Justin Timberlake, It's Time for You to Take on India

By: Alex Gonzalez

Justin Timberlake, you have come a long way from being a random Mickey Mouse Club cast member. You've been in the public eye for well over a decade now and you've gone from being the kid from 'NSYNC that everyone knew about, secretly liked but didn't want to admit it for fear of ridicule to a mega solo pop star who can pull off performing R&B while having those that hated on you earlier wish you'd do a song with their favorite artist. You're a major example of the success someone has when crossing over from pop rather than to pop. India's going through a phase where they know about R&B, but not enough to know when they're hearing good R&B music. As usual there's always that artist that can break the barriers down and Justin, you might just be the guy for the job.

Now Justin, when you first came out as an artist, you were part of the boy band 'NSYNC. You sold more records than you can even count, but to say the music was manufactured is putting it nicely. You were a fan favorite and soon enough, a household name. India knows all about that bubblegum pop music, so in case "Operation: School India on R&B" falls on deaf ears, you can always break out into a rousing medley of 'NSYNC hits. Now, I myself might walk out of the room, but hey, it's better than an entire country turning on you.

The turnaround you made to mostly R&B is very impressive. Of course, hooking up with Timbaland and Danja as your main producers cannot hurt one bit. Timbaland has had a history of using Indian style beats in the past, so if you want to get people hooked on R&B while still having a Desi feel to it, Timbo's the guy to call. You went solo and put out 2 wildly successful albums that experiment with new sounds. I wouldn't call R&B in India new, but you can definitely be a gateway to other R&B artists so they can get their shine there. If they like you, they can get to know artists like Robin Thicke and Raphael Saadiq. India could use a little blue eyed soul.

Now we're hearing that you're not going to put out an album this year and you're not going to tour either. You might want to reconsider that though. You're a busy man, that much is true, but how about making India your chill out spot? You don't have to go tour or make music if you want to, but you can be around the people at least. Be a man about town. Amongst the 15 million people or so in Mumbai and the hustle and bustle that the common man lives with, you could realistically just go about your business without being mobbed. It would be cool if people had stories about running into you at random moments of the day, like having Justin Timberlake sightings. In a way you'd be like Elvis to India.

Lastly, your style has evolved. If we turn back the clock to 1999, you looked like you were advertising Old Navy when they had those ridiculously cheesy commercials. Your hair looked like the result of pleas in vain from your mom to stop bleaching your hair. Luckily for you, you ditched the Justin Guarini from American Idol haircut and the Abercrombie and Fitch gear. Now, people can't see you unless you're wearing a suit or a blazer. The hair is shorter and you even got a big tattoo on your arm. In short, you went from dorky to dapper. You claim to have brought "Sexy Back," but how about bringing that back to India. Next thing you know, dudes in India will be wearing suits just to go grocery shopping or eating at a local hangout. The suit is always stylish, but Justin Timberlake, the suit can become borderline casual gear because of you.

Justin Timberlake, it's not about what India can do for you, but more, what you can do for India. For a country as big as they are, it would be a shame to leave them behind in terms of what is current. R&B is thriving around the world. You know that especially considering how successful the switch was for you. Now, R&B needs to be heard and heard a lot in India and you definitely have the clout, power, and fame to make that a reality. The things you can do to have R&B become a mainstay there could absolutely impact the interest in the genre there for years to come.

What do you guys think Justin Timberlake needs to do to get R&B going at a major rate in India? Do you have another R&B artist in mind that is better than Justin Timberlake or can make the R&B transition for India a lot smoother? Drop us a comment and let us know what you think.