Justin Timberlake has responded to a viral video roasting his early-2000s beatboxing habit with an apology of sorts: “Too many boots. Too many cats.”
The “Rock Your Body” singer jumped into the comments of an Instagram video from creator Hannah Young, who joked that Timberlake’s tendency to break into beatboxing during his *NSYNC and early solo years somehow went largely unquestioned at the time.
“We don’t talk about Justin Timberlake beatboxing enough,” Young said in the clip. “Because there was a moment in time where that man would be in the middle of a song and just boots and cats and boots and cats.”
She continued, “Nobody questioned it. Nobody said, ‘Justin, you know? We have drums. This is a professional recording studio. There are instruments available to you.’”
“And we liked it,” she added. “That’s what I need us to sit with.”
Timberlake clearly appreciated the joke.
“I often look back on that time as well,” he wrote in the comments. “I still haven’t come up with any answers. I don’t know how to apologize enough for whatever those ambitions were. Too many boots. Too many cats. I hope you can forgive me.”
He then added one important caveat: “Also, I can’t promise I won’t do it again. God help us all.”
The singer famously showcased his skills on *NSYNC’s 2001 track “Pop”, though, beatboxing wasn’t just an onstage party trick. The technique was woven into some of the music that helped establish his solo career after *NSYNC.
He previously recalled on Hot Ones that Timbaland beatboxed the foundation of “Cry Me a River” before the two began building the track in the studio.
“The crazy thing about ‘Cry Me a River’ was he beat-boxed it first,” Timberlake said. “I came into the studio and I was like less than thrilled and I think he saw my mood and he just started, like, [beat-boxing].”
“Four hours later it was, like, written and recorded and then we started working on post-production,” he added.
Released on Timberlake’s 2002 debut solo album, Justified, “Cry Me a River” became one of his early signature hits and helped establish the sound that would carry into his blockbuster follow-up, FutureSex/LoveSounds.
That album celebrated its 20th anniversary in September, with Timberlake reflecting on the era as “life changing.” It produced three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles — “SexyBack,” “My Love” with T.I. and “What Goes Around…Comes Around.”
Across his solo career, Timberlake has earned 39 Billboard Hot 100 entries, 19 top 10 hits and five No. 1s. His other chart-toppers include Timbaland’s “Give It to Me,” featuring Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, and 2016’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
