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.[4]
Background
In September 2006, Timberlake released his second studio album FutureSex/LoveSounds. Critically and commercially successful, the album spawned six singles, including the worldwide hits "SexyBack", "My Love" and "What Goes Around... Comes Around".[5] After embarking on a worldwide concert tour in support of the album in 2007, Timberlake took a break from his music career to focus on acting.[6][7] In addition, Timberlake worked behind-the-scenes with his record label Tennman Records (founded in 2007) and his production team The Y's (founded in 2008). He also provided guest vocals on several singles by other artists, such as "4 Minutes" by Madonna and "Carry Out" by Timbaland.[7]
Development and title
"I'm the one that sits and is obsessive about it before you even get to hear it. As close as I get to it, I don't think I can physically torture myself that much, year in and year out, and expect it to fulfill me the way that it does and the way that it is right now. You just don't get that every day. You have to wait for it."
In 2010, Timberlake's manager, Johnny Wright, began conversations with the singer about working on new music and potential ways to deliver it to the public.[9] Wright proposed a promotion based on an application or releasing a new song every month. Timberlake, however, was not interested in going back into music at the time and instead continued to focus on his film career.[9] In 2012, Timberlake asked Wright to dinner and revealed to him that he had spent the last couple of nights in studio with Timbaland writing new songs. Wright was surprised to hear it.[9] The two immediately began marketing plans for how the album should be promoted and when it should be released. They decided on a short time frame.[9] Wright confirmed in the middle of July that the album was finished and described it as a "fast record". Timberlake had four weeks to record the material, because he had to shoot his scenes for the film Runner Runner.[9] Although originally planned for release in October 2012, the album's date was postponed because of the singer's wedding with actress Jessica Biel.[9] Wright stated that although the project involved artists who are Timberlake's friends, it was tough keeping the album a secret, so they used codenames.[9] During an interview with American radio and television host Ryan Seacrest, Timberlake explained the meaning behind the album's title saying, "I'd say, 'What do you think of this?' And my best friend said, 'This is music that you can see,' and for some reason that stuck with me."[10]
Release
On March 16, 2013, record producer and drummer for The Roots, Questlove announced that Timberlake was planning to release a follow-up record to The 20/20 Experience in November. He referenced the album's 10-song track listing and title by saying, "10 songs now...10 songs later = 20 vision."[11] Affirming Questlove's comments, album co-producer J-Roc revealed that the follow-up will consist of outtakes from the original album, as well as new material from upcoming studio sessions.[12] Timberlake announced on May 5 that his fourth studio album, The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2, would be released in September.[13]
The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2 was made available for pre-order on the iTunes Store on July 12, 2013.[14] The record included eleven tracks, in addition to an unannounced "special surprise".[15] Timberlake began announcing the album's track listing through a series of Instagram videos on August 14, 2013.[16] On August 27, 2013, Timberlake revealed that frequent collaborator Jay-Z would be on the song "Murder", and rapper Drake would be on the song "Cabaret".[17] On September 24, 2013, the album was released for free streaming on iTunes in its entirety.[18]
"TKO" was released as the second single from the album on September 20, 2013.[25] The music video was released on October 29, 2013. It was directed by Ryan Reichenfeld and Timberlake's love interest in the video is played by Riley Keough. The single reached number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[23] and number 58 on the UK Singles Chart.[24]
To promote The 20/20 Experience and 2 of 2, Timberlake announced on May 5, 2013, that he would embark on The 20/20 Experience World Tour, his second concert tour on a global scale.[30] Promoted primarily by AEG Live, the tour started on October 31, 2013, in Montreal, just two months after the Legends of the Summer tour concluded. Twenty-two additional dates were announced across Canada and the United States, ending on February 16, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. Timberlake's official website noted that additional dates in Europe, South America, and Australia would follow.[30]
The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 received lukewarm reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 27 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[32] In his review for the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot wrote that it could have been a neat album of clever pop music had it been edited down.[2] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly felt that the songs are too long and excessively unfocused, particularly "Only When I Walk Away".[35] Stephen Carlick of Exclaim! said that it is less consistent than its predecessor, even though there are some successful pop songs.[41]Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal found Timberlake's pick up lines unpleasant and angst disingenuous, and accompanied by recycled production.[39]Spin magazine's Jason King said that the album is somewhat disappointing because it lacks anything as immediate as "Let the Groove Get In" or as vibrant as "Pusher Love Girl" from the first album.[3] Andy Gill of The Independent was not surprised by its inferiority because it used outtakes from the sessions for The 20/20 Experience.[42] Al Horner of NME said that the overlong songs pass tediously as "pieces from the cutting-room floor cobbled together on the cheap".[38]
In a positive review, Brice Ezell of PopMatters viewed the album as an improvement over its predecessor because the songs have more compelling pop structures.[43]Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club said that it benefited from Timberlake's additional time in the studio: "Timberlake reined in his musical vision just enough to make this album more focused and engaging—but didn’t lose sight of his desire to take chances."[34]Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson found it more believable than the first album because of how "its subject matter goes further into the disquieting root of what it means to be obsessed with a celebrity (Jackson) who was himself already intensely obsessed with his own persona."[44]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 350,000 copies in the United States, giving Timberlake his second number-one album of the year and third overall in the US.[45] In its second week the album sold 70,000 more copies, bringing its total album sales to 420,000.[46]
In November 2013, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 1,000,000 units in the US, giving Timberlake his fourth consecutive platinum album.[48]
In 2013, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 was ranked as the 40th most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200.[49] The following year, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 was ranked as the 32nd most popular album of 2014 on the Billboard 200.[50]
As of June 18, 2014, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 has sold over 1,137,000 copies in the United States, bringing its total to over 1,637,000 copies sold worldwide.[51][52]
^[d] "Pair of Wings" is a hidden track on CD and digital versions of the album. It starts approximately five minutes and 28 seconds (5:28) into "Not a Bad Thing".
"TKO" contains a sample from "Somebody's Gonna Off the Man", written and performed by Barry White.
"Only When I Walk Away" contains a sample from "Lustful", written and performed by Amedeo Minghi. The track also features additional vocals by Brenda Radney and James Fauntleroy.
Personnel
Primary musicians and producers
Justin Timberlake – vocals (all tracks), guitar ("Drink You Away", "Not a Bad Thing", "Pair of Wings" and "Blindness"), keyboards ("True Blood", "You Got It On" and "Blindness"), production (all tracks), mixing
J-Roc – keyboards (all tracks except "Pair of Wings"), bass ("Pair of Wings"), production (all tracks except "Pair of Wings" and "Blindness")
The Benjamin Wright Orchestra – strings("True Blood", "Take Back the Night", "You Got It On", "Amnesia", "Pair of Wings" and "Blindness"), horns("Take Back the Night")
Terry Santiel – percussion ("True Blood", "Take Back the Night" and "You Got It On")
Daniel Jones – keyboards ("Cabaret", "Take Back the Night" and "Amnesia"), additional production ("Cabaret" and "Amnesia")
Brenda Radney – additional vocals ("Only When I Walk Away")
Alejandro Baima – mixing assistance ("Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)", "True Blood", "TKO", "Murder", "Drink You Away", "Only When I Walk Away" and "Not a Bad Thing")
Matt Webber – mixing assistance ("Cabaret", "Take Back the Night", "You Got It On" and "Amnesia")
Charts
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2
The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience is a compilation album comprising The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. RCA Records released it on September 27, 2013. The bonus tracks "Dress On", "Body Count", "Blindness", and "Electric Lady" are excluded from this release. The Complete Experience was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.[111]
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience
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