Splain it to me, Lucy.

For reasons that are unclear to me, Justin Timberlake (aka JT) has a reputation for being "genuinely good." I've heard it from a few different sources, and it seems to be the popular opinion. Presumably, the "genuinely" qualifier is to make a distinction between JT and all the other pop stars out there, who must be "genuinely not good," though they are doing basically the same things (singing, dancing, carrying on) in the entertainment realm.

Someone will need a strong argument indeed to pursuade me that JT is any different from Brittney or Christina or even Avril. He still doesn't write his own songs, or style his own hair, or dress himself, or choreograph his own shows, and he has still been groomed since pre-adolescence for pop stardom, so we're hardly talking raw talent. I see no practical difference. If it's just because his music is somehow different in quality than other pop stars, then he's not responsible for the difference--he's a product, just like the rest. In short, if the reason he is "genuinely good" is because he has some artistic credibility, then I beg to differ.

Maybe it's because he's a boy, and can therefore reasonably pass off the image of toughness and sexuality without being mocked or dubbed a hussy. Things girls have never really been allowed to do.

And let's all make a stronger effort to use the word "hussy" more often, hmm?