Say Something

Album: Man of the Woods (2018)
Charted: 9 9
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This finger-snappy country-tinged tune is a collaboration with singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton, with whom Justin Timberlake has performed on several previous occasions. Back in 2013, he recorded the bluesy country song "Drink You Away" for his 20/20 Experience - 2 of 2. He later performed the song as a duet alongside Stapleton at the 2015 Country Music Awards. Shortly after his CMAs moment with the Nashville singer-songwriter, Timberlake released "Drink You Away" to country radio, and the tune picked up sufficient plays to peak at #60 on the Billboard Country airplay chart.

    In September 2017 Timberlake and Stapleton shared the stage, along with Stapleton's wife Morgane, during the pop star's set at the Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival in Tennessee.
  • The duet was produced by Timbaland, Danja, and 1500 or Nothin', continuing Timbaland's history of country and Americana-style production for such artists as Bubba Sparxxx ("She Tried") and Brad Paisley ("Grey Goose Chase" and "Solar Power Girl").
  • Chris Stapleton hadn't originally planned to contribute vocals on this cut. "I really just went out to Los Angeles to write songs with him," he explained to Billboard magazine. "That was one of those things where there wasn't necessarily a plan. He was like, 'Alright, you hop in there and take a verse.' I'm like, 'You want me to do what?' ... It came out great. I had a blast with him, he's a great creative force and one of those guys that if you get a chance to work with him, you should."

    Stapleton co-wrote two other tracks on Man of the Woods: "Morning Light" and "The Hard Stuff."
  • Directed by Arturo Perez Jr. and produced by La Blogothèque, the video was shot in one take following two weeks of intensive planning and pre-production. The clip was filmed at the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles – famous for its appearance in the 1982 science fiction movie Blade Runner.

    "I'm not joking when I tell you that this is the first and only take that we did in the night time," Perez told Esquire. "Justin Timberlake. That guy is a pro. And Chris Stapleton was such a good guy. I don't know if he knew exactly what was going on, but that guy is a performer, so he just settled back and did it."
  • This is the second song of this title Timbaland has been involved in. In 2009, the producer recorded "Say Something," a collaboration with Drake for his Shock Value II album.

Comments: 1

  • AnonymousNo comments? This is one of JT's best songs. O.O Maybe not his most popular, it took time to grow on me, but it is a great tune, and him and Stapleton's voices go really well together surprisingly. Lyrically it's not extremely deep, but it isn't vapid either, it's just a song about starting a relationship, so in terms of songs on that topic, I think it is top notch. The melody though is one of my favorite JT melodies, and the progression of the melody is fantastic. "Man of the Woods" is a great album, but it is a departure from the normal JT sound, I hope he does another album, everything he does is uniquely him, it feels both out of step and ahead of everyone else whenever he makes an album.
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