Justin Timberlake Is Possibly Going Country

Justin Timberlake’s recent duet with Chris Stapleton during the 2015 CMA Awards might have inspired the singer to go country on his next album.

According to an interview with Timbaland, the producer is looking to collaborate on an all-country album with Timberlake. And while this may come as a shock to fans, it shouldn’t: Justin hails from the south, and he’s been vocal about his love of country music in the past, even bringing out country superstar Garth Brooks during one of his performances in Nashville last year.

Timbaland told TMZ the two were tentatively planning to record a country album together, saying, “Guess what! We are country! He’s from Tennessee, I’m from Virginia. It’s only right that we try to tap into what, you know, we was raised in. We was raised in the country, to me that’s who we are. We love the old country songs but now it’s a new generation of country. We always wanted to do country music.”

He continued, “I gotta tap into country. I’m already posted up in Nashville, so that’s something I want to do. I don’t discriminate genres. I learn it, discover it and I like it."

And according to Rolling Stone, he's already making moves: The song Timberlake performed with Stapleton, called “Drink You Away” -- off his massively successful 2013 album The 20/20 Experience -- was sent to country radio just last week. Though, like most tracks off Timberlake’s 2013 album, the song’s been shortened from its lengthy 5-and-a-half minute album time to just over four minutes for radio listeners.

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