~Elle Shanice~ APPROVED ✔: Justin Timberlake "The 20/20 Experience"

~Elle Shanice~ grade: A

The term "blue-eyed soul" has come to describe  Justin Timberlake quite perfectly. Since being in the hit boy band of the late 90's and early 2000's 'NSYNC, he has really made his own lane that combines soul, R&B and pop.

I have been a fan of Justin's since *NSYNC and have follow his entire solo music career. I have CD's of both Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds  so I am familiar with his sound. I didn't want to jump right into his new stuff saying I LOVED it if I really didn't.

This album keeps with his signature sound but takes it somewhere else that I was happy to go. Timberlake has always been soulful but this album is in OVERDRIVE...it's like nothing else on the radio right now or like anything I've heard in a while.

Yes, it's different but every artist should be a little different creatively after 7 years. This album takes you to several different genres of music; from R&B to dance, old school to even futuristic. Timberlake is the hot guy right now; he's fresh off a great Grammy performance and ratings smash of a hosting and performing gig at Saturday Night Live. I have somewhat patiently waited 7 years for new music from him and he did NOT disappoint.

The 20/20 Experience of course included distinctive musical genius of Timbaland, which it is easy to tell by now but hey...if it isn't broke then don't fix it right? I listened to the whole album straight through at least twice before I realized it. I was just grooving to the music and didn't need to skip a song at all.

All the songs are 5 minutes or more, and with the tempo changes when he switches it up, it makes it seems like there are more than 10 songs. The first song on the album, "Pusher Love Girl" is like a soul/blues mix where Timberlake compares his love interest to a drug. It's a song for grown folks with a catchy hook to go with it.

The first single is "Suit and Tie" feat. Jay-Z, which took me a little bit to get into. However, it has grown on me and it's a great song to dance to. My FAV song from the album is "Don't' Hold the Wall" which kind of hypnotizes me with its musicality. Other songs like "Strawberry Bubblegum", "Tunnel Vision", "That Girl", "Let the Groove Get In", "Mirrors", and "Blue Ocean Floor" round out the album and really make it a cohesive project that spans several .

Way to keep us waiting JT, but at least you came through (as I knew you would)!