Justin Timberlake, Drown | Song Review 🎵

Grammy-winning, pop superstar Justin Timberlake returns with “Drown,” the enjoyable, second advance single from his sixth LP,  Everything I Thought It Was.

“And you let me drown / You didn’t even try to save me.” That’s horrid! Abysmal! Justin Timberlake returns in 2024 with his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was (arrives March 15, 2024). After previewing the LP with his single, “Selfish”, he returns with another enticing, slick pop joint, “Drown”. Given the excerpted lyrics, it should come as no surprise that “Drown” is both dramatic and emotional.  Timberlake penned this ‘watery’ single alongside Amy Allen, Henry Walter (Cirkut), Kenyon Dixon, and Louis Bell. He produces with Bell and Cirkut. The trio delivers a warm, slick backdrop, with bad ass syncopated drums and pulsating synths leading the charge.  Adding to the drama, “Drown” is set in a minor key.

Backed by a sound instrumental, Justin Timberlake sounds sensational.  He’s 43 years old, but you can’t tell – he sounds years younger.  Vocal harmonies only accentuate his performance, adding another dimension to “Drown.” The verses feature supremely tuneful melodies, which is always a win.  In the second verse, Timberlake’s runs shine, showing him taking more liberty with the tune.  The centerpiece, of course, is the chorus. “You showed me exactly who you are,  and I should’ve believed it (Believed it) / You left me alone out in the dark with all of your demons (Demons),” he sings, emotionally. He adds, “Got caught up in the tide of all the tears you cried / Yeah, you know I was blinded by my heart, sinking from the start / Should’ve never followed you this far, now I’m in the deep end.” Ooh-wee, child! During the bridge section, “Drown” benefits from a dramatic contrast which includes a key shift, and a change of music cues.  No worries, as things shift back afterwards.  The electronic sounds during the final chorus/post-chorus and outro (“It’s about to break”) are scintillating. Perhaps Timberlake’s ‘heyday’ as a pop superstar has expired – he is in his 40s, and he hasn’t released an album in 2020s.  Even so, he sounds in top-notch form on “Drown”.

Justin Timberlake // Everything I Thought It Was // RCA // 3.15.24

[📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; RCA; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]