Justified (album)
Justified is the debut solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on November 5, 2002, by Jive Records. The album was written and recorded in a six-week period as Timberlake's boy band NSYNC was on hiatus. For his solo album, he began to adopt a more mature image as an R&B artist opposed to the previous pop music recorded by the group. The majority of the album was produced by the Neptunes and Timbaland, and features guest appearances by Janet Jackson, Clipse, and Bubba Sparxxx. It primarily is an R&B album that also contains influences of dance-pop, funk, and soul music.
Justified received generally positive reviews from critics, who complimented the mature progression of Timberlake's material, although some criticized its lyrical content. The album earned Timberlake four Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year, and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Justified topped the album charts in Ireland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom while reaching the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States. As of 2012, it has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.
Four singles were released from Justified. The lead single "Like I Love You" peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the follow-up singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body" peaked within the top five on the chart. "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River", and "Rock Your Body" peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and in the top ten in Australia, Ireland, Netherlands, and Belgium. To promote the album, Timberlake performed on several television shows and award ceremonies, including the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, where he made his solo debut appearance. Furthermore, Timberlake embarked on two concert tours—The Justified World Tour and the Justified & Stripped Tour—with Christina Aguilera accompanying him on the latter.
Background
Following the conclusion of their Celebrity Tour in April 2002, boy band NSYNC went on a hiatus, during which co-lead singer Justin Timberlake began work on what would be his debut solo album. With the album, he wanted to portray a more mature image as an R&B performer, rather than a boy band pop artist. He revealed minimal information regarding the producers and artists involved with Justified during its early recording stage, with his management and record label also reluctant to share any information. However, MTV News reported that production duo The Neptunes were working on multiple tracks, while rapper P. Diddy and singer Mario Winans contributed to one track. Other known producers involved included Mike City, Raphael Saadiq and Rodney Jerkins, though between June and July, none of the aforementioned producers had attended any studio sessions. Explaining his involvement with the project, Jerkins said at the 2002 BET Awards that he "just got a call about working on the project" and that whenever Timberlake wanted his assistance, it would "be done". The majority of the tracks the Neptunes produced for Justified were originally intended for Michael Jackson. Since Jackson turned down the tracks, the songs were modified for Timberlake's album.Brian McKnight's manager stated that his client had already recorded tracks with the singer, while rapper Nelly explained to the reporters that both him and Timberlake had discussed a collaboration effort. Early in 2002, Angie Stone revealed that Timberlake "loves the Mahogany Soul album" with him further saying to her "your CD's in my car right now, you have to work on my solo project". These assertions were later partially denied by a Jive Records spokesperson who announced that the material produced from the collaboration would not appear on the finalized record.
Recording
Justified was written and recorded in a six-week period. According to Timberlake, the "creative spurt" was reminiscent of "that period of time back in the 1960s and '70s when musicians got together and just jammed and worked out of inspiration. There was no heavy calculation or belaboring songs and mixes. Everything flowed pretty easily and naturally." Recording sessions took place at various studios in the United States, including the Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Manhattan Center Studios in New York City and Master Sound Recording Studios and Windmark Recording in Virginia Beach.The Neptunes told MTV News that the duo and Timberlake drove in a car listening to Earth, Wind & Fire albums for inspiration, with the background of the band's music being what the production duo wanted to implement into Justified musical content. The production duo commented that despite not being content with sampling music, for inspiration, they also listened to both Off the Wall and Thriller, albums by Jackson. Their intentions were to create music that was similar to Jackson's work without "recycling them". One of the two members of The Neptunes, Chad Hugo, commented that they just wanted to re-create "that sense of those timeless, classic songs, without any of the 'bling, bling, hit me on my two-way' style of the new R&B. It has elements of the old and the new." The producer further went on to say that people wanted Timberlake to be conformed to being part of boy band NSYNC, with the former insisting that the singer is an immaculate vocalist. Hugo acknowledged Timberlake's break-up with singer Britney Spears, saying that some of the album's music could be directed towards it.
Music and lyrics
The opening track on Justified, "Señorita" is a Spanish oriented song that features R&B influences; in it Timberlake sings about a girl with brown eyes. "Like I Love You" is a funk influenced song consisted of live drums, tiny guitar strum accompanied with the singer's breathy tenor. According to Ben Ratliff of Rolling Stone, "it's minimalism influenced by Michael Jackson". The third track on the album, " What You Got" was described by Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine as a bit racy for the audience who expected a more boy-band-oriented record. Regarding the fourth song, Russell Bailie of The New Zealand Herald wrote that although the album "manages to skirt teen-pop sugariness for the most part, though it does offer quality mush on numbers such as 'Take It From Here'." "Cry Me a River" is a funk and R&B song with an instrumentation that features beatboxing, synthesizers, Arabian-inspired riffs and Gregorian chants. Lyrically, the song is about a brokenhearted man who moves on from his past.The sixth track, "Rock Your Body", incorporates tinny, "keyboard-set-to-emulate-clavichord" synthesizers of The Neptunes' late 90s productions, overlaid with "keys and a propulsive drum vamp". The seventh track of the album is "Nothin' Else"; which according to David Merryweather of Drowned in Sound is a "slinky" and "smooth" song that is similar to the works of American musician Stevie Wonder. Influenced by Jackson's musical style and Van McCoy's 1975 single "The Hustle", "Last Night" is played with a xylophone. "Still On My Brain", the ninth track on the album, is a slow jam, similar to the songs performed by Timberlake's former band 'NSYNC. " Take Me Now" which features singer Janet Jackson, is a disco, '80s funk and dub song that contains racy lyrics. Similar to the previous song, "Right For Me", the eleventh track of the album has racy lyrics and features rapper Bubba Sparxxx; on it Timberlake "cockily" sings the line, "I could think of a couple positions for you". "Let's Take a Ride" is the twelfth song on the album, on which, according to Uncut magazine, Timberlake "offers to deliver you from your humdrum existence". The record concludes with "Never Again", a Brian McKnight produced ballad, on which Timberlake becomes "downright maudlin and snippy".
Singles
"Like I Love You" featuring Clipse was released as the album's lead single. It was released as a CD single in August 2002 in Germany and the US. The song was written by Justin Timberlake and The Neptunes, who also produced the track. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its production and use of instrumentals. "Like I Love You" charted at number eleven on the US Billboard Hot 100, and in the top five in the UK, Denmark, Netherlands and Ireland. The song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 45th Grammy Awards.Justified second single is "Cry Me a River", and was released through contemporary and rhythmic radio on November 24, 2002, and as a 12" vinyl on December 23 in the US. The song was written by Timberlake, Scott Storch and Timbaland and produced by the latter. "Cry Me a River" debuted at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated December 21, 2002, and eventually peaked at number three. In other countries, the song achieved similar success, reaching number two in Australia and the UK, and the top five in several other territories. "Cry Me a River" has been certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association, denoting shipments of 70,000 units, and certified silver in France. It won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony, while the accompanying music video won two MTV Video Music Awards: Best Male Video and Best Pop Video. The song is listed on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"Rock Your Body" was released as the album's third single, and was released on May 6, 2003, as a CD single in the US. It was written by Timberlake and The Neptunes, and produced by the latter. The song topped the charts in Australia for one week, became Timberlake's third single to reach number two in the UK, and reached the top five in Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and the US. "Rock Your Body" was certified platinum in Australia by the ARIA. It received a gold certification in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting shipments of 500,000 units.
"Señorita" is Justified fourth single, released through rhythmic radio on July 8, 2003. It was written by Timberlake and The Neptunes, while being produced by the latter. It reached number 27 on the Hot 100, and achieved its highest peak in Australia and New Zealand, where it reached number six and four, respectively.