Justin Timberlake plays to sold-out Wichita crowd that contains many of his ‘day ones’
Someone backstage at Justin Timberlake’s sold-out Intrust Bank Arena concert on Sunday apparently told him that the city liked to go by the nickname “Toto town.”
But the crowd quickly corrected the singer, 43, who hasn’t performed here since 1999, when he was an 18-year-old member of boy band ‘N Sync. That was so long ago that the downtown arena didn’t even exist yet, and Timberlake and his band mates performed instead on the Kansas Coliseum stage.
It’s a safe bet than many of the same people in the crowd at that show more than 25 years ago were also at Sunday night’s show, a stop on Timberlake’s “The Forget Tomorrow World Tour,” which he launched in April in support of his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought it Was.”
Sunday’s concert was packed with songs from that album, including the top-20 lead single, “Selfish.” But the die-hards in the crowd, whom Timberlake frequently referred to during his show as his “day ones,” were visibly (and audibly) more excited about his older hits.
The majority of the crowd was made up of people roughly Timberlake’s age, many of them with their own young children in tow, and the biggest reactions of the night came when the singer performed songs like “Cry Me a River” and “Like I Love You” from his 2002 debut solo album “Justified,” and “SexyBack” and “What Goes Around.../...Comes Around” from his 2006 album “FutureSex/LoveSounds.”
And Timberlake was effusive throughout the show in thanking the fans who have loved him since the Kansas Coliseum days. Several times, as members of the crowd cheered, he dramatically bowed down to them.
At one point, he asked crowd members to cheer if they were seeing him for the first time. But he got a noticeably louder response when he asked people to cheer who had been “rocking with me for, I don’t know, 25, 30 years.”
“So many of you, when I get a chance to talk to you, say ‘I grew up with you,’” he said from the stage. “And I want you to know, I have really grown up with you. You are such a special part of my life.”
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Timberlake was accompanied on Sunday by an eight-piece band, which included a full, four-part horn section, as well as by three backup vocalists and five dancers. His signature falsetto was strong, and — despite canceling a show scheduled for Dec. 2 in Oklahoma City because of a back injury — Timberlake danced his way through the entire Wichita show. During performances of his biggest hits, he and his dancers recreated choreography from his famous videos, including the moves for the 2016 mega hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from the “Trolls” soundtrack.
Early in the show, Timberlake asked the audience about the “Toto town” information he’d been given and got a loud response in the negative.
“I’m glad I didn’t come out and say that,” he said.
He also paused the music to read out loud some of the signs audience members had brought with them. One was held by an 11-year-old girl named Emily and read, “Mom said I can sing the bad words 2night.” The singer then addressed the girl’s mom.
“I saw you for the first time 26 years ago tomorrow,” the mom shouted at Timberlake, who then asked her what bad words she’d heard 26 years ago.
There were none, she responded.
“I know there were none,” he said, laughing. “That was a trick question.”
Midway through the show, Timberlake — followed by his dancers and his horn section — traveled through the crowd to a remote stage at the back of the arena, where he performed an eight-song set that included “Suit & Tie” from his 2013 album “The 20/20 Experience” and “Say Something,” a song he released in 2018 featuring vocals by country star Chris Stapleton.
He then traveled back to the main stage for the end of his set, which included “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” “Rock Your Body” and “SexyBack” before reappearing for the encore — an energetic version of the 2013 hit “Mirrors” — on the remote stage.
Though in many cities, Timberlake flies over the crowd on a suspended stage during the “Mirrors” encore, that didn’t happen in Wichita.
Timberlake also didn’t allow any news photographers into his Wichita show. His tour instead provided “approved” photos taken in New York City in early October.
Justin Timberlake setlist/ Wichita
“No Angels”
”LoveStoned”
“Like I Love You”
“My Love”
“Sanctified”
“Infinity Sex”
“FutureSex/LoveSound”
“Imagination”
“Drown”
“Cry Me a River”
“Let the Groove Get In”
“My Favorite Drug”
“Senorita”
“Summer Love”
“F**ckin’ Up the Disco”
“Play”
“Suit & Tie”
“Flame”
“Say Something”
“Pusher Love Girl”
“Until the End of Time”
“Selfish”
“What Goes Around.../...Comes Around”
“Cant Stop the Feeling!”
“Rock your Body”
“SexyBack”
“Mirrors”
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 12:42 AM.
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