Justin Timberlake: 'Mmmm, Ants.'

By Clover Hope | January 17, 2018 | 4:25pm

Entertainment

At a corporate-sponsored listening party for Man of the Woods in New York, Justin Timberlake doubled down on his album’s down-home theme by offering guests an organic selection of ants and grasshoppers.

Not just regular ants. That would be crazy. These were topped with black garlic and rose oil, courtesy of the restaurant Noma, along with grasshoppers and aebleskiver. The music was heard, and Timberlake told those in attendance to tell us, “I’m not going to go all Ray LaMontagne.”

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In other words, the woodsman vibe is just a marketing aesthetic to fool people, relax.

Oh right, the music.

Attendees can’t say much about the content and character of the album (it’s out Feb. 2) because of a reported NDA. But Variety describes it as “a contemporary and characteristic fusion of R&B and pop, with electronic flourishes and occasional trap beats.”

Associated Press reports:

He called “Man Of The Woods” a “personal album” and said the record is a tribute to his 2-year-old son, Silas, a name that means “living in the woods.”

“That’s where I got the idea,” said Timberlake, who attended the event with his actress-wife, Jessica Biel, as well as family and friends he said had flown into town to support him.

Silas’ voice appears on the album’s closing track, “Young Man”; Alicia Keys is on the rootsy “Morning Light”; and Chris Stapleton appears on “Say Something,” which seemed to be a crowd favorite at the event.

The crowd included a few fans, media and Gaten Mattarazzo.