Justified is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on November 4, 2002, by Jive Records. The album was written and recorded in a six-week period, during the hiatus of the singer's band NSYNC. For the album, Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an R&B artist opposed to the previous pop music recorded by the group. Most of the album was produced by Williams and Hugo, with additional collaborators including Brian McKnight, Scott Storch, Timbaland, The Underdogs, and Carvin & Ivan. The album features guest appearances by Janet Jackson and rap duo Clipse. Primarily an R&B album, Justified also contains influences of dance-pop, funk and soul music.

Justified received generally positive reviews from music critics; most of them complimented the mature progression of the singer's material, while some criticized its lyrical content. The album earned Timberlake four Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year, and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Justified debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 439,000 copies in its first week. It was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting shipments of three million copies in the US. As of 2012, the album has sold over ten million copies worldwide.

Five singles were released from Justified. The album's lead single, "Like I Love You", peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while two follow-up singles "Cry Me a River", and "Rock Your Body" peaked within the top-five on the chart. "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body" peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and in the top ten in Australia, Ireland, Netherlands and Belgium. To further promote the album, Timberlake performed on several television shows and embarked on The Justified World Tour and the Justified and Stripped Tour; on the latter he was accompanied by American singer Christina Aguilera.