Justin Timberlake halts concert to let fan propose to girlfriend
Who says there's no sentiment in showbusiness?
Pop star Justin Timberlake helped a man propose to his girlfriend during the middle of one of his "20/20 Experience World Tour" concerts on Sunday night in Louisville, Ky.
The 32-year-old "Suit & Tie" singer later posted video of the proposal to his YouTube account, and the clip has so far attracted more than 272,000 views.
In the video, Timberlake can be seen calling attention to a seemingly-random male audience member, who identifies himself as Josh. Timberlake asks the man who he is with -- a woman, he says, named Kim.
"Josh and Kim, why don't you all make your way up here," Timberlake says.
"Josh called me earlier, he's got something he wants to tell you," the performer reveals to the woman, as he then walks offstage, letting the man propose to his girlfriend before a sold-out crowd of 22,000 fans crammed inside Louisville's KFC Yum! Center.
She says yes, and the audience erupts in applause.
CBS station WLKY has since identified the couple as Josh Clemens and Kim Martin. According to Clemens, the plan was actually months in the making.
"Kim had always said she wanted to be blown away with a proposal," Clemons told WLKY. "I'm a huge fan, she's a huge fan, you know."
Clemons said that after he bought the concert tickets several months ago, he reached out to Timberlake's management team and originally asked if the performer could dedicate his song "That Girl" to the couple. Clemons says that he was originally going to propose to Martin while they were seated in the audience, but Timberlake's camp suggested that the couple instead go up onstage.
"It was a huge shock. I couldn't believe how well they planned it all out and kept it secret. I'm normally not easy to surprise. I'm so proud of them, they did great,” Martin said.
The couple also say that they and Clemons' daughter, Mia, were invited to spend some time with Timberlake backstage after the concert.
