Background
"I'm the one that sits and is obsessive about it before you even get to hear it. As close as I get to it, I don't think I can physically torture myself that much, year in and year out, and expect it to fulfill me the way that it does and the way that it is right now. You just don't get that every day. You have to wait for it."
—Timberlake explaining his musical hiatus [1] In September 2006, Timberlake released his second studio album FutureSex/LoveSounds . Critically and commercially acclaimed, the album spawned six singles, including the worldwide hits "SexyBack", "My Love" and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". [2] After wrapping up a worldwide concert tour in support of the album in 2007, Timberlake took a break from his music career to focus on acting. [3] [4] In 2010, Timberlake's manager, Johnny Wright, began conversations with the singer about working on new music. The two had general decisions about ways to release new music, because according to Wright, "a lot of the physical record sellers were gone, by the time we've got music again we need to think about different ways to deliver it". [5]
Wright proposed a promotion based on an application or releasing a new song every month. Timberlake, however, was not interested in returning to music; instead, he continued to focus on his film career. Around the "late part of May, first week in June" 2012, Timberlake asked Wright to dinner and revealed to him that he had spent the last couple of nights in the studio with Timbaland working on new material. Wright was shocked at the revelation, telling Billboard magazine that he "wasn't prepared for that." The two immediately began marketing plans for how the album should be promoted and when it should be released. Ultimately, they agreed "to do this in a shorter period of time, so let's put the single out and [release the album] seven or eight weeks after that—make it a short window, and because we have such a short window, we have to make a big impact." [5]
In August 2012, producer Jim Beanz reported that Timberlake started work on his new music project. However, at that time, shortly after the announcement, Timberlake's publicist revealed that there were no current plans for a new Timberlake album, affirming instead that Timberlake was working with Timbaland on songs for his upcoming project Shock Value III. [4] Although originally planned for release in October 2012, its date was postponed because of the singer's wedding with actress Jessica Biel. Wright stated that although the project involved artists who are primarily Timberlake's friends, it was tough keeping it a secret, making them use codenames for the project. [5] It was released on March 15, 2013, under the title The 20/20 Experience . [6]
Composition
"Let the Groove Get In" was written by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, and James Fauntleroy, and produced by Timbaland, Timberlake, and Harmon. [7] It is a Latin song accompanied by canned horns, propulsive percussion and Timberlake's harmonized voice over a pop arrangement made by Timbaland. [8] [9] It contains a sample from the recording "Alhamdulillaahi", a part of the release Explore Series: Africa-Burkina Faso: Rhythms of the Grasslands (2002), an album that features field recordings collected in Africa during the 1970s. [10]
Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly wrote that although the song is built on African hand-drum rhythms, it later transforms into a classical Michael Jackson song, similar to the tracks from his fifth studio album Off the Wall (1979). [11] People 's Chuck Arnold and Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone compared "Let the Groove Get In" to Jackson's 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" from his sixth studio album Thriller (1982). [12] [13] Kitty Empire of The Guardian called the song a sassy and salsa-driven "earworm with a chanted chorus whose arrangements are sublime". [14]
Reception
Writing for ABC News, Allan Raible noted that "Justin feels like a singer standing still ... or coasting at best". [15] Robert Christgau cited it as a highlight of the album. [16] Billboard's editor Jason Lipshutz listed the song among a list of 15 pop songs "that weren't released as singles but should have been." [17] VH1's Emily Exton wrote, "In addition to using a few of his more successful techniques (echoed call-and-response, general clapping) Timberlake dives into the sounds of the Miami Sound Machine, bringing back an electric dance number unlike anything else in his catalog." [18]
Following the release of The 20/20 Experience, "Let the Groove Get In" appeared on the charts in South Korea and the United States. For the week dated March 17, 2013, the song debuted on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number thirty-one with sales of 6,204 digital copies. [19] It also debuted at number nine on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, [20] and at number thirty-nine on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. [21]
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