Idolator: Justin Timberlake

Lance Bass Really Wishes Justin Would Return His Calls

Dan Gibson — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

Billboard brings us the news that Lance Bass is "hopeful" for an 'N Sync reunion. Really, you don't say? A guy whose career hasn't really taken off wishes that his multiplatinum recording act including one of the biggest solo pop stars of our era would record and tour again? Shocking. As far as actual reunion-related news goes, there isn't much: Bass says, "You never know what the other guys are going to be able to do or what they're thinking, but I hope in the next few years we would definitely be able to do another tour and another album." The good news, however, is that a new 'N Sync album would keep up with the times. "It would have a little more of a hip-hop vibe," said Bass, "I think we would definitely work with a lot more urban producers, which I think would be a lot of fun." It would be a lot of fun, if it were ever to happen. Which it won't. [Billboard]

Justin Timberlake And T.I. Reunite, Remain Sexy While Doing So

Maura Johnston — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST

Last night, "If I," a new Timbaland-produced track that brings "My Love" collaborators T.I. and Justin Timberlake back together, made its way to the Internet, and while it's not as future-soaked as the original track, it's got a stuttery, pinging guitar line and one of those descending keyboard lines that bring to mind what it looks like when an object (here a flash of skin, I'm going to guess) glistens—you know, the type that Oran "Juice" Jones employed to a precipitous effect in "The Rain." Also, the lyrics are kind of filthy! But the overall effect is not so much icky as it is hot, I'm not going to lie. YouTube rip after the jump.

T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake - If I [YouTube]

Andy Samberg Has A Sticky Christmas Box For You

Maura Johnston — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:45:00 EST

This weekend's Saturday Night Live was full of fast-forwardable moments, as well as some absolutely atrocious mixing of the band backing up T.I.'s performance. But "Jizz In My Pants"—a bit of electrojaculation from Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island cohort Jorma Taccone—is notable both for its cameos by Justin Timberlake and Jamie-Lynn Sigler and for the way that the song is pretty much a dirtier take on Ween's retro-pastiche "The Goin' Gets Tough From The Getgo." Hear it now, before your friends and acquaintances start making tortured references to it while trying to make light of the latest recessionary news. [YouTube]

Live-Blogging The 2008 American Music Awards: Get Ready For The Triumphant Return Of The Medley

Maura Johnston — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:45:00 EST

Good evening, friends! Tonight is the American Music Awards, the annual event where the American public is allowed to pretend like it cares about the music industry as the biz's most important releases either get pushed out to retail ahead of their street dates or get shoved into a dusty corner of the retailers with which they've struck exclusive distribution deals. And as if to underscore the whole "why people don't care about the music business" ideal," I'm watching the red carpet show, which apparently has contracted at least partial hostship duties to Nicole "You Know, I'm In The Pussycat Dolls" Scherzinger, who is apparently contractually obligated to flaunt her ass as she conducts awkward interviews with the likes of Steven Tyler and Ne-Yo in hopes that people actually care about her existence and maybe buy a copy of Doll Domination so as to easily conjure up further posterior-related fantasies in the comfort of their own home. Full coverage after the jump!

7:45 p.m. So far in the pre-show, Corbin Bleu has made fun of High School Musical, Ne-Yo and Nicole Scherzinger have told the crowd that they'll be performing medleys, and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have both tried really hard to camouflage the fact that they're relying on canes to get around.

7:46 p.m. The background music this year is all being credited, no doubt so people get reminded that oh, yeah, Beyonce sang that song about putting a ring on it.

7:48 p.m. Natasha Bedingfield: A leather suit and diamonds. There's something to be said for "bold fashion choices in the face of global economic collapse," and that something may be, "oh, screw off, chick who wrote the theme for The Hills."

7:50 p.m. Alicia Keys—so good last year!—is wearing earrings that look like they were fashioned from EPs. She is also promising "three of the most diverse people you've seen on one stage at one time" for her performance of "Superwoman," which is closing out the night and which apparently is part of this year being The Year Of The Woman. And one of those women: Natalie Imbruglia! I thought she'd been in hiding!

7:59 p.m. Nicole Scherzinger is now looking for a job "hosting." Well, I guess the music thing isn't working out...

8:00 p.m. Christina Aguilera opens the show with a business-casual take on "Beautiful."

8:01 p.m. Song No. 2 of the "seven songs in seven minutes" medley is "Keeps Gettin' Better," for which Christina has ditched the blazer. Is it me, or does she sound like she quaffed a big glass of milk right before she went onstage?

8:02 p.m. And now it's time for "Genie In A Bottle," which has resulted in her adding a skirt to her ensemble. So much fabric crammed into these seven minutes!

8:03 p.m. "Dirrrty" results in the removal of the skirrrty and her ensemble looking suspiciously Madonna-like. Oh, what am I talking about, "suspiciously."

8:04 p.m. "Ain't No Other Man" = a top hat and a little lace jackety-thingy! I'm really impressed at whoever did the wardrobe styling for this bit, as they figured out how to conjure up period details with just like, scraps of fabric. Maybe it was the result of a Project Runway challenge? It is in LA right now, even if this season will never be seen because of all that legal wrangling.

8:05 p.m. "Fighter" results in her sorta-awkwardly whipping down the jackety thingy and turning it into an ass-coverer. This outfit, I tell you, is like the Transformers of clothing.

8:06 p.m. Many people in the front row: Not amused.

8:07 p.m. Speaking of not being amused, here's Jimmy Kimmel!

8:08 p.m. Oh, he said that Chinese Democracy was a "brand old album." Get it? Christ, another three hours of this...

8:10 p.m. This is apparently "the youngest American Music Awards show ever." And yet, Jimmy Kimmel's jokes: All old.

8:11 p.m. Apparently this "year of the woman" idea has been beaten into every presenter from above, as Jamie Foxx is talking about an eight-year-old Destiny's Child song while sleepwalking through his presentation of the Favorite Soul/R & B Artist category.

8:13 p.m. Rihanna wins. She is wearing a dress that seems to be fashioned from pieced-together dryer sheets.

8:14 p.m. Haha, did you guys know that Lil Wayne has a lot of tattoos? Hahha, you guys! Hilarious!

8:14 p.m. Night Of The Women continues with a performance by New Kids On The Block.

8:15 p.m. Um... apparently none of the dress rehearsals involved the backing music. What is up with the mix on this performance? Oh, well. At least Donnie Wahlberg can still rap... and segue into "The Right Stuff!" Yes, we're back in medley territory, everyone.

8:17 p.m. That synchronized crotch-grab right before "Please Don't Girl" kicked in sure gave the song a new meaning.

8:17 p.m. Eesh, this medley is really hanging rough. Who on earth is running sound for this performance? Can they be fired before they under-EQ again?

8:18 p.m. Well, at least Jordan hit that high note.

8:19 p.m. Why are people standing up? Are they getting ready to walk out in protest of the lousy sound? That's the only explanation that makes sense here.

8:22 p.m. We're back! And somehow the sound running through Jimmy Kimmel's mic is running OK.

8:23 p.m. Paris Hilton and T-Pain: Somehow, the world has not swallowed itself in a black hole of vapidity. (Also, T-Pain's speaking voice is really high? Who knew?)

8:24 p.m. Favorite Pop/Rock Male: Chris Brown. Everyone's standing up again. Don't people know what an ovation is supposed to mean?

8:25 p.m. Oh, here's Scott Weiland. His Teleprompter-reading is, uh, more unfortunate than his answers to direct questions.

8:26 p.m. And of course, he introduced Pink's performance of... "Sober." Yipes.

8:27 p.m. Pink is overcoming the terrible sound sorta ably.

8:29 p.m. I sort of want to do an interview with someone in charge of mixing performances like these, just to see why musical performances on TV are such a challenge. (See also pretty much any episode of Saturday Night Live this season.) Is it because it's being mixed for the audience in the venue? I don't get it.

8:32 p.m. There is something incredibly sad about every Britney Spears promotional appearance these days. A deadness behind her eyes.

8:34 p.m. For a second I thought this music introducing David Cook was actually "Pretend We're Dead." Talk about taking that, Corporate America.

8:34 p.m. Hey, look, a rumor that Axl Rose is going to show up! I hope he comes out for "Superwoman."

8:35 p.m. Taylor Swift's set seems to be left over from a past performance by Evanescence. She is getting super-emotional.

8:37 p.m. That song was sad.

8:38 p.m. Time for some Dancing With The Stars cross-promotion! Lance Bass, presenting the, uh, Favorite Country Band, Duo, Or Group (We're Just Trying To Cover Our Bases) Award.

8:38 p.m. Ugh, Rascal Flatts win. Not that I really had a dog in this particular fight, but Rascal Flatts are just so awful.

8:40 p.m. Oh, hey, it's Ne-Yo! And there's a giant monster swinging up the horn-heavy arrangement of "Miss Independent" somewhere backstage, apparently.

8:42 p.m. This medley brings up an important point: Wouldn't Ne-Yo have done a much better James Bond theme than, uh, pretty much anyone else tasked with the job in the past few years?

8:43 p.m. Think about it: He could even use the mic stand as a weapon in the video! Man, this is so great—that bit with the mirror!!—but the sound is eating it all up. Makes me want to see him live ASAP.

8:43 p.m. Now, see, that is what you give an ovation to, crowd. I swear, the grade inflation in society today...

8:47 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel has apparently decided to be on whatever Scott Weiland is on. And here's Nickelback to present the Favorite Hip-Hop Album Award. Chad Kroeger's all blown out, you guys! Actually, anyone notice that they're all looking kinda Rascal Flatts-y these days?

8:48 p.m. Kanye West wins the Favorite Hip-Hop Album Award... for Graduation. 9/11(/07), never forget y'all.

8:49 p.m. "I wake up in the morning thinking about what stereotypes I'm going to break.... It's our responsibility as musicians to push each other."

8:50 p.m. He's calling for a return to '60s/'70s rock grandeur. Bigger than the Beatles! "I wanna be Elvis!" And—well, let's just hope his story ends more elegantly.

8:50 p.m. Jesse McCartney has turned into Frankie Muniz.

8:51 p.m. Leona Lewis' dress: Dominatrix gone Swarovski?

8:54 p.m. I have nothing to say about this song, except that it seems to have been unearthed from a time capsule buried sometime around the release of Emotions.

8:57 p.m. Seriously, if Leona Lewis is at the forefront of the New Vanguard Of Pop Stars, the music business is even more screwed than I thought. What about her is interesting, is special at all? At least Kanye has aspects of his personality that are compelling. Shit, at least he has a personality.

8:59 p.m. Oh no, Jimmy Kimmel made the same Elvis/Kanye joke I did :(

9:00 p.m. Billy Ray Cyrus and his plugs take the stage. And, aww, he's introducing his daughter, who's just turning 16, but whose speaking voice sounds as seasoned as a Golden GIrl's.

9:01 p.m. And apparently her attitudes toward the paparazzi are just as seasoned, given the opening "dance" bit of this performance.

9:02 p.m. OMG ON-STAGE SLIDE??? She really does have it all.

9:03 p.m. Oh, these high notes are sort of unfortunate.

9:04 p.m. Favorite Male Country Artist is presented, and Contractually Obligated ABC Cross-Promotion Girl is towering over poor Archie.

9:04 p.m. Brad Paisley wins. Uh, where exactly was Play No. 1?

9:05 p.m. Political jokes by Brad Paisley. Ah, edgy.

9:06 p.m. There's no way this Tom Cruise Top Gunning Down Hitler flick can be any good at all, right?

9:09 p.m. The Bachelor fills me with such ra—hey, it's Coldplay! Complete with giggly Chris Martin?

9:10 p.m. Viva La Vida is an album that I have pretty much no problem with. The title track is fun to sing along with in the car. The songs are completely not worthy of being switched off. (Although how much paper is being wasted with this confetti drop, huh?)

9:14 p.m. Richie Sambora and Colbie Caillat... uh, sure. Here's Favorite Pop/Rock Album!

9:15 p.m. Alicia Keys' As I Am wins. Wait, she's nominated in three more categories? We have a lot more show to go here, people.

9:16 p.m. I wish there was a live cam feed so we could see the GIANT LEAFBLOWERS that are no doubt blowing away the confetti right now.

9:22 p.m. I guess the members of the Wu-Tang Clan not being able to name the Jonas Brothers is supposed to be some metacommentary on the fragmentation on music?

9:23 p.m. Terrence Howard! Will he go on a tear about his Iron Man snub? No, he'll just stick to the script. Ah well.

9:24 p.m. Fact-checking moment: "I Stay In Love" is not a hit.

9:27 p.m. Yeah, I guess that was OK.

9:28 p.m. And now, it's That Dude Who Deflowered Jessica Simpson and That Lady Who Ruined How I Met Your Mother! Side note: Were people really clamoring for the return of Scrubs? Doesn't Zach Braff have some overly maudlin "I'm an overeducated white boy" movie to make?

9:29 p.m. Taylor Swift wins Favorite Country Female. She is surprised. She is surprised? OK, this bit of her schtick is starting to get a little Melinda Doolittleish.

9:30 p.m. Daughtry, with lead Daughtry in a very shiny suit, is presenting Favorite Pop/Rock Female.

9:31 p.m. I want Mariah to win if it means Jack McBrayer will accept her award. But alas, the prize goes to Rihanna.

9:33 p.m. Who would buy a Fergie shoe?

9:37 p.m. Dear ABC: Please stop trying to make Private Practice happen. Also stop trying to make The Fray happen. Especially since this dude really can't do the whole "lower register" thing, and the possibility of people caring about this song without visual aids from Lost is near-nil.

9:42 p.m. And now it's time for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. You will recall there is no "female" counterpart for this particular category, because, well, yeah.

9:42 p.m. Kanye wins. I guess they're not frisking audience members for cameras.

9:43 p.m. Kanye passes his award along to Lil Wayne! He seems to be a little unclear on the AMAs' nominating period, but hey, it's understandable.

9:43 p.m. Ashley Tisdale is here and showing the audience how many times she can say the word "T-Mobile" in 60 seconds.

9:44 p.m. The Jonas Brothers win the Sponsored By A Phone Award, and they are continuing the shiny-suit trend. What is this? Did Jessica McClintock branch out into menswear?

9:46 p.m. The-Dream gives himself a shout-out for writing "Single Ladies."

9:46 p.m. So as to have a different "feel" than SNL, this version of the song opens with a Copacabana-worthy intro.

9:47 p.m. BRB DANCING ALONG

9:49 p.m. Queen Latifah is putting her hand up, as is some dorky white lady.

9:50 p.m. One thing that's nice about this year is that at least a few of the people singing can really freaking wail. No endless "Baby Love" here—oh, wait, they just announced the Pussycat Dolls. Ah, crap.

9:54 p.m. Oh, Christ, this Fray track again? How much money are you getting, ABC?

9:56 p.m. Can you gauge presenters' relative importance by how network-promotional the people they're paired with are? What does it mean that Akon is stuck with Someone Else From Dancing With The Stars?

9:57 p.m. Alicia Keys wins Favorite Soul/R&B Album, and she gives a Flavor Flav "Woooowwwww" in celebration. Also, there's no way that the final performer of the night doesn't win the final award of the night, right?

9:58 p.m. I'm pretty sure that was the first Obama reference of the evening.

9:59 p.m. Demi Lovato's presentation style: Awkward eighth-grade president. Which is actually pretty endearing.

9:59 p.m. Instead of bursting through a potentially treacherous glass wall, the Jonas Brothers have decided this year to induce seizures in their audience via bright green lasers.

10:00 p.m. This is harder to look at than that GMail theme that's designed to emulate an old-school VT100!

10:01 p.m. Why did it take me until just now to realize the Disney/ABC connection here? Blame my immersion in Guns N' Roses. Also, the lasers.

10:03 p.m. Please discuss the Pussycat Dolls' performance among yourselves while I fix myself a drink. This song is awful. Also, you just know they are all wearing the trenchcoats for the purposes of FLASHING.

10:04 p.m. Look, they all have names on their stripper poles! And the one in the middle still can't sing live worth a hip-thrust!

10:05 p.m. Be careful what you wish for, because you just might have to endure Nicole Scherzinger being shoved down America's throat one more time.

10:06 p.m. I guess Jimmy Iovine's "influence" means that the Dolls get enough time to incorporate their dance remix. Just what we all needed.

10:07 p.m. "Actress" Ali Landry just called the American Music Awards some sort of hip-superlative. Does that mean the MisShapes are there?

10:12 p.m. Surprise, it's Justin Timberlake. I mean, who would have thought that someone who made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live last weekend, and the TRL finale the day after that, and who has a new charity single out, would appear at an awards show?

10:13 p.m. A year after being brought in front of the mtvU Woodies' confused crowd for vague humanitarian-focused reasons, Annie Lennox is being honored by the AMAs for being generally awesome. Can I just say that "No More I Love Yous" is kind of my jam?

10:15 p.m. Ah, a performance! Of "Why," I believe. This song is also up there.

10:16 p.m. Although she seems to have also sipped from Xtina's milk stash.

10:17 p.m. This performance would be a lot more powerful without the Career Retrospective Video Medley playing behind it.

10:20 p.m. Lots of applause. Everyone is standing, but the meaning behind that particular gesture has been a bit drained of meaning this evening.

10:21 p.m. Lots of words beginning with "m" in her speech.

10:22 p.m. She's 53?! This gives me hope for 20 years from now.

10:26 p.m. That scene of Sally Field frowning dejectedly just made me want to watch Soapdish all over again. Come on, everyone! Half an hour to go!

10:28 p.m. It's an ad for Barbados. Is this part of the reason Rihanna won?

10:28 p.m. Natasha Bedingfield causes me to ask, "Is the 10 p.m. hour filled with performances that were the result of favor-trading or what?"

10:28 p.m. (And I like some of her songs, but come on, a three-song medley of her and two tracks by the Pussycat Dolls?)

10:29 p.m. I guess it could be worse: This awards show could have some sort of Lauren Montag (or whoever) tie-in.

10:30 p.m. "Pocketful Of Sunshine" is such an oddly dreary-sounding song. I like the chorus a lot, but there's something about the track as a whole that's just so... rainy. I know, I know, it's an odd adjective, but close your eyes and see if you don't conjure up a drizzly image.

10:31 p.m. Was that two songs? Wasn't it supposed to be three? Did I miss something? Did her brother stop in and do a bar of "Gotta Get Thru This" while I blacked out momentarily?

10:32 p.m. Speaking of dreary, here's Rihanna... performing "Rehab"... with an eyepatch on? I guess this is her attempt to out-accessorize Sasha Fierce's Krugerhand.

10:33 p.m. I like how her backup singers are wearing the Little Dom Peep outfits Ri-Ri wore during her "Umbrella" phase. Hey, everybody, it's important to recycle!

10:35 p.m. Well, that's over, and I think that one of the biggest singles artist of the past year just got less airtime than Nicole Scherzaface And Her Band Of Roving Bimbos. Total Doll Domination SoundScans to date: 166,767!

10:39 p.m. Motley Crue! Vince Neil would like to remind you just who his band is! Tommy Lee is also wearing a shiny suit! Mick Mars is standing up all by himself!

10:40 p.m. Daughtry wins the Favorite Pop/Rock Duo Or Group. The satin quotient of the clothes on this stage is making my eyes bleed.

10:42 p.m. Seriously, the amount of gold satin covering Tommy Lee could fashion three or four prom dresses.

10:42 p.m. Kanye West is now performing in Tron II: The Red LED District.

10:44 p.m. I like the fake calliopes on this song still. And I really like how Kanye is so, so into this performance. Jumping into every note! Spitting out the vitriol!

10:46 p.m. And now, Sarah McLachlan. If she sings the song from the ASPCA ads, I'll have a real reason to cry tonight, instead of just one that's lamenting the Pussycat Dolls' existence.

10:47 p.m. Oh no :(

10:47 p.m. Pink is harmonizing nicely. At least the producers decided against showing the sad puppies and kittens behind them.

10:48 p.m. I really love Pink's voice. Sarah's lilt is playing against her gruffness in a pretty incredible way.

10:50 p.m. That was lovely. Seriously. Simple and moving and well-performed.

10:53 p.m. Toxic Twins time. Joe Perry is walking with a cane.

10:54 p.m. These two are also toxic when it comes to reading a TelePrompTer.

10:54 p.m. Artist Of The Year: Chris Brown? Really?

10:55 p.m. He would have given it to Coldplay! Everyone's so generous tonight!

10:55 p.m. Faceless announcer on Alicia Keys: "She's been called 'a genius' and 'brilliant.'" By Clive Davis.

10:57 p.m. "For my first surprise, here's the woman I was sitting next to all night!"

10:58 p.m. And now... Kathleen Battle. Well, a soprano wasn't exactly the big finish I was expecting, but hey, music in America takes all kinds, right?

10:59 p.m. Alicia and the Queen are impressed. (As am I, I guess. Although I liked last year's reggae bit better.)

11:00 p.m. And... the big finish! Everyone's hugging! Jimmy Kimmel is making a dumb joke! All of the other winners are being chyroned on the screen—holy crap, that Alvin & The Chipmunks soundtrack beat out Mamma Mia!? Oh, America. Oh, American Music Awards.

The complete list of winners, in case you want to see whose street teams successfully stuffed the e-ballot boxes:
POP/ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist: Chris Brown
Favorite Female Artist: Rihanna
Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Daughtry
Favorite Album: Alicia Keys, As I Am

COUNTRY MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist: Brad Paisley
Favorite Female Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Rascal Flatts
Favorite Album: Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride

RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist: Kanye West
Favorite Band, Duo or Group: Three 6 Mafia
Favorite Album: Kanye West, Graduation

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES
Favorite Male Artist: Chris Brown
Favorite Female Artist: Mary J Blige
Favorite Album: Alicia Keys, As I Am

T-MOBILE BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Breakthrough Artist: Jonas Brothers

INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist: Third Day

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Artist: Linkin Park

ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Favorite Artist: Jordin "Only 18" Sparks

SOUNDTRACKS
Favorite Album: Alvin & The Chipmunks

LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist: Enrique Iglesias

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Artist of the Year: Chris Brown

And my unofficial award:
BEST THING ABOUT THE NIGHT: Ne-Yo, duh.

New Editions Of Pop Chestnuts Remind Us Yet Again Why New Edition Was So Popular In The First Place

Maura Johnston — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:45:00 EST

Continuing Cover Song Wednesday Morning, here's a stream of the latest Guilt By Association compilation, in which indie bands try to show that they have some sort of pop sensibility through the power of performing popular tunes. As you may expect, the results are a bit hit or miss (also: I still am wary of the idea of a "guilty pleasure," because it's all tied up in Catholic indoctrination that I've been trying to get over for years and years), but Frightened Rabbit's version of N-Trance's UK dance hit "Set You Free" is transformative and very good; Kaki King's take on Justin Timberlake's "I Think She Knows" retains the original's skittishness, if the vocals are mixed a bit too high; and Robbers On High Street's minimalist reworking of New Edition's "Cool It Now" is cute, although the lead singer's basso delivery renders the whole enterprise a bit too Cake-like for these ears. (Avoid that "We Didn't Start The Fire" cover at all costs, though. Whew.) [Engine Room Recordings via Pitchfork]

Rihanna And Justin Timberlake Stand Around In The Desert And Stare At Each Other

Maura Johnston — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:45:00 EST

Last time out, Rihanna was taking her video inspirations from Trent Reznor, and this time, she's going down the modern-rock playlist and plumbing ideas from... The Killers? Maybe not, but I definitely feel like Brandon Flowers is going to pop up at any moment in the video for "Rehab," which mostly features Ri-Ri and Justin Timberlake giving each other smoldering looks and lingering touches while sweating out the desert's dry heat and the toxins that build up in one's body when one is forced to hold in their anger at the paparazzi for way too long. The JT/Timbaland-penned song's OK enough, I suppose—it kind of sounds like a filler track to me, but I guess Island had little choice as far as "singles to squeeze the album dry" choices went. (I mean, it's not like they could re-release that kinda-underrated Maroon 5 collab, right?) [MTV / YouTube]

Justin Timberlake Engages In A Little Bait-And-Switch (For Charity)

Maura Johnston — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

ARTIST: Justin Timberlake feat. Esmée Denters
TITLE: "Follow My Lead"
WEB DEBUT: Nov. 18, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: It's hard to begrudge Justin Timberlake's efforts to sell "Follow My Lead," since the proceeds from the track do, after all, go to a pretty worthy cause. But really, the credits should be flipped: The dominant presence on the song isn't Timberlake but his YouTube-groomed protege Esmée Denters, whose sorta-nasal voice powers through the somewhat generic pop ably enough. Timberlake's contribution is pretty much reduced to a rap (!), some backing vocals on the chorus, and a few "yeah"s here and there, which I suppose is proof that he's learned at least one trick from his mentor Timbaland. (Just don't go asking Mark Arm about producing a solo album for him, OK, Justin? I need at least one of my grunge-era heroes to retain his dignity in this dark time.)

WHERE TO FIND IT: JT's MySpace page. (But not Denters', for whatever reason.)

Justin Timberlake Would Like To Serve Beyoncé Some "Mexican Breakfast"

Maura Johnston — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:53:00 EST

Saturday's episode of Saturday Night Live was pretty weaksauce overall, so one of the relative high points came with the above skit, which placed Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg, and SNL's new guy in a scenario where they, clad in leotards and heels, were B's newer, spazzier, more penis-enabled dancers for her "Single Ladies" video. I guess someone in the writers' room saw the Google numbers for "single man dances to single ladies" and acted accordingly. But I have a very important question: Where is Beyoncé's Sasha Kruegerhand? I understand its absence during last night's medley, but if there's one thing I learned from years of comedy, it's that lack of verisimilitude can make even the funniest joke deflate a little bit.

Also worth noting: B's performance of "Single Ladies," which came after the skit. I'd go see this band live for sure. Can you imagine what they're going to do with "Work It Out"?

Bee skit @ (Nov 15 2008) [Dailymotion]
Bee - @ (Nov 15 2008) [Dailymotion]
[Thanks to Gawker for the links]

Madonna Sure Knows How To Craft An Anticlimax

Dan Gibson — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

Yes, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake both appeared at last night's Madonna show at Dodger Stadium. No, they weren't on stage together. Yes, Ryan Seacrest used his massive power to sell a few more tickets to the show by implying something big was in the works. Instead, the people who ponied up for tickets got Britney half-heartedly dancing around with her microphone possibly not even on during "Human Nature" and Justin performing live on "4 Minutes." Not exactly the sort of thing that's exciting enough to lure me away from the Oprah episode of 30 Rock. As Maura put it via IM, "2008: all gossip-blog hype, no follow-through." [YouTube]

What Happened To The Charlie Wilson Album?

Dan Gibson — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST

Earlier this year, I posted the video for "Supa Sexxy", former Gap Band singer Charlie Wilson's collaboration with T-Pain. At the time, I wonderd why the track wasn't more popular. Now, it's eight months later and the album of the same title seems to be lost forever. But why?

To me, a Charlie Wilson album, if promoted well at all, seems like somewhat of a gimme. The Gap Band is still all over radio—in particular, "Outstanding", which has some of the best bongo action of any R&B track in history.

Wilson's last album, hot off his appearance on Snoop's "Beautiful", did relatively well; it debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and "Supa Sexxy" did OK at urban radio. Then a somewhat poor choice for a second single, "Homeless," was sent to radio, and for some reason a third track, "There Goes My Baby" was released to iTunes.

"Homeless":

"There Goes My Baby":

Still, with nearly a year of working the album's tracks—including two that got some traction at radio—the album doesn't appear to be scheduled for release at this point, with its preorder page disappearing from Amazon. To me, this just seems like a bizarre saga of poor management by his label, Jive. The album is full of guest appearances—T-Pain, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, Snoop—and sometimes negotiating the rights to promote singles with artists on other labels can be a nightmare. But Timberlake and Brown are also on Jive. Why wouldn't the label lead with those tracks? With Timberlake a decent distance from new material of his own, you'd think radio would be interested in whatever he was up to musically these days

It's one thing to bump an act back with little name recognition or chart success, but Charlie Wilson's a pretty strong brand and recording an album with production by Stargate and a guest spot by Lil Wayne couldn't have been cheap. Wouldn't it help the company's bottom line if the record was actually made available for sale?

"Shawty Come Back" (featuring Lil Wayne and Baby):

Charlie Wilson [poorly updated label page]

Madonna Hoping That The Wondertwin Power Of Britney And Justin Will Help Her Sell Out Dodger Stadium

Maura Johnston — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:53:00 EST

Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour hits Dodger Stadium tonight, but despite earlier claims that the show would fill up every seat in Chavez Ravine by the time the concert rolled around, there are still tickets available as of this moment. (And it's not just the cheap seats—a Ticketmaster spot-check revealed that $165 seats were, in fact, very much for sale.) So in a last-ditch effort to get butts into chairs, Madonna will announce this morning that both Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake will appear at her show, in some effort to I guess complete the circle of life that she started when she made out onstage with Brit Brit at the 2003 Video Music Awards.

"They are going to be onstage performing with Madonna," Seacrest said on KIIS-FM host DJ BoyToy Jesse's Wednesday-afternoon show.

Of course, while Timberlake and Spears have both collaborated with Madge individually, the exes haven't been spending much quality time together in recent years.

"If Justin and Britney end up on that stage with her...I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like that before," Seacrest said. (And he's seen a lot—remember Celine Dion performing with hologram Elvis on American Idol?)

Do I! Anyway, I guess the time is right for me to confess that I've done—well, not a 180, but maybe a 125 on "4 Minutes," the only song off Hard Candy that made any sort of impact beyond being piped into the Muzak at Kohl's. I'm pretty sure it's the song's very close melodic relationship with the theme to The Price Is Right that did it for me:

I can still do without Timbaland's "wikka wikka"-ing, though.

Madonna Orchestrates a Britney-Justin Reunion [E!]
Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes [YouTube]

Idolator's Guide To Condiment Pop Smears Ketchup And Miracle Whip All Over Your Stereo

moomintroll — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

During last week's discussion of Marmite artists—those artists that are so divisive, they force people to take sides, with no one left in the middle—Idolator commenter moomintroll wondered if we shouldn't try and find more ways to classify popular bands through their analogues to various condiments. Since we figured the safe space in the fridge inhabited by your ketchups, your mustards, and your molding bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch was as good a way to make sense of the current musical landscape as any, we invited her to flesh out her theory for us. It's after the jump!

Ketchup: Ubiquitous, generally well-liked.
Key characteristics: Universally accepted as great background music; can be played at a party frequented by many different-minded souls with minimal complaint; informal surveys of friends will reveal that most people own at least one of their "essential" albums, but rarely own their entire discography.
Sample artists: Weezer, Air, Kelly Clarkson.
When they're past their sell-by date: When they're liked by almost too many people. (Think Dave Matthews.)

Mustard: Popular in its original form, but also available in spicy variations.
Key characteristics:Masters of reinvention; have found mainstream success with one genre of music, but can’t wait to go all Dijon and become something entirely different; tend to find success in most everything they do, to the chagrin of safe-but-steady ketchup bands.
Sample artists: Damon Albarn, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake.
When they're past their sell-by date: When they take it one step too far and become children’s book authors.

Ranch Dressing: It's kind of gross, and did you know it has, like, 1,000 calories? Eww—wait, is that a Sam's Club-sized bottle of ranch in your fridge? Busted.
Key characteristics: The aural equivalent of a band that turns your fancy baby spinach and endive salad into a cheeseburger; few people will admit to liking them, yet singalongs to their music are commonplace; classic bands of this ilk are popular sources for ironic T-shirt wearing.
Sample artists: Ultravox, Cobra Starship, Carrie Underwood.
When they're past their sell-by date: When a snoopy friend discovers their songs in your iTunes library. (This is why I keep such acts in a secret folder known as “Hidden Valley.”)

Pesto: Are you going to buy it on your own? No. Do you enjoy it on a $20 sandwich at a restaurant? Yes.
Key characteristics: Highbrow critics swear by them; they are cited as an influence by many mainstream musicians; their sections at your local record store are accompanied by breathless two-index-card treatises on their genius; someone in the band has been rumored to be mentally unstable, resulting in long gaps between releases.
Sample artists: Scott Walker (Scott 4 through The Drift), Patti Smith, My Bloody Valentine.
When they're past their sell-by date: The inevitable reunion tour, which is risky, and could turn them into a creamier pesto… a sort of ranch, some might say.

Wish-Bone Salad Spritzers: That new spray-on salad dressing looks totally cool, and it's only 10 calories per squirt. I should try it…one day.
Key characteristics: Frequently cited as “brilliant” and “life-changing”; it’s a burden on your life that you have never tried to get into them; when dropped into a conversation, you say you’ve "heard of them but haven’t heard them."
Sample artists:Death Cab For Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Shins.
When they're past their sell-by date: When you get called out for faking affection toward them.

Newman’s Own: The critics and masses alike adored him, and he's versatile enough to have put out a whole line of his own condiments.
Ingredients: Think ketchup, but with fans that think they are the bombolina because they possess a rare combination of talent and success.
Sample artists: Radiohead, The Roots, Bjork.
When they're past their sell-by date: When they reach a little too far in trying to have it both ways, and do things like collaborate with with Timbaland. (I’m looking at you, Bjork.)

One commenter thought that Newman's Own bands should also include musicians who perform various charitable acts. But if a band or musician has become famous enough to really make a difference in the world through charity work, the possibility for backlash is inevitable. Which brings me to my final pop condiment classification.

Miracle Whip: Sure, its name makes it sound impressive. But is it really capable of anything close to a miracle?
Ingredients: Overexposure; less time devoted to music because of meetings with various world leaders about peace; incipient God complex; wire stories about "political" asides at concerts; tendencies toward writing "messages" on own skin with Sharpies.
Sample artists: Coldplay, U2, Kanye West.
When they're past their sell-by date: Miracle Whip bands have got that gooey stuff around the lid and everything, and you should probably throw them out. But they’ll stay in the fridge door of popular opinion forever.

"SexyBack" Will Be Brought No More

Maura Johnston — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:45:00 EDT

Justin Timberlake announced that he was retiring his 2006 "SexyBack" at a charity concert in Las Vegas on Friday night. However, Timberlake's announcement—which took place at a concert benefiting Shriners Hospitals For Children—probably will not result in the annoying catchphrase guy in your office retiring his own references to "bringing sexy back... to the kitchen" until 2011 or so. Sorry! [MTV]

Justin Timberlake Wants You To Use That Hole In That Box For Something Else

Maura Johnston — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:53:00 EDT

It's been almost two years since Justin Timberlake donned a pair of Color Me Badd pants and sang about giving his ladyfriend a Very Special Christmas Box, which I guess means that enough time has passed for "Dick In A Box" to become source material for a song about Very Important Things. Above, Timberlake (with girlfriend Jessica Biel) turns his ode to giving the best present of all into... a song about sticking your ballot into that hole in that box. Unfortunately, pretty Christmas wrapping, Andy Samberg, and the concept of "being funny through something besides extreme awkwardness on Timberlake's part" are nowhere to be seen, so why not clear your brain out with the original, which we've placed after the jump.

Watching this makes me miss Maya Rudolph all the more.

VoteForChange.com: Vote In The Box [YouTube via Videogum]
Saturday Night Live: Dick In A Box (Uncensored) [Hulu]

Is The Pop World So Desperate For Justin Timberlake's Return That It's Creating "New Leaks" Out Of Thin Air?

Maura Johnston — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Maybe! Over the weekend, a snippet of a song called "Steppin' Out Tonight" leaked, and while people were claiming that it was a new song from Timberlake's forthcoming album—which is set to drop in 2009, provided there are any music retailers remaining in America at that time—others debunked that rumor, saying that the song was actually a lost track from the Justified sessions. Which makes sense, since it seems to be relatively free of Timbaland "wiki-diki-doos," swapping in horns that sound suspiciously like they've been sampled from a classic Sade track instead. (No, seriously. Sure, Justin could easily be called a smooth operator, but the resemblance is kinda ridiculous.) [YouTube]

When do you know that people have become ...

Maura Johnston — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:45:00 EDT

When do you know that people have become kinda tired of music "journalism"'s seemingly endless debates about DRM and free music and new paradigms and MySpace being the future and blah blah blah? When a story about Justin Timberlake not putting out a record anytime soon is worthy of multiple paragraphs in USA Today. (He is playing golf, though! That's exciting, right?) [USA Today]

"Fashion Rocks" Serves Up Anna Wintour's Vision Of A Music Magazine

Anono-Critic — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Once again, we present Rock-Critically Correct, a feature in which the most recent issues of Rolling Stone, Blender, Vibe, and Spin are given a once-over by a writer who's contributed to many of those magazines, as well as a few others! In this installment, he looks at the Condé Nast-produced, music-centric one-off Fashion Rocks:

Let Your Boy get something out of the way immediately: the main reason he chose to assess this particular publication this week is simply that it is likely that many, many more Idolator readers will have access to it than the printed versions of the magazines he normally considers in this space.

Which is to say that Fashion Rocks was mailed in the last couple of weeks to subscribers of Vanity Fair (of which it is nominally a supplement), Wired, and probably a few other magazines published by Condé Nast. Which is also to say that Condé Nast succeeds in producing publications that bespeak heft and significance and thus are less expendable to readers who would otherwise forsake printed matter entirely for the options presented by the Device You Are Currently Gazing At. Discriminating readers... like you!

Like last year's Movies Rock, a supplement sent to GQ and Vanity Fair subscribers, Fashion Rocks is clearly intended to attract additional revenue from many of Condé Nast's advertisers and also pimp a TV special by the same name that will be broadcast on CBS on Sept. 9.

But unlike Movies Rock, this issue is produced under the auspices of Vogue. (Previous iterations were produced under the auspices of GQ.) Which is yet again to say that it's more than likely that editor-in-chief Jonathan Van Meter had very little leeway as to what sort of content would constitute the issue and essentially carried out the wishes of Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue since 1988.

About the best thing YB can say about Ms. Wintour is that she demonstrated a previously disguised sense of humor about herself by attending a high-profile screening of a movie premised on the persistent perception that she is, frankly, a cunt. Unlike virtually every woman he's ever known, YB is not fascinated with Vogue, the instrument with which Ms. Wintour preys on the insecurities of women. Wintour has been so good at making females feel like they're worthless unless they spend money on material goods proffered by Vogue advertisers for so long that, in terms of the publishing milieu, she's indestructible.

And so she's charged with producing a one-off magazine that is intended to promote a television special that involves famous music figures. Fashion Rocks is best understood as how Ms. Wintour contends with music culture. This means that Justin Timberlake, a guy with no new music on the horizon but whose fashion imprint, William Rast, will put out its fall line next month, is an appropriate cover choice.

It is beyond doubt that Wintour is familiar with Timberlake. But had she heard of the Kills, who are profiled herein via an article entitled "Band of Outsiders"? The London duo certainly bears a certain Velvet-esque élan that stands them in stood stead with runway habitués, but there's one aspect that's sure to get Wintour's attention: Kills guitarist James Hince is Kate Moss' latest pale, leather jacket-clad stunt dick. If pint-size hesher icon Ronnie James Dio found himself as Moss' dragon-slayer (or fellow dragon chaser) du jour, then he'd be profiled herein, no questions asked.

Writers and personalities that are only vaguely in Wintour's orbit are called in for pieces that are each headlined with a startling lack of flair. In the issue's de facto introduction, "Sound and Fashion," longtime Village Voice fashion scribe Lynn Yeager explains that "music and style have always been in sync," an idea which doesn't need explaining; Joan Jett talks about her own style aesthetics in "Born to be Bad"; in "Dirty Pretty Thing," Liz Phair is described as "the rock equivalent of Carrie Bradshaw"; the part of ex-label honcho Danny Goldberg's mem-wah, Bumping into Genius, concerning Courtney love and "that dirty little man she married that the younger people think is so wonderful" is excerpted in "I Am Legend"; "Hearts of Darkness" explores "emo" culture now that designers have taken note of it; "Fine and Dandy" examines André Benjamin and his Benjamin Bixby line; and finally, in "Hit Man," profilee Mark Ronson, a DJ at several events that Ms. Wintour has surely attended, is described as the son of "socialite Ann Dexter-Jones" and incorrectly as the stepson of "the singer of Foreigner, Mick Jones."

Ultimately, the writing in the mag does not address the point of Fashion Rocks. But the photographs accompanying the articles cited in the previous paragraph are lensed by the likes of Terry Richardson and Steven Meisel. And a marquee photo package, featuring several performers that will probably drop out of the accompanying special by the time it's broadcast, involve the contributions of Meisel, Norman Jean Roy, and Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Pretty pictures, after all, are the point of Fashion Rocks and of any endeavor involving Ms. Wintour.

(YB should say that an essay appending Meisel's shot of Mariah Carey includes the single, solitary example of memorable, insightful scribbling in the entire issue, courtesy of Michael Joseph Gross: "...Carey is Long Island's answer to Dolly Parton, a woman whose bodacious bod and over-the-top style have distracted many people from her rare and substantial talent...Carey's aspiration to G4 style seems an effort to make up for her bridge-and-tunnel background." True dat, and thus it's the one of very few ways someone with that kind of background can matter to Ms. Wintour.)

So clearly, YB finds Fashion Rocks to be a fairly vile proposition. But one photo essay therein is particularly ghoulish, and is the other reason he chose to write about the mag.

"Here Comes the Son" finds Dhani Harrison sporting a mustache and styled in the manner associated with his father George in 1967-1968. He also cavorts with one Sasha Pivovarova, one of those Eastern European ~~wraiths~~ models that Wintour often employs. This young woman is clearly cast as Patti Boyd, the woman pere Harrison was married to in the late '60s and early '70s—although Harrison disingenuously describes her look in a caption as being based on Stones muse Anita Pallenberg. Dhani's mother is Olivia Arias, who no doubt is thrilled to not only see her son pantomiming his father, but to witness him hugging up to a representation of her husband's first wife.

Harrison's new band thenewno2's album apparently will be released soon. YB can only assume that young Harrison or someone (poorly) advising him believes the record faces nigh-unto-impenetrable barriers, since somebody in a relevant position thinks there's something to be gained by breaking the rule observed by all Beatles progeny: "I will not be judged based on my dad's legacy—or at least I will avoid the appearance of doing so."

But Van Meter quotes Harrison in his editor's letter as a way to justify this bizarre exercise: "It's very hard to take a step in any direction musically without referencing something The Beatles have done." Van Meter adds, "In every way, our ten-page layout with Dhani and Sasha perfectly captures what Fashion Rocks is all about."

Precisely. It all makes perfect sense and is very high concept to vampires like Ms. Wintour and her underlings.

"Fashion Rocks" Cover Reveals Pop Music's Preservation In Amber

Maura Johnston — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

The cover for Conde Nast's annual Fashion Rocks supplement has been revealed, and its tacit admission that few of the people who will have multiple copies of the thing cluttering up their houses have been paying attention to pop music much is, at the very least, impressive in its brazenness: People haven't really paid attention to music over the past two years, it seems to be saying, so why not just serve up the alternate cover we were going to run before Jennifer Lopez muscled her way onto Page One last year? Well played. And budget-conscious, too! (The asterisk next to the Kills' coverline is probably my favorite part of the whole thing. "Wait, before you run away, here's a celebrity-related reason to care about this band!") [E!]

Britney Spears Continues To Get Great Advance Publicity For Her Album

Maura Johnston — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Imported gossip rag OK! is "revealing exclusively" (has a more noxious phrase ever been coined?) the rumor that Britney Spears is going to let her ex-beau Justin Timberlake guest on her forthcoming album, which is being worked on now for a December release. Why you'd want someone who dissed you in public whose most recent collaboration was a semi-dud Madonna song to be on your "comeback" record is beyond me, but I guess I'm writing about it, so we all know where the joke's landed, no? [OK! / Photo of happier times: Getty]

A Federal appeals court has thrown out the ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EDT

A Federal appeals court has thrown out the FCC's $550,000 fine against CBS for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show four and a half years ago. The court pointed out that Jackson's breast was exposed on television for 9/16 of a second, and thought that the FCC's $977,777.78 per-second rate for bared cleavage was the result of the agency acting "arbitrarily and capriciously" and that since the image was fleeting, it wasn't worthy of being fined. [AP]

Usher Vs. Timberlake: The Battle Begins (In Bed)

Dan Gibson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Usher has weighed in one of the great debates of our time: Do you take your sex with music or without? I'm not entirely surprised Usher is pro-musical accompaniment—nor that said music has to be his own. "I made love to a few songs. 'Love You Gently' is one of my favorites. Make her call you 'Daddy' when you put that one on," he told Britain's version of Marie Claire. But in the interest of starting a scrap, the Daily Record has pointed out that Justin Timberlake has, in the past, begged to differ—because his musical genius ends up getting unnecessarily distracted by any mood music. "I have trouble having sex to music because I start picking out the chords," he told the British magazine Dazed & Confused around the release of FutureSex/LoveSounds. Maybe now that he isn't so distracted by making a record, he too can enjoy Usher's mountain-moving songs while in flagrante? [Glasgow Daily Record]

"The Love Guru" Soundtrack Loaded With Campy Tracks And Racist Bullshit

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Deepak Chopra's claims aside, Mike Myers' upcoming The Love Guru looks like a disgusting, unfunny attempt to josh on the Maharishi, which might have at least made sense if the film was made 40 years ago or if this racist caricature was originally meant as a whimsical side note in a fourth Austin Powers movie. Multiple songs from the soundtrack are up on the movie's MySpace page, so we can all yuk it up at Bollywoodized covers of "The Joker" and "9 To 5" (oh wow, sitars and funny accents!! Boing!!). Fans of The Apple should note that the composer of that film's music, George S. Clinton, is responsible for the instrumental "Guru Vindaloo." Justin Timberlake (seen above) doesn't perform on the album, but Telma Hopkins of Dawn and Family Matters fame does.

1) Andrew Mendelson - Morning Meditation
2) Mike Myers - 9 To 5
3) Cornershop - Brimful Of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)
4) Mike Myers - Stop Hitting Yourself (dialog)
5) Mike Myers and Manu Narayan - More Than Words
6) Mike Myers - The Joker
7) Telma Hopkins and Toronto Children's Concert Choir - Lead Me To Your Rock
8) B.A.S.K.O. - Big Boi
9) Robbie Nevil - C'est La Vie
10) Celine Dion - I Drove All Night
11) Mike Myers - My Name Is Guru Pitka (dialog)
12) Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd Rafi - Mere Mitwa Mere Meet Re
13) George S. Clinton - Guru Vindaloo
14) Danny Saber - Mathar
15) Mike Myers - Guru Lineage (dialog)
16) Guru Pitka's Ashram Band - Guru Pitka Chant

Cornershop agreed to this? Where's Panjabi MC?

Here's a classic number from The Apple as a humble apology for bringing any of this to your attention.

The Love Guru Soundtrack [MySpace]
Love Guru - I Drove All Night [YouTube]
The Apple

Madonna And Justin Timberlake To Remix Their Own Damn Hit For Verizon

Anthony Miccio — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Madonna, Justin Timberlake and "Verizon Mobile Producer In Residence" Timbaland have teamed up to make a remix of "4 Minutes" by... Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Evidently the trio went into Verizon Wireless' mobile recording studio after the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony and created this "Underground Remix" of their Top 10 hit for the mobile-phone company. If you take the effort to buy this remix, you'll also get footage of the trio holding hands and dancing around a mic while chanting "Can you hear me now?"

Available exclusively in the U.S. to Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music customers and internationally to Vodafone customers, 4 Minutes is the first single from Madonna's 11th studio album for Warner Bros. Records. HARD CANDY is scheduled for international release on April 28, 2008, with the U.S. release the following day.

In addition to Madonna's original "4 Minutes" track, co-produced by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake and Nate "Danja" Hills, and the underground mobile remix available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music and Vodafone, exclusive video footage of Madonna, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake's "mobile remix" recording session is now available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Video service.

I miss when pop stars would just dance in front of Pepsi logos in Super Bowl ads and leave it at that.

Verizon Wireless debuts Underground Remix of Madonna 4 Minutes Single [I4U]

Madonna's New Video Reveals That She Isn't Afraid To Go After Britney's Sloppy Seconds (And Neither Is Justin Timberlake)

Maura Johnston — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:30:00 EDT

Madonna's video for "Four Minutes"—featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, and bearing a title that's been chopped down from "Four Minutes To Save The World," presumably for national-security reasons—debuted on the Internet this morning, and its extended JT-and-Madge mating dance not only squicked me out at a way-too-early hour, it had even more indications that Hard Candy will be Madonna's "I'm out of ideas because the whole idea of 'subculture' has bubbled away in the social-networking era" album. The video, and five conclusions to take away from it, after the jump.

1. The idea of Madonna and Justin Timberlake hooking up is strangely repulsive to me, for petri-dish reasons instead of age-related ones. The whole clip dances around the idea of the world collapsing into a black hole and peoples' skin melting off if they don't—but they never kiss on screen, presumably because JT doesn't want to inherit his ex-girlfriend's curse.

2. Timbaland's rapping: Still unnecessary. Although none of the lyrics make sense overall (at least in a narrative sense—the flipping of "prima donna" into "Madonna" sounds pretty good, though), so perhaps syllable-ing along, and not singing along, is the point of this track.

3. The video is actually four minutes and six seconds long. Surely every pedant out there will point this out, but what is the significance of those extra six seconds? That the world hasn't been saved because Madge and JT have spent too much time washing up in the soon-to-be-doomed bathroom? Or that it has been? These questions will no doubt be answered in the post-apocalyptic clip for "Candy Store."

4. Madonna has gone from "collagist of bohemian subcultures" to "totally OK with ripping off ideas from Jamiroquai." Fast forward to the two-minute mark and slap your head. And anyone who says "But it's different because it's on a grocery-store checkout lane!" is fired.

5. The chorus on "4 Minutes" still reminds me of the theme to The Price Is Right. No, really; every time I hear this song it converges with the game-show theme that kept me entertained during sick days of yore. Here's a clip that uses Crystal Waters' "Come On Down"—a song that, quite awesomely, samples the theme in question—for proof. I also like this clip because the cat in it may be one of the grouchiest cats I've ever seen.

~~Madonna - 4 Minutes [HQ] [YouTube]~~
Madonna - 4 Minutes [WorldStarHipHop]
Cat Tricking [YouTube]

Justin Timberlake is spittin' mad that the ...

Jess Harvell — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Justin Timberlake is spittin' mad that the barbecue is not up to snuff at his NYC restaurant, but he's apparently psyched for the new "Jack Daniels sweet potato pie," which I guess makes T.G.I. Fridays' Jack Daniels menu the "Usher" here? [NY Mag]

Vitamin B12 aficionado Justin Timberlake ...

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:00:35 EDT

Vitamin B12 aficionado Justin Timberlake will be hosting the ESPY Awards on July 20. "I'll do my best to deliver a great show, as I do not want to be roughed up backstage by these athletes who are bigger, faster and stronger than me," said Justin. Rrrrrright. [AP]

Madonna Stops The Clock

Maura Johnston — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:30:09 EST

ARTIST: Madonna (ft. Timbaland and Justin Timberlake)
TITLE: "Four Minutes To Save The World"
WEB DEBUT: Feb. 29, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: The version floating around the Internet is an nth-generation radio rip with enough static to make the Timbaland-produced beat sound like it's part hurdy-gurdy, and it's dotted with a French DJ saying "ma-dun-NAH" at certain crucial points, but even through all that noise the new Madonna single packs in a bunch of fun, future-retro goofing around, and even through my tinny MacBook speakers I can tell that this track will really sound good coming out of car windows as the weather heats up. (Note to self: Buy better speakers.) Sure, the guest turns by Justin Timberlake (who provides the titular pleading to save the planet) and Timbaland (who provides his now-patented "uh"-ing and a few assorted verbal hiccups) are kinda superfluous on record, but at least they'll give radio programmers a reason to think that this song might appeal to the youth demographic. Beyond the song actually sounding good, of course.

WHERE TO FIND IT: Check the comments on this ONTD post (HT pump like thumpy).

If You Want A Piece Of Lou Pearlman, You Can Find One On eBay

Maura Johnston — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:30:08 EST

Pervy boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman, whose trial on federal bank fraud charges is set for April, has told friends that he's thinking about copping a plea on those charges that would result in him going to the federal pen for up to 25 years. But that doesn't mean he'll be free from jail after that; charges related to the huge investment scheme that he ran through his company Trans Continental Airlines have yet to be filed, and that'll probably add to his sentence if he's found guilty. What's more interesting: The "friend" who told the St. Petersburg Times this little bit of news is now reselling Pearlman's possessions—which he bought at Pearlman's two bankruptcy auctions—on eBay, under the username a-v sales. Among the items on offer are an actual MTV Moonman (bidding currently at $560); other highlights—including an award bestowed upon Pearlman by Mikhail Gorbachev—after the jump.

MCDONALDS COOKIE JAR CONTAINER RARE
Current price: $9.99. (Shipping costs are $15!)
Description: No description, although there's a close-up of the McDonald's Seal Of Authenticity that reveals that it's from 1997. I'm not really sure how this is "rare," though.
Which former boybander should buy it: Justin Timberlake. Ba da ba ba ba!

WORLD CONNECTION AWARD 2002 BY MIKHAIL GORBACHEV
Current price: $1,000.
Description: "DON'T MISS OUT ON A VERY RARE AND NOT OFTEN SOLD TO THE PUBLIC ITEM... THIS IS THE ACTUAL AWARD THAT WAS GIVEN TO LOUIS J. PEARLMAN BY PRESIDENT MIKAIL [sic!] S. GORBACHEV AT THE AWARDS BANQUET IN 2002 ... INCLUDED IS THE VIDEO OF THE AWARD BEING PRESENTED TO L.J.P."
Which former boybander should buy it: Lance Bass. He's the thinky one who wrote a book, right?

BACKSTREET BOYS 6,000,000 Units AWARD
Current price: $9.99.
Description: "BSB World Wide Sales of 6,000,000 Units ... The Album "Back Street Boys" 1997 ... 20x16"
Which former boybander should buy it: Aw, heck, I'll buy it and give it to the Backstreet Boys, just so they can be reminded of their better days.

ANTHONY ROBBINS PERSONAL POWER II CD'S
Current price: $23.82.
Description: The official line: "Starting today, you can design the life you've always wanted. You can have closer relationships. Greater success in business. More money. Better health. Real happiness and personal fulfillment. True passion in your life. All it takes is 30 days, and Anthony Robbins' Personal Power II: The Driving Force!" And a note: "SET MAY CONTAIN DUPLICATES AS EXTRAS."
Which former boybander should buy it: Aaron Carter, who clearly needs some personal power of the legal kind (or at least better name recognition) thrown his way. (He can give the extras to the guys from LFO.)

a-v sales [eBay]
Pearlman may seek deal to avoid trial [St. Petersburg Times]

Hey, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductions ...

Maura Johnston — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:00:24 EST

Hey, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductions are happening in a week and a half! Can't you feel the excitement oozing from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York? Well, get ready to get even more psyched—they're going to double as a promotional stunt for Madonna's new album, which features Justin Timberlake, because Justin is going to present her to the crowd! Yay, music industry! Don't fall over from reaching too far to pat yourself on the back there, now! [In Touch Weekly]

Madonna Plays Master And Servant With The Two Timbs

Jess Harvell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:10:22 EST

Sure, British tabloids exist to exaggerate, but even accounting for a purple-tipped editing pen being used to punch up these rumors straight from the London set of Madonna's next video, we're already a little wary about the premiere of the final product. But maybe you've long harbored secret fantasies about engaging in S&M with bodybuilding pop superproducers?

We can reveal that in the promo Madge plays - wait for it - a pimp who rescues the planet in an impressive 240 seconds.

And it gets better...

Justin Timberlake and US producer Timbaland play her bitches.

The video has been shot over three days in a top-secret location in West London, and included a gruelling all-night shoot yesterday.
In the sexually charged video, Madge cracks the whip and gets her slaves, Justin and Timbaland, to do whatever she wants as she towers over their quivering bodies in killer heels.

Madonna "whipping" Timbaland. Well that certainly qualifies for the all-time Do Not Want list. Maybe this is karmic punishment for both JT and Tim helping to inflict the "Ayo Technology" video on the planet? But if so, why do we have to suffer too?

Queen Of Pop Madonna Cracks The Whip On Justin Timberlake And Timbaland [Mirror]

Is The Sight Of A Justin Timberlake Ball Shot Going To Make America Embrace Legal Downloading?

Maura Johnston — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:53:55 EST

Pepsi is sure hoping so, based on the Pepsi/Amazon MP3 ad above, which shows Justin Timberlake being driven out of his restaurant and through the streets of New York and its suburbs... thanks to the power of Pepsi's points program that will allow people who drink lots of carbonated sugar water to get "free" MP3s by Justin and other music stars. There's also an odd Andy Samberg cameo, the ball shot (it involves a mailbox), and a big honking ad for Justin's restaurant, because, you know, that's the only place where he hangs out when he's in town. Ugh, this isn't even as good as yesterday's ultra-dopey Haddaway-themed ad, which is why I'm wondering just how much time will elapse between the Super Bowl's final second and Pepsi kicking its ad agency to the curb. [Dailymotion via TDS]

Record Executives In "Maturity Of A Six-Year-Old" Shocker

mjohnston — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:43:14 EST

I was all set to write a story about Pepsi's latest "buy a lot of soda and we'll give you something of much lesser value for the bottlecaps" promotion, which is going to allow users to swap their tops for MP3s at Amazon's digital-music store and be advertised via a Super Bowl commercial featuring Justin Timberlake (what, no Janet Jackson?), and how maybe using Timberlake to promote this when he hasn't put out an album in nearly a year and a half isn't exactly the best way to get people excited about expanding their digital-music libraries. But flogging nearly dead horses is the least of the music industry's problems, as evidenced by this quote hidden deep in this Times story on the Amazon-Pepsi alliance:

A senior executive at another record company, who requested anonymity out of concern about irritating Mr. Jobs, said he was prepared to keep copy restrictions on his label's songs on iTunes for six months to a year while Amazon establishes itself.

Oooh, burn! Of course, it probably never crossed this executive's mind that holding those tracks back from iTunes doesn't necessarily mean that a user is going to run to Amazon because they really, really want their music to be free of digital-rights management. (From the story: "Russ Crupnick, an analyst at the NPD Group, joked that D.R.M. should stand for 'doesn't really matter.' ") As another analyst interviewed by Jeff Leeds pointed out, iPods are where the real money is for Apple, and not only are they available at Amazon anyway, those DRM-free files Amazon sells? Work on iPods. So basically all the record companies have done is added a middleman while getting people acquainted with paying 89 cents for single tracks of digital music, instead of the 99-cent price point that was "too low" for the bigwigs. Nice work, guys! Seriously, is all you need to be a record executive these days some old comic books and the sense of entitlement you had when you first read them as a young tot?

Free Song Promotion Is Expected From Amazon [NYT]
[Photo: Getty]

Timbaland Uses Madonna As A Prop

mjohnston — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:00:43 EST

So at Friday night's Jingle Ball, the most interminable set belonged to Timbaland, who spent most of his allotted time—I'm not sure of the exact minute count, but it seemed way longer than it was regardless—namedropping Justin Timberlake, hoisting around his son, and spinning that Scott Storch dis track in an effort to remind the audience of who he was. Well! Apparently he realized that these tactics weren't really the best way to keep the attention of a bunch of hormonally charged adolescents, so at the Philadelphia installment of the Jingle Ball he previewed the track "Four Minutes To Save The World," which is apparently going to serve as the "Ayo Technology" for Madonna's upcoming-album-that's-not-called-Licorice. If you can make it out over the guy screaming (and Timbaland), you can hear a slightly booty-shaking track that sounds kind of like Madonna instructed Timbo to update "Into The Groove" and add a little bit of Justin so as to make Lourdes' schoolmates think that she's the "cool mom" of her daughter's class. (Also: I bet you that once Duran Duran hears this they're going to be all, "Bloody hell, did we pay him his discount 'save a popstar, save the world' rate by accident?")

Timbaland concert [New Madge/JT song preview—4.M.T.S.T.W.] [YouTube]

"No One" Here Gets Out Alive: Sales Malaise Spreads to the Hot 100

Chris Molanphy — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:00:54 EST

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on the Billboard Hot 100 in the latest installment of "100 And Single":

If you, current pop act, are not an Oprah-anointed permhead with a name rhyming with "Lohan," you are not having a fun week: A mid-holiday-season malaise has settled over the Billboard charts. That's clear from the current results on the Hot 100, where Alicia Keys holds on to the top spot for a third week even as her sales fall considerably.

Incumbency Has Its Privileges: Every song in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 sold fewer copies at iTunes and other buck-a-song sites last week than the week before. Digital sales for Keys' smash—just nominated today for a Best R&B Song Grammy but, weirdly, no pop Grammys—fall 35% (the biggest drop in the song's chart life), and "No One" relinquishes the title of top seller to Flo Rida's "Low" featuring T-Pain, whose sales only shrink by 5%.

You'd think that would make "Low" a shoo-in for the top of the big chart, but the rap banger's more limited radio airplay keeps it static, while aging hits by Chris Brown and Timbaland/OneRepublic swap places at Nos. 2 and 3. Even Fergie's latest fast-rising hit, "Clumsy," has started to slow down, climbing one notch and remaining outside the Top Five.

Basically, it's not clear any song has the strength to oust the stalwart Keys from the top anytime soon, and if one does, it will be after "No One" wilts enough to allow another track to slip into the penthouse. With radio deeply entrenched in holiday playlist patterns—even stations that don't play Christmas music aren't adding many new records right now—expect the top of the chart to stay sleepy through the end of the year.

You Better Work: There's ample evidence that iTunes remains the big dog when it comes to affecting the outcome on the singles chart. The on-sale release of a digital song—a new album's first single, say—is the main way new hits explode. In the three years since iTunes sales were added to the Hot 100, we've seen records for biggest chart move broken repeatedly by songs fueled by an iTunes burst; Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder," with its 63-place jump to No. 1 last May, holds the current record.

But it's harder for second or third singles to benefit in the same way. In the new digital economy, the day an album is released, so are all of its songs—even future singles the record label isn't ready to "work" to radio yet. This has led to an implied Hot 100 rule, post-iTunes: first singles blow up on the chart; followup singles have to work for it.

This week, two followup hits (one of them a follow-follow-follow-followup) make impressive moves the old way: to quote John Houseman, they earn it.

The release last week of a special edition of Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds also brought the Beyonce remix of "Until the End of Time" to the store's digital shelves. The sixth Top 40 hit from that aging JT album, "Until" enjoys a burst of sales—no doubt by Timberlake fans not interested in repurchasing a disc they've owned since mid-2006 just to get the remix—sending the song to a new peak on the Hot 100. (Billboard rules treat the original and the remix as contributing to a single chart position.)

More impressive is the move made by Britney Spears' latest, "Piece of Me." Up 16 spots to No. 47, the track wins Billboard's "Sales Gainer" prize as its paid digital downloads rise 30% from the prior week. It's impressive because there's not much that accounts for this rise, other than the song's ever-growing radio profile.

Impressive as this move is, the fact that "Piece" still resides outside the Top 40 shows how steep a hill followup hits have to climb. If Blackout weren't out yet, "Piece" would probably already be approaching the Top 10.

Did Someone Give Rob Thomas a Laxative? Just 'cuz some loyal readers have made note of this: For the first time in about two months, matchbox twenty's "How Far We've Come" isn't ranked at No. 15 (it's down one notch). We can't be sure, but the amount of time the song spent in a chart position that isn't No. 1, 2 or 3 must be some kind of record.

The top 20, with last week's position and total weeks charted in parentheses:
1. Alicia Keys, "No One" (LW No. 1, 13 weeks)
2. Chris Brown feat. T-Pain, "Kiss Kiss" (LW No. 3, 12 weeks)
3. Timbaland feat. OneRepublic, "Apologize" (LW No. 2, 18 weeks)
4. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain, "Low" (LW No. 4, 6 weeks)
5. Colbie Caillat, "Bubbly" (LW No. 6, 23 weeks)
6. Fergie, "Clumsy" (LW No. 7, 8 weeks)
7. Kanye West feat. T-Pain, "Good Life" (LW No. 8, 12 weeks)
8. Soulja Boy, "Crank That (Soulja Boy), Soulja Boy Tell'em" (LW No. 5, 20 weeks)
9. Rihanna feat. Ne-Yo, "Hate That I Love You" (LW No. 9, 14 weeks)
10. Finger Eleven, "Paralyzer" (LW No. 11, 26 weeks)
11. Jordin Sparks, "Tattoo" (LW No. 12, 10 weeks)
12. Baby Bash feat. T-Pain, "Cyclone" (LW No. 10, 19 weeks)
13. Kanye West, "Stronger" (LW No. 13, 19 weeks)
14. Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E., "The Way I Are" (LW No. 14, 27 weeks)
15. J. Holiday, "Bed" (LW No. 15, 20 weeks)
16. matchbox twenty, "How Far We've Come" (LW No. 15, 14 weeks)
17. Justin Timberlake (duet with Beyoncé), "Until the End of Time" (LW No. 33, 22 weeks)
18. Playaz Circle Featuring Lil Wayne, "Duffle Bag Boy " (LW No. 17, 11 weeks)
19. Trey Songs, "Can't Help But Wait" (LW No. 25, 11 weeks)
20. Natasha Bedingfield feat. Sean Kingston, "Love Like This" (LW No. 21, 7 weeks)

"Justin Timberlake is getting his own golf ...

jharv — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:46:02 EST

"Justin Timberlake is getting his own golf tournament...Timberlake becomes the 14th celebrity to host an event, joining notables" including Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Clearly this means that a series of comedy road-trip flicks staring JT and Timbaland is right around the corner. [AP]

Now that the sixth single from FutureSex/LoveSounds ...

jharv — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:15:00 EDT

Now that the sixth single from FutureSex/LoveSounds has broken the Billboard Top 40, Justin is "the first solo male artist this decade to spawn six top 40 hits from the same album," tying him with Shania Twain's six from Come On Over and keeping him just behind Michael Jackson's seven for Dangerous. But please don't release the song about the crackhead as a single in order to catch up, okay? [Billboard]

In an effort to distract from other two word ...

jharv — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:14:47 EDT

In an effort to distract from other two word combinations currently making America feel very bad about its complicity in its own culture—"Britney Spears," "50 Cent," "Kanye West," "popular music," etc.—here's one that you probably hoped to never, ever hear again, just to take your beleaguered minds off 2007 for a minute: "wardrobe malfunction." Yes, a court in Philadelphia is about to rule on whether or not the FCC overstepped its bounds in fining CBS $550,000 for the scarring mammary exposure that forced an obviously damaged Janet Jackson to release both Damita Jo and 20 Y.O. and affected Teflon devil Justin Timberlake not a happy-go-lucky whit. [BBC]