And So It Begins. Justin Timberlake Releases “Drink You Away” To Country Radio
On Wednesday, November 11th, the speculation ended, and a new era began. Justin Timberlake has officially gone country. Or at least one of his songs has.
As radio programmers all over the country were busy Wednesday morning trying to figure out where to stack their reams of payola, a memorandum buzzed out across the wires: “Justin Timberlake’s ‘Drink You Away’—the same song he played with Chris Stapleton on the CMA Awards—is requesting play on your country station.”
Whether country radio hops to it and follows orders remains to be seen, but the effort has been expended to put Timberlake on your local country radio dial, and it appears this is the precursor to a big move by Justin Timberlake into country music that Saving Country Music and others have been predicting.
The single that landed at country stations is a shortened radio edit of the 5:31 song that originally appeared on Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience – The Complete Experience released way back in September of 2013—well over two years ago.
Perhaps we’ll take a deeper consideration of the song itself in due course, including considering it as a country song since that’s how it’s being sold now. But on the surface, this is a terrible move by Timberlake. At the moment he needed to ingratiate himself to the country music community the most—the release of the first song to be considered by the format—he takes the easy way out by taking a two-year-old song from a two-year-old album, and becomes another part of the problem as opposed to a potential solution. Timberlake’s performance on the CMA Awards was fine as the pop collaboration that it was, but was way too boisterous and overstated to attempt to be passed off as country.
Perhaps he got punch drunk from all of the success following the CMA Awards for himself and Stapleton. Perhaps with the dramatic sales spike the song enjoyed post CMA’s, Timberlake and label managers decided it was time to strike while the iron was hot. Maybe that’s why the single wasn’t released until a week later instead of the same night. But the release of “Drink You Away” puts Timberlake right in the crosshairs of cynics, and it remains to be seen if country radio will even be receptive. The song is just not relevant, either on the calendar, or in the country format, though admittedly a lack of country relevancy has not discouraged others from making similar moves.
Did we just witness pals Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake enact a cross genre switcheroo?
Justin Timberlake is in Nashville recording music as we speak. The reason he paired up with Chris Stapleton on the CMA Awards is likely because they’ve been writing songs or otherwise collaborating together since December of 2014. When Timberlake does release his next record and it includes country material, it’s likely to be much more country than this, and perhaps this “Drink You Away” single will simply be a footnote. But for now, it’s the wrong foot to start off his country courtship on.
November 11, 2015 @ 6:24 pm
I am glad that Justin Timberlake is going country. I have a lot of respect for him since 2002 when he won some award but he was upset that he won and he said Johnny Cash deserve that award.
November 11, 2015 @ 6:40 pm
PLEASE make these nightmares stop
November 13, 2015 @ 1:51 pm
“PLEASE make these nightmares stop ”
AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN
November 11, 2015 @ 6:44 pm
While I’m looking forward to Justin releasing a country record, this song couldn’t be further from country. I feel like the reason it was picked was because it has “drink” in the title and “Jack” in the lyrics, which may be an unfortunate sign that he’ll keep up the bro country tradition of thinking that any song about those topics qualifies as country music.
November 11, 2015 @ 8:18 pm
He released this as a pop song on a pop album. Having a pop song on country radio is far from abnormal these days, and there is no way JT believes this is a ‘country’ song. He’s capitalizing on the fact that a song need not be country to be on country radio.
Also, just because it’s a pop song about drinking and other old country-standard themes (heartbreak) does not make it bro-country. Not even close.
Now that all of that’s out of the way, this was a poor decision, and we will have to reserve true judgement for when he intentionally records and releases country music.
November 11, 2015 @ 6:48 pm
Wow I can’t believe I hear a lot of Keith Whitley and George Jones in his music…..
November 11, 2015 @ 8:31 pm
???
November 11, 2015 @ 8:47 pm
Sarcasm….JT has juice. Instead of making a country album (possibly). I wish he would push more unknown artists. Who knows how much say he had in releasing this song to country radio but me personally I got through 30 seconds and I was done.
November 11, 2015 @ 6:52 pm
Justin Timberlake at least understands music and has ability. Jason Aldean, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell, and Florida Georgia Line know nothing about music, nor do they have much ability to be making music. If Timberlake can make a half decent country album, it’s more than those aforementioned frat bros can say. The worst he can do is still better than Sam Hunt. However, this is NOT a country song. It will fit in perfectly with country radio, and hopefully will open the door for someone with musical talents to help get rid of Florida Georgia Line.
November 11, 2015 @ 8:48 pm
Luke Bryan used to have a decent ear for music before he became a sellout. Same could be argued for Aldean, though he was pretty much terrible from the get go like the other three. I don’t think acts from the years prior to 2010 like those two were signed just because they looked pretty and could sellout. Once FGL blew up and bro-country took off, it just became a bunch of guys who could be molded by the system.
November 12, 2015 @ 10:57 am
If you record “Dirt Road Anthem” you have no ear for music. That song is an insult to the legacy of George Jones by referencing him.
November 11, 2015 @ 7:17 pm
Yeah, this isn’t a wise first step with courting radio.
Count me among those that didn’t like this two years ago, and has failed to grow on me in earnest since then, and I’ll try and explain why.
I’m willing to cut him a little slack given that, after all, this was cut and released prior to his recent move to Nashville and recording an album of country music in earnest. He may be learning since then of the importance of not merely appreciating the broadness of styles and genres, but their subtleties as well………….and so I’m not going to dismiss Timberlake’s intentions off one track.
But “Drink You Away” still disappoints on its own in that there is an absolute scarcity of subtleties intact. His vocals are way too polished and clean. The production tries way too hard to emulate Lynyrd Skynyrd-styled blues rock, but comes across sounding more like a shell of it in the form of one of Kid Rock’s more médiocre ham-fisted tracks. And though the lyrics probably stand out as the strongest aspect of this track, they don’t necessarily grab me either and tend to get repetitive towards the end. I think they lack a sort of wit and nuance that separate more memorable heartbreak songs from others.
I do like the rolling organ, though. That’s probably the only other considerable positive I can say about this track.
*
So, yeah, I agree it is a mistake marking his official foray into country music with this designated as a single. I would have waited until early 2016 at the earliest to release a lead single, and have it be something that has yet to be heard from Timberlake. Should this underperform or outright flop, all it will do is diminish hype for a Timberlake crossover just as “Love Is Your Name” has already done for Steven Tyler.
I’m feeling a Light to Decent 4 out of 10 for this.
November 13, 2015 @ 1:57 pm
A huge part of an artist’s success is his artistic/personal integrity ..perceived or otherwise . This foray into foreign pastures by JT undermines that aspect of his image in comically serious ways . ANY listener buying into this ” going country” bullshit by ANY artist when it is so overtly dishonest artistically deserves the let down and disappointment that will inevitably come when that artist next shifts musical gears .This is genre exploitation at its worst /best /most disrespectful and anyone who cannot see that is simply being sucked into the marketing machinery . For the good of all HONEST music and artists , please put your money and fan loyalty behind something that at the very least SEEMS to come from a place of integrity . This kind of marketing and dishonesty makes fools of us all.
November 13, 2015 @ 2:39 pm
That is precisely why this is equally as bad a business decision as it is an artistic one.
No one is talking about Steven Tyler now because he already blew his opportunity in translating debut country single hype to commercial success. In direct result of that, his follow-up effort won’t seem fresh to the vast majority of listeners and will be met with indifference among promoters. And Timberlake risks the same drawback by marking his country incursion with this lame Kid Rock-leaning pseudo-country blues record.
I know my score still seems generous considering how much I blasted it, and I feel the need to explain it. The lyrics of the song are fine to me, even if they’re nothing new and get monotonous by the end. And Timberlake is oozing with charisma and presence behind the microphone, and charisma pretty much guarantees you a point in my book regardless of how terrible the song is otherwise. Finally, I did like the flourish of organ in the instrumentation (which was otherwise a mess).
So I’ve heard far worse than this. But this is not a good song, and certainly not a country song beyond the theme.
November 11, 2015 @ 7:31 pm
Meh.
November 11, 2015 @ 7:43 pm
This was not intended to be country. I will reserve judgment until his actual country recordings are released.
November 11, 2015 @ 7:52 pm
Oh great, a little pretty boy that only knows how to sing in a shitty falsetto is apparently doing something good. This is stupid.
November 11, 2015 @ 8:12 pm
Wow, this is interesting, just wondering if his music, will be as admirable as his paintings?
November 11, 2015 @ 8:16 pm
I was off to “DRINK YOU AWAY!! was the big peak of the Kid Rock ballad Picture …very un-original,JT
November 11, 2015 @ 8:21 pm
Thought I saw on Twitter today that David fanning released this song about a year ago and it reached #58 on the charts. I don’t remember much about the song other than hearing it on xm a time or two.
November 11, 2015 @ 8:22 pm
Yep, that did happen.
November 12, 2015 @ 2:59 am
Yep, and it was pretty good. Had no idea it was a JT song until the CMA’s.
November 12, 2015 @ 11:46 am
He did release a pretty terrible version of it that makes it sound way too much like Bon Jovi https://youtu.be/hT6EJWw0fnU
November 11, 2015 @ 8:30 pm
Oh for the love of Christ…….just tie to a tree and put it out of its misery.
November 12, 2015 @ 12:04 am
Whatever it is that he records I promise you it will make the current pop country sound like solid gold classics. People will start wishing for the good old days of dirt road anthem and cruise. He will make dibs sound like Loretta Lynn. Remember real country singers like Sam hunt people will say.
November 12, 2015 @ 5:31 am
I agree. With few exceptions, it gets progressively worse. Some of the crap from the 90’s is now seen as real classic country, only because of the bullshit that passes as country today. This will suck balls and will be the new pinnacle of pansy country, eclipsing even Rascal Flatts. Then, five or ten years from now, many will look back on Jason Aldean and say “man, those were the days…” As I’ve said before, I detested Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Tag MacGrew, Trace Adkins, Pipsqueak Kenny, Toby Keith, and even Alan Jackson. They didn’t sound good to me at the time, and I’m not going to change my opinion now. I know what I heard then, and I’m not going to make a relative reassessment. Now people are longing for that time.
November 12, 2015 @ 6:22 am
Nobody says you have to like Alan Jackson or folks of that nature (taste is taste, after all), but surely you recognize that there’s an enormous stylistic difference between the kind of stuff he put out, most of which was genuinely country, and Kieth Urban, who is really just a pop singer with a fake twang. Garth Brooks was kind of an interesting case because he was quite capable of making genuine country music, some of it good, but his gimmicky showmanship and massive crossover appeal pushed pushed the genre toward the abyss we see today.
November 12, 2015 @ 8:12 am
I agree. Timbo doesn’t have any “twang” in his voice. Not saying twangy voice is necessary to make good country, but it helps, lol.
Also detested Garth. But I liked Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson (except Boot Scootin’ Boogie and Chattahoochee…ugh), and I liked some Toby Keith.
November 12, 2015 @ 8:21 am
RD,
I usually agree with most of your comments. However you need to check Alan Jackson’s “Who I Am” album. Songs like Job Description, Hole in the Wall, and Who I am are awesome and good songwriting I think you could appreciate. I grew up on Garth and pretty much hate most of his music now. I like about 5 of his songs. I hate his dramatic singing style. Garth is a guy that wanted to be George Strait. He even wore a George Strait jacket to an award show. It is funny how George has always distance himself from Garth until recently.
November 12, 2015 @ 8:35 am
Of all the artists I listed, Alan Jackson is the one that I might consider giving another chance. I just regarded his music as too slick, too insincere, and having too much false sentimentality. Perhaps he looked too much like the Marlboro Man or a made-up cowboy for me to take his music seriously. Thanks for the suggestions. I will give those songs a listen.
November 12, 2015 @ 10:47 am
He does have a bluegrass album that’s a quality start
November 12, 2015 @ 3:06 am
I hope this will blow garbage like Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, FGL and Cole Swindell off of country radio.
November 12, 2015 @ 3:24 am
I played David Fanning’s version of “Drink You Away” for a long time on SiriusXM. My listeners have started asking to hear that again.
November 12, 2015 @ 3:54 am
What’s next? Madonna or Lady Gaga?
November 12, 2015 @ 5:47 am
Lady Gaga in a roadkill possum meat dress? That I would watch.
November 12, 2015 @ 11:42 pm
are they from Tennessee
November 12, 2015 @ 6:16 am
Am I the only one that thinks “Drink You Away” is actually pretty close to the prevailing sound of radio country? Add some additional twang, and this is pretty much what we already have.
November 12, 2015 @ 6:17 am
Country music is long gone folks
November 12, 2015 @ 7:40 am
Anything useful that Stapleton did for country music was just set back by Timberlake. Makes you wonder who they were actually wanting to promote at the CMAs.
November 12, 2015 @ 11:08 am
Justin Timberlake’s appearance on the CMA’s was always about the start of him launching a country career. We’ve know this for months now, and not to keep patting myself on the back about it, but I’ve been saying that over and over. Timberlake’s been pretty much saying it too, but of course music media can’t come to their own conclusions. They wait until the industry sends them a press release, and don’t want to be in front of a story because they don’t want to jeopardize their relationships with publicists in hopes they can land an “exclusive.” Timberlake touted Stapleton in December of 2014. He moved to the Nashville area in June. He’s recording in Nashville at this very moment. It’s all balatantly obvious, and still I don;t think the media or the rest of the world has woken up to the fact that Justin Timberlake is going country, or he already has.
Same thing happened with Taylor Swift going pop. It was blatantly obvious a year ahead of her making the move. She moved to New York, was saying all kinds of stuff in the press alluding to it.
Justin Timberlake will be country’s next superstar. That’s a fact. What it all will mean is the only question left.
November 12, 2015 @ 7:40 am
Today I learned that “Drink You Away” sucks without all the brass backing it. This sounds awful and it’s part of the reason I’ve never gotten into Timerlake’s recorded material.
Record the song as you’ll perform it live. Too many pop artists don’t do this–they record it with some beat that’s impossible to emulate in a live setting and then play a great instrumental arrangement when they perform it. Heck, even Tim McGraw does this. A lot of his poppier singles all of a sudden have country arrangements, live. It’s fucking annoying. The songs shouldn’t double in quality when performed live just because they were limited in the studio.
November 12, 2015 @ 8:11 am
Am I the only one who thinks that Timberlake is a far better actor/comedian than musician?
I think he is great on SNL and w/ Jimmy Fallon but to me his music is god awful.
November 12, 2015 @ 8:36 am
Ditto — I could never get into NSYNC or Justin’s solo work, but I’ve really enjoyed all his SNL appearances (the sketch where he played Jessica Simpson to Jimmy’s Nick Lachey was one of my faves — “So, in conclusion, you may call me ‘Dumb’… you may call me ‘Stupid’… you may even call me ‘DUMB’… but think about THIS!” [ leans back, quiet ]), as well as his “History of Rap” segments with Jimmy. 😀
November 12, 2015 @ 9:35 am
This sounds straight out of Kid Rock’s “toss a country-ish track on my rap rock albums” strategy straight out of ’98-’02
November 12, 2015 @ 9:37 am
Dean martin did it in the late 60’s how many songs of his where either crossover or country toned??
November 12, 2015 @ 9:39 am
Oh I forgot another artist that was cross over in pop country rock n roll and gospel some people disliked his intials where EP….
November 12, 2015 @ 9:44 am
They said this morning on the Highway XM that country radio was getting a version next week that was slightly different to add a touch of country (aka someone went in and added an electronic steel guitar and called it good, I’m sure)
November 12, 2015 @ 10:52 am
Then why didn’t they wait? What in the world is the benefit for releasing the original now? If they end up doing that, it makes this move even more quizzical and misguided.
November 12, 2015 @ 11:44 am
If this is country, what ISN’T country?
November 12, 2015 @ 8:05 pm
He has charisma. His duet with Chris was electric.
November 12, 2015 @ 11:40 pm
Is actually a good move, radio wanted it and now they got it. The song >> Florida Georgia Line with Jason Aldean
November 13, 2015 @ 8:23 am
Just great.
Who cares if he is marginally better than Sam Hunt and friends? Mediocrity isn’t goodness.
November 13, 2015 @ 10:39 am
Timberlake is a carpetbagger. The main problem with the song is he doesn’t sound authentic. I don’t believe him, just like I didn’t believe Michael Jackson when he sang ” Billy Jean”. I can see Bryan partying. I can see Miranda getting angry and doing something evil. I even believe Eric Church when he sang ” Chevy Van”. I have to believe that the lyrics mirror the voice. Timberlake’s problem has always been his voice. He is a grown man with a teenage voice. That sounds lacks experience. That is also why his acting isn’t great. He can’t get into a song, even one he helped write, because his doesn’t have any texture. That is why pop is his genre. I may be wrong but country, like the blues, requires some sort of texture to sell it. He can’t sell it. When Tony Bennett sang ” Cold, Cold Heart” or Ray Charles sang ” I Can’t Stop Loving You” they added texture from a different point of view. Timberlake is selling last week’s news as breaking news. And it is filled with tepid cliches.
November 13, 2015 @ 1:08 pm
Listen guys…….this is not the first attempt of this particular JT track becoming a “country radio hit”. David Fanning signed to Red Bow Records (home of Joe Nichols, Chase Bryant and Craig Campbell) released this as his first single in 2014. Justin approached David to record this track to see how it would sound as a country track. Needless to say, it was released to radio and it was a flop. I love JT and have a lot of respect for him as an artist, but I pray he will stick to what he knows best.
November 14, 2015 @ 8:12 am
Anyone who calls that song country needs his or her head examined.
November 15, 2015 @ 8:46 am
I remember years back when George Jones, said NSYNC, outta SYNC, I don’t care”. Same here George.