Posts about Justin Timberlake
After an initial hiatus following the Super Bowl Halftime show disaster, JT returned years later with 3 straight number one songs, a successful worldwide tour, and an acclaimed album in the FutureSex/LoveSounds era. With this rollout, Justin flew past most of his bigger contemporaries to become the hottest shit in pop. Although his work with Neptunes established his solo credit on Justified, it was the Timbaland laced follow up that secured his spot as an top artist with its innovative production. Winning a total of 4 Grammys and receiving 4x platinum status, nothing could stop Justin — except himself. An even longer break from music would result in Justin trying out his acting chops to inconsistent success and stepping behind the scenes in music to even less success. JT always maintained that the right album comes to him whenever, no matter how long of a break and thankfully it arrived after a 3 month recording process.
On January 15, 2013 to much hype Justin released his comeback lead single Suit & Tie with JayZ, which would launch a brief stadium tour called Legends of the Summer. Promoting the single was an acclaimed Grammy winning black and white music video directed by filmmaker David Fincher, who worked with Timberlake on The Social Network. A month later came the release of Mirrors around Valentines Day, dedicated to his grandparents’ relationship that mirrors his recent marriage to Jessica Biel. Accompanied by an amazing video with over a billion views, it outperformed its lead single ruby reaching number 2, staying in the top ten for 15 weeks, and ending the year as the 6th biggest song. Closing out the era was Tunnel Vision pushed as a single during the summer that arrived with a controversial music video featuring him and Timbaland watching naked women dance. It has now been pulled from YouTube after initial comparisons to Blurred Lines’ video. It became his first single off an album to only peak in the bubbling under hot 100 region.
After dropping a sequel version 6 months later, JT would embark on his first solo tour in 7 years to promote both releases. Including the Weeknd as an opening act, it would become his highest grossing tour ever and had a documentary alongside it by Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme. The 20/20 Experience debuted at number one with a massive 968,000 units sold first week, crushing his previous best of 684K, and stayed atop for 3 straight weeks. It had the biggest debut sales week for a solo male act since Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III five years prior. It was later named the best selling album of the year over Red, Unorthodox Jukebox, and other major releases of 2013. The album would achieve awards success at the Grammys winning 2 awards and was widely acclaimed by critics at the time.
So did you like the album? Was it worth the 6 and a half year wait? Did some songs go on much longer than it should have? Was the production as solid as the one in FS/LS? How’s the album to you a decade later, assuming you still listen to it?
Is he the Man of the Woods yet?
Prince of Pop Justin Timberlake, after being no stranger to hiatuses, took yet another after the worldwide success of his number 1 single Cant Stop the Feeling. When he returned to the studio inspired by his Tennessee roots. Contacting past collaborators Timbaland, Max Martin and the Neptunes to make Man of the Woods, the album is under the genre of country pop, funk, and Americana among others. Similar to the production process of FS/LS, it was recorded in multiple different studios across LA. The album features singers Alicia Keys and Chris Stapleton, & is dedicated to his first born son Silas
Afte initial speculation, the album was officially confirmed to be released in 201. Ahead of the release was an exclusive listening party with the press and music industry insiders attending. The album’s promotion was accompanied by 3 pre release singles and a career defining Super Bowl performance 2 days afterwards. Let’s see how that turned out:
First single was Filthy (released on my birthday) debuting at 9 becoming one of his highest debuts and 18th top ten solo hit. It was greeted with a polarizing reception upon release and failed to impact the charts much in later weeks, missing the year end charts of 2018. Next single, Supplies, became the first solo song by Timberlake produced by the duo Neptunes since his McDonalds jingle. It was released 2 weeks after Filthy and became one of his worst performing singles in his career, meeting a number 73 peak on the Hot 100. Pretty sure we all collectively forgot about it by April.
The 3rd and final single, the upbeat country rock track Say Something (ft. Chris Stapleton) came out a week before the album. It debuted and peaked at 9, similar to Filthy & outperforming Supplies. Say Something was easily the most successful single off the album, earning a Grammy nomination and over 400 million views for its acclaimed music video that was taken in one shot on its first take filmed in the Bardbury Building.
The album releases to mixed to negative reviews by critics and audiences across platforms citing its unfocused nature and overall sound as a misstep for Justin that holds the album back. Nonetheless, it was promoted through a year long MotW Tour which became the 6th biggest concert tour of 2018 and became his 2nd most successful world tour. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 with Justin’s lowest first week sales of 295,000 units sold although it was the biggest first week sales of 2018 at the time and was eventually named the 6th best selling album of the year.
How did you think of the album? One of his best? His worst? Do you anticipate a follow up?