Justin Timberlake

Jay Z & Justin Timberlake "Holy Grail" (Anthony Mandler, dir.)

There's a last days of Xanadu vibe here, with Jay Z and Justin Timberlake all alone at the top of the world, surrounded by the baubles that come with great wealth and success — an effect that's further emphasized by the periodically slurred-down audio.

Also of note is that this is the first Facebook exclusive premiere, with the video available exclusively via Facebook and giving Jay Z and Justin Timberlake unfettered reach to their combined 42 million followers (which if you know anything about how Facebook posts are limited unless boosted, you know the value of that promo is huge).

And it could be a good case study into whether people care about where or how they watch videos, so long as all the sharing/embedding features they expect are supported.

Justin Timberlake "Take Back The Night" (Jeff Nicholas, Jonathan Craven, Darren Craig for The Uprising Creative, dir.)

And after a clever engagement campaign, Justin Timberlake unveils the "Take Back The Night" video. It's a celebratory clip that takes the pop star through the NYC night — a deserved victory lap for anyone who can can pack Yankee Stadium twice — leading from Uptown Baby to the electric streets of Chinatown. The overall vibe is somewhere between the opening montage for SNL, the Copacabana tracking shot from Goodfellas (that every director seems to want to recreate) and the mid-period Michael Jackson video of your choice.

The Virtual NYC Hunt for Justin Timberlake "Take Back The Night" Begins

There's been a cat and mouse game to every step of Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience, with elements either coming completely unannounced, or teased through various clues hidden throughout his web world. This new video for "Take Back The Night" is still just out-of-grasp, but you can check out an interactive map of NYC at takebacktn.justintimberlake.com, which brings you from J-Tim's [ed: Has J-Tim also lost the hyphen like his man Jay Z?] massive Yanee Stadium gigs and into behind-the-scenes of the video, with pop-up styled tidbits about shoot locations and more.

Wanna see the video? Tweet as directed and sit tight. 

It's a smart roll-out, both on a micro level — the twitter gambit virtually guarantees worldwide trending — but if you zoom out you see that Timberlake and his visual/marketing partners at The Uprising Creative — who handled the website(s), the promo clips and even the videos for "Tunnel Vision" and now "Take Back The Night" — have found a way to maintain mystery and heighten expectation in the know everything right now culture of the web.

Justin Timberlake Goes NSFW with New Video "Tunnel Vision"

Justin Timberlake - Tunnel Vision (Explicit)

Yep. Even Justin Timberlake has the NSFW bug. 

Ther are bodies in motion here. One is JT, but the others are naked women, writhing as they emerge from the haze and then as they serve as human projection screens.

Enjoy it on YouTube while it lasts. After that, I think VEVO has another hit to put in their exclusive collection.

Justin Timberlake "Mirrors" (Floria Sigismondi, dir.)

Justin Timberlake - Mirrors

Memories get distorted as if reflected in a funhouse mirror in this ode to enduring love. The centerpiece is an old, synchronous couple who visit a fun house of memories, remembering the ups and downs that brought them closer together, but they pass the ring onto Justin TImberlake for the last last third of this 8+ minute clip so he can navigate his own maze of mirrors. 

Justin Timberlake "Suit And Tie" (David Fincher, Dir.)

Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Official) ft. JAY Z

Happy valentines day, from Justin Timberlake and David Fincher.

When we last saw legendary music video director David Fincher working the short-form for the small screen, it was Nine Inch Nails "Only" in 2005. And the difference between that video and this is a perfect example of how doing what's right for the artist and song is really what makes a great video director.

Justin Timberlake "Suit And Tie (lyric version)" (Laban Pheidias, Dir.)

Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Lyric Video) ft. JAY Z

When is a lyric video not just a lyric video? When it has the production values of most ordinary videos, stars the artist himself, and that artist is Justin Timberlake on his first record in seven years. Spoiler Alert: He wears a suit and tie. Also, Jay-Z doesn't make an appearance, but I would think it's a guarantee we'll see him rocking his shit tied best when the real video rolls out.