On Monday morning, Justin Timberlake is coming back. A surprise countdown on the singer's website promises that something – expected to be a new single – will be released at the beginning of next week.
According to Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter, Timberlake has recorded around 20 songs for his third solo album. "Someone asked me the other day, 'So are you just done with music?'" the 31-year-old said in a new video, posted to his website on Thursday. "[But] I don't wanna put anything out that I don't love … You have to wait for it."
"Look I've only done two albums in 10 years," Timberlake explained. "I'm the one that sits and is obsessive about it before you even get to hear it." Yet now, for the first time since 2006's FutureSex/LoveSounds, "I'm ready," Timberlake said. The clip finishes with the singer standing by a microphone, wearing a pair of headphones.
With Timberlake's clock ticking down, his protege Justin Bieber weighed in: "u got a good reason to be ready," Bieber tweeted. "i have heard some stuff … #greatmusic."
Bieber also confirmed that Timberlake is collaborating with producer Timbaland. The engineer Carl Paul had previously tweeted that Timberlake was working with Timbaland, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. "Justin, Jay Z, Timberland (sic). New record Monday," promised the New York DJCharlamagne Tha God.
In the six years since his last LP, Timberlake's focus has been on acting. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for his role in The Social Network, and also starred in Friends with Benefits and In Time. Still, the former *N Sync star's biggest triumphs are musical: both of his albums topped the charts in the UK, garnering three Brit awards and selling more than 20m copies worldwide.