The video you’ve been waiting for all day – well, some of you, anyway – can now be watched above.
It basically just says “I’m ready”, but the implication is very much that yes, Justin Timberlake will be returning to music, presumably with a new album. Timberlake’s website currently auto-launches the above video, and follows with a countdown – presumably to an announcement of his next single. Or maybe just another countdown. Who knows. There’s three days left on it.
This is what Justin has to say about the whole thing, for those who can’t be bothered to watch the video. He walks into a recording studio while he’s saying it, too:
“Someone asked me the other day, so you’re just, you’re just done with music?
“It means more to me than anybody else in the world. Look, I’ve only done two albums in 10 years, that’s the way I look at it. What does the next decade mean for me? I’m the one who sits and is obsessive about it before you get to hear it. As close as I get to it, I don’t know if I could physically torture myself year in and year out and expect it to fulfill me the way that it does and the way that it is right now. I don’t want to put anything out that I feel like is… something I don’t love. You don’t just get that everyday. You have to wait for it. I’m ready.”
The ‘net has been dominated by rumours of Justin Timberlake’s return all day. Last night, his Twitter account posted a message reading “Thursday, January 10th, 2013 at 9:01am PST”.
Florida radio station Radio Now 97.9 claimed that the message referred to the arrival of a new Timberlake single featuring Jay-Z, news that has apparently been doubly verified by connected hip-hop blogger MissInfo’s ‘industry sources’, who report that the song also features production from Timbaland.
Complex then reported that Beyonce features on the track, although the only verification at the moment appears to be an (apparently inaccessible) tweet from music producer Carl Paul. The single will be Timberlake’s first since 2009′s ‘Carry Out’.
This afternoon, another twist was provided when both Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Timberlake won’t just be releasing a new single – it will be a full album, produced entirely by Timbaland.
“Timberlake is believed to have around 20 new tracks recorded” for the album, claim Billboard, adding that he “is definitely releasing [it] sooner than later”. Timberlake’s last album was 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds, released at the height of Timberlake’s domination of the charts and produced almost entirely by Timbaland and Danja.
