Justin Timberlake does his best to channel a little of that old Frank Sinatra magic in his new music video for “Suit & Tie,” a big orchestra production with a little hip-hop inflection courtesy of rapper Jay-Z. But close your eyes and Justin sounds just like… Michael Jackson?
No wonder Justin Bieber hates comparisons to the former boy bander. Justin has delayed puberty to blame. As for Timberlake… well what’s his excuse?
Frank never sounded like this. Justin croons in his falsetto voice while the video shot mostly in black-and-white evokes scenes of Vegas nightclubs and showgirls. There’s even a scene with Justin on stage that vaguely resembles the 60s-era Rat Pack.
Sinatra and a host of Vegas cohorts that included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, would often get together at a club after their regular shows to sing, dance and kid around.
They famously became known as the Rat Pack and were lauded for their booze-and-broads attitude. Justin shoots for the same feel. He even fires up a cigarette indoors… how ’60s!
The video opens with him at a piano tapping out a tune, while the orchestra fires up. Next he’s at the club hanging out, then back in his posh Vegas hotel suite with Jay-Z for a little scotch and flakes.
He hits the stage in his tuxedo and sings into a Shure ’50s-style microphone to complete the look. Throw in a few hot babes writhing on the dance floor and splashing around in some water and you’ve got a signature Justin Timberlake video.
Timberlake is returning to music after a four-year hiatus. He’s concentrated mostly on films in the meantime, appearing in such hits as 2010’s “The Social Contract,” “Bad Teacher” with Cameron Diaz, “Friends With Benefits” with Mila Kunis and “Trouble with the Curve” with Amy Adams.
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