FutureSex/LoveSounds is the second studio album by American singer Justin Timberlake, released on September 8, 2006, by Jive Records and Zomba. Following a three-year writing hiatus, Timberlake conceived the album in collaboration with producer Timbaland and the latter's colleague Danja primarily at Timbaland's Thomas Crown Studios. By comparison with Timberlake's debut album Justified (2002), FutureSex/LoveSounds was influenced by a wider range of genres including techno, electro-funk, trance, and rock. It features reprises and interludes interspersed with the album's full songs.
FutureSex/LoveSounds received mostly positive reviews from critics, who noted its wide range of influences and eclectic sound. The album produced six singles that attained chart success; including US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". With "Summer Love", the album achieved four US Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs. Many music publications considered it among the best albums of the 2000s. Aside from earning numerous best-of-the-decade lists, the album received several Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, while its singles won in their respective categories. It has been certified multi-platinum in many countries worldwide, and has sold over 10 million copies, with four million in the United States.
The album has been added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's musical library and archive. It is also considered by critics and fans to be one of Timberlake's best albums to date. To further promote the album, Timberlake embarked on his second concert tour, entitled FutureSex/LoveShow, which became one of the highest-grossing tours in 2007.
Background
In November 2002, Timberlake released his debut solo album, Justified, which was a commercial success and received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album spawned four singles, including the US top-five singles "Rock Your Body" and "Cry Me a River". "Cry Me a River" in particular was credited for having helped the album sell and peak on the music charts. Justified ended selling four million copies in the United States alone. Although the album established Timberlake's career outside his then-band NSYNC, Timberlake (who was 22 years old at the time), was "at a crossroads" and felt he was at the stage of being "burnt out", and thought he had lost his voice "in regards to knowing what (and how) he wanted to sing". Timberlake stated that Justified had been years in the making, and a record that would re-create its success would be a challenge he was not ready to take.
In the following years, Timberlake took a partial hiatus from the music industry. His being "burnt out" partly caused him to try acting in films. In October 2003, he hosted and was the guest musician on the late-night variety show Saturday Night Live, where he showcased his acting potential. He also paired with American actor Jimmy Fallon on The Barry Gibb Talk Show. After the show, Timberlake was reportedly "inundated" with acting offers, which he readily accepted, partly because he needed inspiration and did not want to pass up the opportunities. Before returning to music, Timberlake shot four films; including Edison Force (2005) and Alpha Dog (2006). Timberlake opted not to pursue the reunion with *NSYNC, which he considered after Justified. According to him, he was concerned with how they would reinvent their music. In late 2004, Timberlake then contacted record producers Rich Harrison and Rodney Jerkins, who had produced songs for *NSYNC. Both producers were "impressed" by the live band-driven late-night shows Timberlake had participated in and wanted to incorporate this in his music.
Recording
In 2005, Timberlake felt inspired to record songs again. Motivated by the "sad state" of pop radio, he decided he needed to experiment with music. Reportedly, it was not until Timberlake turned to producer Timbaland "that he figured out the direction he wanted the record to take". In November 2005, Timberlake visited Timbaland's brand-new Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. Timbaland had previously collaborated with Timberlake, producing four tracks for Justified including "Cry Me a River".
Once in the studio, however, the team had no clear direction for the album, as no concepts were being discussed. Aside from having "Cry Me a River" to draw from, they had no "game plan" and no working title for the new album. Timberlake thought that if he could make a record that would live up to Justified, he "would have". So he asked Timbaland if he could reproduce the likes of "Cry Me a River" four or six times.
While in the studio, Timbaland played on the stereo plenty of songs by American singer and musician Prince for them to listen to. Early in their sessions, they reportedly were "fooling around" and "freestyling". One night, Danja was playing a guitar riff and caught the attention of Timberlake, who then started humming to the melody and later sang the lyrics. Timbaland, who was at their side, added drums to the progressing sound. After an hour, with no lyrics written on paper, Timberlake recorded in the vocal booth a song that would become "What Goes Around... Comes Around". Timberlake, having been teased by Timbaland, said to the latter: "Let's do something we would never do. Let's go far left and just see what happens."
Production Official production for FutureSex/LoveSounds started in December 2005. When production began, Jive Records Chairman and CEO, Barry Weiss, asked when the album would be completed, to which Timberlake replied that it could take a year. The title was not finalized until Jive Records gave Timberlake a deadline on finishing what would become FutureSex/LoveSounds. The collective thought the album was comparable to Michael Jackson's landmark record, Thriller, nicknaming it "Thriller 2006".
According to Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds is like a "fashion editorial, YSL and Gucci suits, which goes with the sonics". The album's artworks were shot by American fashion photographer Terry Richardson. The cover features Timberlake stomping a disco ball using his black pointy shoe.
For his new project, Timberlake collaborated with only a few producers. With no concrete plans, however, Timberlake's goal for the album was "'to capture moments' with a vivid, raw, off-the-cuff sound". Timberlake, who included record production in his repertoire, managed the recording sessions with no formula. His sessions with Timbaland and Danja were described as free-flowing, and he referred to themselves in the process as "looking like [mad men], a mad scientist".
In his collaboration with Timbaland, Timberlake asserted that they "have a very interesting connection" in music. In ten days, they composed at least eight to ten songs with the lyrics, melodies, and vocals all in place. In three weeks, after that transitional moment with "What Goes Around... Comes Around", the collective was able to produce songs like "My Love", "SexyBack", and "Sexy Ladies". Unlike Justified which was recorded in six weeks, Timberlake said that FutureSex/LoveSounds took one year to complete.
Sessions for the album also saw Timberlake collaborating with Rick Rubin and will.i.am, the latter himself a member of the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, whose 2003 single "Where Is the Love?" Timberlake lent vocals to. For the production, they are credited as Jawbreakers, a production team of their own established during their collaboration for The Black Eyed Peas' album. Four songs were produced with will.i.am, although only "Damn Girl" made it to the standard edition of the album.
Actor Chris Rock recommended producer Rubin to Timberlake, who considered the idea and discussed it with Rubin when he saw him at a music festival in Coachella, California. Timberlake went to singer-songwriter Neil Diamond's studio, where Rubin played him some demos, one of which was a ballad that would become "(Another Song) All Over Again". Timberlake suggested that the collaboration was meant to "do the anti-whatever-you-want-to-call-it that [Timbaland and] I came up with".
Music During the production of FutureSex/LoveSounds, Timberlake was interested in rock music. This inspiration was used in his approach to recording the songs, rather than in composing them. Timberlake reveals, "I wanted to sing the song like a rock and roll singer, not an R&B singer." On the influences he drew from, he said that if Justified was "characterized" by Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, FutureSex/LoveSounds is more like David Bowie and Prince. AllMusic stated that Timbaland spends much of the album "refurbishing the electro-funk of Prince's early-'80s recordings," adding that "Justin marries his innuendos to grinding, squealing synths that conjure the funky spirit of the Minneapolis Sound. Other influences include late INXS-frontman Michael Hutchence, Arcade Fire, David Byrne, The Killers, The Strokes, and Radiohead.
Although Timberlake expressed interest in recording songs with rock influences, Timbaland was initially reluctant to pursue the idea because he was not accustomed to producing such music. Nonetheless, he suggested that they could produce a handful, since they were afraid of alienating Timberlake's urban fan base. Because of this concern, they produced several reprises, encores, and preludes with a rock influence, instead of full-length songs. As to the sound of FutureSex/LoveSounds, "My Love", the second song composed, steered the album's direction. Danja revealed that it "changed the whole album", and the energy derived from the song was sustained throughout the process. On his inspiration for the infusion of R&B with trance on the album, Danja remembers:
Unlike his previous record, which focused on R&B and pop music, FutureSex/LoveSounds is less concentrated on one particular sound. Timberlake explains, "It's more broad as far as the styles I wanted to mix in to my own type of thing." The musically "complex" album has been described as R&B, electro-funk, art pop,"modern day" disco and dance-pop with elements of hip-hop, rock, funk, soul, gospel, new wave, opera, and world music. Entertainment Weekly noted that the album's sound is a "sonic departure" from both *NSYNC and Justified. Although "What Goes Around" sounds similar to Justified, Timberlake admitted that it is the only song on the album to have such similarity.
Critics noted that the influences and styles are varied across the album's track list. The title track "FutureSex/LoveSound" incorporates early 1980s new wave and industrial rock. The song "Sexy Ladies" takes on Minneapolis funk. Another funk song on the album is the lead single "SexyBack", the style of which is described by Timberlake as "club funk". Meanwhile, the track "Damn Girl", which was produced by the Jawbreakers, incorporates '60s soul music. Gospel music is infused in "Losing My Way", which is the only song on the album that features choir arrangement.
Lyrics
Most of the songs' lyrics were not written down on paper, as Timberlake believed it would only slow him down. For most of the album's production, Timberlake composed the lyrics in his head and would record the song shortly after. Some songs were conceptualized within a relatively shorter time, while others took longer because Timberlake had wanted to incorporate variation. For instance, the lyrics to "Losing My Way" were in a narrative style, which took Timberlake longer to write. The only song that Timberlake wrote down on paper was the Rick Rubin-produced "(Another Song) All Over Again". Rubin felt it was unusual for Timberlake because he requested the latter to write the lyrics first instead of recording them directly in the vocal booth.