SexyBack

"SexyBack"
A young man with a buzz cut, wears a two-piece black suit, with a white shirt and black tie. A black horizontal rectangle covers his left eye, while his right blue eye can be seen. In capitals, "Justin", "Timberlake", and "SexyBack" is written in black, orange, and white font, respectively. The word "Back" is spelled backwards.
Single by Justin Timberlake
from the album FutureSex/LoveSounds
ReleasedJuly 18, 2006 (2006-07-18)
Recorded2006
StudioThomas Crown (Virginia Beach, Virginia)[1]
Genre
Length4:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Timbaland
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Nate "Danja" Hills
Justin Timberlake singles chronology
"Signs"
(2005) 		"SexyBack"
(2006) 		"My Love"
(2006)
Music video
"SexyBack" on YouTube

"SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stations[5] by Jive Records as the lead single from the album. The song was written and produced by Danja, Timbaland, and Timberlake. Discussing "SexyBack", Timberlake revealed that he went "left", singing the song in a rock style, not an R&B style.[6] He described the song as musicians David Bowie and David Byrne "covering" James Brown's 1970 song "Sex Machine".[7] The track features Timbaland on backing vocals while Timberlake's voice is distorted. The instrumentation used in the song includes a pounding bass beat, electronic chords, and drum machine sounds.

"SexyBack" became Timberlake's first number-one single as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100, staying seven weeks at the top spot. It also topped several of Billboard magazine's other charts, including the Mainstream Top 40, Hot Dance Airplay, and Hot Digital Songs, and entered the top ten on most singles charts. Internationally, it became Timberlake's first single to reach number one in the United Kingdom. In Australia, the track was Timberlake's second number-one single, spending two consecutive weeks at the top. "SexyBack" was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and three-times platinum by Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

The track won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 2007 ceremony. In addition, the song won Timberlake the People's Choice Award for Favorite R&B song and the Male Artist of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The music video was filmed in June 2006; Timberlake decided to work with director Michael Haussman based on the latter's work on Madonna's 1994 music video "Take a Bow".[6]

  1. ^ Tingen, Paul (July 2007). "Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Jimmy Douglass". SOS Publications Group. Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  2. ^ "Timberlake, Stripping Down (The Spectacle)". The Washington Post. August 27, 2006. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference newsday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Pitchfork Staff (August 21, 2009). "The 200 Best Songs of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 22, 2022. The duo had already drawn attention with the grinding eroto-disco of "SexyBack"....
  5. ^ Radio single releases "FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2012.. FMQB.com.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference vineyard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference mX was invoked but never defined (see the help page).