mirrors...

not those mirrors, Justin Timberlake's new song, "Mirrors." It could possibly be my favorite JT song since "Cry Me a River." He performed it live last night on Jimmy Fallon as part of Timberweek. I'm counting down the days until the 20/20 Experience is released on March 19th. I swear the last week has been this die-hard boybander's dream week. New music from NKOTB and Justin Timberlake - it's like Christmas!

musical interlude: the new single from JT...

today I'm taking a break from design talk to discuss one of my favorite things – Justin Timberlake. This morning at 12:01am he dropped his new single Suit and Tie.

It's the first new music from JT in almost six years. It's got a classic 70's soul R&B feel to it. It's quintessential Timberlake falsetto at its finest, but is this style of music radio friendly? It doesn't seem to be, just ask Robin Thicke. In 2008, he put out one of the decade's best albums, The Evolution of Robin Thicke. 

It had silky vocals, smooth tracks, lots of horns and a radio hit in "Lost Without You." But even with that CD's critical acclaim, Robin Thicke's music hasn't been found in heavy rotation on Top 40 radio. Not that that's a bad thing. He's found great success on Urban AC stations. 

Based on the first single, I'll be interested to see how Justin fares on popular radio with this new sound. Will he discover what Robin Thicke, Raphael Saadiq and Musiq Soulchild have already learned? Or will his popularity be the catalyst for opening the doors of pop radio to this rich, soulful genre of music. Only time will tell. But if any one can do it, Justin can. 

Do yourself a favor and check out some of the artists I mentioned above: 

Robin Thicke

Raphael Saadiq

(many of you may know him as a member of Tony, Toni, Tone)

Musiq Soulchild

PS: If you're looking for a great site full of music reviews, discussion and new music suggestions, check out my husband's blog!