenage years where I succumbed to, um, the weirdness of the group I was in," he said. "And in trying to conform — we're marionettes! — I ended up looking like a moron." (As you'll recall, the guys famously played marionettes in the video for their highly addictive song "Bye Bye Bye" and on the cover of their 2000 No Strings Attached album. )
 
Justin Timberlake says the younger him looked like a moron

Timberlake, who's now a successful solo singer, actor, restaurateur, and designer engaged to actress Jessica Biel, has much better style these days. In fact, the Tennessee native said his biggest pet peeve is seeing guys over-style their hair — something he could be accused of doing at one time. "I don't like when I see guys do too much hair gel," he said. "I don't mean ['Jersey Shore' star] Pauly D — because that's basically performance art. But when you use enough hair gel that your hair becomes a sculpture — and you wanted it to look that way? It's just weird."
As for his own coif, the former *NSYNC star said he prefers to use no products at all. That's because his favorite look is one that he isn't sporting now: a shaved head. "It's scary the first time you do it, because you don't know what's under there — you could have some weird knot — but a shaved head is just so easy." As you would expect from someone so obsessed with hairstyles, Timberlake loves spending time in a barber chair. "Going to an actual barbershop — the whole hot-towel, old-school experience," is one indulgence every man should try, he said. "You sit there and get your hands massaged while getting a shave? Nothing wrong with that."