The song of the summer for 2016 has finally arrived: Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”
The feel-good tune - JT’s first new music since 2013’s “The 20/20 Experience” - is the lead single from the upcoming soundtrack to the DreamWorks Animation film “Trolls,” which the nine-time Grammy winner executive produced. He also voices one of the flick’s main characters, Branch.
Released at 12 a.m. this morning via a “first listen” music video, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” was produced by Timberlake, Max Martin and Shellback. After one listen, you’ll soon be singing along to the infectious tune about the joys of dancing.
The clip, which can be viewed below, features multiple segments. One part shows Timberlake with a bunch of friends (and his mom Lynn Harless!) listening to the new song and starting an impromptu dance party in a recording studio. The other scenes feature several of JT’s “Trolls” co-stars singing and dancing along to the upbeat track in various settings. Anna Kendrick gets her groove on in her dressing room. James Corden takes advantage of a beautiful, sunny day to bust out his moves. Kunal Nayyar starts a solo dance party at his home. Ron Funches leaves the video games in an arcade behind once the music takes control of his body. Icona Pop’s Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo enjoy the tune while playing with a bevy of puppies in their backyard. And Gwen Stefani plays “Carpool Karaoke” all by herself, smiling widely while driving around and belting out the happy song.
Besides serving as executive producer of the “Trolls” soundtrack, which is slated for a Sept. 23 release from RCA Records, Timberlake was tasked with overseeing all creative direction for the movie’s music. In addition to “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” JT wrote three other new tracks for the flick that he and other artists recorded. Besides those tunes, covers of hit songs from the past sung by Kendrick, Corden, Icona Pop, Zooey Deschanel and Christopher Mintz-Plasse will be on the soundtrack. Additionally, in the film, Timberlake and Kendrick cover Cyndi Lauper’s 1986 smash “True Colors.”
“Justin is an amazingly versatile artist and producer whose unprecedented creative talents provide a unique voice and sound for our movie,” DreamWorks Animation’s Co-Presidents of Feature Animation Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria said. “‘Trolls’ is a comedy with fantastic music at its core and we can’t think of a more perfect artist to elevate this soundtrack to incredible heights.”
“I have always envisioned bringing the two worlds of film and music together for one epic event [and] couldn’t be more excited that they will collide in DreamWorks’ ‘Trolls,’” Timberlake exclaimed. “This film is very special, the music is going to be very special and I can’t wait for everyone to experience it all.”
In “Trolls,” which hits movie theaters Nov. 4, JT voices the character Branch, “a hilariously hardcore survivalist who hides his surprising true colors” and joins Kendrick’s Princess Poppy on a “hair-raising adventure.”
