Justin Timberlake Performs for the First Time Since Revealing Lyme Diagnosis to Honor Pharrell

Justin Timberlake spent more than a year on a tour that ended in 2024, which would already be grueling if he hadn’t been battling Lyme disease throughout the trek — but on Thursday (Jan. 29), he proved that he’d do anything for Pharrell Williams by taking the stage once again at the Recording Academy Honors Black Music Collective event in Los Angeles.

To pay tribute to the generation-defining producer, the *NSYNC alum brought the energy while singing and dancing through hits such as “Senorita,” “Rock Your Body” “Like I Love You,” all of which Timberlake worked on with Williams. He also sang some of his frequent collaborator’s solo hits.

Williams was honored Thursday night for his contributions to culture. During his speech, he shouted out Timberlake, saying, “You reminded this community of how you love us so much and what we mean to you.”

The former boy band artist hasn’t performed publicly since the end of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which ended in July after more than a year after kicking off in April 2024. One day after his final show in Instanbul, Timberlake announced that he’d been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

“Among other things, I’ve been battling some health issues, and was diagnosed with Lyme disease — which I don’t say so you feel bad for me — but to shed some light on what I’ve been up against behind the scenes,” he wrote in a vulnerable Instagram post at the time. “If you’ve experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you’re aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically.”

“When I first got the diagnosis I was shocked for sure,” he continued in the post. “But, at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness. I was faced with a personal decision. Stop touring? Or, keep going and figure it out. I decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling. I’m so glad I kept going.”

The announcement remains Timberlake’s most recent post on Instagram. Since revealing his diagnosis, the star — who is married to actress Jessica Biel, with whom he shares two kids — has largely kept out of the public eye, making the appearance at the Black Music Collective event even more special.

Timberlake last dropped an album in 2024, with Everything I Thought It Was reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 200 that March.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.