Joining a small group of five-time hosts, the actor and singer gives the NBC broadcast its top overnight returns since Charles Barkley in January, 2012.

NBC

"Saturday Night Live"

Justin Timberlake returned to Studio 8H on Saturday for his fifth time hosting Saturday Night Live. His appearance, and the slew of cameos that accompanied it, gave the show a sizable boost in ratings.

'SNL' Recap: Justin Timberlake Hosts Year's Biggest Episode (Video)

Preliminary Nielsen figures give the episode 5.9 rating among metered-market households and a 15 share. That's the largest haul for the NBC series in 14 months, since Charles Barkley hosted in January, 2012.

In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, SNLaveraged a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49 -- another high not achieved since Barkley.

Though he has made several cameos on SNL in the past two years, Saturday marked Timberlake's first time hosting since May 2011. That episode brought 9.8 million viewers and 3.5 rating with adults 18-49 when final numbers came in.

The current season high was set by host Adam Levine in January. With final returns in, the broadcast pulled a 2.7 rating with adults 18-49 and 7.3 million viewers -- and Timberlake is on track to eclipse both measures.

Final ratings for Timberlake's SNL will be available later in the week.

He was amazing! Hw did practically the whole show. Besides hosting he was also the musical guest..He performed,acted,danced his way through the whole hour. I was very impressed. But not surprised. I've enjoyed all his appearances on SNL....

[Edited 3/10/13 20:34pm]

Justin Timberlake Throws A Jab Back At Kanye On SNL

I repeat: Justin Timberlake is a bitch. Nothing but trash.

I tried watching it on Hulu after seeing folks raving about it but outside of the monologue with the rest of the 5 Clubbers, I didn't find it funny. That's not JT's fault though, I haven't found SNL to be funny since Tina Fey stopped doing Sarah Palin.

Melissa McCarthy hosted the show last year and she was truly funny. She literally threw herself into every skit.

Everyone seems to love Justin and I think i know why; He's cute, young, white, can adequately sing R&B and can dance without tripping over himself, so of course he's "great at everything".

Put in persepective he's good for SNL.

CynicKill said:

Melissa McCarthy hosted the show last year and she was truly funny. She literally threw herself into every skit.

Everyone seems to love Justin and I think i know why; He's cute, young, white, can adequately sing R&B and can dance without tripping over himself, so of course he's "great at everything".

Put in persepective he's good for SNL.

I think people like him cause he's always clownin', acting a fool, being stoopid.

And it's funny.

Eating too much meat makes you cranky ya'll need to come on down to vegan ville!!!! Best show of the season, whiney ass bitches.

Cuddles said:

CynicKill said:

Melissa McCarthy hosted the show last year and she was truly funny. She literally threw herself into every skit.

Everyone seems to love Justin and I think i know why; He's cute, young, white, can adequately sing R&B and can dance without tripping over himself, so of course he's "great at everything".

Put in persepective he's good for SNL.

I think people like him cause he's always clownin', acting a fool, being stoopid.

And it's funny.

Yeah prolly that too.

7230 said:

I repeat: Justin Timberlake is a bitch. Nothing but trash.

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

JustErin said:

7230 said:

I repeat: Justin Timberlake is a bitch. Nothing but trash.

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

Most people trash JT because of Janet's nipple. Sad, but true.

Janet knew exactly what she was doing with that nipple, so I don't see why people should hate on JT over it.

I was going to start an SNL thread but this one will do.

"SNL" has been GREAT for about the last two years. The writing has been off the chain. The acting is fantastic, and that's really incredible given that most people can't name even one cast member. There's no Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler or John Belushi. Heck, there's even no Kristen Wiig.

There are just a bunch of really funny actors getting to work with material from gifted writers.

Hat's off to "SNL" for this comedy renessaince!

Empress said:

JustErin said:

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

Most people trash JT because of Janet's nipple. Sad, but true.

Janet knew exactly what she was doing with that nipple, so I don't see why people should hate on JT over it.

oh yeah, Im sure thats it. I totally forgot about it, and would have never remember had i not just read it here.

Empress said:

JustErin said:

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

Most people trash JT because of Janet's nipple. Sad, but true.

Janet knew exactly what she was doing with that nipple, so I don't see why people should hate on JT over it.

For sure, that woman just screams dishonesty in pretty much everything she says and does - kinda like that whole family does.

Kanye is a damn good artist, but he is the ultimate jackass. He may not like "Suit & Tie", but hopefully he supports Jigga. He keeps on saying how he doesn't care about award shows but he always feels these same shows should somehow validate his position in the music world by awarding him everything he's nominated for! The fans have supported him all his career. That should be enough despite the crusty old bastards that vote on these awards.

This season has actually been awfully spotty.

SNL on it's best day is hit-or-miss.

It's not as bad as detractors claim nor as great as fans claim.

As for the whole Janet Jackson thing, I feel you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to think he was in on it. The line in the song is "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song", then a wardrobe rip (from Justin) and an exposed nipple with some seemingly uncomfortable jewelry attactched. It looks choreographed to me.

The backlash towards Janet to me had a lot to do with age. Let's face in in the pop sphere she was old as dirt. Plus she had been out for what like 20 years already. If you count her variety show and "Diiferent Strokes" days even longer. She was past her expiration date by then so it was much easier for the public to be harsh.

She's a woman who dared to be so reckless and bold. Scarlet A anyone?

She's black. You'd have to care about how the media works to get this one.

It could've helped her if her performance was dazzling but alas, it was ho-hum.

Justin on the other hand was everything I mentioned before plus he was current, coming off a hit album that was well recieved after starring in a boy band that was adored by literally tens of millions of people. Plus he did everything but cry on camera to anyone that would listen that he had nothing to do with it. Some some hold him accountable for that. I suppose it's not because of the incident but because it speaks to a certain aspect of his character.

So yeah, he could be a cast member of SNL, but that's hardly saying much. Since Tina Fey and Amy Poeler took their talents to much better shows, any semblance of comic genuis left the building a while ago.

lazycrockett said:

Eating too much meat makes you cranky ya'll need to come on down to vegan ville!!!! Best show of the season, whiney ass bitches.

That shit was awesome!!

Empress said:

JustErin said:

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

Most people trash JT because of Janet's nipple. Sad, but true.

Janet knew exactly what she was doing with that nipple, so I don't see why people should hate on JT over it.

@JustErin & Empress......Lets not get it twisted. I've always said that it was the fault of Janet AND Justin. My only real beef is how corporate news media tried to rewrite history by making it look like it was only Janet's fault.

I like Timbrlake on SNL best. Some songs are okay, but nothing great. Suit and Tie falls in the okay category, but his performance of the song was stellar (Prince level). I just don't think young teenagers are going to connect to this old 90's r&B sound he is pushing.

As for the Janet issue, the reason she got a lot of heat is that the media and general public think of her as the girl next door (I did) and as the younger little sister of MJ. So, that image we projected on her was abolished not just with a flash of a booby, but a middle finger (figuratively). If Madonna would have done it, there would be a back lash from the moralists, but the general public wouldn't be surprised, Madonna plays the vixen in our minds.

For a couple of years SNL had been flat; I agree SNL has been on a roll as of late. I thought the Timberlake skit was hilarious, SNL at its best.

Super Bowel XXXVIII, again.

It was a mistake and really much to do about nothing. I take issue with how Ms. Jackson and Mr. Timberlake handle the situation afterwards. She should have been out in-front of the story and explained what happened and apologized. Instead she waited and finally came out with this half back bullshit line, "If I've offended anyone ..." Mr. Timberlake ran for the hills like a scared Fawn, instead backing up and standing by Ms. Jackson explanation of how the first layer of material was to be torn. I still believe that woman was used as a whipping post because of her brother's "issues."

American people and TV networks don't get to worked up about the public watching countless hours of violence and being violent but we trip over nudity and sex. In this case 5 second a best a flash of Jackson's right tit. Go figure.

I was very upset with Justin for not owning up to the backlash that hit my baby Janet after nipplegate. But the more I think about it. Even though he was just as much blame for it as Janet & briefly dated her. The media is the one that turned on her. Justin did later say. He felt it was because she was a black female artist, that they went after her & he felt it wasn't right. But that is water under the bridge now. Let's see if he can make a hit with this new project. Even though he hasn't lost a step & is still a electrifying performer. He is getting up there in age himself & its starting to show...

He definitely has great taste in women, look at his wife.

(lines & angles is what I call it) she is gorgeous

RodeoSchro said:

I was going to start an SNL thread but this one will do.

"SNL" has been GREAT for about the last two years. The writing has been off the chain. The acting is fantastic, and that's really incredible given that most people can't name even one cast member. There's no Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler or John Belushi. Heck, there's even no Kristen Wiig.

There are just a bunch of really funny actors getting to work with material from gifted writers.

Hat's off to "SNL" for this comedy renessaince!

That has to be sarcasm, truly. It's been unwatchable this season. Utterly awful.

I defended the show to the death in the Tina Fey years because a bunch of people with shit memories were still pining for the original cast (who were even more hit an miss than most of the incarnations over the last 20 years). But this year is honestly worse than Season 10, and yes I've seen them all.

Cuddles said:

He definitely has great taste in women, look at his wife.

(lines & angles is what I call it) she is gorgeous

Does he ever!

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/m6AKf.gif[/img:$uid]

JustErin said:

7230 said:

I repeat: Justin Timberlake is a bitch. Nothing but trash.

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

True, he seems likeable, and that has definitely helped. Not trash.

But I can't really get past the fact that he is (in my opinon) really just average when it comes to music.

He is smart and makes all the right career choices, but I just can't get too excited about him. Maybe he's like the hot blond that all the women think is boring.

7230 said:

I repeat: Justin Timberlake is a bitch. Nothing but trash.

Wow. Tell us how you really feel.

Can't put my finger on it, but something about Justin Timberlake has never sat well with me... well before the whole Janet debacle. Just gives me... douchey vibes. That said, mere vibes -- and mere vibes based on what little I see of him in mass media -- can't always be trusted.

Also... while his work doesn't do much for me, the boy is plainly talented. He can legitimately sing and dance, has decent acting chops and wields a certain charisma. He's also clearly industry savvy... so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if this whole Kanye thing is a ruse orchestrated by JT, Jay Z and Mr. West to arrest public attention. And it seems to be working.

[Edited 3/11/13 18:52pm]

Empress said:

JustErin said:

People who actually legitimately know him say he's a good dude and this is why he is so well liked in the industry, by a wide range of people.

The only people who really trash him are the ones that don't actually know him.

Funny how that works...

Most people trash JT because of Janet's nipple. Sad, but true.

Janet knew exactly what she was doing with that nipple, so I don't see why people should hate on JT over it.

Probably because most people felt he threw her under the bus after the incident.

I don't listen to JT's music so he is pretty much irrelevant to me. The only songs

i know by him are duets he did with Ciara, Beyonce, and the Gone song with NSync.

I couldn't even name one song by him.

TonyVanDam said:

Empress said:

Most people trash JT because of Janet's nipple. Sad, but true.

Janet knew exactly what she was doing with that nipple, so I don't see why people should hate on JT over it.

@JustErin & Empress......Lets not get it twisted. I've always said that it was the fault of Janet AND Justin. My only real beef is how corporate news media tried to rewrite history by making it look like it was only Janet's fault.

I like Janet, but it was her nipple and her decision to show it. JT just went along for the ride hoping it would make him look cool.

I love him! He's funny as hell, seems a down to earth guy who has worked hard to get where he is.. LOVE his new style!

yes, I would do him...

Empress said:

TonyVanDam said:

@JustErin & Empress......Lets not get it twisted. I've always said that it was the fault of Janet AND Justin. My only real beef is how corporate news media tried to rewrite history by making it look like it was only Janet's fault.

I like Janet, but it was her nipple and her decision to show it. JT just went along for the ride hoping it would make him look cool.

I must admit that I don't know a whole lot about the fallout as I never really paid much attention but I have no doubt that both knew all along exactly what they were doing. Who's to say that JT was just doing exactly what Janet asked him to do when they both played the whole "wardrobe malfunction" ridiculousness". And when everyone turned on Justin for supposedly not sticking up for Janet, she didn't have anything to say in response...did she?

At the end of the day, JT was the one that took the bigger hit - he's hated for it. She may have gotten some criticism but certainly not the hate that he has received.

Just plain silly, considering she, no doubt, came up with the whole thing.

Btw, I just read that 540,000 Americans complained to the FCC about it, compared to 50 Canadians. 50!