FutureSex/LoveSound

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"FutureSex/LoveSound"
Song by Justin Timberlake
from the album FutureSex/LoveSounds
ReleasedSeptember 12, 2006
StudioThomas Crown (Virginia Beach)
GenreNew wave
Length4:01
Label
Songwriters
Producers
  • Timbaland
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Nate "Danja" Hills

"FutureSex/LoveSound" is a song by American singer Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, released on September 12, 2006, by Jive Records and Zomba. It is the opening track on the album and was written and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Danja. A new wave song incorporating elements of industrial rock and synth-funk, "FutureSex/LoveSound" was developed following Timberlake's two-year hiatus from the music industry after the release of his debut solo album Justified in 2002, during which he felt "burnt out".

After FutureSex/LoveSounds was released, the track charted on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at number thirteen. In reviews of FutureSex/LoveSounds, some music critics praised the song's production and catchiness, but others criticized its lyrics. Timberlake promoted "FutureSex/LoveSound" with performances at DirecTV's Super Saturday Night, the Hollywood Palladium, and Wireless Festival. He also included it on the set lists for three of his concert tours: FutureSex/LoveShow (2007), The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013–2015), and The Forget Tomorrow World Tour (2024–2025).

Background and production

"FutureSex/LoveSound" was recorded at Timbaland's Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia (pictured).

In November 2002, Timberlake released his debut solo album, Justified,[1] which was a commercial success[2] and received generally positive reviews from music critics.[3] The album spawned four singles, including the US top-five singles "Rock Your Body" and "Cry Me a River".[4] After its release, he thought he "lost his voice" in the sense that he did not like what he was doing. He felt "burnt-out" after Justified; this partly changed the direction of his career, and he took a break from the music industry and instead appeared in films.[5] The first role he took during this time was as a journalist in the thriller Edison Force, filmed in 2004 and released on July 18, 2006.[6] He also appeared in the 2006 films Alpha Dog,[7] Black Snake Moan,[8] Southland Tales,[9] and voiced Prince Artie Pendragon in the animated film Shrek the Third, released on May 18, 2007.[10]

When Timberlake felt inspired to compose songs again, he chose not to reunite with his former band NSYNC. However, he considered it after his first record.[11] Instead, he went to Justified collaborator Timbaland's brand-new Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia to begin sessions for his second album.[5][12] However, neither of them had an idea of what the album would be–no plan for it, and even a title.[12] FutureSex/LoveSounds was released on September 12, 2006, by Jive Records and Zomba;[13] "FutureSex/LoveSound" places at number one on the album's track list.[14] It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Nate "Danja" Hills. Jimmy Douglas recorded the song at Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mixed it with Timbaland at The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami. Danja provided the keys, who also provided the drums with Timbaland. Paul Blake played the guitar, while Timberlake sang the background vocals.[15]

Composition

"FutureSex/LoveSound" is a new wave song incorporating elements of industrial rock and synth-funk.[16][17] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, it is set in common time with a tempo of 104 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of F♯ minor, with Timberlake's vocal range spanning from the low-note of A3 to the high-note of G#5.[18] Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald stated that Timberlake morphs into "Michael Hutchence at his most lizard-like".[19] According to Spence D. of IGN, the beat is a "throwback from the future past of disco's demented dimension".[20]

"FutureSex/LoveSound" is "an Another One Bites the Dust backbeat, and progresses through spine-tingling minor changes; something close to George Michael's catchier tracks", according to Alex Burden of The Skinny.[21] It contains a "rolling" synth bassline and "truncated" percussion, that according to Zuel, comes across as both "alluring and ever-so-slightly sinister".[19] It contains "slow breaks", that according to Jamil Ahmad of MusicOMH, "wrap this record round you like walking into an exclusive club with a million dollar sound system – you know you are going to have one of those nights".[22] According to Emily Warner of Gigwise, it is a "techno 80's tinged number with keyboards, synths and a bass line reminiscent of 'Another One Bites The Dust'".[23] Andy Gill of The Independent described it as "stalking electro R&B" and "a first cousin to 'Another One Bites the Dust'".[24]

"FutureSex/LoveSound" is "brimming over with attitude, sharp beats and rhythm", according to Linda McGee of RTÉ.ie.[25] The song, which was described as being "suavely portentous" by Pitchfork's Tim Finney, was cited as being a mixture between "the carnal strut" of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" and the "masochistic flutter" of the Junior Boys.[26] Finney said the song "derives its charm" from its "lofty" aspirations, "like a familiar lover staging an elaborately exaggerated seduction".[26] According to Alexis Petridis of The Guardian, "FutureSex/LoveSound" and the other opening songs of the album are heavily influenced by David Bowie's Diamond Dogs (1974).[27] The song sounds "horny" which can be seen through the lines "Slide a little bit closer to me, little girl / Daddy's on a mission to please".[28]

Reception

"FutureSex/LoveSound" received mixed reviews from music critics. Grouchy Greg Watkins of AllHipHop said it "oozes with the sexiness of George Michael's Faith era to the tune of super producer Timbaland's chest-thumping digital backbeats".[29] Entertainment.ie described its "pulsating beat" as "both sensual and shoulder-twitching".[30] Vicki Stockman of the Warrington Guardian wrote that Timberlake was "throwing off the boyband shackles with saucy lyrics and a killer bass".[31] Amanda Murray of Sputnikmusic called the song "musically and melodically great", but criticized its lyrics as resembling the dialogue of a "low-rent porn film". She concluded that "FutureSex/LoveSound" establishes a pattern for the rest of FutureSex/LoveSounds: "infectiously catchy and in many cases accomplished pop music, marred by retardedly retarded lyrics".[32] Las Vegas Weekly's Andy Wang said it "sounds like something Michael Jackson could have written five minutes after finishing 'Smooth Criminal'".[33] Writing for Hot Press, Colm O'Hare noted parallels to Prince's 1987 song "If I Was Your Girlfriend".[34] Ernest Simpson of Treble said it "slinks along with restrained potential energy".[35] In The Daily Vault, Melanie Love described the song as a "carnal calls to arms".[36]

In a review of FutureSex/LoveSounds, Ben Williams of New York cited the album's first five tracks, including "FutureSex/LoveSound", as updating the early 1980s Minneapolis sound: "tense drum machines, high-pitched synth squiggles and staccato funk bass lines".[37] While reviewing the album for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that the first three songs of the album include the word "sex" in their titles, "as if mere repetition of the word will magically conjure a sex vibe, when in truth it has the opposite effect: it makes it seem that Justin is singing about it because he's not getting it".[38] Lucy Davies of BBC Music stated that it is initially "difficult to listen to the lyrics of the opening tracks and give an objective opinion". She wrote that it is like Timberlake is "trying to find redeemable qualities about some guy who has zero social skills and stares at women on his own from the corner of a bar. Only he seems to have found some similarly unreconstructed creepy friends shouting words of encouragement to his clunky chat-up lines, like Timbaland".[39] Commercially, "FutureSex/LoveSound" peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart dated September 30, 2006.[40]

Live performances

"FutureSex/LoveSound" was used as the opening song on Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow in 2007.[41] His performances in New York City and Las Vegas were featured on his video album FutureSex/LoveShow: Live from Madison Square Garden (2007)[42] and his concert film Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids (2016), respectively.[43] Timberlake performed the song as part of the set list for his comeback performance at DirecTV's Super Saturday Night in New Orleans on February 2, 2013.[44] Prior to the 2013 Grammy Awards, Timberlake held a concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The singer performed "FutureSex/LoveSound" in a medley with "Need You Tonight" (1987) by INXS and his single "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows" (2007).[45] Timberlake performed the song on the first day of the Wireless Festival in London on July 12.[46] The song was also included on the set lists of Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013–2015)[47] and The Forget Tomorrow World Tour (2024–2025).[48]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of FutureSex/LoveSounds.[15]

Locations

Personnel

  • Songwriting – Justin Timberlake, Tim Mosley, Nate "Danja" Hills
  • Production – Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Nate "Danja" Hills
  • Recording – Jimmy Douglass
  • Mixing – Jimmy Douglas, Timbaland
  • Keys – Nate "Danja" Hills
  • Drums – Nate "Danja" Hills, Timbaland
  • Guitar – Paul Blake
  • Background vocals – Justin Timberlake

Charts

Chart performance
Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[40]13

References

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