funkypixie said:

I would say he's more savvy than talented although thats not neccesarily a criticsm.

I mean with his first album he took no chances by throwing money at the Neptunes and Timbaland (the two hottest producers at that time) to provide him with material that would gaurentee his solo music would:

a) stand apart from the stuff he did with Nsync

b) gain credibility with the RnB and pop audience.

It worked on both counts.

He then bidded his time, observing that the Neptunes status as hitmakers was on the wane and Timbaland was going through something of a rut. He then went back in to the studio with Timbaland for his 2nd record just as Timbaland had taken on Danja as a co-producer and was experiencing a creative rebrith. Again he got the high quality material he wanted.

I think the reason he hasn't bought out a record since is because he is unsure if any of the current hit making producers can gaurentee to bring the goods in the same way the Neptunes and Timbaland did. I think he's right, again savvy.

The only way we'll really know about his talent level is if he produces a record himself or goes in with a prodcuer who isn't an established hitmaker.

Yes I agree. He has the ability to pick the right producers at the right time. He knew the Neptunes were hot after they did "girlfriend" with Nsync and so they hooked up. etc..

He also learned from his idol Michael Jackson in that whilst you can pace your albums out every 3-4 years, just make sure you stay in the public eye in the meantime. Hence why he occasionally duets with other artists between albums and also does more duets when he drops albums too (something Jackson use to do). Of course acting keeps him int he public eye aswell, something Jackson probably would of liked to of done once upon a time....

So he is skilled at marketing himself and finding the right producers.