Justin Timberlake is bringing back the nostalgia: The Grammy winner released his new single on Thursday alongside the announcement of his sixth studio album.
With “Selfish,” an introspective (if not possessive) love song about jealousy and appreciation, the former NSync frontman and “Trolls” star debuts his first solo music release since his 2018 album “Man of the Woods” He co-wrote the song with Louis Bell, Cirkut, Theron Thomas and Amy Allen. The video, which also dropped Thursday, was directed by SZA collaborator Bradley J. Calder and offers a sneak peek into the production process of Timberlake's music video.
“So if I get jealous, I can't help it / I want every bit of you, I guess I'm selfish / It's bad for my mind, but I can't fight it, when / You're on the outside looking like you, but you can't hide it, “no,” he sings in the chorus.
“Selfish” will be the lead single from Timberlake’s upcoming album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” which RCA Records will release on March 15. The musician has described his latest foray as “incredibly honest” and “so fucking fun.”
“I worked for a long time on this album and ended up with 100 songs,” he said in a new interview with Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe. “So narrowing it down to 18 was a question, and then, yeah, I'm really excited about this album. “I think probably every artist says this, but it’s my best work.”
With a full-fledged promotional launch, the 10-time Grammy winner also announced Wednesday that he will perform for one night only at Irving Plaza in New York City on January 31. The “Suit & Tie” hitmaker kept a relatively low profile last year, particularly amid explosive revelations about his relationship with Britney Spears in the singer's memoir, “The Woman in Me.” However, Timberlake has stood out twice since the book's release in October: for the premiere of the animated film “Trolls Band Together” in November and to headline the splashy opening of Fontainebleau Las Vegas last month. (He, along with his 'NSync brothers, also made millennial hearts flutter with rumors of a reunion after their joint appearance at September's MTV VMAs.)
He will also return to the “Saturday Night Live” stage this weekend, a forum that earned him four Emmy Awards. The pop and R&B singer has hosted the sketch series five times and has frequently guest starred, but this weekend he will return to Studio 8H as a musical guest. The episode will be hosted by actress Dakota Johnson.
“I flirted with the idea of should I host or ask to host? And then I thought, 'No, this album is really special to me in a different way,'” Timberlake told Lowe. “And yes, you read that perfectly, but I also can't imagine that they won't involve me in a sketch or two. It's just natural. And I'm here for it. That's always fun. 'SNL', for me, in any quality. “I’ve hosted five, but I don’t even know how many times I’ve been on the show.”
