Justin Timberlake Reveals How His Next Album Will Differ From The 20/20 Experience

It's been three years since the singer's last album was released

By Zach Johnson Nov 01, 2016 6:20 PMTags

Justin Timberlake's fans will have to savor "Can't Stop the Feeling!" a little longer.

It's been three years since Timberlake released his double album The 20/20 Experience, which sold six million copies and spawned three radio hits: "Suit & Tie," "Mirrors" and "Tunnel Vision." Earlier this year, Timberlake, Max Martin and Shellback teamed up for the Trolls soundtrack's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but in spite of its success, the pop star, 35, says he isn't planning to release a full-length album in the near future.

"I think everyone I'm working with right now knows that I'm notorious for being like, 'Yeah let's work.' I have no idea when I'll put it out, though. I'll put it out when it's done—when it feels right," Timberlake says in Variety's Nov. 1 issue. With his focus on family and film, he adds, "I'm just in the now of now. I think it's an effect of just enjoying my life more. For a long time I lived my life for a lot of other people, or for the idea that those other people had an idea of me..."

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And so, Timberlake has been experimenting in the recording studio with Timbaland and Pharrell Williams, two of his longtime collaborators. "I wouldn't say [my new material] is the antithesis of 20/20, but it does sound more singular," he says. "If 20/20 sounded like it literally surrounds your entire head, this stuff feels more like it just punches you between the eyes."

Williams is thrilled with the new sound. "Song-wise, I think we've got a good solid six that are like, 'Whoa, what was that? Play that again,'" he says. And the lyrics are more introspective than ever. "I would pay Justin a huge compliment to say he's just discovering who he is now."

"For the biggest pop stars in the world, the place where they have the most trouble is honesty. It's hard for them to know that the beauty of a record, the sweetest spot in the song, is where they show vulnerability," Williams tells Variety. "...If you're able to really screenshot your own vulnerability, and frame it properly, and color-correct it, then it becomes something that every human can relate to. And I think Justin is in the place where he's mastering that right now."

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Timbaland, who helped Timberlake find his voice outside of 'N Sync, maintains a "very deep" connection to the pop singer. "Just because I like what's in his brain, and he likes what's in my brain. And our process is we just sit around, talk and vibe, catch up on life. All the while, the musical equipment is hooked up, and we play little sounds until we find something and go, 'Ooh! Let's do that,'" he says. "When a sound stops the conversation, that's where we start."

In the year and a half since his son's birth, Timberlake has been reevaluating his own artistry. "My life has changed and is changing. So it's important to discover that there's work you can do where you get more time with your family. I wouldn't go on tour next week, because I wanna be with my son. I wanna be with my wife [Jessica Biel]. What does touring even look like for me now? It's such a luxury to be able to make those decisions: to be able to think about how you could do the work you used to do in a different way," the singer says. "As men, we're always taught at a young age to be a man and have your priorities in order. And you get to a point where...it's not about 'being a man'—it's about fulfillment. Which is a totally different thing."

Timberlake isn't certain of much these days. "You'll notice I say 'I don't know' a lot. And you know the reason why? Because I don't f--king know! I've realized that I don't really know anything, and when you realize that, you realize a lot," he says. What he does know, though, is that he needs to be malleable. "The worst thing you can do is base all your creativity on some sort of ideal destination. Because you never get there," Timberlake tells Variety. "Which is not to say that I didn't think more like that when I was young, but that's a big part of growing up."