The 20/20 Experience
The 20/20 Experience is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on March 19, 2013, by RCA Records, as the follow-up to his second studio album FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). It is considered the first half of a two-piece project, later being supplemented by his fourth studio album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (2013). The album incorporates neo soul styles with elements of older soul music; its lyrics discuss themes of romance and sex. Production is handled by Timbaland, Timberlake, who also serves as the album's executive producer, and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with Rob Knox contributing to the album's deluxe edition.
The 20/20 Experience
March 15, 2013
May – July 2012
70:01
- Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon
- Justin Timberlake
- Rob Knox
- The Tennessee Kids
- Timbaland
The 20/20 Experience received generally positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised its organic sound and hailed it as a significant pop release. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 968,000 copies – the biggest sales week of the year, becoming Timberlake's second number one album on the chart and best-selling debut week of his solo career. The 20/20 Experience became the best-selling album of 2013 in the US, making it the Billboard Year-End number-one album. The album also became Timberlake's third consecutive number-one album in the United Kingdom, topped the charts in various other countries and set a digital sales record for being the fastest-selling album on the iTunes Store. As of July 2014, sales of The 20/20 Experience stands at six million copies globally.
Three singles have been released from The 20/20 Experience. Its lead single, "Suit & Tie", peaked within the top five in several countries worldwide, and reached number three in the US. The album's second single, "Mirrors", reached number one in the UK and two in the US. Timberlake embarked on the Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour with Jay-Z to further promote the album, as well as The 20/20 Experience World Tour. The album, as part of the compilation The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Pop Vocal Album. "Suit and Tie" and "Pusher Love Girl" won for Best Music Video and Best R&B Song, respectively.
Music and lyrics[edit]
According to Timberlake, the album "goes a lot of different directions. I think there's probably a little bit of what was reminiscent on the first album and then a little bit of what's reminiscent of the second album, and then some new stuff."[15] While working on the album, Timberlake thought: "If Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin can do 10-minute songs and Queen can do 10-minute songs then why can't we? We'll figure out the radio edits later."[16]
The 20/20 Experience is a neo soul album partly inspired by the expansive song structures of 1960s and 1970s rock.[17] The songs have average lengths of seven minutes and are characterized by vamps, abrupt key changes, and unexpected rhythms and harmonies.[18] Music journalist Jody Rosen observed an emphasis on "rhythm and flow" rather than catchiness, and said that it is "not quite a pop album", as its "sense of musical space-time is more elastic and sprawling than anything on the radio".[18] The album's music incorporates samples of piano, distorted voices, and buzzing electronic sounds with elements of older soul music, including resonant voiceovers, lush string and horn arrangements, high-pitched guitar solos, and squelching analog synthesizers.[19] Steven Hyden said that the album has "traditionalist tendencies",[20] and Simon Price wrote that producers Timbaland and J-Roc merged 1970s influences with futuristic sounds: "the Chi-Lites in orbit, the Isley Brothers gone intergalactic, and so on." Price also compared their production on the album to Quincy Jones's production on Michael Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall.[21]
The album's lyrics mostly deal with the theme of romance. The songs feature different metaphors for love, including drugs on "Pusher Love Girl", candy on "Strawberry Bubblegum", and outer space on "Spaceship Coupe".[22] Music critic Ken Tucker wrote that each song portrays Timberlake as a "starry-eyed romantic, bedazzled by a woman upon whom he cannot heap enough compliments, come-ons and seductive playfulness."[17]
Singles[edit]
"Suit & Tie", featuring rapper Jay-Z, was released as the album's lead single on January 14, 2013.[23] It is a mid-tempo R&B song that "floats along" like a song from the American band The Whispers.[24][25] The music video for "Suit & Tie" was shot on January 25, 2013, and released on February 14, 2013. It was directed by David Fincher, who previously directed The Social Network (2010), a film in which Timberlake starred.[26] Commercially, it was a success and managed to reach top 10 positions in 15 countries. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Mirrors" was released as the second single from the album on February 11, 2013, following his performance at the 2013 Grammy Awards.[27] The single topped in the UK and reached the top five in Denmark, Ireland, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland. It peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song reached the top-10 in 23 countries, making it more successful in terms of chart placings than the previous single "Suit & Tie".
"Tunnel Vision" was released as the third and final single from the album on June 14, 2013.[28][29] The music video was released on July 3, 2013.[30]
Awards[edit]
The album, as part of the compilation The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Pop Vocal Album. Additionally, "Mirrors" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance, "Suit & Tie" for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video, and "Pusher Love Girl" for Best R&B Song, winning the latter two.[64][65] The 20/20 Experience won Favorite Soul/R&B Album at the 2013 American Music Awards,[66] Top Billboard 200 Album and Top R&B Album at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards,[67] and Favorite Album at the 40th People's Choice Awards.[68] Timberlake won four awards at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year for "Mirrors".[69]
It also received nominations for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the American Music Awards, Album of the Year at the 2013 Soul Train Music Awards,[70] Outstanding Album at the 2014 NAACP Image Award,[71] and World's Best Album at the World Music Awards.[72]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, The 20/20 Experience debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and sold 968,000 copies in its first week,[73] becoming Timberlake's second number-one album as a solo artist. Sales figures for the first week are the highest of Timberlake's career, surpassing his previous studio efforts Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds, which sold 439,000 and 684,000 copies in their debut weeks respectively. In its second chart week, the album sold 318,000 copies in the US, remaining in the top position and becoming the first album of the year to sell one million units.[74] The album remained at number one for a third week selling 139,000 units.[75] In its fourth week, with sales of 98,000 units, the album was pushed to number two by Paramore's self-titled album, which sold 106,000 copies.[76] The album was certified double platinum in April 2013, having shipped more than two million copies in just under a month after its release.[77] It became the best selling album of 2013 in the US with 2,427,000 copies sold for the year.[78] As of 2018, the album has accumulated 3.8 million album-equivalent units in the US, combining sales and equivalent streams.[79] As of July 2014, joint sales of The 20/20 Experience with 2 of 2 stands at six million copies globally.[80]
The 20/20 Experience had the biggest sales week of 2013.[81] The album's first week sales are the 19th-largest week for an album since SoundScan started tracking data in 1991. Among male artists, Timberlake has the largest week in nearly five years. The last larger sales week by a man was when Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III debuted with 1.01 million on June 28, 2008. The 20/20 Experience also tallies the third-biggest week for a solo male singer.[82]
Overseas, the album saw similar success. In the UK, The 20/20 Experience debuted at number one selling 106,000 copies in its first week and was the fastest selling album of 2013, at the time of its release.[83] In its second chart week, the album sold another 56,000 copies in the UK.[84] Its third week sales in the UK were 26,000.[85] In Australia, The 20/20 Experience debuted at number one on the ARIA Charts and was accredited gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of 35,000 copies.[86] The 20/20 Experience additionally was certified gold in Germany for certified sales of 100,000 copies.[87] At the time of its release, The 20/20 Experience was the fastest-selling album in iTunes history for a record's opening week, selling over 580,000 digital copies on iTunes worldwide.[88]
In 2013, The 20/20 Experience was ranked as the number one album of the year on the Billboard 200.[89] The following year, The 20/20 Experience remained on the Billboard 200-year end charts and was ranked as the one hundred forty-second most popular album of 2014.[90]
The 20/20 Experience was also ranked as the 200th best album of all time on the Billboard Top 200 Albums of All Time.[91]
Sample credits