Justin Timberlake is a doctor now. Yep, you read that right.
Well, he's not exactly going to be performing complicated medical procedures anytime soon, but he was celebrated with an honourary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, along with fellow musicians Missy Elliot and Alex Lacamoire.
Watch Timberlake celebrate along with Missy Elliott on stage:On Saturday afternoon, he accepted the degree during the university's commencement ceremony. After being presented with the honorary Doctor of Music by President Roger Brown, he made a speech to the audience gathered there about success and failure:
"You're defined by what you define failure as. It's not a thing if it leads you to your success. It's all part of the journey. I hope that in the years to come, two things will happen: One, I will represent you in the way that you most hope for. And two, I look around and see this graduating class. Meet me at the studio. I want to see y'all!"
Timberlake has 10 Grammys to his name, as well as four Emmys, seven American Music Awards, three Brit Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards - not to mention 32 million albums sold. "No Dream is too big!!! Keep chasing!!! Trust me... I’m a DOCTOR!!," he wrote on Instagram. "But, for real... THANK YOU to @berkleecollege for this incredible honor—I’m very humbled and grateful."
Other celebrities reacted to Timberlake's post on Instagram, with Reese Witherspoon writing "Congrats!" and wife Jessica Biel commenting "literally every hat looks good on you but this my favorite one". "Congrats my friend," Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson wrote, jokingly adding: "So technically, you can now examine a new “rash” I’ve developed".
On the Friday before the ceremony, Timberlake and Jessica Biel also celebrated the accomplishment. Graduating students performed a series of covers of his greatest hits, including 'Cry Me A River'.
On Saturday, there were over a thousand graduates from 67 countries and 4 states receiving degrees.
Alongside Timberlake, Tony and Grammy award-winning Alex Lacamoire and the five-time Grammy winning Missy Elliott also received honorary degrees. Lacamoire, who graduated from the college in 1995, delivered the commencement address to the graduating class, in front of an audience of nearly 7,000 guests at Agganis Arena.
Missy Elliott, an accomplished rapper, songwriter and producer whose sales in the US have hit over 30 million, was praised on stage for pushing boundaries and breaking stereotypes in her music. She was the first hip-hop to receive an honourary doctorate from Berklee. Past recipients of this honourary degree have included the likes of Smokey Robinson, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, and Aretha Franklin.
“There will be ups and downs — prepare for that,” Elliott said in her speech. “As long as you are breathing, it is never too late. Don’t forget that. You have come too far to quit.”
What an accomplishment! Congratulations to her, Lacamoire, Timberlake and all the students who graduated over the weekend at Berklee!
