Courtesy VEVOLadies and gentleman, we've all been duped.
The wool has been pulled over our eyes. We've been cheated, swindled, conned. That's because the new song we've been playing on repeat all morning long, that jam we've already coined the song of the summer, is an imposter!
We speak, of course, of Justin Timberlake's just-dropped "Can't Stop the Feeling." And we love JT. We'll buy basically any song he puts out. We'll see every concert. We'll eat at that slightly baffling private club-meets-kid's restaurant his wife owns. And today we've of course been going through the same motions for the brand new track. But then we slowly realized that we've seen this all before, and we're putting out a bold claim—Timberlake has conspired with his pal Pharrell to see just how blinded by a hot beat we all are.
Let us build our case.
Both songs were written for animated movies. Lest we all forget, "Happy" actually came from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. That movie featured a whole bunch of cute little otherworldly creatures running about and speaking in high-pitched voices. "Can't Stop the Feeling" was written for this summer's upcoming Trolls soundtrack. The only real difference between these two movies is the blue hair.
The lyrics have no discernible differences. "It might be crazy what I'm about to say/ Sunshine she's here, you can take a break/ I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space/ With the air, like I don't care, baby by the way." That's Pharrell. "All through my city, all through my home/ We're flying up, no ceiling, when we in our zone/ I got that sunshine in my pocket, got that good soul in my feet." That's Justin. "Can't nothing bring me down." That's Pharrell. "Can't stop the feeling." That's Justin. "Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth." That's Pharrell. "So just dance, dance, dance, come on." That's Justin.
THE FEDORAS. Oh, the fedoras.
And while we're talking about fashion, their shirts are eerily similar, too.
The music videos both feature seemingly random people dancing jovially. We get it, these folks are listening to two of the most upbeat songs in the history of music and, well, ears. Their feet are basically moving independently from their bodies by the sheer will of the beat. But still, the moves are exactly the same.
We rest our case.