You Were Right Here All Along

Hello. I'm still here, faithful readers. The past few months have been, well the past few months. And I bet if you asked the artist who is the subject of this post, he'd say something similar. But for different reasons.

Justin Timberlake. Oh the places you have been since we had the same haircut in 2000. The highly anticipated The 20/20 Experience or OMGNEWJTALBUM has finally dropped and everyone has something to say about it. Even if that something is that the person doesn't care. If that's you, as Mary J said, no, this ain't for you. I am one of those who was counting down the days until the new album dropped and The 20/20 Experience and I have been on quite a ride in only a few short weeks. Justin Timberlake and I have been together a lot longer than that.

I am definitely a member of the *NSYNC generation and proud of it. I remember getting the first *NSYNC CD for Christmas in roughly the 5th or 6th grade. I also got an orange Denver Broncos t-shirt that I wore basically every day while listening to that CD. The liner notes pages came apart, the jewel case is broken, and the CD is scratched beyond repair. I'm a member of the *NSYNC generation and I feel like JT and I grew up side by side. And we really did have an identical haircut in 2000. I remember hoping someone would ask me to dance during "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You" at the 6th grade dance. I remember listening to "Cry Me A River" on the JV basketball bus on my discman. I remember watching the HBO special for Future Sex/Love Sounds and thinking "Ok, JT, go'head. You're a grown up now!" And I remember when he all of a sudden became basically a cast member on SNL. I tell you this because, like any other kid from the *NSYNC generation, I feel uniquely qualified to talk about how I feel about the new record. Just like everyone else.

You know what? The day the album came out, I listened to it all day at work on Spotify and I wasn't feeling it. I found myself doing that thing where you skip to the singles because the rest of the record is boring you. I thought "Really JT? All that hype? The Bud Light commercials and everything? This is it?" I was warned by one of my bosses that NPR basically called it a snooze, citing the tracks as being too lengthy and the album being boring overall. And I felt that on the first day too. The quality of this album didn't hit me until I bought the actual CD (at Target for only $9.99, what is the world coming to?) Listening to an album for the first time in a car is generally how I best absorb the work and it happened with The 20/20 Experience. "Pusher Love Girl" opens it in such a suave way and "Strawberry Bubblegum" feels like a b-side from Justified. Obviously "Suit & Tie" was a hit, even with that unnecessary name-dropping verse from Jay-Z. But the real gem on this record is "Mirrors," without a doubt.

"Mirrors" is the stand out track. A lot of reviews you'll read compare it to the sounds of Future Sex/Love Sounds, mainly because it's produced by Timbaland but clearly those reviewers don't know that Timbaland worked on every track on the record. I agree with the comparison to a degree but I don't think it sounds like a lost track from Future Sex/Love Sounds. I think it sounds more like a track from that record grew up. "Mirrors" sounds like the love song by the man someone wanted to become since they were a little boy. I haven't heard any interview from JT saying explicitly that this track is about his new bride, but that's the assumption I'm going to make. The lyrics are most definitely show a more mature Justin. He's not comparing a woman to take out food in this one. He's not asking someone "Would you be my girlfriend?"  He definitely goes with the theme of a mirror in the song but lyrics like "The vacancy that sat in my heart is the space that now you hold" and "I can't ever change without you" speak to a love that's grown and much less shallow than a lot of pop songs. It's a love that's a partnership instead of infatuation. Even the beats on the track are more mature. They are reminiscent of his past, but they show that JT took what he knew and continued to grow. And not to mention, it's catchy as hell. It's the flu. I still have this track on repeat.

Ultimately, because of "Mirrors," I'm proud of little Justin Timberlake. He's come a long way on his pop music journey and got a lot of shade thrown his way for taking such a long time off between records. But really? He's been here all along, just growing into a man. And for those keeping track, the rumors are true: there will be a part 2 to the record released in the fall. But I truly believe he won't top "Mirrors" on it. I'll go all the way out and say this is best absolute best work to date. Well...maybe "Dick in a Box" but definitely #2.