Justin Timberlake Announces New Album Man Of The Woods
A new Justin Timberlake album has long been teased for early 2018 release to accompany his Super Bowl halftime gig, and last month word got out that he’d trademarked the phrases “Man Of The Woods” and “Fresh Leaves.” Today Timberlake has released a trailer for that new album, and it is indeed called Man Of The Woods and is out 2/2, two days before he plays the Super Bowl. The lead single is coming this Friday. In the trailer, Timberlake describes Man Of The Woods — the follow-up to 2013’s two volumes of The 20/20 Experience — as his most personal album ever, inspired by his family life and his Tennessee upbringing. It also includes some snippets of new music from the album and features Pharrell, confirming his rumored involvement with the project. Check it out below.
Pretty funny that the pop star who once parodied Bon Iver on SNL has now apparently made his very own Bon Iver album.
UPDATE: More details about Man Of The Woods have emerged. This is the album cover:
A press release indicates the album combines “the sounds of traditional American rock with the modern influences of collaborators the Neptunes, Timbaland, Chris Stapleton, and Alicia Keys.” That all seems to fit with the rootsy direction Timberlake’s been pursuing in recent years — he famously duetted with Stapleton at the CMAs — while keeping one foot in his wheelhouse with longtime collaborators Timbaland and Pharrell.
Lead single “Filthy” is the product of Timberlake working with his usual braintrust of Timbaland and Danja, and both James Fauntleroy and Larrance Dopson have writing credits. It’s set to debut Friday at midnight with a video by veteran director Mark Romanek, who helmed Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling” video as well as Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream,” Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” as well as dozens of other videos by Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, David Bowie, and more. According to the press release, “The dance heavy video features Timberlake as a modern day inventor presenting his latest creation to the world.”
“Filthy” is one of four videos Timberlake will release ahead of the album’s 2/2 street date, each one in a different style by a different director. The next one launches 1/18.