Watch: Justin Timberlake Playfully Apologizes for His Beatboxing Era
Justin Timberlake is taking a look in the mirror when it comes to his beatboxing passion.
After content creator Hannah Young jokingly questioned why Timberlake’s habit of using vocal percussion went largely unchecked during his early career, the Grammy winner apologized for his preferred music technique.
In the video shares to Instagram Oct. 5, Young noted how “we don’t talk about Justin Timberlake beatboxing enough,” adding that “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.”
“Nobody questioned it,” she continued. “Nobody said, ‘Justin, you know? We have drums. This is a professional recording studio. There are instruments available to you.’ And we liked it. That’s what I need us to sit with.”
And Timberlake certainly did, noting he just couldn’t stop the feeling at the time.
“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.”
Even so, he can’t guarantee he won’t bring his beatboxing back, adding, “Also, I can’t promise I won’t do it again. God help us all.”
Though the 45-year-old—dad to sons Silas, 11, and Phineas, 6, with wife Jessica Biel—showcased his beatboxing skills on tracks like *NSYNC’s 2001 hit “Pop” among others, he previously shared insight into how the craft helped him form one of his most popular songs of all time, “Cry Me a River.”
Photo by Ron Davis/Getty Images
Indeed, he revealed the song’s co-creator Timbaland beatboxed the foundation of the 2002 track before the pair made it into a certified hit.
“The crazy thing about ‘Cry Me a River’ was he beat-boxed it first,” Timberlake told Sean Evans during a 2020 episode of Hot Ones. “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].”
Released on Timberlake’s 2002 debut solo album Justified, “Cry Me a River” became one of his early signature hits, earning him a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance in 2004. As he recalled of making the track, “I kind of blacked out.”
Photo by Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images
“I was just off to the races writing the song,” he added. “Four hours later, it was written and recorded and then we started working on post-production.”
Though the “SexyBack” singer doesn’t perform quite as frequently as he used to due to his battle with Lyme Disease, which he shared in 2025 gives him “a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness,” he shared he’ll be dedicated to music until the end of time.
“I decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “I’m so glad I kept going.”
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