Broken Base: His Super Bowl LII Halftime Show elicited this reaction for a number of reasons.
Was the performance incredible due to a nonstop 13-minute show of singing, dancing, and audience participation, awful for using playback, featuring no surprises or special guests, the arguably insensitive use of Prince as a projection/hologram, or just mediocre and forgettable?
Speaking of the 2018 Super Bowl; was Justin's use of a Prince projection during the number a touching tribute to the deceased Minneapolis native? Or was it incredibly disrespectful, as Prince had gone on record that he found the concept of using modern technology to sing duets with deceased artists to be wrong and "demonic"?
Should he have even been invited back in the first place?
A huge amount of debates towards Justin stems from the Janet Jackson-Super Bowl performance (considering it was revealed he deliberately caused it and caused a huge damage dent to Janet's career whereas he suffered little to none) and his infamous retorts and mocks towards his former girlfriend Britney Spears, especially with the revelations of Britney's issues involving the conservatorship of her media empire between her and her father. He has since apologized to both Janet and Britney for his actions.
Ending Fatigue: The 20/20 Experience (both parts) have been criticized for this. Most of the songs could be trimmed by about 2 minutes without changing the songs' structure, just by cutting the extended instrumental loops and repeated vocal parts.
Fandom Rivalry: With Prince fans. This was only exacerbated after the 2018 Super Bowl Halftime Show when Justin utilized a giant projection/hologram of Prince as a tribute, in spite of the fact that not only did the two reportedly not respect one another, but Prince had gone on record before his death stating he despised the idea of using modern technology to sing with dead artists, calling the act "demonic".
With Britney fans. Started when he implied she'd cheated with "Cry Me A River", and got really vicious after the "Framing Britney Spears" documentary came out.
Growing the Beard: Literally, FutureSex/LoveSounds onwards. Figuratively, it could apply to either said album or Justified.
In 2001, he and *NSYNC recorded a cover of Janet Jackson's "That's The Way Love Goes" in tribute to the singer. Three years later, the infamous Super Bowl performance with Janet happened.
The lyrics of "Cry Me a River", which was essentially a Diss Track aimed at ex-girlfriend Britney Spears, ring hollow after it was revealed in 2023 that Justin coerced Britney to get an abortion during their relationship.
The song "What Goes Around Come Around," frequently assumed to be yet another diss track against Britney. Throughout the song, Justin gleefully reminds his former lover that what she inflicted on him will come back around on her. What goes around comes around, indeed..
He Really Can Act: From the first time he hosted SNL, his acting and comedic talents were praised, and it's only continued since then.
His performance as Boo-Boo in the infamous 2010 Yogi Bear movie was praised for being a really spot-on voice; Timberlake imitated cartoon character voices as a child as a voice exercise, and Boo-Boo was one of his favorites.
Hilarious in Hindsight: "Carry Out", his song with Timbaland that consisted of nothing but food innuendos. Back in 2000, *NSYNC was the musical guest on SNL and their cameo on a sketch was that of a boy band who sang songs with food innuendos.
Ho Yay: Aside from his *NSYNC bandmates, he has a whole of this with Jimmy Fallon. So much that during Justin’s impromptu speech at his wedding reception in front of 150 guests, Jimmy interrupted him with a joke from his seat, sparking an improv between the two of them that went on for a good five or ten minutes and had all the guests roaring with laughter. Justin admits that if it was anyone else, he would have kicked their ass.
Idiot Ball: According to this video, everything Justin does in the Cry Me A River music video.
YOU ARE YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. YOU ARE YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. YOU ARE YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. YOU ARE YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.
It's pretty hard to take him seriously if he's making these faces constantly while singing.
"Nothin' Else" includes some cheesy pick-up lines in its lyrics: "Tell me anything, but please start it off with how you tuck your wings" and "You're out of this world, except you're not green".
Periphery Demographic: FutureSex/LoveSounds made him one of the earliest mainstream pop/R&B singers to gain a following among the indie rock crowd, with The New York Times even running an article examining his popularity among Brooklyn hipsters.
What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Justin gets this a lot. Yes, he got his start on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and he played a voice role of Branch in and wrote a song for the kids' movie Trolls. Most of his songs, especially after leaving *NSYNC, aren't exactly family-friendly.
video, everything Justin does in the Cry Me A River music video.