Justin Timberlake had plenty to say about Orlando — which he affectionately referred to as his “old stomping grounds” — during a slick and energetic concert Saturday night at the Kia Center.

“I used to live here!” the Memphis, Tennessee, native exclaimed to cheers from the crowd. “Can I come back and party with y’all?”

Timberlake, the one-time ‘N Sync member whose solo career has kept him in the pop-music stratosphere, brought his “Forget Tomorrow” world tour to Central Florida with a two-hour precision performance that showcased his natural showmanship.

With fellow ‘N Sync-er and Orlando resident Joey Fatone in the audience, Timberlake reflected fondly on his formative years here, in which he was a cast member of Disney’s “The All-New Mickey Mouse Club” and “there’s something else…” he teased, before mentioning ‘N Sync, the Orlando-based boy band that became a worldwide phenomenon.

“We had big dreams — and a lot of hydrogen peroxide,” he joked of the band’s 1990s blond-tipped appeal.

It’s an appeal that lives on with plenty of concertgoers sporting vintage ‘N Sync T-shirts as they queued for specialty cocktails named for Timberlake hits: the tequila-based Rock Your Body and a tropical sounding SexyBack.

Justin Timberlake is reacting to a hilarious sign at his

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After an hour of feel-good pop-dance party music from DJ Andrew Hypes, Timberlake took the stage nattily dressed in T-shirt and sports coat, a few chains at his hip pocket. He left the jacket on the entire show — a feat in itself considering how much energy he was expending in dance.

Timberlake is a natural mover, and the enjoyment he gets from dancing is evident. (Sometimes, he would leave the singing to his talented backing trio to focus on his moves). Little jumps, and hops, and kick steps, and spins: Timberlake is light on his feet with a nimbleness that is fun to watch. He’s creating a party vibe himself.

His voice, although occasionally too low in the sound mix, retains its distinctive and powerful upper register/falsetto. In his midrange, it serves up nostalgia with its youthful, slightly nasally boyband tone.

Timberlake’s musicality was on display, as well; he sat down at the keys on big hit “Señorita” and accompanied himself on guitar for acoustic versions of “Selfish” and “What Goes Around… Comes Around.” The concert was stocked with music from his latest album, this year’s “Everything I Thought It Was,” but the big hits were given their due — especially a 1-2-3 closing punch of “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Rock Your Body” and “SexyBack,” which really should be a campy novelty but in Timberlake’s capable hands is still a primal banger.

An encore of “Mirrors” was visually thrilling as Timberlake took to the sky atop a giant video screen — several stories high — transformed into a floating stage with eye-popping effect.

How connected is Timberlake to Central Florida? Long ago, before ‘N Sync really took off, I attended a movie at the Altamonte Springs Mall, where Timberlake and his bandmates sang a couple songs at the front of the theater before the film started.

We later shared a brief, accidental and slightly awkward restroom encounter when our hands collided as we simultaneously reached for a paper towel. (It does make for a good party anecdote when you start with, “Did I ever tell you about the time Justin Timberlake touched me in a men’s room?”)

I am completely confident Timberlake was not recalling that incident Saturday night when he paused the concert’s party vibe to earnestly return to the subject of how Orlando remains a “very, very special city” in his life.

“You made a country boy’s dream come true, so thank you so much,” he said. “I really grew up with you, you are such a special part of my life. Orlando, I love you. Thank you.”