Mackenzie Cummings-Grady Journal Staff
There was no way we couldn’t not review Justin Timberlake’s new album this week. The 20/20 Experience has been advertised on every website, Super Bowl commercial, and magazine known to man since the album was announced back in January. The commercial debut “Suit & Tie” showed Justin Timberlake taking on a new swagger, crooner jazz. While Timberlake’s third studio album, The 20/20 Experience provides a much different sound than his last release Futuresex/Lovesounds, original die-hard Timberlake fans will find enough juicy, love-making mixes to satisfy, and new fans will be able to adapt to the ever growing JT “experience.”
After his last release back in 2007, Justin Timberlake said he was going to take a break from music and explore other artistic endeavors. While his face has been everywhere on movies, sitcoms, and comedy shows, Justin’s voice was left unheard for almost seven years. To be honest, the JT hiatus continued for so long many began to lose hope he would ever make music again (besides his goofy contributions to Lonely Island.) While fans pined for any news on JT singles, “Suit & Tie” was released almost unexpectedly back in February. From then on JT has blown up to be, yet again, one of the biggest pop sensations of the year. I believe the long break served Justin well, and as a result gave him time to tune his vocals and his production. He claims he had the idea for 20/20 years ago but wanted to “make the album he wanted to make”. Taking his sweet time without uttering a word to the public, The 20/20 Experience is completely different from his last release. Gone are the days of the buzz cut and techno-pop swagger. While still recruiting Timbaland for most of the albums production the sound is completely different. However, 20/20 is a well-written and well-constructed pop album with tight production, smooth beats, and of course pitch-perfect vocals that will get any foot tapping.
Upon listening to the whole album, “Suit & Tie” quickly fell to be my least favorite track. Honestly I never liked the song to begin with. It seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, and despite Jay-Z’s amazing verse, bored me to near tears. My hesitations as to how the rest of the album would turn out grew steadily as the countdown began to the records’ release. Thank heavens my predispositions were proven wrong. Timberlake’s sexy falsetto on “Pusher Love Girl” and “Strawberry Bubblegum” will give any woman goose bumps, and the powerful ballads “Mirrors” and “That Girl” will mend and speak to any broken heart. My favorite track “Blue Ocean Floor” is an ode to the old JT fans with its psychedelic beat, and “Spaceship Coupe” will satisfy fans of Trey Songz and Lloyd. While only 10 songs deep, each track comes in at around eight minutes, giving you your money’s worth. None of the tracks need to be made shorter, as each minute is a coherent and feels almost natural. It’s easy to listen to this album front to back and get lost in it. Overall, JT’s album is his best to date, and will satisfy anyone who wants to dance and move to some sexy well-made pop music. On a side note, I’d watch out Adam Levine, your days at the top could be numbered.
