walking upstream…
Justin Timberlake
photo: gage skidmore · cc by-sa 3.0 ↗Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake emerged from the Mickey Mouse Club and the boy band NSYNC before reinventing himself as a solo artist whose sleek falsetto and rhythm-driven pop reoriented mainstream R&B in the 2000s. Working closely with producers like the Neptunes and Timbaland, he built records - Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds - that married slick studio funk to arena-scale pop hooks. A dancer as much as a singer, he became one of the era's defining pop entertainers, openly modeling his showmanship on the soul and funk greats who came before him.
the sound in question
2002
Cry Me a RiverJustin Timberlake
walk the tributaries ↓
Michael Jackson1980s · Pop / R&B / Dance
Timberlake has repeatedly named Michael Jackson as his foremost idol, and critics have long noted how closely his solo pop - the airy falsetto, the percussive vocal tics, the dance-forward performances - descends from Jackson's Off the Wall-era template.
listen: upstream & here
1979
Rock with YouMichael Jackson
2003
Rock Your BodyJustin Timberlake
listen forDrop Jackson's 'Rock with You' and then Timberlake's 'Rock Your Body' - both ride a springy disco-funk groove under a light, gliding falsetto, and Timberlake's clipped, breathy phrasing sits right in Jackson's pocket.
Stevie Wonder1970s · Soul / Funk / R&B
Timberlake has cited Stevie Wonder among his core influences, and his early solo work leans on the kind of syncopated clavinet funk and warm, melismatic soul singing that Wonder pioneered in the 1970s.
listen: upstream & here
1976
I WishStevie Wonder
2003
SeñoritaJustin Timberlake
listen forPut on Wonder's 'I Wish' and then Timberlake's 'Señorita' - both lock a bouncing, clavinet-driven groove under a playful vocal, and Timberlake's crowd-chant, call-and-response outro echoes Wonder's loose, live-band warmth.
Prince1980s · Funk / Pop / R&B / Rock
Timberlake has cited Prince as a key influence, and his turn toward sparse, sexually charged electro-funk - lean drum-machine grooves topped by a single taut vocal hook - draws on the minimalist funk Prince perfected in the 1980s.
listen: upstream & here
1986
KissPrince
2006
SexyBackJustin Timberlake
listen forPlay Prince's 'Kiss' next to Timberlake's 'SexyBack' - both strip the arrangement down to a spare, staccato funk pulse where one teasing vocal hook carries the whole track, trading lushness for pure rhythmic sass.