Yes, the rumors are true. I am a devout worshipper and long-lost admirer of the man who cried an entire river and still managed to make it look sexy. That’s right, I’m a Justin Timberlake groupie and I have the N*SYNC bobble head circa 2002 to prove it.
After 10+ years of blatant rejection, I made the executive decision to kick my JT habit and move forward with my life. Luckily, I wasn’t distracted by concert dates and song releases…because he kind of fell off the face of the planet for a while. Some will argue against the previous statement, claiming that his random appearances in mediocre films and SNL parodies (which I must admit, are all hilarious) kept his head above water in the proverbial sea of popular culture, but I tend to disagree.
Let us assume, for argument’s sake, that JT fans considered him MIA since the release of his last album, FutureSex/LoveSounds. And let’s also assume that, as loyal fans, our expectations were set especially high when news of his musical comeback hit the Twitterverse. We were ready to welcome back the too sexy for music love affair that had boyfriends and husbands eye-rolling all over the place. Little did we know, the most anticipated song release of 2013 (I realize that we’re only a month in, but what else could top this?) seems to have fallen from the pedestal of sexy and wound up in a pile of corny.
That’s the thing about expectations—we’re not convinced they’ll fall short until they do. It kind of reminded me of the scene in 500 Days of Summer, when the split-screen effect separates Tom’s expectations from his reality. We all know what’s coming, even Tom knows what’s coming, but he refuses to believe otherwise because of his high expectations. It’s what all JT fans are guilty of. We were expecting soulful crooning paired with a Lovestoned-esque beat, but all we got was a post-wedding ode to the new and improved Jessica Biel Timberlake (I’m still adjusting).
Don’t get me wrong, the Tom Ford suit and Jay-Z collaboration work extremely well alongside that notorious falsetto of his, but something seemed to be missing. Was it a sheer lack of sexy, or do we all just like him better as the nomadic, always-available bachelor? Does Suit & Tie represent a new stage both in his career and love life, or will the old JT resurface after all? The only way to know for sure is to listen to the entire album, The 20/20 Experience, which will hit the airwaves later this year.
Justin Timberlake answered our schoolgirl prayers and returned to music; the least we can do is give him the benefit of the doubt. That, and forgive him for his recent nuptials.
