Justin Timberlake Releases New Single “Suit & Tie”

After a six-year hiatus, in which he pursued a middling-film career, Justin Timberlake is back with new music.

If you can recall, producer Jim Beanz mentioned in August 2012 that the “SexyBack” singer was in the studio for a new album. At the time, the former *NSYNC member denied it, but on January 13, “Suit & Tie” debuted.

Featuring Jay-Z, “Suit & Tie” retains many elements from the pop star’s two solo albums without sounding like an early-2000s throwback.

Timberlake’s last album was 2006’s Future Sex/Love Sounds, which featured various Timbaland-produced hits and, if you go back to listen to it, somewhat ushered in this modern EDM-influenced pop trend. Its follow-up is The 20/20 Experience, which does not appear to have a set release date yet.

Regarding his new music, he wrote a letter to fans on his website, stating: "As you probably have heard through the 'grapevine,' I'm gearing up for a big 2013. Back in June of last year, I quietly started working on what is now, my next journey with that thing I love called MUSIC. The inspiration for this really came out of the blue and to be honest, I didn't expect anything out of it. I just went into the studio and started playing around with some sounds and songs. It was probably the best time I've had in my career... Just creating with no rules and/or end goal in mind and really enjoying the process. What I came up with is something I couldn't be more excited about! It is full of inspiration that I grew up listening to and some newfound muses that I've discovered along the way. I'm calling it ‘The 20/20 Experience,’ and it's coming out this year."

Reviving Myspace was one of the pop singer’s projects while on hiatus. Nevertheless, while “Suit & Tie” dropped to moderate fanfare, Myspace’s re-launch went without much notice.

But, even if his and other music fans have moved past the older social networking site, they haven’t ignored Timberlake’s single. In fact, “Suit & Tie” is predicted to sell between 330,000 and 350,000 downloads by January 20 and to debut high on the Billboard Hot 100.