Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience Review: It's an "Overbaked Letdown"
Singer Justin Timberlake onstage during the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS
Despite some glowing critical praise, Justin Timberlake’s comeback isn’t entirely, er, justified by this overbaked letdown.
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Yes, the singer unpacks his suave, impeccable falsetto on his third solo album, The 20/20 Experience (RCA). And his producer Timbaland carries out some of his most compelling R&B grooves in years (best synthesis: the smashing “Mirrors”). Yet the laborious seven-minutes-plus songs — don't even get me started on "Strawberry Bubblegum!" — meander too long, and the disc rarely reaches the melodious and emotionally hefty bars set by Frank Ocean, Miguel, Maxwell or, heck, even JT doppelganger Robin Thicke.
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Maybe that switch to acting wasn’t such a bad idea. A note for the follow-up, which Timberlake has confirmed is in the works: Editing, people!
