Justin Timberlake reminisced about his past hits in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe for an episode of Essentials Radio. In particular, he looked back on “SexyBack” — the pioneering single off his 2006 album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, that drastically changed up his sound.

The song, which Justin wrote with Timbaland, was initially met with resistance from his label for being “too fast” and not featuring Justin’s “signature falsetto.” All of those reasons were exactly why he loved it.

Justin adds that the track was inspired by the boldness of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel.”

“[I] said, ‘This has to be so simple and a vibe and just like an attitude,’” he explains. “And I was like, ‘What’s the most audacious thing you could possibly say?’ And that was the first line of the song.”

The “SexyBack” lyrics flowed organically and off-the-cuff, what Justin describes as “pop-dance cypher” between him and Timbaland.

“We would invite people to the studio,” he says. “And every time that record came on, the reaction you got from any female was, I was like, ‘This is it.'”

By Andrea Tuccillo
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