Justin Timberlake at Hallam Fm Arena, Sheffield, 27th April

In a world where pop is increasingly dying a death, the reinvention of Justin Timberlake has been a rather strict one. With his Michael Jacksonesque dance moves, urban roots and new rap foundations there is no reason why Timberlake shouldn’t be the biggest pop star in the world. Tonight fans have paid a flat fee of fifty pounds to witness the American star’s return to the place he played his first solo show. Yet as you walk into the arena the sheer scale of this production is overwhelming.

It’s reminiscent of when pop used to rule the airwaves and every concert was this perfected and rehearsed. The stage is placed in the middle of the arena with the audience surrounding all sides with a catwalk at each side. As you watch Unklejam loose themselves, not only in the big venue but across the large stage it’s impossible to wonder how any musician can function at this scale, yet Timberlake manages it-albeit with a lot of help along the way.

Slowly rising from the middle of the stage Timberlake’s appearance is low key in comparison to the rest of his set. As ‘FutureSex/ LoveSound’ kicks in the full details of the show become apparent. Dancers appear from every shadow and large screens rise and lower at will as Timberlake moves into a greatest hits package working the crowd into a frenzy for ‘Like I Love You’. However now backed by two percussionists, three keyboardists, two guitarists, four backing singers and over twenty-five dancers it takes a lot to make Mr Timberlake look the part. Most notably in ‘Senorita’ as Timberlake sits centre stage playing the piano it’s easy to point out the keyboardist in the shadows mimicking every beat of Timberlake’s part. Also throughout ‘Like I Love You’ Timberlake avoids singing any real vocals leaving his backing singers to provide a gospel chorus.

But as far as any real talent goes Timberlake isn’t exactly lacking. The dance routines are constantly jaw dropping as each song is rehearsed to perfection. Hired to distract the audience when the singer is entertaining other sides of the stage, the dancers are paid to look as arrogant as Timberlake himself while dressed in trademark black waistcoats and slanted hats. Along with the constant moving stage there are so many dancers that sometimes it takes minutes to find Timberlake among his army of look-a-likes.

However as production and rapper bigwig Timberland appears he is instantly noticeable through his lack of effort onstage. As Timberlake and dancers disappear for a twenty minute breather Timberland’s idea of entertaining a crowd is standing centre stage as a DJ plays a selection of Timberland’s productions. We are suddenly transferred to a hip hop club, and with Timberland standing motionless, not saying a word you can’t help thinking how much this man is being paid for playing a CD. We even have to endure Timberland’s latest hit with Timberlake, ‘Give It to Me’ on a big screen as neither rapper nor singer make an attempt to duplicate it onstage.

Luckily though after this over long advertisement Timberlake returns with ‘Rock Your Body’ and the production is back in action. The cocky dance routines, the ridiculous moves which somehow look cool and the brutal force of Timberlake running from side to side of the massive stage, propositioning the crowd as he moves towards the piano for ‘Losing My Way’.

Yet of course ‘SexyBack’ provides the great finale with the reworking of the bass line, much thicker than on record providing a much needed boost (well Timberland is back onstage) as Timberlake runs around the stage avoiding singing as much of the actual song as possible, but it’s a great show. With Timberlake playing for over two hours there is also no doubt that fans haven’t wasted their money, proving that if pop needs to be saved Justin Timberlake’s the man to do it.