Justin Timberlake's record label initially believed his hit song SexyBack "wasn't going to work".
The 45-year-old singer reached Number 1 in eight countries, including the US and UK, with the track in 2006. However, Justin had deliberately wanted to create something that sounded different from his usual style. His decision to use an "androgynous" vocal effect did not go down well with label executives, who were convinced the song would fail.
During an appearance on Complex's Re-Rank series, Justin described the track as something that “makes zero sense, but makes all the sense in the world”. He also recalled how he and co-writer and producer Timbaland put the song together "so fast" while trying to "redefine" the sound of dance music.
He continued: “When people heard this song for the first time, I didn’t want them to know it was me. I wanted it to sound almost androgynous in a way, where if you were singing along to it, you were that person.
“And when I brought it to the label, they were like, ‘This is not gonna work. You don’t sound like you. It’s too fast. Nothing on the radio right now is 118 BPM.’
“And every reason that they gave me that it wasn’t going to work is the reason that I thought it would… It was personally an experience of trusting your gut and doing something so decidedly different. It kind of changed everything.”
During the same interview, Justin also suggested that he could have new music on the way with Quavo, Pharrell Williams and longtime collaborator Timbaland.
He said: "I think it’s safe to say y’all saw me on a boat with Que and P. Tim[baland] and I are always locked in. From scratch. Just want to say that, for the record, from scratch. I don’t want to hear any of that talk.
“We’ll see, but I’m really excited about… I’ve been chef-ing. All in due time.”
Elsewhere, Justin previously shared that Timbaland beatboxed the melody for Cry Me a River, his 2002 hit single, before the pair recorded the song together.
The former *NSYNC singer said he still clearly remembers how the track came together during their studio session.
Speaking on Hot Ones, he recalled: "The crazy thing about Cry Me a River was he beat-boxed it first. I came into the studio and I was like less than thrilled and I think he saw my mood and he just started, like, [beat-boxing].
"Four hours later it was, like, written and recorded and then we started working on post-production."
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