Despite two decades in the spotlight, the masses ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ of infatuation with Justin Timberlake.
Beyond the success of said song, the enduring adulation for the 35-year-old was also uber apparent upon the release of his last album ‘The 20/20 Experience.’
Released in 2013 after a seven year hiatus, the double-disc LP (which arrived in two parts) went on to sell 6 million copies worldwide and birth a bevy of hit singles.
Naturally all eyes are on whether JT can do it again – especially without the benefit of a lengthy spell out of the limelight.
For much of the year, he’s been baking an answer in the lab with longtime collaborators Timbaland and Pharrell. He’s also added Max Martin – with whom he produced much of the ‘Trolls’ soundtrack will – into the mix.
During his interview feature, Timberlake talked about the status of the record and what fans can expect.
His words await after the jump…
On His New Album:
“I wouldn’t say [my new material] is the antithesis of ‘20/20,’ but it does sound more singular. If ‘20/20’ sounded like it literally surrounds your entire head, this stuff feels more like it just punches you between the eyes.”
On The Project’s Core Collaborators – Pharrell, Timbaland, and Max Martin:
“Tim is a sound junkie, the same way Pharrell is a song junkie. And then Max is like music’s Morpheus.”
On How Fatherhood & Marriage Has Changed His Career:
“My life has changed and is changing. So it’s important to discover that there’s work you can do where you get more time with your family. I wouldn’t go on tour next week, because I wanna be with my son. I wanna be with my wife. What does touring even look like for me now? It’s such a luxury to be able to make those decisions: to be able to think about how you could do the work you used to do in a different way. As men, we’re always taught at a young age to be a man and have your priorities in order. And you get to a point where you’re like, ‘It’s not about “being a man” — it’s about fulfillment.’ Which is a totally different thing.”
Pharrell On JT’s New LP:
“Songwise, I think we’ve got a good solid six that are like, ‘Whoa, what was that? Play that again.’ I would pay Justin a huge compliment to say he’s just discovering who he is now.”
For the biggest pop stars in the world, the place where they have the most trouble is honesty. It’s hard for them to know that the beauty of a record, the sweetest spot in the song, is where they show vulnerability. Because there’s a formulaic sort of vulnerability, like, ‘Baby, I can’t sleep without you …’ and that’s not really it. But if you’re able to really screenshot your own vulnerability, and frame it properly, and color-correct it, then it becomes something that every human can relate to. And I think Justin is in the place where he’s mastering that right now.”
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Hmm.
We’ve learnt many a time to listen more to the music than the pre-hype, as more often than not the latter proves more compelling than the former.
In Justin’s case, we hope he cooks up something on-par with the almost automatic level of buzz he commands. Because ’20/20′ was far too middle of the road to have garnered the acclaim it did. Same with ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling.’