In the same week where Justin Bieber has taken over the world, promoting the release of his album Believe, where he’s essentially at an age where he’s finding his own definition of “sexy” – the man, the innovator, the bringer-back-of-the-sexiness, hath made his return onto the Billboard Charts. That’s right, sparked by an amazing deal on Amazon, selling the album for $4.99, arguably one of the most prominent pop records of the 21st century FutureSex/LoveSounds returned to the charts for the first time since 2008 at #122. That means whether it’s in a small town in Oklahoma, on a studio apartment overlooking Long Beach, on a mucky humid day in New Orleans – there’s someone re-living the album in their own right. As it stands in 2012, it’s been almost 6 years since Justin Timberlake has put out an album – so, is it about time for a follow-up?
While everyone seemed to be following the same trend back in 2006, depending on those familiar acoustic guitar or piano driven tunes, FutureSex/LoveSounds was a step in the other direction. Rather than using his first album as a crutch, he decided to stray away from the traditional Pop/R&B blend – and incorporate genres like funk, rock, electronic, trance, hip-hop, soul. The album widely regarded as a modern classic among current audiences, featured singles such as Sexy Back, My Love, What Goes Around / Comes Back Around, LoveStoned / I Think that She Knows , and Until The End Of Time and went on to sell over 4 million copies in the US and 10 million albums worldwide.
It’s been a couple of years, and we’ve heard him croon about pornography with 50 Cent, dance on the hood of cars with Madonna, pay tribute to the deceased with T.I., and somehow made us believe in the direction correlation between Love Sex and Magic with Ciara – but has any of these records really satisfied fans? It’s like a cruel joke Mr. Timberlake is playing on us. We know he has all the chops of a superstar, yet he instead opts to transform into a full fledged actor – now hosting on Saturday Night Live, co-starring in films with Mila Kunis, and breaking records with The Social Network. And while we’re not necessarily mad, it’s just that…it’s not the reason we fell in love with Justin Timberlake.
In the possibility of new music, here was JT’s last major statement on it that came a little bit more than on year ago in Vanity Fair:
“Unfortunately, the business of music is what taints an artist’s desire to make music. I don’t want to paint a picture of being jaded, because I love making music. I honestly love it. But there is a level where making music becomes a total life-sucking commitment. For instance, to do an album and a tour, you have to be absolutely certain that whatever you have to say is from the heart, because you’re going to say it a thousand times–and on nights when you don’t feel like performing. You need to feel inspiration to get to a level where you’re performing like that. But I haven’t felt that level of conviction the past few years. And without that conviction it’s crazy to put yourself out there.”
If JT’s looking for conviction, looking for that sort of inspiration to get back into music, there’s plenty of great music out right now. The entire landscape of music has changed since the final stop on his FutureSex/LoveShow tour back in 2007, and beyond the dance music which has infected the airwaves – there’s a ton of talent. Frank Ocean, Bruno Mars, Adele, Drake, Lana Del Rey, and more are just a few who are making the great music they want and seeing the benefits from it. He’s confidently letting Justin Bieber take the wheel of the pop world from here on out, but we need you to come back and remind the world who was the originator.
http://www.thisgoesin.com/2012/06/justin-timberlakes-futuresexlovesounds-returns-to-billboard-charts-is-it-time-for-a-new-album-the-buzz/
