IHeartRadio Music Awards 2024: Justin Timberlake kicks off the show with intimate acoustic number before bringing down the house with songs from new album
Justin Timberlake kicked off the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday evening with a dual performance showing the breadth of his talent.
The 43-year-old singer–songwriter opened the show on a surprisingly muted note by performing his new ballad Selfish, which he performed on acoustic guitar.
But he raised the energy level — and the volume — when he segued into a high-energy version of another new tune, No Angels.
Both opening songs were featured on Timberlake’s recent album Everything I Thought It Was, which was released on March 15 to middling reviews.
The awards show, which was held at the Dolby Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, honors the artists and songs who were most played on iHeartRadio stations and the app.
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Justin Timberlake, 43, kicked off the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday evening with a dual performance showing the breadth of his talent
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The NSYNC member opened the show on a surprisingly muted note by performing his new ballad Selfish, which he performed on acoustic guitar
Timberlake was dressed in an intriguing double-breasted charcoal suit jacket with peaked lapels and a single button.
It featured an unusual vent on the front, just over his left hip, which might have helped the jacket flow while he played guitar.
He had on what looked like a black tank top underneath the jacket, and he paired it with a set of baggy black slacks and a set of black sneakers with white soles that clashed with the classier elements of his ensemble.
The hitmaker wore his short dark hair close cropped on the sides and standing up on top, along with some designer stubble and an unusual pearl necklace.
Timberlake spoke over the crowd’s initial cheers as he counted off the first song, Selfish.
He made some rare instrumental contributions by playing an elegantly decorated acoustic guitar with another guitarist at his side.
But the Rock Your Body singer kept the ballad short so that he could get to the dance-friendly jam No Angels.
The crowd roared as he took off his guitar and started showing off some jerky dance moves in the song’s intro.
Both of the songs are featured on Justin’s album Everything I Thought It Was, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 albums chart and received mostly mixed reviews.
Justin was pictured backstage later as he posed with country star — and Yellowstone actress — Lainey Wilson, who performed with the rapper-turned-country singer Jelly Roll at the awards show.
Ludacris hosted the celeb-packed affair, and Beyoncé and Cher received awards recognizing their contributions to music. The Queen Bey was awarded the iHeartRadio Innovator Award while Cher received the Icon Award.
In addition to seeing their favorite artists win awards, viewers were treated to an array of performances by Justin Timberlake, Tate McRae, Green Day, Jelly Roll and TLC.
The ceremony can be watched on FOX and heard on various iHeartRadio stations and on the iHeartRadio app.
+8
View gallery
Timberlake was dressed in an intriguing double-breasted charcoal suit jacket with peaked lapels and a single button. It featured an unusual vent on the front, just over his left hip
+8
View gallery
He had on a black tank top underneath the jacket, and he paired it with baggy black slacks and black sneakers with white soles that clashed with the classier elements of his ensemble
+8
View gallery
The hitmaker wore his short dark hair close cropped on the sides and standing up on top, along with some designer stubble and an unusual pearl necklace
+8
View gallery
The Rock Your Body singer kept his ballad Selfish short so that he could get to the dance-friendly jam No Angels, which got the crowd roaring
