Justin Timberlake has been rocking a sequence of small membership and theater levels within the run-up to Friday’s (March 15) launch of his sixth solo studio album, All the things I Thought It Was. However on launch day, Timberlake and his Tennessee Children backing band actually went micro for a (pre-taped) go to to NPR’s “Tiny Desk” studios for a 25-minute, 7-song set that was heavy on fan favorites whereas additionally sneaking in a single latest new single.
And although NPR mentioned JT’s expansive stay band was not the most important assortment of musicians to squeeze into the Tiny Desk cubicle efficiency area, the Children’ 15 members have been positively cheek-to-jowl as they blasted off with the swinging “Señorita,” the primary of two songs from the singer’s 2002 debut solo album, Justified.
With Justin posted up at a keyboard taking part in conductor, he led the Children by the track’s Latin-pop groove, full with soulful backing vocals, a four-part horn part and an equal praise of back-up singers. They crew seamlessly rolled into the curler boogie jam “Rock Your Physique,” briefly turning the general public radio workplace right into a daytime disco.
The set record then pivoted to the slinky “Pusher Love Woman” from 2013’s The 20/20 Expertise, earlier than bringing issues all the way down to a low R&B rumble for the wah-wah-fied “Till the Finish of Time” from the singer’s second studio album, 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds. With hardly any time to speak the NPR staffer viewers up because of the packed nature of the set, JT saved issues shifting alongside after a sip of tea, a giant “whoo! it’s early” exhale and a thanks to the assembled crowd.
“We’ve been out on the street a little bit bit,” Timberlake mentioned whereas strapping on a guitar. “I neglect how many people there are… y’all actually lived as much as the title ‘Tiny Desk,’” likening the logistics of cramming within the crew to a sport of Tetris, whereas suggesting NPR would possibly wish to improve to bigger, or extra, desks.
The band broke right into a hushed, acoustic model of the one observe they performed from EITIW, the beforehand launched single “Egocentric” and protecting issues on the mellow tip for a meditative, flute-forward model of Timberlake’s 2006 single “What Goes Round… Comes Round.” The set ended with one other FutureSex smash, the physique movin’ “SexyBack,” which instantly bumped up the vitality within the room 10 notches as Justin busted out a mini-bullhorn that gave his usually easy vocals a staticky edge.
The Tiny Desk drop got here simply days after JT thrilled an L.A. viewers with a shock *NSYNC reunion that discovered the beloved boy band working by a number of of their most beloved hits.
Watch Timberlake’s Tiny Desk present beneath.
