"Selfish" is the first single from Justin Timberlake's sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was. The song was released on January 25, 2024, marking Timberlake's first new solo track in over five years.
In the song, Timberlake explores the dark side of devotion, where love and jealousy play a seductive dance. He shouts from the rooftops about his undying love; he'd be flatlining without her. Lips made for him, heart always beating for her. It's not just love, it's a heartbeat sync.
But Timberlake isn't shy about being possessive over his girl. "Selfish" isn't an apology, it's an explanation. Jealousy? Yeah, blame it on being head-over-heels, can't-get-enough, crazy in love.
By the time we get to the bridge, Timberlake is telling her straight up she's got him on lock. This woman is the owner of his heart with her mark tattooed for the world to see. She's got a hold on him, scars and all.
Timberlake wrote the mid-tempo R&B song with Theron Thomas (Rihanna, Lizzo), Amy Allen (Harry Styles, Tate McRae), Cirkut (Kesha, Nicki Minaj), and Louis Bell (Post Malone, Justin Bieber). Timberlake, Cirkut and Bell produced the track.
Timberlake told Apple Music's Zane Lowe he took inspiration from an incident that happened at two in the morning. He was attending a jazz night in LA hosted by his friend and music director, Adam Blackstone. When Blackstone invited him up to sing something, Timberlake randomly threw out, "Oh, yeah, let's do Donny Hathaway's cover of '
Jealous Guy' by Lennon."
"So we were talking about the song itself and just breaking down the idea that you just don't hear that from men often, that they would express an emotion that makes them vulnerable," said Timberlake. "And then growing up the way I grew up, you're taught not to do that. But I don't know, it just felt like a really honest song. The lyrics just started to come out honestly."
So why did he choose "Selfish" as the lead single from Everything I Thought It Was? "I felt like it's probably, of all the songs on the album, production-wise, probably the most straightforward," Timberlake explained, "and I don't want to say simple because it's complex within its simplicity to me."
Directed by Bradley Calder, the song's music video stars Timberlake as a frustrated actor on a giant soundstage. He finds a hidden door that leads him to a miniature world where he towers over everything and tries to answer a ringing red phone on the wall. The video contrasts the two scales and settings to create a surreal and humorous effect.
Timberlake gave "Selfish" its live debut at his show on January 19, 2024, at the Orpheum Theatre in his hometown of Memphis the day before his mom's birthday.
The Everything I Thought It Was title reflects the album's mix of honesty and fun. "I was playing it for people around me," Timberlake explained to Zane Lowe. "They're like, 'Oh, this sounds like everything we know you for.' And then another friend of mine was like, 'Oh, this sounds like everything I thought I wanted from you.' It was like that sort of phrase, in one way or another, was in the air. And I thought to myself about how some of the songs are more introspective and some of them are more what I think people know me for."
Justin's ex, Britney Spears, beat him to the title - her song called "Selfish" was released in 2011 as a bonus track on her Femme Fatale album. In her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me, Britney had harsh words about the way Justin treated her. When Timberlake released this song, Spears' dedicated fans united to send a message. They joined forces online to collectively stream her song "Selfish," aiming to outperform Justin's track on the charts.
Justin Timberlake performed this song on the January 27, 2024, episode of Saturday Night Live, his first appearance in nine years as a musical guest on the comedy sketch show. It was his sixth performance on Saturday Night Live, including his 2000 debut with 'N Sync.
Everything I Thought It Was debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, Timberlake's first official album since 2002's Justified not to take the top spot.
