Justin Timberlake has recruited a slate of collaborators including Nigerian singer Fireboy DML, rapper and singer Tobe Nwigwe and his former NSYNC bandmates for his upcoming new album, “Everything I Thought It Was.”
Timberlake teased NSYNC’s involvement in his first solo album in five years on TikTok last week, responding to an eagle-eyed fan who had caught the band name on the tracklist while Timberlake was previewing the set’s deluxe vinyl edition.
NSYNC is featured on a single called “Paradise,” which is the band’s second single of the decade following “Better Place,” a song featured on the “Trolls Band Together” soundtrack.
The group — Lance Bass,JC Chasez,Joey Fatone,Chris Kirkpatrick and Timberlake— announced their reunion just last year while on stage at theMTV VMAs, where they presented the award for best pop to Taylor Swift for “Anti-Hero.” Since then, Timberlake has been hinting at new music from NSYNC, reminding audiences that the band had been spending time together in the studio for something that would come at a later date.
Set for release on March 15, “Everything I Thought It Was” opens with a track called “Memphis,” in homage to the singer’s hometown, and another called “F**kin’ Up the Disco.” Comprised of 18 tracks, the album was preceded by its first single, “Selfish,” which premiered at a specialconcert in Timberlake’s hometown of Memphis.
News of Justin’s return has been gaining attention since April of last year when producer Timbaland spoke with PvNew, describing the set as a return to the “fun Justin.”
“It’sfunJustin — it’s like ‘FutureSex /LoveSounds’ but nothing too heavy, just giving you what you’d expect from us: not overthought, the lyrics are not so deep, it’s bob-your-head, dance-to-it music,” he said. “Music is a young sport, and you have to keep it fun — fun and young. We’ve both seen a lot of life, but you can’t overthink it because of that, you have to bring out the 13-year-old, 18-year-old again, you know? If not, you can get into the old-fogey stagerealquick.(Laughter)That’s just the world we live in.”
Timberlake’s hard-charging return to the spotlight also includes his“Forget Tomorrow” tour(which begins on April 29 in Vancouver, B.C.) supporting his first solo album in five years.
See the complete tracklist below.
