Justin Timberlake’s ‘Selfish’ Comeback Is Missing Something

Once upon a time, a new Justin Timberlake song would’ve been considered a capital-E Event that would’ve stopped the pop world in its tracks. In 2024, it’s just another Thursday.

Whether that says more about a monoculture-less world or about Timberlake’s teetering relevance in pop culture is up for debate—as is, apparently, the caliber of the song in question, “Selfish.” After weeks of teases, the mid-tempo ballad arrived on Thursday as the first taste of Timberlake’s upcoming sixth album, Everything I Thought I Was. The accompanying video is meta and self-deprecating, as a peppered-bearded Timberlake grows increasingly frustrated while rehearsing for a video shoot. After multiple takes and a few surreal turns, he gives up and leaves the soundstage, only for him to finish the clip by performing on stage wearing a suit and flaunting some sleek dance moves.

About those moves: Timberlake definitely looks like he’s back in performance-ready shape (which might be a response to those brutal “dad dancing” memes last year). Whether he’s back in fighting shape musically speaking is another question, though, as fans debate whether “Selfish” is “a certified bop” or “boring.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.