Justin Timberlake is BACK... AGAIN: NEW SINGLE "Take Back the Night"

Alright, so we have got to talk about Justin Timberlake. He completely shattered through everyone’s previous conception of what a comeback looks like and DOMINATED with his album, The 20/20 Experience, after a long hiatus in which he focused on a pretty successful acting career; but one ground breaking, incredible, and show-stopping album is not enough for him. No, this year we don’t just get one new JT album, but TWO; and the first single off the second new record has officially dropped today, a mere 4 months after the release of his first comeback album. It’s safe to say that 2013 is the year of the comeback and Justin Timberlake is leading the trend.

I cannot begin to tell you how ecstatic I am that Justin Timberlake has come back. When the countdown began and it was revealed that Timberlake was releasing a new single all the way back in July, I was a whole mess of thoughts and feelings, but one of the strongest ones was fear. I’d be lying if I said I was particularly happy with the current state of the popular top 40 music these days, what with their cookie cutter beats, overproduced sound, and predictable bass drops. So, I was worried that Timberlake might go down the Usher path, turning away from his R&B roots and sounds that made his solo career and following the same formula that current pop music is pushing. “Suit and Tie” quelled all that fear instantly. The song was unlike anything on the radio at the time. It was a classy homage to simpler times with the big band sounding horn section and it was in line with Timberlake’s signature sexy and sophisticated style. Above all, it did not sound dated. There was just enough modern production blended in that the song felt like a breath of fresh air on the radio waves. “Suit and Tie” commandeered radio stations and, when the album finally went live, it was clear Timberlake was back at the top of his game. The 20/20 Experience was exactly that – an experience. All the songs complemented each other beautifully for a record that blended old Hollywood glamour with classic R&B and modern pop culture.

Album aside, Timberlake’s comeback means a lot more than just another notch on his belt. I think it is shaking up the industry to the core. Timberlake is raising the bar, challenging artists everywhere to do better. The music industry has been feeling pretty shallow for the past few years, and it feels like anyone with a MacBook can press a few buttons and be a star. However, there is a true sense of artistry in Timberlake’s record. Regardless of whether you like his music or not, you can hear the care he took in creating the best record he could deliver. He’s bringing back the spirit of quality over quantity, taking care in how many instruments and sounds he uses and where he uses them in a song as opposed to most other pop songs which often sound like nothing more than cacophony. Timberlake has released a quality record and brought back a vintage artistic spirit that I think is beginning to profoundly change the rest of the industry and culture, and he’s not done with us yet.

Timberlake has graced the pop world again with “Take Back the Night,” a track that seems to take us back to the “Hey Day” of King of Pop, Michael Jackson. If anyone is going to try to fill the late King’s shoes, I’m sure glad it is Timberlake (Sorry Bieber, maybe one day JT will let you hold one of his Grammys). “Take Back the Night” has that familiar fun and playful groove that I’ve always loved hearing in early Jackson songs like “Off the Wall” and “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.” A lot of the instrumentation in Timberlake’s latest single is very much modeled after that Jackson era with some more of that big band horn section Timberlake featured on The 20/20 Experience added in, but Timberlake’s vocals are just so uniquely HIM at this point that it adds a contemporary feeling so the track feels fresh and original in its own right. Most importantly though, the track is just sexy good fun! Honestly, who’s just going to sit there and not wiggle around to that classic sounding beat and guitar riff? While Michael Jackson will always be an irreplaceable figure in pop music, Timberlake is taking back the night, leaving it all on the floor with his suit and tie sh**, and bringing sexy back in today’s pop music world. And let’s be real, is anyone really complaining?

LISTEN: Take Back the Night