KEY POINTS:
Up close and personal, Justin Timberlake ain't all that. But add in dancers, flawless back-up vocals, an exceptional band and three keytars, and he's a spectacle second to none.
The last pop star of this magnitude to hit Auckland was Robbie Williams. JT is in a whole other league - a pretender to the throne Jacko abdicated.
He's the song and dance man of the 21st century, and if you get the chance to see him tonight or on Monday, you'd be a fool to miss it.
Timberlake may have earned a reputation for aloofness during his sojourn Down Under, but on stage, he was anything but.
After waiting for the ear-piercing screams to die down, the dreamy SexyBack star announced: "This is the most beautiful place I've seen in my whole life. Probably the nicest people I've met in my life."
Okay, he probably dishes out the same lines where ever he goes, but he says it with such energy and earnestness you can't help but crack a smile.
Particularly when he joked about his Maori welcome: "I was scared, but honoured."
Timberlake may have earned a reputation for being a bit arrogant, but having seen his show, I can see why. If I could make 12,000 people cry hysterically by raising an eyebrow, I'd probably be a bit a of knob too.
Over the next three days, he will make more than $4 million and perform to nearly 35,000 screaming fans.
But Timberlake works hard for his money. Aside from his slick dance moves and Prince-like falsetto, he also showed off his prowess on a piano during What Goes Around and picked up a guitar for Like I Love You.
His back-up dancers brought even more allure to the stage, complementing JT's tightly choreographed steps.
He also answered the question - how do you turn a two-album career into a two-plus hour show? Well, the 15-minute intermission helped. So did the hyper-extended versions of some tracks, including the phenomenal closer, SexyBack.
The high-octane show proved it is possible to both razzle and dazzle without being cheesy and cheap.
Too many productions these days bill themselves as a "spectacular". This one really was. Sensational.
REVIEW
Justin Timberlake
Where: Vector Arena
