Man of the Woods
Man of the Woods is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on February 2, 2018.[4][5] The production of the album was handled by Timberlake, The Neptunes, Timbaland, Danja, J-Roc, Eric Hudson, and Rob Knox. The album sees Timberlake experimenting with elements of R&B, funk, pop, soul, and Americana.[3] The album is named after his son Silas, whose name means "man of the forest".[6] The album's lead single "Filthy" was released on January 5, 2018, followed by "Supplies" and "Say Something" on January 19 and 26, respectively. The title track was also accompanied by a music video.
Man of the Woods
February 2, 2018
2016–2017
- Conway, Los Angeles
- EastWest, Los Angeles
- Jungle City, New York City
- Red Bull, São Paulo
65:54
- Justin Timberlake
- Danja
- Larrance Dopson
- Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon
- Eric Hudson
- Elliott Ives
- Rob Knox
- The Neptunes
- Timbaland
Man of the Woods debuted atop the US Billboard 200, while "Filthy" and "Say Something" reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album, Timberlake embarked on his sixth concert tour, The Man of the Woods Tour in March 2018. The single "Say Something" received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[7]
Background[edit]
After completing the successful world tour for his previous records The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, Timberlake took a one-year break and later returned to produce the soundtrack for the animated film Trolls in 2016. In a radio interview in May 2016 Timberlake first confirmed working on a new album but without a date set for release yet, "I think where I grew up in America has a lot of influence – 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."[8] Timberlake worked with producers Timbaland, Danja, the Neptunes, and Max Martin,[9] and in following interviews he stated, "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."[10] In December 2017, Timberlake's website displayed the logo featuring the letters "MOTW".[11] Rolling Stone physical magazine reported that the album would feature a collaboration with singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.[12] Stapleton and Timberlake previously collaborated in a live performance at the 2015 CMA Awards, with some music publications speculating his next record may be influenced by Southern music.[13][14]
Music[edit]
The genre of the album incorporates traditional R&B as well as influences from country and funk described as "...Americana with 808s".[37] In a second teaser trailer for the album, Timberlake said that the album has a number of influences. "It's meant to be heard outside even more than inside, I believe. You talk about those, like, Southern guitars and that sound that feels like heritage. That is me exercising my love for where I came from."[38] Rolling Stone described most of the album's first half is "cosmopolitan future-funk,"[39] while Variety stated the music is funk-soul.[2]
Ahead of the album release, Timberlake hosted a listening session with music industry insiders and members of the press. Associated Press commented the album features pop, R&B and electronic tracks.[1]
Commercial performance[edit]
Man of the Woods debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 293,000 album-equivalent units, making it the biggest first week of the year at the time,[54] and gave Timberlake his fourth consecutive number-one album in the country.[55] It is also his fourth album to top the Canadian Albums Chart, opening at the country's summit with 18,000 consumption units.[56]
During its second chart week, Man of the Woods dropped one spot to number two on the Billboard 200, selling 74,000 total units.[57] In its third chart week, the album remained in the top ten of the Billboard 200, charting at number six and selling 38,000 total units.[58] It fell out of the top ten to number eleven, selling 28,000 total units in its fourth chart week.[59]
In March 2018, Man of the Woods was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 album-equivalent units in the US.[60]
In 2018, Man of the Woods was ranked as the 46th most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200.[61] Timberlake was named Amazon Prime's most streamed artist of the year,[62] as well as the 24th top artist of the year by Billboard.[63] Man of the Woods concluded 2018 as the sixth best-selling album of the year and the 31st most consumed album of the year overall.[64][65]
As of January 2019, Man of the Woods has sold over 774,000 album-equivalent units in the US, with over 422,000 being pure sales.[66][67]
In September 2021, Man of the Woods was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 1,000,000 album-equivalent units in the US, becoming Timberlake’s fifth consecutive platinum album.[60]