It’s just five notes—ba-da-ba-ba-baaaa—but you know it. It’s invaded your dreams, hijacked your thoughts, and, in moments of pure distress, perhaps even brought you comfort. Those five notes form the spine of McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” slogan, and, though they may sound simple, they form the basis for a story of…
The Video Music Awards, your yearly reminder that MTV does in fact continue to play music videos, are scheduled for August 20, when we’ll see Cardi B, Beyoncé, JAY-Z, Bruno Mars, Drake, Childish Gambino, and more compete for Moonpeople and bragging rights. The complete list of nominations is now out, with The Carters…
Celebrities are larger than life public figures and what they do and say provides the rest of us mortals with an opportunity to discuss what matters to us as a society. This is why we get so invested in their decisions to, say, indulge our concerns with pharmaceutical companies by offering awful natural remedies or…
Weirdly, the lead-up to Justin Timberlake’s big return to the Super Bowl halftime show has been largely about managing expectations. Rather than teasing something that the world has never seen before, Timberlake has been telling people not to get too excited about a surprise appearance from Janet Jackson or the other…
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, February 4. All times are Eastern.
In what could potentially turn out to be the rare instance of a verified musical superstar being upstaged by a glowing column of light, there are rumors going around today that Justin Timberlake might pull out a hologram of Prince at tomorrow’s Super Bowl half-time show. The news comes courtesy of TMZ—hence why we’re…
Today, man of the woods Justin Timberlake returned to civilization for a press conference about his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, taking a moment to shoot down everyone’s hopes for any special guests he might be bringing along to Minneapolis. As reported by Reuters, Timberlake said that he had “a ton…
Historically, pop artists have launched new albums with a “statement single.” As Slate pointed out last year, these songs might introduce sonic U-turns (see Taylor Swift’s electroclash revenge fantasy “Look What You Made Me Do”) or underline trenchant points of view (Dixie Chicks’ self-explanatory, non-mea culpa “Not…
The year in music was off to a promising start thanks to January’s many great new albums. And with planned releases from the likes of U.S. Girls, Rhye, and The Soft Moon—not to mention the hotly anticipated Kendrick Lamar-curated Black Panther soundtrack—February looks to continue that trend. Here are the new records…
Justin Timberlake announced his upcoming album Man Of The Woods with a moody promo video featuring bonfires, mountains, horses, and a bunch of other indicators of the American West. And, while he apparently formulated the entire vibe of the upcoming record around a flannel shirt—he literally just told his producers…
Public-health experts have been encouraging people to eat more bugs for years now: A 2013 report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization cites them as a potential solution to the looming threat of a global protein shortage, and a 2014 excerpt from insect-eating activist Daniella Martin’s book Edible argues…
Heralded by a teaser video in which he wandered down from the LL. Bean Mountains, loaded like an on-trend pack mule in layers of sherpa-lined denim, leather, and Navajo blankets, Justin Timberlake’s next album is all about returning him to the rural Tennessee roots that have long inspired the “Early Life” section of…
Justin Timberlake is a man who represents whatever society’s ideal aesthetics happen to be at the time, whether it was those curly frosted tips or the clean-cut “Suit And Tie” look, and now he has descended from whatever Mt. Olympus he normally looks down at us from to bring the 2018 version of sexy back. As it turns…
What the hell is anyone to make of Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel, in which a self-proclaimed romantic entertains leaving his lover for her much younger stepdaughter? Separating the man from the art is always difficult when it comes to the legendary New York neurotic of American moviemaking, whose personal life remains…
While promoting her poignant portrait of adolescence, Lady Bird, writer-director Greta Gerwig dropped by Late Night With Seth Meyers to talk about the making of her movie. She had a strict, no-cellphone rule on set, and she encouraged people to wear name tags so that cast and crew could get to know each other.
The announcement that Justin Timberlake would play this year’s Super Bowl halftime show—as is strangely the norm now for the midgame, Pepsi-sponsored concert widely hailed as “eh, just leave it on”—has already become a firestorm of controversy. While choosing a performer as broadly popular and blandly inoffensive as…
As announced in a jokey video with best buddy Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake is officially set to headline the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show in February. That’ll make it about 14 years from when he ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s outfit during her Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show performance and helped…
Tonight’s Emma Stone’s big night! Will she win? Justin Timberlake doesn’t give a shit. Shortly before absolutely shitting the bed with his mic toss to Jimmy Kimmel, a still-excited Timberlake saw his old costar (he and Stone were in Friends With Benefits together!) and decided to slowly ruin her interview.
Shortly after his performance, Justin Timberlake went for a thrilling mic toss to Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel that showed why Timberlake pursued a career as a song and dance man rather than an athlete. After it went far askance on national television, the camera lingered on Timberlake’s face, a challenge which met with…
The Best Song performances at the Oscars have always been a mixed bag. Sometimes you get Bruce Springsteen belting out “Streets Of Philadelphia,” and sometimes you get an excuse to get up and freshen your drink. This year, though, the Academy has put together a pretty banging slate of performers for its big night, …
