Жасыраудың Өзені

2002 single sung by Justin Timberlake

"Cry Me a River" is a song by American singer songwriter Justin Timberlake for his debut solo album, Justified (2002). It was thought to be inspired by Timberlake's former relationship with singer Britney Spears. Jive Records released the song to contemporary hit and rhythmic radio in the United States on November 25, 2002, as the album's second single. Accompanied by an electric piano, beatbox, guitars, synthesizers, Arabian inspired riffs and Gregorian chants, "Cry Me a River" is a pop and R&B song about a brokenhearted man who moves on from his past. "Cry Me a River" received acclaim from music critics, who praised Timbaland's production while calling it a standout track on Justified. The song earned several lists of best of the year and the decade (2000s), while Rolling Stone included it on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at 484. It won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony. The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Pop Songs charts and charted in the top ten in other countries. It was certified double platinum by both the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Filmmaker Francis Lawrence directed the music video for "Cry Me a River" at 24860 Pacific Coast Hwy in Malibu, California. In the controversial video, Timberlake's character invades the home of his ex lover and films himself having sexual activity with another woman. Spears alleged that the video was a publicity stunt, but Timberlake maintained that she did not inspire the production. In 2011, however, Timberlake admitted his breakup with Spears inspired the video. The clip won the awards for Best Male Video and Best Pop Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Timberlake performed "Cry Me a River" on his four major concert tours: The Justified World Tour (2003–2004), Justified and Stripped Tour (2003), FutureSex/LoveShow (2007), and The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013–2015). The song has been covered by various artists, without chart success.

Timberlake and Scott Storch wrote "Cry Me a River" with Timbaland, who produced the song. At the time, Spears was rumored to have had an affair with her and Timberlake's mutual friend, choreographer and songwriter Wade Robson. More than 20 years later, Spears confirmed she “made out with [Robson]” on one occasion after learning that Timberlake had cheated on her. Timberlake told MTV News, "I'm not going to specifically say if any song is about anybody. I will say writing a couple of songs on the record helped me deal with a couple of things. To me songs are songs. They can stem from things that completely happened to you personally or they can stem from ideas that you think could happen to you." "Cry Me a River" was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles by Senator Jimmy D, while Carlos "Storm" Martinez served as the assistant engineer. Jimmy Douglass and Timbaland mixed the song at Manhattan Center Studios in New York City. Timberlake arranged the vocals and was a backup singer alongside Timbaland, Marsha Ambrosius, Tye Tribbett and Greater Anointing. Storch compared Timberlake's vocals on "Cry Me a River" to R&B and rock singer Daryl Hall. Larry Gold provided the string arrangement and conducting, while Storch and Bill Pettaway played the clavinet and guitar, respectively. On December 23, three remixes were released as a 12 inch single in Canada and France. On January 5, 2003, the song was sent to urban contemporary radio stations in the US. It was released as a CD single in Germany on January 23. The single contains the album version of the song and the remixes on its 12 inch single release. A CD single, which included Johnny Fiasco's remix of the song and two additional remixes of "Like I Love You", was released on February 3 and 6 in the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively. "Cry Me a River" was released as a CD single in the US on February 18. The single features the album version of the song, its instrumental and four remixes. Following its release, there was media speculation that Spears had written a song as a response to "Cry Me a River"; Annet Artani, who co wrote Spears' 2003 song "Everytime", stated that the song was written as a response to "Cry Me a River". When asked during an interview with Diane Sawyer on PrimeTime in 2003, if "Everytime" was about Timberlake, Spears responded, "I'll let the song speak for itself."

Listen|pos=left|filename=Justin Timberlake Cry Me a River. ogg|title="Cry Me a River"|description=A 27 second sample of "Cry Me a River", which uses clavinet, beatbox, guitars, synthesizers, Arabian inspired riffs and Gregorian chants in its composition. and R&B song with an instrumentation that features clavinet, guitars, synthesizers, Arabian inspired riffs and Gregorian chants. Jane Stevenson of Jam! said the single combines gospel and opera. Tyler Martin of Stylus Magazine enjoyed the way that the song unconventionally mixed a range of experimental sounds. The song's chorus devolves into a choral reading in which Timberlake pleads over the group. "Cry Me a River" finishes with a Timbaland vocal sample heard during the chorus. Timberlake's vocal range spans from the low note of C3 to the high note of B4. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly labeled the song "a haunted, pained farewell". Lyrically, the song is about a heartbroken man who moves on from his past. A Rolling Stone reviewer called the song a "breakup aria". According to Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian, "Cry Me a River" stands out for its "slow building sense of drama", which highlights Timberlake at his "husky best". The song begins with the phrase "You were my sun, you were my earth", which according to Timbaland was Timberlake's inspiration to write the song. The chorus contains the lines: "Told me you loved me, why did you leave me all alone / Now you tell me you need me when you call me on the phone." Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani called Timberlake's 2007 single "What Goes Around Comes Around" an ostensible sequel to "Cry Me a River" both lyrically and musically. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that aside from the presence of Timbaland's "fantastically cluttered production", the difference between "Cry Me a River" and Timberlake's 2013 single "Mirrors" is clear: "10 years ago, Timberlake was broken, and now he is whole".

"Cry Me a River" received widespread critical acclaim after release. Jane Stevenson of Jam! and Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it a standout track on Justified. Peter Robinson of NME described it as a "twisted epic" and "an acidic, filthy little song teeming with spite and retribution, with Timbaland's pounding." Rolling Stones Ben Ratliff viewed his production of "Cry Me a River" as exceptional. Denise Boyd of BBC Music felt that the song's lyrics play as large a role as Timbaland's production, unlike other songs on Justified. Idolator staff opined it is the sound of an artist who is "relishing ripping up people's perceptions of him as a sweet natured teen heartthrob." VH1's Emily Exton wrote, "By stretching the boundaries of pop–and fusing it with notes of R&B, lots of electric goodness, and haunting choral vocals–Timberlake's kiss off song instantly becomes more poignant, a pointed reaction to the hurt he's experienced by someone he once loved." According to Complex, the song "made people completely forget about 'N Sync and start asking what Timberlake would do next." The single won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 award ceremony. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards. For Pitchfork Media, it was ranked the third best song of 2003.