Justin Timberlake Reveals He Wrote ‘100 Songs’ for New Album ‘Everything I Thought It Was’

Justin Timberlake wanted only the best of the best for his newly announced album, Everything I Thought It Was. In a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, the 42-year-old pop star revealed he had to make some drastic cuts to his collection of songs recorded in the years since his last project in order to whittle them down to just 18 for his highly anticipated upcoming record, which finally arrives March 15.  

“I worked for a long time on this album and I ended up with 100 songs,” he said. “So narrowing them down to 18 was a thing, and then, yeah, I’m really excited about this album. I think every artist probably says this, but it is my best work.” 

“I think there are moments that are incredibly honest, but also, there’s a lot of f–king fun on this album,” added the former boy bander. 

The new interview comes on the heels of Timberlake’s new single “Selfish,” released Thursday (Jan. 25), just days after the star debuted the track live at his concert in Memphis. Everything I Thought It Was will mark his first solo LP since 2018’s Man of the Woods, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.  

“I think that’s where I came up with the album title, with everything I thought it was,” the Trolls star told Lowe. “I was playing it for people around me. 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.”  

“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,” he added. 

Timberlake will help usher in his new era by serving as musical guest on this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which will be hosted by Dakota Johnson. The “SexyBack” singer teased that while he decided against helming the show, he might just appear at other points throughout the show. 

“I flirted with the idea of, should I host or ask to host? And then I just thought, ‘No, this album is really special to me in a different, different way,’” he said. “I also cannot imagine that I won’t get pulled into a sketch or two. It’s only natural — and I’m here for it. That’s always fun, SNL, for me, in any capacity. I’ve hosted five, but I don’t even know how many times I’ve been on the show.”