The Book of Love, Trolls
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic“Summer starts now,” according to Justin Timberlake, who surprised fans with the release of a new single, “SoulMate,” just in time for the Fourth of July holiday.
The singer spontaneously dropped the dance track Tuesday, posting the single’s beach cover art on his social media pages. The song also marks another addition to Timberlake’s summer anthem streak, after releasing his successful single “Can’t Stop the Feeling” prior to the beginning of summer 2016.
“SoulMate” is produced by frequent Drake collaborator Nineteen85 (“Hotline Bling,” “One Dance”), with Timberlake and Nineteen85, along with Lechas Young, James Fauntleroy, Jagged Edge’s Brian and Brandon Casey and Gary Smith penning the track.
With a catchy rhythm and bouncing keyboard line, the song opens with Timberlake singing, “I love your heartbeat givin’ me rhythm/ And I can feel your frequency, so unique” before shifting into the pleading chorus, “I wanna be, I wanna be your/ Soulmate for the night/ Let me put my soul on you, it’s only right.”
The new single marks a departure from the singer’s recent Man of the Woods album, which featured a songbook of tracks utilizing Timberlake’s Tennessee background as inspiration. Meanwhile, “SoulMate” is reminiscent of Timberlake’s recognizable R&B, dance groove sound, with the influence of Nineteen’s tropical funk production evident in the song’s rhythm.
Though the single came as a surprise to fans, Timberlake first teased new music Monday after posting a photograph on Instagram from the studio in which Nineteen and Fauntleroy are seen behind the boards in the background. The photo was captioned, “Last week’s Bahamas Sessions.” It was unclear whether a new project was on the horizon, as the singer is currently on the European leg of his Man of the Woods tour.
Though the singer did recently praise producers Nineteen and Fauntleroy’s G.O.O.D. music in a recent conversation with Complex.
“There’s like two or three tracks on every G.O.O.D. Music release that I really, really am feeling. I love Scorpion, I think it literally just like answered anything,” he said. “I think The Boy came correct with that one. We’ve talked about [collaborating again] a lot. I don’t wanna say too much because I don’t wanna jinx it, but we’ve talked about it a lot.”
Listen to Timberlake’s summer song below.
