Justin Timberlake in 1995 Memphis Spelling Bee: See His Precious School Picture!

Fourteen-year-old was Beta club president, played basketball but misspelled wharf in local competition

Adorable. A-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. Adorable.

Correct, that is precisely what Justin Timberlake was at age 14, even if he didn't win the 1995 Memphis Commercial Appeal Spelling Bee.

Scripps National Spelling Bee released this precious post-Mickey Mouse Club, pre-'N Sync image of the Southern superstar. Young J.T. misspelled wharf, eliminating himself from the competition, while a fellow Tennessean won it all with a correct spelling of emerald. (Would love an update on where the emerald kid is today.)

But young Justin had a lot going on besides linguistics, even in the eighth grade! He was President of the Beta Club, played basketball, and as his blurb states, "winner of local and national talent competitions."

As Scripps National Spelling Bee points out, Justin, now 32, might've lost out on that coveted title back in the day, but fortunately, "he's managed to somehow survive by using his other talents!"

So to all the kids eliminated in today's competition, take heart! You might just be the next Justin Timberlake.

—Reporting by Lindsay Good