Let’s be honest…how many of Justin Timberlake‘s contemporaries ten years ago can say they’re just as successful today as they were back then.
When you take Beyonce and Britney out of the equation, that leaves very few- and now, days before his latest album is set to secure sales of over half a million units in its launch week, he extends his current reign with a visit to BET‘s ‘106 & Park‘.
Pushing the album to its Urban audience, the former N’Sync frontman dished on the process behind crafting the album, the aforementioned Bey and what the future holds for his ever potent brand.
Watch below!
As one TGJ commenter put it yesterday:
“Your generation has no concept of true artistry, musicality, how to craft an album, cultivate a lasting audience, etc etc. All you know is commercialism, which is sad.
It used to be that artists skyrocketed on talent alone and then crossed over into endorsements and magazine covers. Now any trick can toss on a neon wig, plump up their cakes and throw out a jingle bells hook single for attention just to start hawking mass produced crap made in china.
When the game becomes JUST about cashing checks you don’t get real music!”
With regards to Justin, the first line couldn’t be any more accurate if it tried. While his healthy servings of ‘blue eyed soul’ give him an immediate advantage over the likes of Usher and Miguel etc, it’s the foundation he laid as a credible music led artist that has seen him wipe the floor with competition even after so many years.
Indeed, in an age where most acts record and release material that says nothing of their talent or creative context, Justin stands as one of the only entertainers to attract and hold the general public with the claw that is his material.
Material, that is then afforded complete major label backing which then results in sales that no doubt kick dust in the face of his paparazzi courting counterparts.
Here’s hoping his inevitable success with this album will encourage artists from all genres (especially Pop and R&B) to embrace quality control when crafting their material and readying live shows.
At least then, their labels might be given more of an incentive to roll out the red carpet for the entire album, and not just the one single that will fare well on the Hot 100 but do all of nothing for their career as a whole.
See a few good examples below…
He’s irrelevant & music sucks…. #WhoIsThis
#He’sTired
lol you tried.
YOU GUYS ARE LIARS FOR THIS….AND I CAN’T DEAL WITH THE SITE BECAUSE OF THE ADDS AND LIES…YOUR TITLES ARE VERY OFF
I see no lies.
I’m confused. Did he or did he not talk about Beyonce and his new album?
But you took the time to comment. If you don’t like it, you can leave.
Why do people do this everyday. Did anybody force you to log on, if your ass doesn’t like what you see, close your eyes, walk backwards out the door and find somewhere you do like. Gosh.
sam are u ok?
I live for this post. These b****** wouldn’t know about quality control if it hit them in the face with a signed copy of 21.
A Janet fan that likes Justin? That’s a first.
No lies were told here 2bh.
lana del flop
BTD sold 3 million in a year so sit down b****.
lana del who?
He didn’t even realy talk about Beyonce. How come she’s in the tittle ? What is this obsession with her TGJ ?
Exactly what im SAYING ITS SO OBVIOUS HOW MUCH THEY LIE WITH THERE MIS LEADING TITTLES.
Oh no what! This! Justin just clock the gimmicks. Feel sad for neo and usher for going the route of trash s***. As for the pop girls, its all about the greedy recOrd lables. No talent. Take away the lights, production and you left with nothing. Sometimes no even the production can save them. So happy for justin and I am certain that lots of other people feel the same.
Does everything have to be about beyonce?
“While his healthy servings of ‘blue eyed soul’ give him an immediate advantage”
Exactly. While him and Adele are talented, if it wasn’t for their skin color, they more then likely would have never accomplished half the things they did. Call it what you wan’t, but you can’t call it a lie.
Hmmmmmm….. hes cute… i hear he’s guna do 600k first week n most likely go platinum in a month or less why is it so easy for the whites to sell??
Because being white is society’s standard of beauty. But society also loves black culture when it doesn’t have a black face.
So give black culture a white face and you have a winner!
Wow you hit the nail on the head girl
Yes yes yes for this article. I’m glad you accept that being white and making R&B gives people an advantage over black people making R&B.
But if you were shading Rihanna on the low again f*** you!
And since we’re being completely honest, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and even Beyonce could be added to that list as well. Although they have to work a little harder then their white counterparts to accomplish the same feats, they have it a lot easier then their darker skinned peers.
The truth of the matter is the more European you look, the more successful you’ll be. Rihanna, Nicki, Beyonce, and even Michael Jackson know this all to well.
but rihanna has strong black features nicki n beyonce don’t they look like white woman now a days
But Rihannas still light skinned and Beyoncé has always had more European features, look at her relatives on her mothers side so its true.
i hate that he can sing r&b & do well but the blacks who sing it now a days continuously flop…
This is not about blacks vs whites. It’s about how much money labels want to spend. An exec could make the floppiest of albums sell if he or she really wanted it to. It’s all a matter of money and string pulling if you ask me.
@My Forehead Though…
I see NO lies Hun!!!
Which is why this is another reason as to why I appreciate DAME WHITNEY HOUSTON’s legacy – She was a dark/deep brown skinned Black woman who, despite the heavy marketing etc… given to her by clive and team, managed to reach such enormous international popularity at a time when it was almost inconcievable for that to happen.
I mean, even Legends before her, such as Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Donna Summer never reached the WW acclaim that Whitney did. They may have broken barriers of course for black people as a whole but, Whitney, just inspired a brand new generation!!!
That’s why I say Black people need to go back to music that we originally created. I.E: I woukd personally go into Rock music….
You know what I mean?
“With regards to Justin, the first line couldn’t be any more accurate if it tried. While his healthy servings of ‘blue eyed soul’ give him an immediate advantage over the likes of Usher and Miguel etc, it’s the foundation he laid as a credible music led artist that has seen him wipe the floor with competition even after so many years.”
And Usher & Miguel aren’t credible music artists? They write and produce their own stuff. Especially Miguel. I’ll be the FIRST to admit that Usher fell OFF after “Confessions,” but Miguel….he has released two flawless ass albums. While I do enjoy “The 20/20 Experience,” sans the unnecessarily long songs…. he’s no more of a credible artist than the two aforementioned. 20/20 honestly sounds like a bunch of leftovers from FSLS, but fortunately for Justin…his star power/money/label afforded him the opportunities to CONSTANTLY promote. Other R&B acts don’t have that luxury except Beyonce. I’m not whining or anything, but it’s so unfair that people are acting like JT is the f****** savior of R&B or something.
But that’s what they mean. They’re all as credible as each other JT’s skin color gives him an advantage.
100% agree.
People always confuse commercial success with quality of the music. Usher and Miguel and even Frank have brought forth albums (last year) much better than the one Justin brought forth this year. This is no disrespect to Justin considering he has a solid, mature, and cohesive album.
The major problem is that he has the backing unlike the other three or any other R&B act. Unfortunately
Don’t be mad that the ugly dark skin b****** can’t make it stay pressed and deal and if you watch Beyonce perform you know why she #1 for what 12 years?? Die you ugly dark skin s****
only whites n light skins make it these days…. like consequence said “Light Skin Is The Right Skin”
And blacks don’t make it any better. We ruuuuun out to support them, but they hardly support us unless its ratchet, trashy s***. What a mess.
But, this is what I don’t understand…
I’m a White man and to all the people saying “give black culture a white face and you have a winner”, what does that even mean?
Why not give “White culture a Black face” then if that’s the case?
I know many Black people who adore Folk, Country, Rock (yes, I know that stemmed from Blacks), Classical music but they are afraid to go that route in fear of being disenfranchised and chastised from the Black community.
I mean, lets face it, any time a Black person does well, in the past, they are always called sellouts by the black community alot of the time.
Wasn’t Whitney booed at one time because her music was too “White”? The same goes for Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Donna Summer etc…
Why is it alot of black people feel that if a black person isn’t making “RnB or Souk” music then they are a sellout? WHY?
Even darius Rucker, a BLACK country singer, said that he recieved death threats from some blacks who called him an ‘uncle Tom’s for making country music. I mean, WTF dude. That’s not cool…
Why don’t more Black people do Rock music etc… Like Jimi Hendrix, who knows what will happen. Or even like Tina Turner!
I’m not racist but sometimes, I do know that blacks can at times be hypocrites to their own people.
Yes, whites aren’t perfect, I know we’re not, but, u know…
I don’t get it! Can someone please explain!
While you make valid points, your argument doesn’t come without faults.
The black community has been damaged for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s not gonna change overnight. Our damage started with slavery, when the light skinned slaves were house slaves, and the dark skinned slaves worked the fields. But that’s an entirely different discussion.
PERSONALLY, when I think of country music, I think of the deep south, small towns, racism and confederate flags. When I think of history (and correct me if I’m wrong), I don’t think of black country singers (minus the guy you mentioned–whom I’ve never heard of).
Rock music was created by black people, yes. But white people took it and made it huge. We haven’t looked back since. The ONLY genres that we pretty much had exclusively were gospel, blues, R&B & rap….so that’s pretty much what we stuck to. So when a white artist takes “OUR” music and sells millions and millions and MILLIONS of copies, of course we kinda take offense to it. I’m being honest here.
Look at Adele. While she is GORGEOUS and TALENTED….what if she were black? What is Jennifer Hudson (prior to weight loss, AI & Dreamgirls) had Adele’s voice & material? Do you honestly think she would’ve sold 20 million copies in two years?
I feel like it’s cute to be “ratchet” and “hood” when a white person does it. Look at Ryan Lochte (the olympic swimmer). He walked around with GRILLS in his mouth during Olympic festivities. If that were a black person, the media would’ve ripped him to SHREDS. But I feel like I’ve already typed too much…I’m not about that blog essay life. This just sums up a quarter of my thoughts…
OH NO…
Please, continue typing! I want to learn…
I see and exactly what you’re saying.
I understand your idealogy of Country music etc… Hell, as a white person, I appreciate and hate it at the same time.
As for Rock music… I would love to see more black people go onto the genre… I mean, Jimi Hendrix was the last one and then there was Kenny kravitz, but he debuted almost 25 years ago.
I understand the light and dark concept and it’s true, I’ve never thought of it that way. What if J.HUD was given Adeles material – would she sell so brazenly?
Hmmm…
But, I just think, that here, in America, Blacks should spread their musical wings. I went ti Europe last year and you’d be surprised to know that many of the black people there are unto heavy metal etc… I know alot are here in the states, but over there, it’s gigantic!
That’s why I think alot of black people go the UK and Europe for success because in America, society can be so backwards!
Do you get what I’m saying?
Thanks for responding!!!
@ Mother Mariah, LOVE your comment!
I completely agree…
I don’t get it either!
@David, black people ARE doing rock, metal, death metal, and punk in the United States but they are underground. The question is WHY is it that black rock musicians do not get much label or mainstream support? I was talking to @Cole about this the other day. And trust me, they are not receiving mainstream support b/c black people understand them as “Uncle Toms.” It’s much more complex than that.
The film “Electric Purgatory” deals with this question specifically.
You say a lot of black people go to Europe, because we are backwarrds. Where is the Barack Obama of Europe? The General Colin Powell of Europe? The Oprah or Aliko Dangote ( 40th richest man from Nigeria ) ? The Condileeza Rice of Europe? Att Eric Holder of Europe?
Where all these powerful black people in Europe? And if Europe is so great for blacks, why do they move to the USA for work? I have read Thandie Newton, Idriss Elba, the black guy in Homeland, the black guy in Jack Racher all say that they cannot get acting jobs in racist UK.
He’s soooooooo CUTE guys. That’s true guys if justin Timberlake was black we would be talking another thing
Color has a lot to do with it mixed with what the record executives decides should where. I mean most record labels don’t feel R&B singers have much appeal to white America anymore. this has been happening since about 2008 or 2009!!!!when was the last time a true R&B african american singer seen a number 1 on the hot 100, let alone a top 10 single on there. Half the time the labels don’t bother to send a true R&B singers single to pop or rhythmic stations. Sad but music world is dominated by rap and pop.
Ok!
I remember when R&B was pretty much DOMINATING the top 10 (almost entirely off of airplay alone) in the early-mid 2000’s, Billboard change their rules somehow so that “everyone could get a fair chance”. R&B started to fall off the face of the earth after that. I know that R&B isn’t evolving the way that it should (with the exception of a few artists), but damn did they really have to play us like that?
It may be unfair, it may be bias…but I don’t give a s***. Do you realize how easily it could have been for JT to abandon the R&B his solo career was built on and come back out with some bubblegum pop, EDM, indiepop or poppy-soul crap that most hit artists are doing right now? He probably would have seen at least slightly bigger commercial reception going that route too. And if he was as “fake” as his naysayers love to accuse him of being, he would have done just that. He would have went the route of the easy, surefire hit and paid the R&B foundation of his last two albums dust.
Instead of looking at him suspiciously, seeing him as some kind of poseur/exploiter of R&B and urban music, and being bitter about it, people should be appreciating that someone of his stature (and yes, unfair advantage) could get away with being defiant enough to put out an contemporary R&B album in such a bigoted and anti-R&B music climate. When was the last time an R&B song hit the Hot 100 top 5? If his album debuts with 600k+, that’ll make it the biggest selling R&B album in 2 years. I don’t care if it was his name that did it…I don’t care if it was his star power that did it…I don’t even care if it is his skin color that added to the appeal; I’m just glad that it happened. Period.
Hopefully the more success this album has will trigger the pendulum moving away from what’s been dominating the world of music for the past five years. Hopefully it’ll perhaps help other established acts like Beyonce/Kelly/Miguel/etc. to not be met with such resistance with their music…and more importantly hopefully it will inspire up and comers to want to make R&B and/or not be pressured by their handlers to go pop.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call JT the “savior” of R&B, but if I saw him I would thank him for doing it right now. Instead of being cynical, appreciate when people help. JT didn’t NEED to put out an R&B album in 2013. He could have given you some Call Me Maybe/Locked Out of Heaven/Moves Like Jagged nonsense that skyrocketed up the charts, while snubbing the urban music he rose to prominence with — which is exactly what a few other acts have done over the past few years. You can take it how you wanna take it, but I’m grateful that he didn’t…and will be buying 20/20 on Tuesday.
I understand what you are saying in terms of the possible shift that an album like “The 20/20 Experience” can cause but, sorry to be the pessimist, it’s not going to happen.
The type of success that Justin will have with this album is the type of success that ONLY Justin can have with an album like this in this climate. The fact of the matter is mainstream America ONLY wants R & B from Justin & Adele and we know why. I enjoy both of them but I’m also a realist.
Progressive R & B is very much alive and producing STELLAR work (Frank Ocean, Miguel, Dawn Richard, Jesse Boykins III, Lalah Hathaway,Rahsaan Patterson, Bilal, etc…) but Justin cannot and will not be the ambassador for its reappearance on the charts. Those days are gone.
Adele& Justin can slay rnb records n can actually sell because there race actually buys music
the big black gurls are upset…
Pipe down Honky…
be glad a major artist that radio and the media supports is doing RnB at a time when pop is what’s being checked for, maybe it will create a ripple effect.
Um…No Because White People Buy Music!! Most Black People Bootleg!
His Promo campaign Is on Point , No worries for me about him This Era 😀
and B****** with their ” oh , cuz he’s white . Oh , he’s overrated , etc …” can STFU and Support their fav Hood act Financially and save us the headaches already !!!
ranting with no actions as usual.
Where are the quincy jones’,babyface,walter afanaseiff,david foster,jermaine dupri,mutt lange,lionel richie,dr.dre,timbaland,jimmy jam and terry lewis or the diddy’s of this generation???..the kind of producers that wouldn’t just slap artists with nice beats then call it a day…the kind of producers that would craft a song out of scratch and make it a classic??where are they??they say RnB is dying,but do we question whether this genre is evolving right??if diplo,rico,the dream,bangladesh are the hottest RnB producers out now,then i’ll pass and you’ll be seeing acts like Sade,jill scott,maxwell,erykah badu selling better than their mainstream counterparts kelly rowland,keri hilson,ashanti,usher and chris brown
Where are the quincy jones’,babyface,walter afanaseiff,david foster,jermaine dupri,mutt lange,lionel richie,dr.dre,timbaland,jimmy jam and terry lewis or the diddy’s of this generation???..the kind of producers that wouldn’t just slap artists with nice beats then call it a day…the kind of producers that would craft a song out of scratch and make it a classic??where are they??they say RnB is dying,but do we question whether this genre is evolving right??if diplo,rico,the dream,bangladesh are the hottest RnB producers out now,then i’ll pass and you’ll be seeing acts like Sade,jill scott,maxwell,erykah badu selling better than their mainstream counterparts kelly rowland,keri hilson,ashanti,usher and chris brown
He’s white and guess what he work his ass off to be where he is, he’s talented, he’s charismatic something that some black male musicians lack due to their pretentious Gangster personality, get over it, his album is great.
You last point is a huge generalisation.
HUGE generalization. NONE of the black male musicians that I listen to have “pretentious Gangster personalities.” It’s best you be specific when making such claims.
And few are claiming the album isn’t good. It’s good. This point has NOTHING to do with the fact that race still matters when considering how art is perceived and received. If the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin can understand this, why is this so difficult for you to understand?
Airhead.
There are other ways of defending Justin other than spewing blanket statements or resorting to outmoded stereotypes.
How crass.
Some of you are too much. JT coulda came with some Maroon 5/Bruno Mars pop s*** and he woulda slayed with it. But he opted to be part of the SOLUTION rather than add to the problem and you’re still mad. SMH. Take your sour grapes somewhere else.
Justin has been stealing Bruno Mars style all this era, wtf are you talking about?
WTF are YOU talking about? Justin hasn’t stolen anything from Bruno. LOL Everything Justin’s doing now he, for all intents and purposes, was doing the last time he had an album out…which was BEFORE Bruno. So to accuse him of “stealing” from Bruno is a total lie.
I can’t with some of y’all. If Timberlake had called up will.I.am, Max Martin or Guetta and put out an OTT dance-pop record, people would be calling him a sellout and complaining at yet another uber pop song taking the world hostage. Instead he works with his long time collaborator Timbaland and puts out music that is sorely lacking on the charts right now and some people act like he’s trespassing or it’s some kind of racial conspiracy to celebrate a white R&B singer while black R&B singers falter. We all know that S&T and 20/20 would’ve flopped hard if any black singer (no matter who they were) put it out. It’s messed up that there is that blatant bigotry, but that goes beyond JT. What do you want from him? Blame radio, record labels, mass media and greater society for that inequity.
I’m beginning to see that “blue eyed soul” is only ok with some so long as it doesn’t become too mainstream. If it’s primarily black folk cordially approving of a soulful white singer, who at the same time is largely overlooked or dismissed by white audiences, then no harm no foul. But if that same soulful white singer manages to break out with pop fans and becomes a big star, then there’s a problem. Then it becomes “unfair” and that same artist is branded a culture thief who is taking credit for what’s not his. Meh. Can’t have it both ways.
How would working with Max Martin make him a sell out when he worked with him during NSYNC?
Exactly.
Nsync was Justin in another universe. Ever since he broke out and made a name for himself, by himself, he he’s gone out of his way to put a distance between what the group was about and what he’s about as a solo act…so reverting back to a Max Martin pop sound would in effect “selling out.”
I learned a while ago that when people are interested in other people, such as music artists or celebrities, they first are attracted to something that is relatable to them, which usually includes race, ethnicity, and/or nationality. It may or may not be intentionally, but when you see someone “like you”, you’re more than likely to be interested in what they have to offer. It is also the same with culture. If someone is always in a dark mood and is considered “Goth”, they will be interested in learning about Goth music artists, no matter the skin color.
Justin Timberlake, Adele, even Fergie at one point, Amy Winehouse (who I love), did so well with urban or soulful music because they appeal to a wider audience. Whites are the “superior” race in many countries, and that is just how it turned out over 100s of years. So no matter what the music is, if it sounds good (has a catchy melody, nice beat, and good lyrics), people are going to buy it and when you have music that is usually for the “minority” being made by a WHITE ARTIST, it is going to succeed more than it would for a minority artist. Not only that, I don’t know what the f*** is wrong with these music labels, but they have been screwing over hundreds, maybe even thousands of major label signed music artists over the years and it’s not right. I don’t care about the immature stans on here, I said this and will always say it, RIHANNA didn’t succeed because she’s talented or innovative…. She succeeded because Def Jam spent millions and millions of dollars, and a bunch of time and energy into her marketing her, which included her hair styles, fashion, overall image, magazine covers, music videos and TV appearances. Let’s not forget about the publicized domestic abuse incident. And retards say she’s a bigger artist than Beyoncé… NO! Beyoncé has made her mark and millions of people have known her much longer than Rihanna all over. Beyoncé hasn’t sold as much as Rihanna because ALL OF HER MUSIC ISN’T “WHITE WASHED!” It’s easy to sell singles and albums when you make music that is mainstream and have millions invested in you to promote it.
I dont think he gets his recognition becuz hes white. I think its because he has good music n he doesnt just slap a few songs together and call it an album. If his race was the case then why isnt Robin Thicke’s fine ass more popular. We watched justin grow up from that boy band so he still has those fans as well. Im tired of people acting like if your black or look black you cant sell. Beyonce may be fair skin n blonde but shes clearly black n rihanna doesnt even look mixed. Everything about her screams black girl so i just dont get it