Over the last few years, country music has been a major player in modern pop music. Currently, Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is dominating the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. Rappers and pop stars alike have made desperate crossover attempts into Nashville to varying success. It makes you wonder if Justin Timberlake was just early to the party when he released Man Of The Woods in 2018.
Admittedly, the album is a bit of a mess, a little too clean and not fully immersing itself in the country aesthetics. Pharrell and Timbaland on production don’t lean enough into the woodsy elements that Timberlake was clearly inspired by on the album. Additionally, it was difficult to take his foray into the genre too seriously because it wasn’t an integral part of his identity before. Where Justin Timberlake was from didn’t even matter to most fans at the time.
Still, at the very least, it’s evident that JT cared a lot about the record. It doesn’t reek of the shamelessness of some mainstream acts trying to capitalize on country’s popularity. Instead, he earnestly wanted to reflect on his stomping grounds in a way he hadn’t before.
“I think where I grew up in America has a lot of influence,” Timberlake told Carson Daly in 2016. “Growing up in Tennessee—very central of the country—Memphis is known as the birthplace of rock & roll, but also the home of the blues, but Nashville’s right down the street so there’s a lot of country music.”
Justin Timberlake Went Country Long Before Pop Stars Chased the Trend Today
Moreover, JT also tried something a little different from the traditional Nashville sound with Man Of The Woods. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he explained that he tried to capture the essence of Southern music in a way that didn’t feel dated. Whether he succeeded is one thing. The fact that he was ambitious enough to try to achieve mixed results is another.
“It sounds more like where I’ve come from than any other music I’ve ever made… It’s Southern American music. But I want to make it sound modern – at least that’s the idea right now,” Justin Timberlake told the publication at the time.
Pharrell himself recalled thoroughly enjoying the making of Man Of The Woods. In an interview with Variety, he found that his friend and collaborator was raw and honest in a way most pop stars don’t translate.
“For the biggest pop stars in the world, the place where they have the most trouble is honesty… Because there’s a formulaic sort of vulnerability… But if you’re able to really screenshot your own vulnerability, frame it properly, and color-correct it, then it becomes something that every human can relate to. And I think Justin is in the place where he’s mastering that right now,” Pharrell said of Justin Timberlake.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
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