Last night in Memphis, Tennessee singer Justin Timberlake was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. The Memphis Music Hall of Fame honors musical performers, producers, writers, and radio professionals who have either lived in Memphis or have strong ties to the Memphis area. Last night Timberlake joined a short list of Hall-of-Famers, the most famous of which includes Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Al Green, and ZZ Top.
Jimmy Fallon, host of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and a long time friend of Timberlake, inducted Justin into the Hall of Fame. Fallon commanded the room with his comedic presence. In his introduction he poked fun at presidential candidate Donald Trump as well as singer Justin Bieber. He joked with Timberlake’s wife, Jessica Biel, by saying that he is the actual Mrs. Timberlake and that she would have to just accept it. After five minutes of making hilarious jokes and praising Timberlake, Fallon called Timberlake onto the stage to accept his award.
Timberlake and Fallon embraced and Timberlake proceeded to deliver the longest speech of the night (nearly 30 minutes), though none of us watching minded. He was hilarious, charming, moving, passionate, and inspirational. Timberlake reveled in how grateful he was to be born and raised in Memphis by parents who instilled in him a love for music and a love for his hometown. Timberlake thanked his wife for loving him despite his shortcoming. He humorously went on to say that, “although she [his wife] ain’t from here [Memphis], she’s built like she is,” and that “here in Memphis we like to EATS with an ‘s’ at the end.” Timberlake thanked his parents, friends, family, and everyone who has helped and inspired him along his way. One of the more memorable moments of Timberlake’s speech came when he and Jimmy Fallon paraded on stage to the University of Memphis’ fight song. Though Timberlake was unmistakably hilarious, he brought many in the audience to tears with his vulnerability and humility. It was clear to everyone watching that Timberlake felt overwhelmingly thankful and blessed, and he went as far as to say that being inducted is, “the f**king coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
At only 34 years old, Justin Timberlake has officially become the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Timberlake has achieved more in his 34 years than many musicians achieve in a lifetime (four studio albums, two compilation albums, 40 singles, 9 GRAMMY awards), and it is clear that he will continue to excel musically in the years to come. For now, we will all rejoice with Timberlake as he claims his rightful seat atop the list of Hall-of-Famers in the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
Here is a full-length version of Jimmy Fallon’s introduction and Justin Timberlake’s acceptance speech!
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