Musically,"Suit &Tie" is a mid-tempo R&B and soul song that incorporates a "slow-drawl" consisting of slowed-down synths and "slightly out of time" drum claps,similar to the chopped and screwed remixing style. Lyrically,it is an ode to the joys of "being handsome and well-dressed". Upon release,it received generally mixed-to-positive reviews from critics,with some praising both it and Timberlake for representing R&B in a way many contemporary songs could not. Commercially,"Suit &Tie" was a success,selling 315,000 first-week downloads in the US and surpassing the 250,000 debut of "SexyBack" in 2006,becoming Timberlake's highest sales week for a download at the time,until the release of "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in 2016. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top five in both the UK and Canada,peaking at number three in both regions. As of 2018,it has sold 3.3 million downloads in the US.
An accompanying music video for "Suit &Tie" was shot on January 25,2013,and was directed by David Fincher,with whom Timberlake had previously worked on The Social Network. To promote it,Timberlake and Jay-Z performed "Suit &Tie" at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards on February 10,2013. They performed it again during Timberlake's hosting of Saturday Night Live on March 9,2013. The music video was released on Timberlake's Vevo page on Valentine's Day 2013. It won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and production
Following a six-year hiatus from releasing solo music,Timberlake started writing and recording for his third studio album in the "late part of May,first week in June" and concluded in July 2012.[1] The project was produced in a span of 20 days.[2] In August 2012,producer Jim Beanz reported that Timberlake started work on his new music project.[3] 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.[3] Although,originally planned for release in October 2012,its date was postponed because of the singer's wedding with actress Jessica Biel.[1] Timberlake's manager,Johnny 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.[1] "Suit &Tie" was later included as the second track on his third studio album,The 20/20 Experience,released on March 15,2013.[4]
"Suit & Tie" is a mid-tempo R&B[6][7] and soul song.[8] Written in the key of D major, it begins with a "slow-drawl" intro[9] consisting of slowed-down synths and "slightly out of time" drum claps.[10] A distorted Timberlake growls "awoo", before he and Timbaland sing: "I be on my suit and tie shit". After a brief pause, it settles into a "rolling, laidback" groove, featuring finger clicks and old-school horn blasts[10] that add a layer of sophistication.[11] Timbaland's "shiny collection" of percussion is featured on the track.[12] Featuring a portion of Sly, Slick and Wicked's 1972 recording "Sho' Nuff", produced by James Brown,[13] "Suit & Tie" is a dance-oriented track that incorporates stop-and-start sections, drawing comparisons to his debut single "Like I Love You" (2002).[12]
Mickey Woods of Glamour said it "is filled to the brim with horns, addictive hooks, and unprecedented swagger",[14] while Jim Farber of the New York Daily News wrote that it is in the "classic" style of Curtis Mayfield, yet "isn't in any way conventionally retro".[11] Dan Hyman of NBC News described it as "a horn-addled shuffler likely to inspire many new dance routines",[15] while Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo Music said it "offers a more mature sound saturated in a live band feel with trumpets, saxophones, bass guitar, chimes and cowbells that recall the rich soul music of the '70s".[16] Brian Mansfield of USA Today described it as having a "seductive swirl of synths and horn riffs",[17] while Zach Dionne of Vulture noted that it starts with "45 seconds of slow groove" before "dipping into an atmospheric, horn-padded Timbaland beat that'll set necks swiveling and bodies moving this week and long beyond".[18] Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted that it "draws from early- to mid-'70s soul instead of late-'70s disco-funk, decked out in horns, marimba, and harp",[19] while Melinda Newman of HitFix said it "floats along" like a song from the Whispers, but Timbaland's production pays homage without sounding dated.[20] It then goes into a "hypnotic, engaging outro before a great, cold ending".[20] Lyrically, it is an ode to the joys of "being handsome and well-dressed".[21]
Release
Jay-Z's contribution on "Suit & Tie" received mixed reviews
In early January 2013, via his official Twitter account, Timberlake posted a tweet, "I think I'M READY", before posting a link to a YouTube video which shows him walking into a studio and explaining his absence from releasing new music.[22] In the minute-long video, a camera follows Timberlake as he walks through a recording studio, while the singer's voice-over explains why it has been so long since his last album, and he reveals that he is not interested in releasing anything he does not love.[23] The video closes with Timberlake entering a recording booth, putting on headphones, and saying, "I'm ready".[23] Subsequently, on the singer's official site, a countdown leading up to Monday, January 14, at 12 a.m. ET appeared, prompting speculation about the release of a new single and album to break Timberlake's hiatus.[23] That timing coincided with a tweet that Power 105.1 radio personality Charlamagne posted, saying, "Justin, Jay-Z Timbaland. New record Monday".[23]
Following months of private beta testing, Myspace was relaunched on January 15. The site's front page featured an image of Timberlake in a suit and tie. Additionally, a chance to stream or download "Suit & Tie" was offered to those who signed up for or logged in to Myspace.[24] Eliot Van Buskirk of Evolver.fm wrote that by doing this, the site, which was completely revamped to focus on "assisting artists in sharing their music with passionate fans", is sending a "clear message" about what the network is good for: "posting music for free, and trying to upsell it to downloads".[25]
Critical reception
"Suit & Tie" received generally mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics upon its release. Kellman gave it three out of five stars, stating that it "serves the same flirty dancefloor purpose" as "Rock Your Body".[19] The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette gave it a "B" grade.[26] Andrew Halverson of Beats Per Minute said it "seems to point to the notion that JT still knows what he's doing".[27] A reviewer from The Independent wrote that Timberlake appears to have "gone up an octave" since he last released new music. The reviewer also compared it to "Rock Your Body" and "SexyBack".[21] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times called it "a radiant, ramshackle song that's less of a coherent single and more of a coronation event".[28] Melinda Newman of HitFix said to "leave it to Timberlake" to represent R&B in a way that "few contemporary artists are today", noting Bruno Mars and Miguel being a few exceptions.[20] Petar Kujundzic of Hypetrak said that "both gentlemen come off nothing short of flamboyant on this horn-infused cut".[29]Stephen Deusner of Pitchfork awarded the track their Best New Track tag, praising Timberlake's vocal performance and Timbaland's production by saying, "Timbaland creates a smooth beat out of a marimba roll and harp glissando that Marvin Gaye must have left on the cutting-room floor, and Timberlake rides it with that fluid, effortless falsetto". Deusner, however, noted that the feature verse from Jay-Z is "another in a string of uninspired cameos," but it could not "sink its slinky vibe".[30]Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars, and said it "is natty – as expertly tailored and crisply pressed as a high-end tux".[31] Chris Martins of Spin said that "Timberlake's voice sounds stronger than ever — smoother, more rounded, pretty, mature".[32]
Jason Lipshutz of Billboard gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars, and said it "is a good song, but it's not the artifact from another planet that we've been expecting, nor it is the ambitious experiment that Timberlake alludes to when he describes heading into the studio and "just creating with no rules"."[33] Ernest Wilkins of the Chicago Tribune said it "sounds like it was conceived, recorded, funded, and sponsored by a department store that hasn't been relevant in a long time".[34] Michael Cragg of The Guardian wrote that it feels like the work of someone "luxuriating in the fact they're making music again" and not someone "desperate to redefine pop in the face of its recent club-related slump". He stated that it is not a "sound-redefining, statement-making, globe-conquering comeback single" like "SexyBack" (2006) was, but "more of a midway point" between his previous singles "Señorita" and "Summer Love".[10] Joseph R. Atilano of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said it "might just be a case of him being away too long from the music scene which could have resulted in, just maybe, Justin losing a step or two".[35]Popjustice, in the same vein, claimed that it was "officially, and very disappointingly, mediocre" and "it could make a decent third single from an album, if they were struggling".[36] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said it "is more filler than killer, more informal reintroduction than explosive comeback".[37] Eight editors from Spin — Charles Aaron, Christopher R. Weingarten, David Marchese, David Bevan, Caryn Ganz, Brandon Soderberg, Philip Sherburne, and Marc Hogan — reviewed it, giving it mixed scores ranging from five to seven out of ten, with an average score of 6.25.[38]
BET ranked it among Timberlake's best collaborations.[42] Katie Atkinson of Billboard placed it at number fourteen in a ranking of Timberlake's singles,[43] Rania Aniftos ranked it among Timberlake's sixteen best collaborations,[44] and Adelle Platon ranked it among Timberlake's fourteen best hip-hop/R&B collaborations.[45] Maria Sherman of Complex placed it at number thirteen in a ranking of the best Timberlake songs.[46] Kyle Hodge of Highsnobiety placed it at number fifteen in a ranking of the twenty best Timberlake songs.[47]
Ashley Lee of The Hollywood Reporter placed it at number eight in a ranking of the top ten music collaborations of 2013.[48] Marco Torres of the Houston Press placed it at number six in a ranking of Timberlake's top ten collaborations.[49] Falyn Freyman of the Miami New Times placed it at number three in a ranking of Timberlake's top five collaborations.[50] Sal Cinquemani and Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine placed it at number seven in a ranking of Timberlake's singles.[51]
Within hours of its release, "Suit & Tie" reached number two on the US iTunes Store.[52] It debuted at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 based on two days of airplay in the week ending January 26, 2013.[53] It also debuted at number 14 on Billboard's Pop Songs chart with 6,045 plays, the highest detections total by a new entry in the chart's history.[54] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 3.[55] As of June 2013, "Suit & Tie" has sold 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[56]
The following week, "Suit & Tie" jumped to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 with 315,000 first-week downloads sold.[57] It was Timberlake's highest sales week for a download, surpassing the 250,000 debut of "SexyBack" in 2006,[58] but later bested by "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in 2016 with 379,000.[59] "Suit & Tie" then fell to number 13 for two weeks, but returned to the top 10 on the week of February 10, 2013[60] after Timberlake performed it at the 2013 Grammy Awards. It reached a new peak at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its eleventh week due to the album release.[61] It reached the number one position on Billboard's Rhythmic Airplay chart in its April 1, 2013 issue.[62] As of March 2014, it has sold 3,044,000 downloads in the United States.[63] As of 2018, it has accumulated 4.6 million units in the country, combining sales (3.3 million downloads) and equivalent streams.[64][65]
Music video
Background and release
A 30-second sample of the "Suit & Tie" music video.
The music video for "Suit & Tie" was shot in Los Angeles on January 25, 2013.[68] It was released on Timberlake's Vevo page on Valentine's Day 2013.[69] Entirely black-and-white, it begins with Timberlake eating cereal while Jay-Z sits on a couch watching television,[70] before cutting to Timberlake performing in a studio as well as an art deco style theater replete with a "swanky nightclub band", "sexy backup dancers", "female fans bopping to the beat", and "a horn section".[71]
The music video on YouTube has received over 198 million views as of January 2026.[69]
Accolades
Pitchfork ranked "Suit & Tie" among the best music videos of 2013[72] and half-of-the-decade.[73]Rolling Stone named it the third best video of 2013.[74] Tom Breihan of Stereogum placed it at number eighteen in a ranking of the top twenty-five music videos of 2013.[75] Melissa Locker of Time also ranked it among the eleven best music videos of 2013.[76] Gabrielle Bondi of The Young Folks placed it at number five in a ranking of Timberlake's music videos.[77]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
↑Reed, Ryan (January 31, 2021). "Every Justin Timberlake Album, Ranked". Spin. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2025. Snazzy soul single "Suit & Tie" opens at a squished half time, with Timbaland's voice deepened to monster movie levels...
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