FutureSex/LoveSound

Song performed by Justin Timberlake
the album

"FutureSex/LoveSound" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills. The song was produced following Timberlake's two year hiatus from the music industry, when he felt "burnt out" after the release of his debut solo album Justified in 2002. "FutureSex/LoveSound" incorporates elements of new wave and industrial rock into its production. "FutureSex/LoveSound" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It was included on the set list of Timberlake's second worldwide tour FutureSex/LoveShow (2007).

After the release of his debut solo album Justified in 2002, Timberlake thought he "lost his voice" in the sense that he did not like what he was doing. He felt "burnt out" after Justified; this partly changed his career's direction, and he took a break from the music industry and instead appeared in films. He also appeared in the films Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, and voiced Prince Artie Pendragon in the animated film Shrek the Third, released on May 18, 2007. When he felt inspired to compose songs again, he did not choose to reunite with his former band 'NSYNC, although he considered it after his first record. Instead, he went to Justified collaborator Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley's studio in Virginia Beach, Virginia to begin sessions for his second album. However, neither of them had an idea of what the album would be–no plan for it and even a title. Sheet music for the song is set in the key of F# minor, in common time, with a tempo of 104 beats per minute. Timberlake sings in a "muted whisper slink" and his distorted voice "drones" over a "very produced" beat. According to Spence D. of IGN, the beat is a "throwback from the future past of disco's demented dimension". The song contains a "rolling" synth bassline and "truncated" percussion, that according to Zuel, comes across as both "alluring and ever so slightly sinister". The pace of the song changes with its chorus, which Mikey MiGo cited as being "a bit off setting". The song, which was described as being "suavely portentous" by Pitchfork Media's Tim Finney, was cited as being a mixture between "the carnal strut" of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" and the "masochistic flutter" of the Junior Boys. Finney said the song "derives its charm" from its "lofty" aspirations, "like a familiar lover staging an elaborately exaggerated seduction". The song sounds "horny" which can be seen through the lines "Slide a little bit closer to me, little girl / Daddy’s on a mission to please." The chorus of the song reminded 411mania's Mikey MiGo of Prince's "New Power Generation". Amanda Murray of Sputnikmusic called the song "musically and melodically great", but criticized its lyrics. In a review of FutureSex/LoveSounds, Ben Williams of New York cited the album's first five tracks, including "FutureSex/LoveSound", as updating the early 1980s Minneapolis sound: "tense drum machines, high pitched synth squiggles and staccato funk bass lines". While reviewing the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic noted that the first three songs of the album include the word "sex" in their titles, "as if mere repetition of the word will magically conjure a sex vibe, when in truth it has the opposite effect: it makes it seem that Justin is singing about it because he's not getting it." Lucy Davies of BBC Music stated that it is initially "difficult to listen to the lyrics of the opening tracks and give an objective opinion". She wrote that it is like Timberlake is "trying to find redeemable qualities about some guy who has zero social skills and stares at women on his own from the corner of a bar. Only he seems to have found some similarly unreconstructed creepy friends shouting words of encouragement to his clunky chat up lines, like Timbaland".

"FutureSex/LoveSound" was used as the opening song on Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow in 2007. His performance in New York City is featured on the singer's video album FutureSex/LoveShow: Live from Madison Square Garden (2007). Timberlake performed the song at DIRECTV Super Saturday Night on February 2, 2013, in New Orleans. Prior to the 2013 Grammy Awards, Timberlake held a concert at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The singer performed "FutureSex/LoveSound" in a medley with "Need You Tonight" (1987) by INXS and his single "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows" (2007).