It has been over four years since Justin Timberlake released his last album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, and aside from the occasional guest appearance on a single or late-night musical collaboration with Jimmy Fallon, it seems that there is little that can lure Timberlake away from his current pursuit as an eyeglasses-wearing “serious actor.” With The Social Network coming out tomorrow and even more films on the horizon, Entertainment Weekly grilled Timberlake about his extended musical hiatus, and the 29-year-old got awfully defensive (and even a bit fatalistic) about putting out a new album. Could it be that he would give up his status as the biggest male pop star in the world simply to do voice cameos on The Cleveland Show?
EW: Are there people you work with who are telling you that you should put another record out sooner rather than later?
Timberlake: … Does a painter make a painting because he has to make it by December 21st? No, he doesn’t. It happens when it pours out of him. That’s how music is for me … .
Do you think it’s dangerous to wait so long? Christina Aguilera waited four years between albums, and her fans don’t seem to care about her right now.
Timberlake: If you’re asking me, no. I never stop making music. I don’t know what else to tell you, except that I just don’t know [in] what capacity I want to be involved anymore.
That sounds very final.
Timberlake: No. All I’m saying is, in very simple terms, I’ll know when I know. And until I know, I don’t know.
You know?
This week’s cover: Justin Timberlake and the Stars of ‘The Social Network’ [PopWatch/EW]
