Justin Timberlake brings 'SexyBack.'

Oprah's getting up close and personal with three of the world's biggest music superstars…including first-time guest Justin Timberlake!

Justin got his first taste of fame at an early age on shows like Star Search and The New Mickey Mouse Club. As a teenager, Justin—known as JT to his fans—sang and danced his way into the hearts of millions as a member of *NSYNC, a chart-topping boy band that sold millions of records worldwide.

In 2002, Justin struck out on his own and released Justified, his first solo album. It went on to sell more than 7 million copies worldwide, making him one of the hottest acts in the music business.

Now, this Tennessee native is "bringing sexy back" with his latest CD, Future Sex/Love Sounds. In 2006, his first single off the album, "SexyBack," soared to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed on top for seven weeks!

"So you brought sexy back," Oprah says. "Where had it gone?"

"The funniest thing about that song was, originally, it wasn't going to be titled 'SexyBack,'" Justin says. "We didn't know what we were going to call it, and that was sort of an ad lib line that started off the actual writing of the song. Then I started playing it for a lot of different women … and they kept saying, 'That Sexy Back song.' And I was like, well, all right. It stuck to the wall."
Justin's mom, Lynn, shares why she's proud of her son.

Justin says he feels lucky to be able to do what he loves and travel the world playing music…but his success didn't come without sacrifice. "[People] always say [it takes] 90 percent preparation and 10 percent luck," he says. "It's not without hard work."

In the beginning, Justin says fame made him feel like an outsider. "I would film [The New Mickey Mouse Club] six months out of the year, and then go back to a small town in Tennessee," he says. "In that small town, yeah, I was a big deal, you know? But it was kind of interesting…I kind of became an outcast in school because I wasn't normal."

When Justin left Tennessee and began touring with *NSYNC, his career took off. He credits his mom, Lynn, and stepfather for keeping him grounded all these years. "I just remember my mom always instilling those thoughts in me that at the end of the day or at the beginning of the day, we all put our pants on the same way," he says.

It's not Justin's chart-topping hits or his dance moves that make his mom proud. Lynn says she's most proud of how her son handles superstardom. "[I'm proud] that he is so well-grounded—that he's a good person," she says. "It's like they say, 'Don't believe the hype.' You have to be able to separate who you are and what you do."
Justin Timberlake talks about the paparazzi.

When Justin isn't on stage, he says he likes to play golf, hang out with friends and host game nights at his house. "I don't really live as fabulous a life as you would think," he says.

Even when he's doing something mundane, like grocery shopping or walking his dogs, Justin says he has constant companions…the paparazzi. At first, he says their presence was surreal.

"[When] you drive out of your [driveway] and people are kind of sitting waiting to follow you, you know, 'He's going to go to Whole Foods. We need to capture that.' You're just like, okay, this is kind of weird. … You kind of try to pretend it's not there."

Over the years, Justin says he has become defensive and protective if the paparazzi followed him while he was with friends and family. Now, he tries to come to an agreement with photographers. "It's like, 'Look, you guys have the technology of telephoto lenses and you can shoot those pictures [from far away],'" he says. "I think it's one of those things that, if you let it, it will consume you."
Justin Timberlake says he hasn't spoken to Britney Spears in years.

When Justin was a teenager, he was involved in a highly publicized relationship with a fellow pop star—Britney Spears. The pair met on the set of The New Mickey Mouse Club in the early '90s. They dated for a few years before splitting up in 2002.

Recently, Britney has been making headlines for out-of-the-ordinary behavior.

Oprah: What do you think is going on with Britney?

Justin: I don't know, to be honest with you. I haven't spoken to her in years. I mean, there's no ill will—I have nothing but love for her. It's funny because we dated each other at a time…wow, I haven't talked about this in a long time. It's interesting.

Oprah: But you've never talked about it to me, so it's okay.

Justin: Hey, let's get it in, girl.

Oprah: Let's get it in.

Justin: We were teenagers, you know?

Oprah: Yes, famous teenagers.

Justin: I think that's basically the best way to describe what happened to us. I think she's a great person, and I don't know her as well as I did …. What I do know about her is she has a huge heart, and she is a great person.
Justin Timberlake talks about his latest romance.

Justin has been involved in a few high-profile relationships in the past, but he's keeping his latest romance under wraps. "I'm dating someone," he says. "But all I can tell you is she smells lovely."

Oprah may not get a name out of Justin, but he does share a few secrets about his personal life. "I get pretty romantic around her," he says. Justin admits that he even sings to her sometimes.

While he's away on tour, Justin says he stays connected to his mystery woman through iChat, a computer program that lets you see the person you're talking to with a webcam. "Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes. … I find that to be really cool, when you can actually see someone's face. I do it with my friends, as well, just to have a conversation back and forth. It just makes you feel closer, that's all."

Dating isn't easy—especially when your relationship gets played out in the public eye. In a past interview, Justin said tabloids create soap operas out of people's lives. "If two famous people are dating each other, what I found—and I could be wrong—but just in my personal experience, [they think] if you're not going to get married, then you're breaking up."
Justin Timberlake sings 'What Goes Around.'

Justin has branched out to television and movies, but he still thrives on performing his music live.

"I find performing live to just be something that's unexplainable," he says. "I've had food poisoning, I've had the flu, and somehow you hit the stage and start this sort of conversation with the audience and something electric happens…you can't explain it. I find it to be probably the closest to a holy experience that I can imagine."

When Justin's on stage, he says he wants every person in the audience to feel like they're in his living room.

Justin gives Oprah's audience a taste of that by performing "What Goes Around," a single off Future Sex/Love Sounds.
Reba McEntire

Country music legend Reba McEntire has sold almost 50 million albums, released 33 number one hits and won two Grammy Awards in a career spanning 30 years—and she's still going strong! As she releases her 31st album in September 2007, Reba says she's having the best time of her life.

Reba says work—and vacationing—have been keeping her very busy! "It's been a South Pacific summer. I went to Fiji, Bora Bora and Hawaii. Isn't that nice?" she says. "And then I did three days at the Hollywood Bowl doing South Pacific with Brian Stokes Mitchell."
Reba and Oprah

Through all her success, Reba—who has a fondness for Wal-Mart trips and splurges at Taco Bell—makes her family a top priority. Reba credits them for keeping her grounded. "My sister Alice one year for a Christmas present gave me a toilet seat lid cover that said, 'The Twinkle,'" Reba says. "But then everybody else said, 'Why doesn't she call you a star?' And she told me, she said, 'You keep working at it. One day you'll be a star, but right now, you're a twinkle.'"

At age 52, Reba says she is as happy as she can be. "The reason I'm so happy is because I finally decided to quit trying to please everybody," Reba says. "All my life, I was always trying to please somebody. And [then] I started saying, 'You know what? If I'm not happy, how can I make anybody else happy?' Whether it's my husband, my children, my mom and daddy."
Reba and Kelly sing 'Because of You.'

The decision to record her most recent album, Reba Duets, came from a desire to do something special. Reba invited several of her musician friends to sing with her on the record—which presented a scheduling challenge. "It's hard, you know. You hate to put your friends on the spot," Reba says. "But they said, 'Yeah, let's go do it.' And it was so much fun."

Reba met Kelly Clarkson at the American Idol finale in 2002—the year Kelly won the title—and they've been buddies ever since. So when she was making the Duets album, Reba asked Kelly to join her. They teamed up to record a new version of Kelly's song "Because of You," which they perform on The Oprah Show.

Kelly was just 16 years old when she wrote "Because of You." She says it's about the "cycle of family"—how children act the way they do because of their parents. "It touched my heart so much," Reba says. "It's such a relatable song."
Kelly Clarkson

Since winning American Idol in 2002, Kelly has carved out a successful career—including two Grammy wins. Her 2004 album, Breakaway, sold 6 million records in the United States and 11 million worldwide, according to her website. And her latest album, My December, debuted at number two on the Billboard charts in summer 2007.

Although Reba says she was worried about taking up her friends' time when they were recording the Duets album, Kelly doesn't think it was a burden at all! "It's not really 'taking up your time.' It's cool," she says. "It's not like, 'Oh, I have to go sing with Reba,' " she jokes.
Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire

Kelly says the songs she writes always come from inside of her. "It's not like you sit down and you're like, 'I'm going to write the song, and it's going to be in 4/4.' It's not like that," she says. "You're journaling, and then it just turns into songs, so it's good. It's my outlet."

Reba says she doesn't write songs as much as she used to—but that's where Kelly comes in! "I'll get an idea every once in a while. Somebody will say something, and I'll write it down—and then I'll tell Kelly," Reba says. "That works out real well."

Even though Reba is 52 and Kelly is 25, Kelly doesn't really notice the age gap when they hang out together. "We even went to Yosemite, and we're hiking up this mountain, and my mom—God bless you, I love you—would have been at the bottom of the mountain being like, 'Well, I'll hold your bags and I'll sit it out.'" But not Reba! "She and [her husband] Narvel were ahead of us," Kelly says. "It was a big mountain!"
Kelly avoids the inconveniences of fame at her Texas home.

Kelly's success has launched her into stardom, but she has found a way to avoid some of the inconveniences of fame. "I live in Texas on 60 acres of land, away from everybody. When I'm not working, I'm home," Kelly says. "I don't really live here in it, so it's very different for me."

But that doesn't mean the photographers don't target Kelly when she leaves her Texas retreat! "When Kelly and I will hang out in L.A.," Reba says. "We'll come out of the restaurant … here comes the paparazzi to Kelly, taking all the pictures, and they'll look up and say, 'Oh, hi, Reba,'" she jokes.
Reba and Justin sing 'The Only Promise That Remains.'

When Justin heard that Reba was recording an album of duets, he and his best friend penned a song just for her. It only took an hour and a half! "When songs happen like that, you just know they're special," Justin says.

Justin visited Reba at the studio and played the song for her, and she liked it right away. "You're going to understand why I loved it so much," Reba says. Justin joins Reba on The Oprah Show stage to sing "The Only Promise That Remains."

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