Harry Jowsey channeled Justin Timberlake — frosted tips and all — during Dancing With the Stars’ Music Video Night.
Jowsey, 26, and his partner, Rylee Arnold, performed a jazz routine to ’NSync’s 2000 hit “It’s Gonna Be Me” during the Tuesday, November 7, episode.
Jowsey recreated Timberlake’s doll-like look from the song’s music video, in which the boy band members pretended to be action figures of themselves. He sported a curly blonde wig, an acid-wash denim jacket with matching jeans and airbrushed makeup that made him look like a doll.
“This was so much fun ??????,” Jowsey commented via Instagram photos of the routine shared via Dancing With the Stars’ official account.
Although Jowsey was styled like Timberlake, 42, it was another member of ’NSync who gave him a pep talk before the show: Lance Bass.
“You need to get out of your head and just perform,” Bass, 44, told Jowsey during rehearsal. The visit boosted Jowsey’s confidence. “If I could just take Lance’s advice, … I know the best dance of the night: it’s gonna be me,” the Too Hot to Handle alum told cameras.
Justin Timberlake and ‘NSync rehearsing for the MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2000 in New York. Dave Hogan/Getty Images
Despite getting a visit from Bass himself, Jowsey failed to wow the judges and earned the lowest score of the night: a 24. The crowd booed Carrie Ann Inaba as she told Jowsey that his backup dancers had upstaged him. “Once the boys were no longer in front of you, it was not as good,” Inaba, 55, said.
Jowsey redeemed himself during the group dance-off later in the night. He kept his blonde wig on while performing “Gangnam Style” by PSY alongside Arnold, 18, Lele Pons, Brandon Armstrong, Xochitl Gomez, Val Chmerkovskiy, Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev.
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Judge Derek Hough was floored by Jowsey’s stage presence during the group number and got up to give him a hug. Noting that he’d “figured out” Jowsey’s strength, Derek, 38 said, “You’re not a soloist, you’re a team player.” Jowsey’s team received a perfect score of 40 from the judges while the opposing team received a 37.
Despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard, Jowsey and Arnold were saved by viewers’ votes while Pons, 27, and Armstrong, 29, were eliminated.
Arnold’s nod to the “SexyBack” singer comes as other blasts from Timberlake’s past have recently made headlines. Britney Spears’ new memoir, The Woman in Me, which hit shelves last month, featured several bombshells about her relationship with Timberlake, whom she dated from 1999 to 2002.
In the tell-all, Spears, 41, accused Timberlake of cheating on her “a couple of times,” claimed he ended their three-year relationship via text message and alleged that Timberlake attempted to comfort her after she had an abortion by playing guitar for her.
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Timberlake, who has not publicly addressed his ex’s memoir, turned off his Instagram comments last month. Shortly thereafter, he was seen vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with his family, including wife Jessica Biel. A source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time that the trip “had nothing to do with Britney’s memoir” and had been planned months prior.
“[Justin] is supportive of Britney’s decision to put her truth out there,” the insider added.
Bass, meanwhile, has stood by his bandmate’s side amid the drama. “I mean, everyone has their own opinion. I just feel like the world is so full of hate right now that we need to practice a little forgiveness,” he told TMZ in October. “Britney did, so let’s take a note from her.”
Despite the candid confessions about her dynamic with Timberlake in The Woman in Me, Spears told fans via Instagram last month that “my book’s purpose was not to offend anyone by any means.” She added that the events recounted in the memoir are “in the past” and said writing it “has given me closure on all things for a better future.”
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays on ABC and Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET.