For his solo album, he began to adopt a more mature image as an R&B artist opposed to the previous pop music recorded by the group.

The majority of the album was produced by the Neptunes (credited as "Williams and Hugo") and Timbaland, and features guest appearances by Janet Jackson, Clipse, and Bubba Sparxxx.

Following the conclusion of their Celebrity Tour in April 2002, boy band NSYNC went on a hiatus, during which co-lead singer Justin Timberlake continued work on what would be his debut solo album.

[8][9] Brian McKnight's manager stated that his client had already recorded tracks with the singer, while rapper Nelly explained to the reporters that both him and Timberlake had discussed a collaboration effort.

[5] Early in 2002, Angie Stone revealed that Timberlake "loves the Mahogany Soul album" with him further saying to her "your CD's in my car right now, you have to work on my solo project".

[11] One of the two members of The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, commented that they just wanted to re-create "that sense of those timeless, classic songs, without any of the 'bling, bling, hit me on my two-way' style of the new R&B.

"[11] The producer further went on to say that people wanted Timberlake to be conformed to being part of boy band NSYNC, with the former insisting that the singer is an immaculate vocalist.

[11] The opening track on Justified, "Señorita" is a Spanish oriented song that features R&B influences;[16][17] in it Timberlake sings about a girl with brown eyes.

[18] "Like I Love You" is a funk influenced song consisted of live drums, tiny guitar strum accompanied with the singer's breathy tenor.

[19] The third track on the album, "(Oh No) What You Got" was described by Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine as a bit racy for the audience who expected a more boy-band-oriented record.

[14] Regarding the fourth song, Russell Bailie of The New Zealand Herald wrote that although the album "manages to skirt teen-pop sugariness for the most part, though it does offer quality mush on numbers such as 'Take It From Here'.

[23] The sixth track, "Rock Your Body", incorporates tinny, "keyboard-set-to-emulate-clavichord" synthesizers of The Neptunes' late 90s productions, overlaid with "keys and a propulsive drum vamp".

[24] The seventh track of the album is "Nothin' Else"; which according to David Merryweather of Drowned in Sound is a "slinky" and "smooth" song that is similar to the works of American musician Stevie Wonder.

[14] Similar to the previous song, "Right For Me", the eleventh track of the album has racy lyrics and features rapper Bubba Sparxxx; on it Timberlake "cockily" sings the line, "I could think of a couple positions for you".

The day of Justified's release, Timberlake appeared on TRL and performed "Like I Love You" and "Cry Me a River" live in Times Square.

[51] Timberlake performed "Cry Me a River" at the 13th annual Billboard Music Awards, held on December 9, 2002, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

[54] At the moment Timberlake sang the lyric "Bet I'll have you naked by the end of this song," he ripped off part of Jackson's costume, momentarily exposing her right breast on live television.

[65] Timberlake's further reasoning for touring with Aguilera was due to both singers wanting to "break the mold of what people look at as teen pop and move into a different direction".

[68] Timberlake stated "I love what McDonald's is doing with the new 'i'm lovin' it' campaign and it's cool to be part of it [...] We share the same crowd -- people who like to have fun -- and that's what this new partnership and my European concert tour is all about."

The tour began with Timberlake playing intimate gigs at clubs and theatres in the United States and Australia before expanding to arenas in Europe.

[71] Ben Ratliff of Rolling Stone was receptive to The Neptunes's production, and noted both "Like I Love You" and "Cry Me a River" as standout tracks.

[19] Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani believed that Timberlake meshes with The Neptunes "so well he virtually relinquishes his personality to the super-duo—he could very well be the third member of N.E.R.D."

[14] BBC Music's Denise Boyd praised "Like I Love You", while also commending "Cry Me a River" for its lyrical content and "Rock Your Body", which he notes contains Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder influences.

Browne described Justified as "cohesive", favoring the album to NSYNC's previous two efforts: Celebrity (2001) and No Strings Attached (2000).

"[78] The newspaper's Christopher O'Connor commended The Neptunes' production, while praising "Like I Love You" and the Janet Jackson collaboration "(And She Said) Take Me Now", saying how the songs show that Timberlake "has the balls to pursue the A-plus list.

"[81] Tyler Martin from Stylus Magazine deemed "Señorita" and "Like I Love You" as the record's highlights, while writing that the album does not maintain Timberlake's masculine persona, but still "paints a picture of a complicated young man, growing into adulthood".

[15] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian believed the only noticeable tracks are "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", noting the latter as "predictable", while criticising the album's lyrics as being "suggestive mumbling".

"[105] Writers from Consequence of Sound deemed it "the standard for former teen pop stars' bids to be taken seriously" when comparing it to other debut solo albums released later,[106] and Herald Sun considered it a "boy band to men blueprint.

"[107] British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran cited the album as an inspiration for his 2014 single "Sing",[108] and Shawn Mendes for his 2018 song "Lost in Japan".

[120][121] The album has appeared on the chart for eighty-four weeks; it has been certified seven times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 2.1 million copies.