Before They Were Stars: 11-Year Old Justin Timberlake on “Star Search”

I’m surprised I’ve done “Before They Were Stars” for this long without yet having featured a clip from Star Search, but let’s just say I could probably fill up an entire month with footage from that show. This priceless clip features 11-year old Justin Timberlake (going under the name Justin Randall) taking a rare foray into the world of country music by singing a cover of Alan Jackson’s “Love’s Got a Hold on You”. Sadly, Justin would not win this particular competition, but I guess there’s no shame in losing to a worthy foe like… Anna Nardona?! Believe it or not, it was actually something of a weird tradition on Star Search for the future star to lose out to a performer who faded into complete obscurity, which really doesn’t say much about the judges on that show.