Will Top 40 Use Justin Timberlake's R&B-Flavored "Suit & Tie"?

RATING: 4/5

I hope so!

Justin Timberlake, after a weekend filled with anticipation, has dropped his first single in six years, "Suit & Tie", featuring Jay-Z. I'm pretty sure no one knew what to expect from Timberlake, especially after so long away from the music world (on his own, at least), but I doubt they were expecting a straight-up R&B.

"Suit & Tie" has a chilled-out, throwback soul vibe to it, a song you could do a mean two-step to. The chorus and hook are smooth, funky, and just plain old fun, and Justin's hit-making falsetto is as silky as ever. While it certainly teeters on the line between fresh and dated, there is something so joyous, and sexy, about this song that you're probably better off just putting on your best shoes and hitting the dance floor. Jay-Z's feature definitely flips the script a bit and it is slightly jarring, but not entirely unpleasant. The intro, on the other hand, is better off being cut from the eventual radio edit.

Speaking of radio, how will Top 40 respond to such a track? Remember, 2006 was seven years ago, and pop is an entirely different place than it was when Justin reigned with FutureSex/LoveSounds. All I can say is that many people thought "SexyBack" would flop when they first heard it. I actually remember listening to the song on AOL Music and recoiling in horror. Lo and behold, it's an iconic song that launched Timberlake into megastardom. So, I wouldn't count Timberlake out yet. In fact, he might just change the landscape of the mainstream with this song; we've been overdue for a shift from generic dance-pop.

The song is currently on iTunes, but you can preview it below:

Justin Timberlake Trolls Everybody With "I'm Ready" Video Teaser (But New Music Is Coming!)

Justin Timberlake sent Twitter ablaze last night when he announced that he would be making a big announcement today at noon EST. No, that wasn't poor grammar; he literally announced an announcement on Twitter.

After twelve hours of suspense, Timberlake kept his promise, tweeting a link to his website, which had a YouTube video titled "I'm Ready" pre-loaded.

New single, perhaps? Nope.

Instead, the video shows the singer/actor walking through a house (presumably his) as he, in voiceover, explains why he hasn't released an album in seven years (he prefers to view it as releasing two albums in ten years; to each his own). At the end of the video, he ends up in a recording studio and says, "I'm ready." The video then closes and we are left with a countdown clock.


The whole thing reminded me of the first part of Lady Gaga's "Marry The Night" video; the pretentious voiceover, the random journey, and the general self-importance of it all. At least with Gaga, we got a single out of it. With Justin, whose announcement nearly trumped the Oscar nominations, we got a clock.

Most epic troll ever.

With all of that said, Timberlake does seem to be dropping the long-awaiting comeback single on Monday, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Unless he plans to troll us again and just release the title, and another clock counting down to actual audio.