You can't be cool all your life. Take it from someone who knows. I may seem like a young Paul Newman now, but there was a time when I was not such a paragon of coolness. My high school yearbook picture features me, with my arms up in the air at Epcot Center wearing Skidz.

So I can identify with Justin Timberlake. My man has had some fashion disasters and some bad hair days. Look, nobody can be in the public eye that long and not screw up from time to time. But that's not gonna stop me from calling him out on some of his hairstyle choices, as highlighted on this Justin Timberlake fan forum.

So many things wrong here: the pirate-hoop-earring, the curly fro, the curly fro with the frosted tips (FROSTED TIPS), and last (but very, very much least) THE R. KELLY/ TOM KAULITZ CORNROWS. And other old-school looks at Justin Timberlake.

Let us bow our heads, and pray that those days never come to pass again (or that Jessica Biel never sees these photos).

+ More old-school Justin Timberlake pix after the jump.

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Word around the campfire is that Rihanna's ready to make the follow-up to Good Girl Gone Bad, an album whose various incarnations has spawned more hits than a mafia war.

According to MTV News,  Rihanna's gonna enter the studio with some familiar faces -- "Umbrella" writer/producer Tricky Stewart, Justin Timberlake -- and some new ones as well, like The All-American Rejects' Tyson Ritter. With those past and future Rihanna collabos in mind, I started daydreaming about who else could make this good girl even better. (And whether or not she'll wear a see-through dress to the studio.)

1. Hot Chip
While it may often be broken, Rihanna has a New Wave heart. You can heart it in her Soft-Cell-sampling early hit, "S.O.S." or in the bum-bum-be-dum's of "Disturbia." She's ready for some synths, electro leanings, and all the attendant eyeliner and Flock Of Seagulls hair that goes with it. (Wait! Rihanna HAS Flock of Seagulls hair!) So why not work with some of the finest purveyors of neo-New-Wave? Hot Chip could expertly combine R&B, dance and pop for Rihanna.

2. Katy Perry
Katy Perry and Rihanna are basically already besties, so why not get in the studio together. If Rihanna lacks anything (and she doesn't lack much) it's a defined personality. Her whole thing is the blank stare, the elusive, untouchable girl. Maybe Katy could giver her something there. Like a sense of humor, or a more human, normal vibe. Not that there ain't a lot to love in Rihanna's current robot-diva-from-the-future thing. Or maybe they could both cake dive together.

3. Ryan Tedder
The OneRepublic singer/songwriter might be accused of ripping himself off (Beyonce's "Halo" begats Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone"), but it's a heck of a blueprint to work from. This seems like a no-brainer, right? I can already hear Rihanna singing "Apologize" in my head. Her airy, pleading voice would work great with his melodies.

Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? Why do caged birds sing? All eternal questions without answers (actually they all have perfectly good answers, but you see what I'm saying). At least one eternal question has been answered: Will *NSYNC ever get back together? Well, according to JC Chasez, the answer is, "no."

Now, given the ex-*SYNCers' various states of busy-ness, from "very" (Justin, JC) to somewhat (Joey, Lance) to not (Chris), this isn't that much of a shock. But still, it's pretty interesting to see the America's Best Dance Crew judge nail the coffin shut so decidedly. *NSYNC really is gone. No matter how much it tears up your heart, no matter how much you want them back, they're still saying, "bye, bye, bye."

Don't worry, we'll always have TRL: Watch *NSYNC perform "Tearin' Up My Heart" live on TRL in 1998.

I'm "giving away the end" here, but Holland-born, Justin Timberlake-discovered singer Esmee Denters loves Egypt -- its history, and its aesthetic. And I think the draw makes all kinds of sense: Esmee's exotic, otherworldliness. GIRL, ust say "pharaohs" again!

Watch Esmee's Buzzworthy "The Five" interview, and perhaps you'll pick up what she's putting down... or maybe you'll just think she's hot and/or talented. Esmee's other four tidbits are a bit more straightforward/promotionally driven -- we do want to know how she went from YouTube covers from her bedroom to a record deal with J.T., right?

You'll hear about Esmee's consistent involvement in her debut album, Outta Here, her love of sweets (she cancels them all out with the gym; we anticipated that question) and her OMG overload upon meeting... Oprah.

Justin Timberlake may not be bringing "Sexy Back" back any time soon (he retired the song, remember?), but he's obviously bringing his own sexy back in these NOT-AT-ALL unattractive campaign stills from his just-released Givenchy men's fragrances, "Play," and "Play Intense." (Sorry, but that joke was BEGGING to be made.)

I, for one, was SO SICK of seeing photo after photo of Justin Timberlake in those nerd-herd glasses that Kanye was wearing when he went Pee Wee. Now I just wanna jump up and shout HALLELUJAH and wave my hands in the air, because Justin looks HAWT again, in a very Tom Wolfe-meets-Tom Ford summer suit.

After the jump, check out more photos of Justin Timberlake -- he's not just the famous name attached to "Play" and "Play Intense" (when regular "Play" simply WILL NOT DO!), he's also the model. The campaign images of Justin were shot by photographer Tom Murno, and the fragrance itself apparently smells like hot Caribbean dudes and looks like a bootleg MP3 player.

Hot new photos of Justin Timberlake will be all over your favorite scented magazine this fall. Yay! And if you can't wait that long, you can get "Play" at Macy's. (GET IT?) And speaking of, this fall, sexy has a new smell, and it's sittin' in a wingback chair...

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+ Because Justin Timberlake doesn't have nearly enough to do (running clothier William Rast, golfing, making tequila, owning a BBQ restaurant in NYC, and CERTAINLY the most time-consuming thing: dating Jessica Biel!), an obvious next step would be to do an ad campaign for the Givenchy fragrance "Play." Holla for a dolla! (Popbytes)

+ NYC Police are preparing for the worst when rapper 50 Cent holds a "surprise" free concert in late August in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. (NY Post)

+ Anyone in the mood for some new Weezer? We are too -- the band just announced their new single will drop on August 25. And if ya look real hard, it might just be floatin' around on the GooTube. (NME)

+ Will someone please tell me why Madonna is swimming in boxing trunks and a basketball jersey? (DrunkenStepfather)

+ Celeb feuds are as old as 'The Hills,' and Perez Hilton is usually the cause. This week, Ashlee Simpson told the Queen of Pink where he can stick it (and we're pretty sure it's a dark, dark place, devoid of all life), after meddling in her and hubby Pete Wentz' drunken affairs. (Cele|bitchy)

+ And speaking of Twitter, you'll be surprised to learn that Robert Pattinson does NOT like Twitter...(PopEater)

+ ...probably because people catch him maaaaaaybe kissing his maaaaaaaaybe girlfriend and co-star Kristen Stewart. (MTV News)

+ The feud between Mariah Carey and Eminem has just escalated to new levels. Now the rapper is threatening to release nude photos of the megastar, supposedly from when they were together. (US Magazine)

+ Jessica Simpson has a new reality show coming out on VH1 and she's got some people pretty pissed about her extravagant spending habits. (Pop Crunch)

+ Panic At The Disco have finally announced replacements for the two members who left the group earlier this month. (NME)

+ Leona Lewis is pulling out all the stops for her sophomore album due out this fall, working with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Ryan Tedder, Timbaland and more. (Rap-Up)

+ So the story is true: Michael Jackson did get busy with some Norwegian girl and had a son who is now 25 years old. (Socialite Life)

+ Buzzcrush David Archuleta recently covered Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" and it sounds simply divine. (Neon Limelight)

I could never package 20-year-old Esmee Denters as a charity case -- if Justin Timberlake signs you as his record label's flagship artist and touts you left and right, you've got your foot in the door -- yet my initial reaction to Esmee's "Outta Here" was, Is she scared? Having watched the video several times (I have my rewind-worthy segments, but we'll get to that), I've felt instead a vulnerability and a guilelessness in Esmee that makes me totally root for her -- even if she doesn't need me to.

If you'd like a little back story before joining up with Team Esmee, well, she's from Oosterbeek (sorry that's just fun to say), The Netherlands, and she's one of them YouTube phenoms the kids like to talk about. Esmee became somewhat of a viral giant from her bedroom thanks to her effortless covers of Mariah Carey, Brandy and, in particular, Justin Timberlake. JT took notice, signed Esmee to Tennman Records and produced, along with Polow da Don, her debut track "Outta Here."

There's a lot to like about the "Outta Here" video, which you can watch below: First off, I know it's a staple, but I love the wind machine on the dance floor; really, all dance floors should have wind machines. Also, Esmee's crumbled poses and her pained, sleepy eyes actually enhance the song's effects -- it's not a break-up track; it's a downward spiral track -- but then it's cut with Polow's beats, which make it totally listen-able.

"Outta Here"'s pretty major in The Netherlands right now, but, as we all know, I'm rooting for Esmee -- and she needs to get her footing Stateside!

If there's one thing life continues to teach, it's that through Usher and YouTube all things are possible. Fifteen-year-old Justin Bieber may have a fancy record deal now, but growing up in Stratford, Ontario where did a meeting with L.A. Reid fit in?

Well, this Canada teen is one of those effortless talents: Justin posted to YouTube his informal Usher, Ne-Yo and Justin Timberlake covers; unlike the multitudes of copycats, however, Justin raked in Leave-Britney-Alone-level views -- which quickly led to a manager phone call and a face-to-face with Usher.

Hence the cameo for Justin's first video and lead single, "One Time," which you can check out below. Hey, when Usher's away, the kids will play? ... or at least throw family-friendly house parties. Alongside "One Time," Justin's debut album features production from The-Dream and Tricky Stewart -- and dude hasn't even graduated high school.

Does Justin's rise remind anyone else of Esmee Denters? YouTube covers sent the wannabe singer from Oosterbeek, Netherlands on a similar path; although Esmee signed with Justin Timberlake's label, while (according to Justin Bieber himself) Justin passed up J.T.'s offer to work with Usher and L.A. Reid. Battle of the YouTube finds!

Take heart, adolescent males of the world with Jonas-level aspirations -- especially the ones with great hair and some dance moves -- for your boy band dreams could be just "one call" away... as long as that "one call" comes from managing magnate Johnny Wright. Boy band One Call is Wright's latest assembly/musical endeavor, although the gig wasn't dealt out Prize Patrol-style: The four guys of One Call have performing in their bloodstreams; some are even boy band veterans, but we'll get to that. Here's your five-point debriefing on all things One Call:

They're Joining The Britney Circus
Don't feel too out of the loop if One Call isn't on your radar (so proud of my Britney references -- stick 'em in whenever I can); they've been in pseudo-stealth mode. Wright's phone's been on silent! Get to know them soon, though: The guys will join Ciara and Kristinia DeBarge as openers for the first nine shows of the North American leg of Britney Spears' The Circus tour.

I respect the small venue circuit, but just to give you a sense: From one concert to the next, One Call will go from the Quick Chek Balloon Festival in Jersey to the Copps Coliseum in Ontario (a modest 17,000 seats) and then on to Madison Square Garden. Hmm... Movin' on up!

If Some of Them Look Familiar, It's Because You've Seen Them Before
That's right, you may recognize cute little frosty-tips, a.k.a. Justin Thorne, from the short-lived boy band NLT (who I totally liked, I have to say); two others -- Chris Moy and José Bordonada Collazo -- are vets from the new Menudo (managed by Wright) and, as such, Making Menudo; and wild card AG Gamlieli rounds out the bunch. Overall, it's kind of a boy band all-stars moment Mr. Wright has created.

Experience Plus Major Producers? Looks Promising...
I'm sure this is written in several textbooks, but Rodney “Darkchild” Jenkins makes music magic; and the master has already produced two of One Call's tracks, "Them Girls" and "Symphony." Just a refresher, Darkchild is behind "When I Grow Up," "Lose My Breath" and "Feedback" -- as well as classics "It's Not Right, But It's Okay," "If You Had My Love" and "The Boy Is Mine." Respect!

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