Theater Of The Adored

Carly Carioli of the Boston Phoenix profiled *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake and his ‘Justified and Stripped’ tourmate Christina Aguilera. “Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me a River’ is an innovative pop song, but it probably would not have captured the popular imagination quite so well without an accompanying video framed expressly as a revenge against his famous ex-girlfriend,” Carioli explained. “The story lines of the ‘Justified and Stripped’ tour that he and Christina Aguilera brought to the FleetCenter last week were established well in advance: two ex-Mouseketeers united in an uneasy alliance against a third; and, more important, the evolution of teen pop into something with a longer shelf life. Of course, each performer had his or her own agenda. During the pre-tour media blitz, Aguilera accentuated the aggressive flirtatiousness that she consistently mistakes for a display of self-confidence on her latest album, ‘Stripped’. Timberlake could scarcely contain his disdain – he looked like a boy who’d been saddled with his little sister’s annoying friend for a prom date.” Read more.