FutureSex/LoveSound

"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. It was released as the opening track from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, on September 12, 2006, through Jive Records and Zomba. A new wave song incorporating elements of industrial rock and synth-funk, it was written and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Danja. Between the 2002 release of his debut solo album, Justified, and the development of FutureSex/LoveSounds, Timberlake felt "burnt out" and took a two-year hiatus from the music industry.

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

Background and production

A young man dressed in black shirt and pants is walking while holding a golf club.
Timberlake in 2006

In November 2002, Justin 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 "Rock Your Body" and "Cry Me a River", which reached the top-five of the US Billboard Hot 100.[4] After its release, Timberlake thought he "lost his voice" in the sense that he did not like what he was doing. He felt "burnt out" after Justified and he took a break from the music industry to become a film actor.[5] His first role during this time was a journalist in the thriller Edison Force (2006).[6] He also appeared in the 2006 films Alpha Dog,[7] Black Snake Moan,[8] and Southland Tales,[9] and voiced Prince Artie Pendragon in the animated film Shrek the Third (2007).[10]

When Timberlake felt inspired to compose songs again, he chose not to reunite with his former band NSYNC, though he considered it after his first record.[11] Timberlake went to Justified collaborator Timbaland's new Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to begin sessions for his second album.[5][12] Neither Timberlake nor Timbaland had any idea of what the album would be; there was no plan or title for it.[12] "FutureSex/LoveSound" was written and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Nate "Danja" Hills. Jimmy Douglas recorded the song at Thomas Crown Studios and mixed it with Timbaland at The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Florida. Danja performed keyboards and drums with Timbaland. Paul Blake played guitar while Timberlake sang background vocals.[13]

Release and live performances

FutureSex/LoveSounds was released on September 12, 2006, through Jive Records and Zomba,[14] with "FutureSex/LoveSound" as the opening track.[15] "FutureSex/LoveSound" peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 dated September 30, 2006.[16] It was used as the opening song on Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow in 2007.[17] His performances in New York City and Las Vegas were featured on his video album FutureSex/LoveShow: Live from Madison Square Garden (2007)[18] and his concert film Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids (2016), respectively.[19] 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.[20] Prior to the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, Timberlake held a concert at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, where he performed "FutureSex/LoveSound" in a medley with "Need You Tonight" (1987) by INXS and his 2007 single "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows".[21] Timberlake performed the song on the first day of the Wireless Festival in London on July 12.[22] The song was also included on the set lists of Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013–2015)[23] and The Forget Tomorrow World Tour (2024–2025).[24]

Composition

"FutureSex/LoveSound" is a new wave song incorporating elements of industrial rock and synth-funk.[25][26] 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.[27] Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald stated Timberlake morphs into "Michael Hutchence at his most lizard-like".[28] Spence D. of IGN described the beat as a "throwback from the future past of disco's demented dimension".[29]

"FutureSex/LoveSound" features "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.[30] It contains a "rolling" synth bassline and "truncated" percussion that, according to Zuel, comes across as "alluring and ever-so-slightly sinister".[28] Jamil Ahmad of MusicOMH said the song's "slow breaks" "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".[31] Emily Warner of Gigwise called it a "techno 80s tinged number with keyboards, synths and a bass line reminiscent of 'Another One Bites The Dust'".[32] Andy Gill of The Independent described it as "stalking electro R&B" and "a first cousin to 'Another One Bites the Dust'".[33]

Linda McGee of RTÉ.ie described "FutureSex/LoveSound" as "brimming over with attitude, sharp beats and rhythm".[34] Pitchfork's Tim Finney described the song as "suavely portentous" and as a mixture of "the carnal strut" of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" and the "masochistic flutter" of the Junior Boys.[35] Finney said the song "derives its charm" from its "lofty" aspirations, "like a familiar lover staging an elaborately exaggerated seduction".[35] 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).[36] Barry Schwartz of Stylus Magazine said the song sounds "horny", which can be seen in the lines "Slide a little bit closer to me, little girl / Daddy's on a mission to please".[37]

Critical reception

Grouchy Greg Watkins of AllHipHop said "FutureSex/LoveSound" "oozes with the sexiness of George Michael's Faith era to the tune of super producer Timbaland's chest-thumping digital backbeats".[38] Entertainment.ie described its "pulsating beat" as "both sensual and shoulder-twitching".[39] The Warrington Guardian's Vicki Stockman wrote that Timberlake was "throwing off the boyband shackles with saucy lyrics and a killer bass".[40] Sputnikmusic's Amanda Murray called the song "musically and melodically great" but criticized its lyrics as resembling the dialogue of a "low-rent porn film". She concluded the song establishes a pattern for the rest of FutureSex/LoveSounds: "infectiously catchy and in many cases accomplished pop music, marred by retardedly retarded lyrics".[41] Andy Wang of Las Vegas Weekly said it "sounds like something Michael Jackson could have written five minutes after finishing 'Smooth Criminal'".[42] Hot Press author Colm O'Hare noted parallels to Prince's 1987 song "If I Was Your Girlfriend".[43] Writing for Treble, Ernest Simpson said it "slinks along with restrained potential energy".[44]

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".[45] While reviewing the album for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted the inclusion of the word "sex" in the titles of the album's first three songs: "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".[46] Lucy Davies of BBC Music stated: "Initially, it's difficult to listen to the lyrics of the opening tracks and give an objective opinion. It's like 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 [Timberlake] seems to have found some similarly unreconstructed creepy friends shouting words of encouragement to his clunky chat-up lines, like Timbaland".[47]

In 2017, the staff of Billboard ranked "FutureSex/LoveSound" as the second-best deep cut by 21st-century pop stars,[48] and in 2026 as the seventh-best deep cut of 2006.[49] Writing for the same magazine, Dan Weiss called it and "Sexy Ladies" "almost-great one-riff funk vamps that connect the bone and muscle tissue of the first half".[50]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of FutureSex/LoveSounds.[13]

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 for "FutureSex/LoveSound"
Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[16]13

References

  1. ↑ Browne, David (October 28, 2002). "Justified". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  2. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (June 21, 2012). "Justin Vs. Justin: Can Bieber Take Timberlake's Crown?". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Justified". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Justin Timberlake Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Vineyard, Jennifer (February 9, 2007). "Road to the Grammys: Justin Wanted to Channel Coldplay on FutureSex/LoveSounds". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ Susman, Gary (February 10, 2004). "Consolidated 'Edison'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ Travers, Peter (January 25, 2007). "Alpha Dog". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 30, 2026. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  8. ↑ Lee, Nathan. "Review: Black Snake Moan". Film Comment. Archived from the original on September 18, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  9. ↑ Peranson, Mark (May 30, 2006). "Goodbye Southland, Goodbye". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
  10. ↑ Schneider, Karl (July 13, 2006). "Voice Cast Announced for Shrek the Third". Mania.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2008.
  11. ↑ Moss, Corey. "Justin Timberlake's Future Shock". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  12. 1 2 Vineyard, Jennifer (February 8, 2008). "Justin Timberlake's Fooling 'Around' Resulted in Award-Nominated Song: Behind the Grammys". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  13. 1 2 Timberlake, Justin (2006). FutureSex/LoveSounds (Liner notes). Jive Records/Zomba. 82876-88062-2.
  14. ↑ Derschowitz, Jessica (June 20, 2006). "Timberlake To Release His 'Lovesounds'". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  15. ↑ Ganz, Caryn. "Justin Timberlake Launches New Album". MTV News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  16. 1 2 "Justin Timberlake Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Australia Reviews Give SexyBack Singer the Thumbs Up". The New Zealand Herald. November 21, 2007. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Justin Timberlake – Futuresex/Loveshow Live from Madison Square Garden". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  19. ↑ Moore, Kasey (October 18, 2016). "'Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids' Track Listing". What's on Netflix. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2026.
  20. ↑ Rawls, Alex (February 3, 2013). "Justin Timberlake Pulls off an Easy Comeback in New Orleans". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  21. ↑ Barker, Andrew (February 10, 2013). "Justin Timberlake". Variety. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Jay-Z joins Justin Timberlake onstage at London's Wireless Festival". NME. July 13, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  23. ↑ Zemler, Emily (January 21, 2014). "Justin Timberlake Touts Suits, Ties and Tequila at Newly Renovated Forum: Concert Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  24. ↑ Rossignol, Derrick (April 30, 2024). "Here Is Justin Timberlake's 'The Forget Tomorrow World Tour' Setlist". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  25. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (October 2006). "Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSounds". Vibe. Vol. 14. p. 142. ISSN 1070-4701. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  26. 1 2 Weiner, Jonah (November 2006). "Justin Timberlake: FutureSex/LoveSounds". Blender. No. 53. p. 155. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2026. ...from the supple synth-funk of 'FutureSex/LoveSound'
  27. ↑ "Justin Timberlake – Futuresex/Lovesound – Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. March 5, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  28. 1 2 Zuel, Bernard (September 16, 2006). "FutureSex/LoveSounds – CD Review – Music – Entertainment". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  29. ↑ D, Spence (September 14, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds". IGN. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  30. ↑ Burden, Alex (October 13, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – 'FutureSex/LoveSounds'". The Skinny. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  31. ↑ Ahmad, Jamil (September 11, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex / LoveSounds". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  32. ↑ Warner, Emily (September 27, 2006). "Justin Timberlake- 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' (Sony BMG) Released 11/09/06". Gigwise. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  33. ↑ Gill, Andy (September 7, 2006). "Album: Justin Timberlake". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 4, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  34. ↑ McGee, Linda (October 12, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  35. 1 2 Finney, Tim (September 13, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  36. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (September 8, 2006). "CD: Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  37. ↑ Schwartz, Barry (September 12, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  38. ↑ Grouchy Greg Watkins (September 27, 2006). "FutureSex/LoveSounds". AllHipHop. Archived from the original on April 23, 2026. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds". Entertainment.ie. September 19, 2006. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  40. ↑ Stockman, Vicki (September 28, 2006). "Timberlake, Justin – FutureSex/LoveSounds (Album)". Warrington Guardian. Archived from the original on June 6, 2026. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  41. ↑ Murray, Amanda (September 17, 2006). "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on May 28, 2026. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  42. ↑ "Soundcheck". Las Vegas Weekly. September 21, 2006. Archived from the original on June 6, 2026. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  43. ↑ O'Hare, Colm (September 26, 2006). "Futuresex/Lovesounds". Hot Press. Archived from the original on June 12, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  44. ↑ Simpson, Ernest (October 10, 2006). "Justin Timberlake : FutureSex/LoveSounds". Treble. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  45. ↑ Williams, Ben (September 11, 2006). "The Men Who Would Be Prince". New York. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  46. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  47. ↑ Davis, Lucy (March 11, 2006). "Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveSounds Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  48. ↑ "The 100 Best Deep Cuts by 21st Century Pop Stars: Critics' Picks". Billboard. November 21, 2017. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  49. ↑ Atkinson, Katie; Brown, Eric Renner; Chan, Anna; Denis, Kyle; Diaz, Angel; Duffy, Thom; Harrigan, Annie; Kaminsky, Becky; Lipshutz, Jason; Milzoff, Rebecca; Pascual, Danielle; Retotar, Amanda; Rutherford, Kevin; Saponara, Michael; Unterberger, Andrew; Wisneski, Kristen; Zellner, Xander (April 2, 2026). "The 40 Best Deep Cuts of 2006: Staff Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  50. ↑ Weiss, Dan (February 1, 2018). "Actually, 'Justified' Is Justin Timberlake's Classic Album: Critic's Take". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
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