SUPERBOWL LII PERFORMANCES: p!nk - national anthem / justin timberlake - halftime show

p!nk - national anthem
battling a bad flu, there were rumors that pink struggled through her final dress rehearsal a few days back. but pink is a monster and she came out strong performing the national anthem in front of the world before the superbowl kicked off (and yes that was a throat lozenges she took out before singing ;)


justin timberlake - halftime show
you can criticize JT all you want about how he didn't bring janet jackson back or even throw in an n'sync gathering, but at the end of it all, the man sure knows how to throw a tight medley party that gets the audience going. plus he makes it look so easy! (loved the prince tribute midway too) all in all, a great job!

WONGIE SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK: justin timberlake - man of the woods

justin timberlake - man of the woods
ok i have to say that i was really looking forward to listening to JT's country/ americana album, but it's pretty official that the misleading album promo is just a visual front and the album 'man of the woods' is still showcasing a man rooted in soul. the nice thing about the title track is that it's a catchy low key effort (it even has an acapella breakdown) that is a subtle change for both JT and producers the neptunes. there's alot more of these jams on the album, but hey, as long as it's not anything like the 1st two singles, i'm good! oh and the kitschy paul hunter / prettybird directed video is fun too. 

VIDEO PREMIERE: justin timberlake feat chris stapleton - say something

justin timberlake feat chris stapleton - say something
now we're onto something! the collaboration between justin & chris stapleton was always going to be a possible highlight of the 'man of the woods' and it's proven true! performed in one take (la blogotheque's arturo perez jr goes big yo!) the song kicks in once chris stapleton adds his amazing vocals into the round culminating with a full soulful choir by the end. THIS should have been the leading single JT!!!

VIDEO PREMIERE: justin timberlake - supplies

justin timberlake - supplies
um... what is going on here? after the very meh 'filthy' THIS is the follow up track that's supposed to wow us into euphoria? where is the countrified man of the earth music that comes with his heavily stylised album teaser? i'm going to go with nope on this one. (though dave meyers sure knows how to make a meh song LOOK great!)

VIDEO PREMIERE: justin timberlake - filthy

justin timberlake - filthy
call it a more toned down funk jam, but the return of justin timberlake is no doubt a risky release for those hoping for something more hyped (especially since the song reunites timbaland with JT post 'sexyback'). throw in a robot dancing video by mark romanek and you've got something that falls a bit short in my book. with more tracks coming out in the following weeks this is just a teaser of what to expect.

VIDEO PREMIERE: justin timberlake - can't stop the feeling (trolls OST)

justin timberlake - can't stop the feeling (trolls OST)
setting up a most likely entertaining soundtrack for the upcoming animated film trolls, justin timberlake returns with this max martin summer anthem that you'll be hearing ALOT of in the coming months! featuring his co-stars anna kendrick, gwen stefani, james corden, kunal nayyar, ron funches and icona pop, the whole gang gather up to bop to this uber catchy pop number. will we be getting a proper JT album then? that remains to be seen.

WONGIE LIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: justin timberlake & chris stapleton - tennessee whiskey / drink you away (live @ CMA awards)

justin timberlake & chris stapleton - tennessee whiskey / drink you away
chris stapleton is easily one of the best 'new' acts to come out this year. with his gravelly soulful voice, the man gives me goosebumps every time he opens up his mouth. for this years CMA awards the singer/songwriter walked away with 3 big awards including album AND male vocalist of the year. if you've never seen this man perform get ready to freak out with this AMAZING live performance with his special guest justin timberlake (and morgane stapleton who is always on perfect harmony with chris). these three tear the roof off and you will be so happy for pressing play!

VIDEO PREMIERE!: michael jackson & justin timberlake - love never felt so good

michael jackson & justin timberlake - love never felt so good

AUDIO PREMIERE!: michael jackson & justin timberlake - love never felt so good

michael jackson & justin timberlake - love never felt so good
originally recorded back in 1983 with paul anka, producer john mcclain has updated the track with some additional recording AND roped in justin timberlake to add some vocals to this duet. hopefully the rest of the 'xscape' album will also be of this era's sessions!

check out the album version without JT:

michael jackson - love never felt so good

VIDEO PREMIERE: justin timberlake - not a bad thing

justin timberlake - not a bad thing
using the documentary style format for the video, it's kind of weird to me that the 'storyline' is more important than the song itself. just saying... maybe the reveal is a performance piece of the song?

NEW JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!: justin timberlake - not a bad thing

justin timberlake - not a bad thing
i am the first to admit that alot of the 20/20 experience tends to leave me cold (the meandering 8 mins songs!), but this easy on the ears track is kind of pop bliss! it's a surefire future smash and hopefully a reminder to JT that it's ok to have 4 mins songs... no, really...

YEAR END MASHUP!: dj earworm - united state of pop 2013

dj earworm - united state of pop 2013
it's that time of the year again when dj earworm pulls together the biggest pop hits of 2013 and miraculously mashes them all together. interestingly the general tone feels alot more internal than previous collections. maybe we had a more diverse number of hits this year, which allowed for a different pace. still a joy to experience!
check out the list of acts on this years mash up!:
Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc - Wake Me Up
Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man
Capital Cities - Safe & Sound
Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky
Eminem feat. Rihanna - The Monster
Florida Georgia Line feat. Nelly - Cruise
Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
Imagine Dragons - Demons
Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake - Holy Grail
Justin Timberlake - Mirrors
Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z - Suit & Tie
Katy Perry - Roar
Lady Gaga - Applause
Lorde - Royals
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton - Can't Hold Us
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop
Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball
Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop
OneRepublic - Counting Stars
P!nk feat. Nate Ruess - Just Give Me A Reason
Rihanna - Stay
Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. - Blurred Lines
Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin - Don't You Worry Child
Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble
Will.I.Am feat. Britney Spears - Scream And Shout

POP MIX: justin timberlake - tko

justin timberlake - tko
old skool timberland beats and sounds run rampant on this track which sadly still feels like b-sides from another album. heck, the video has already garnered 4 million hits, so what do i know?

THE SOUND OF BAD: justin timberlake - tko

justin timberlake - tko
um... where is the song? and does it need to be 7 minutes of a mediocre groove? what happened to the dream team? questions galore but i'm too bored by this track to care.

VIDEO PREMIERE!: jay z feat justin timberlake - holy grail

jay z feat justin timberlake - holy grail
still feels like 2 songs forced together, but hey it's a powerhouse collaboration, so what do the fans care!

VIDEO PREMIERE!: justin timberlake - take back the night

justin timberlake - take back the night
sadly not doing anything for me sonically, but i'm sure some of you dig this... also why did he spend the whole video dancing in front of that chinatown barbershop? could he not move left or right on doyers for another shot? weird.

AUDIO BUZZ: justin timberlake - take back the night

justin timberlake - take back the night
launching the 2nd part of the 20/20 experience, this is the official first single of the new collection. it's a bit disco soul lite for my tastes, but maybe it'll work for the fans.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: jay z - tom ford / part II (feat beyonce) / holy grail (feat justin timberlake)

released to a million samsung subscribers before the album officially drops next week, jay z returns with a brand new collection of songs focusing on his crazy life, fatherhood and the world we're in today (pop culture references are all over the place!) on first listen, there aren't that many radio friendly hits, but a jay z album is still an event and here are what i feel are the highlights:


jay z - tom ford
tumblr / twitter reference on one of the catchiest numbers on the album! throw in the fact that it's quite humorous and you've got an instant fan favorite for the masses!


jay z feat beyonce - part II (on the run)
mrs carter makes her anticipated appearance on hubby's album and it's lovely! sounding more mature, i love hearing this lower registered bey especially when she's not over-singing. nice one this!


jay z feat justin timberlake - holy grail
JT is like jay z's new BFF and he opens the collection with this soulful number. sadly it's more like a justin song feat jay z than the other way around. it's a solid track though and definitely a highlight (with kurt cobain, mc hammer and michael jackson references to boot!) from an uneven album.

NEW JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: justin timberlake - tunnel vision (NSFW)

justin timberlake - tunnel vision
this isn't fair. throw the beautiful topless bodies of dancers for your new video and offer no skin for your fans. will a female artist do a response video please!

VIDEO PREMIERE!: justin timberlake - mirrors

justin timberlake - mirrors
dedicated to the memory of his late grandparents william and sadie, major kudos for director floria sigismondi for making the 1st half of the video filmic and touching (the 2nd half with JT, not so much).