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Page 1
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Justin goes through changes and serves himself up on a platter ...
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Page 2
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Justin gets 'eaten alive' by heartbreak and decides P. Diddy is 'too friendly' ...
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Page 3
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Honoring sex, workin' it with Janet Jackson and all those romance rumors ...
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Page 4
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Justin's not-so-personal life and the Britney incident that inspired 'Gone' ...
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Page 5
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The future of 'NSYNC and the answer to the riddle ...
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Photo Gallery
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Justin Timberlake: Photos From The Interview
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"I was feeling angst in the form of heartbreak, and it was eating me alive," said Justin, adding that he started working on Justified as a sort of therapy. "Writing a couple of songs on the record helped me deal with things. It was like a whole big spa treatment. I just got better and better and at the end of the record I was like this person who had just let it all go and said, 'Wow, I'm over it. I'm past this. I'm in a good place.' "
Helping Timberlake find that place were hotshot producers the Neptunes and Timbaland, whose individual styles and sounds mark Justified like thumbprints. The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, producers for the likes of Jay-Z, Mystikal and Ludacris, lend a sultry flow to songs like "Nothin' Else" and "Last Night." And various cuts, including the album opener "Señorita," contain breathy, spoken-word passages reminiscent of Britney's "I'm a Slave 4 U" (which was also a Neptunes production). Timbaland's tracks combine epileptic beats, unconventional songwriting and lots of layering with Timberlake's soaring vocals. As different as the producers are, they both imbued the singer's music with a more grownup, grinding dancefloor vibe. A hint of his more urban environment came with the Neptunes-produced single "Like I Love You," which blends Michael Jackson-circa-Off the Wall vocals with rapping by the Clipse.
"Initially people will be surprised to hear my voice in this venue, but I think at the same time people will recognize that it's not contrived at all," Timberlake said, his serious expression a sober bid for street cred. "I grew up on Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and Al Green lives down the street from me in Memphis — literally five minutes from me. That's what I grew up on. And hip-hop is what determines pop culture right now."
While the rap and R&B references stand out like cleavage in a Mariah video, Timberlake said Justified was also inspired by a genre of music even whiter than 'NSYNC's.
"I love the Eagles and Steve Miller Band," the singer admitted. "On 'Like I Love You,' the guitar comes in and there's a crazy rhythm, and initially that reminded me of the Doobie Brothers on acid." Timberlake stopped talking and broke into a human beatbox rhythm, followed by a boy-noise impression of an electric guitar before singing the Doobies' "Long Train Running" in falsetto.
"I don't know if people will get this, but the way I treated my vocals in the verse of 'Take It From Here' was like [Radiohead's] Thom Yorke or [Coldplay's] Chris Martin," he added. "To me, Radiohead and Coldplay are the modern-day Beatles. I would love to do a duet with Chris Martin someday. That would just be something so original, and I know I could pull it off. It may not happen, but it doesn't hurt to put it out there."
While no members of the Britrock elite appear on Justified, Janet Jackson and Bubba Sparxxx managed to pitch in. Timberlake recruited the Underdogs to produce "Still on My Brain," Brian McKnight for "Never Again" and P. Diddy on "Love Don't Love Me," but when it came time to select the final track list, P. Diddy's ditty didn't make the cut.
"I just thought it was too friendly," said Timberlake, addressing an obviously touchy subject. "I felt there were songs that I did that were too friendly and they weren't big enough and didn't have enough balls as far as sonics. I think 'Love Don't Love Me' is a surefire song to get hella buzz on the radio, but that doesn't mean you should use it on this project."
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Photo: Jive
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