Justin Timberlake confirms new album during Memphis show, performs new song 'Selfish'

The wait is over: Justin Timberlake confirmed Friday night that his new album is on the way.

The announcement came during Timberlake's free one-night-only concert at the Orpheum in Memphis, which was the most high-profile strike yet in an intentionally mysterious campaign of tweets, Instagram posts and videos intended to stoke anticipation for new work by the superstar, whose hits include the 2006 chart-topper "SexyBack" and "Can't Stop the Feeling!," from the 2016 animated film, "Trolls."

Friday night, Timberlake performed a song called "Selfish," which he said is from the "new album." The DJ also played his new single, "No Angels."

The midtempo songs debuted during a roughly 90-minute performance before an audience of about 1,500.

While Timberlake didn't share additional details about the album, a video posted on his Instagram account around the time the Memphis show ended teased: "Justin Timberlake Presents:'EVERYTHING I THOUGHT IT WAS' Preface by Benicio Del Toro."

T-shirts for sale at the Memphis show also referenced "Everything I Thought It Was." Splashed across the back of a shirt was: "Everything I Thought It Was 2024 | Justin Timberlake | EITIW | Side A B C D."

Fans and media outlets have identified "EITIW" as the name of Timberlake's new album, although the singer has yet to confirm a title or release date. (Friday night, the Orpheum's marquee simply read "NO VACANCY," in the "EITIW" analog-computer font.)

The new album will be the sixth solo LP of the Memphis-born singer's career — and his first in six years. His solo debut, "Justified," arrived in 2002; his most recent, "Man of the Woods," was released in 2018.

The free surprise Memphis concert was announced Jan. 12 by Timberlake's social media accounts.

"JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS PERFORMING FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY IN MEMPHIS" read the message in an image posed on both Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), an altered photograph of Beale Street in which the announcement appeared to be written on a billboard on the side of the New Daisy theater. Links on Timberlake's accounts and on the Orpheum website connected fans to a Ticketmaster site, where they could register for tickets.

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Wednesday, another photograph was posted on Timberlake's Instagram account, which boasts 72 million followers. The humorous image depicted a "MISSING" poster, with the caption "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?" below a black square. The caption continued: "Justin Timberlake - Age: ∞ - Height: Feels like 10' tall - Weight: Up - Eyes: Precision - Hair: Depends." ("∞" is a mathematical symbol for "infinity.")

Timberlake's frequent collaborator and producer over the past two decades, Timbaland, told Entertainment Tonight last year that the 42-year-old singer would release a new album in 2024. In an interview with Variety, Timbaland said the album would mark a return to the "fun Justin."

Earlier this month, Timberlake scrubbed his social media accounts, as if to make way for a career reboot dedicated to new work as a part of what appeared to be a reset ahead of a new project from the singer.

Timberlake — who turns 43 on Jan. 31 — has participated in other "homecoming"-type promotional events in the past, including a 2006 performance on an outdoor Beale Street stage during the ABC-TV program "Good Morning America," when his single "Sexy Back" was the No. 1 hit on the Billboard pop chart. He last performed in Memphis at FedExForum in January 2019.

Musically, Timberlake had a fairly quiet 2023, performing just twice publicly. He also reunited with his former "boy band," *NSYNC, on “Better Place," a song that appeared on the "Trolls Band Together" soundtrack.

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Released in November, "Trolls Band Together" was the third feature in the animated series that earned Timberlake an Oscar nod in 2017, when "Can't Stop the Feeling!," which Timberlake co-wrote for the franchise's first film, "Trolls," earned a Best Original Song nomination. Timberlake also is a lead voice actor in the series. He also worked as a live-action actor in 2023, appearing with Benicio Del Toro in the Netflix crime thriller, "Reptile."

The promotional campaign for Timberlake's new album and a possible upcoming concert tour continues in earnest this month. For example, he is booked for a Jan. 25 appearance on "The Tonight Show," hosted by Timberlake's longtime friend and comedic musical foil, Jimmy Fallon. He also will be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on Jan. 27.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Justin Timberlake confirms new album, performs new song 'Selfish'