Justin Timberlake has returned to Saturday Night Live for the first time since 2013, and most fans are here for it. While he’s not hosting this time, Timberlake did pop in to perform his new single for fans. SNL marks a renewed focus on music for Timberlake.
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Many fans took to social media to share their love for the artist, while others used the moment to shade Timberlake in support of Britney Spears.
In an interview with Zane Low (via Deadline), Timberlake opened up about the decision not to host the show. It’s something that he put a lot of thought into, but he decided a musical performance would demonstrate his new project. Timberlake previously released “Selfish” from his album Everything I Thought It Was (although Britney Spears fans have shared their displeasure).
“I flirted with the idea of, should I host or ask to host?” Timberlake said. “And then I just thought, ‘No, this album is really special to me in a different, different way.’ I also cannot imagine that I won’t get pulled into a sketch or two. It’s only natural,” he said. “And I’m here for it. That’s always fun. SNL, for me, in any capacity. I’ve hosted five, but I don’t even know how many times I’ve been on the show.”
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Justin Timberlake Talks New Album
Timberlake opened up about recording the album. The singer ended up recording over 100 songs for the album, but he had to narrow it down to less than 20. Timberlake believes that the album represents him at his best.
“I worked for a long time on this album and I ended up with 100 songs,” Timberlake said. “So narrowing them down to 18 was a thing, and then, yeah, I’m really excited about this album. I think every artist probably says this, but it is my best work.”
Timberlake also opened up about playing songs from the album for the first time.
I was playing [the album] for people around me,” Timberlake said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, this sounds like everything we know you for.’ And then another friend of mine was like, ‘Oh, this sounds like everything I thought I wanted from you.’ It was like that sort of phrase, in one way or another, was in the air. And I thought to myself about how some of the songs are more introspective and some of them are more what I think people know me for.”
[Photo by David Becker/Getty Images]
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