Justin Timberlake subscribes to the philosophy that “the show must go on”… even when plastic bottles filled with urine are being chucked at him.
The “Mirrors” singer recounted on “The Graham Norton Show” Friday one particularly traumatizing concert performance around the beginning of his solo career that went horribly wrong after Mick Jagger had asked him to join a festival lineup that included rock legends like The Rolling Stones and ACDC in Toronto, Ontario.
Timberlake was on stage, singing his heart out when things got… messy.
“All of a sudden, bottles of urine were then thrown on the stage,” Timberlake said, as fellow guests Anna Kendrick, Oti Mabuse and Alan Carr listened in horror. “I was trying to at least remember lyrics that I actually wrote to the first song I’m singing. I still have a lot of trauma.”
After he finished the first song, the festival host motioned for him to get off the stage, but Timberlake stayed put and continued his set.
“I was like ‘No, man. I’m staying out here. We’re doing this,’” he said. “The first song, I was at the mic, I’m like moving around and singing at the same time. I was kind of impressed with myself,” he added, reenacting how he ducked and dodged as the bottles flew.
“And then the second song was ‘Senorita,’” he said. “And I play a Rhodes electric piano on that song. So then all of a sudden, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh no, I’m immobile.! ”
Soon, Timberlake said, the piddle-pitchers tired themselves out.
“After that song, either one of two things happened: Either they ran out of nerve because they knew I was gonna stay there, or they ran out of urine. So kids, be tenacious.”
Watch the hilarious clip above.