Justin Timberlake is back with the first single from his forthcoming album. The singer dropped “Selfish” recently, and now it’s impacting several major Billboard charts. While the star’s latest track has become a quick success, its starting point isn’t as impressive as some fans would have hoped–and the pop star and his team might agree.
“Selfish” debuts on the Hot 100 this week at No. 19. The tune marks his highest-charting hit in more than half a decade. While a top 20 launch would be a career highlight for most musicians, it’s actually a little bit disappointing for Timberlake.
In 2018, when Timberlake was promoting his then-new album Man of the Woods, he saw two singles from the project enjoy much loftier starts on the Hot 100. Lead cut “Filthy” and third single “Say Something” with Chris Stapleton both debuted at No. 9 on the tally. Scoring a pair of top 10 wins was nothing new for the star, but now it seems he’s having trouble replicating that success.
“Selfish” is performing well across Billboard charts, even if it’s not his best showing on the Hot 100. The tune rockets to No. 4 on the Digital Song Sales chart, lifting significantly after selling well enough in its first day–which took place in the prior tracking period–to land on the purchase-only tally. The cut is also a quick top 20 hit on a variety of radio lists, which is no easy feat.
In between the singles from Man of the Woods and now, Timberlake has managed to score a handful of Hot 100 wins as a featured artist and as a member of the band that made him a star. In the past few years, he’s landed on the all-encompassing ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.S. with “The Other Side” with SZA from the second Trolls film, “Sin Fin” with Romeo Santos, and most recently under his own name as a featured act on Timbaland’s “Keep Going Up” with Nelly Furtado.
Timberlake also reunited with NSYNC for a one-off single in 2023. The boy band got back together to record and release “Better Place,” which was created for the latest Trolls film, Trolls Band Together. That track became a quick top 40 hit on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 25.
“Selfish” serves as the lead single from Timberlake’s forthcoming sixth album Everything I Thought It Was. The full-length is expected to arrive on March 15. The pop singer still has time to dole out more singles before the title drops, though whether he’ll move on from “Selfish” or keep promoting it depends on a number of factors–likely including how well the song performs in the coming weeks.
Timberlake has fallen out of favor in the past few years, and he could use a real hit. The singer has taken something of a beating in the media and on social platforms after many stated they felt he didn’t do enough to support Janet Jackson after their joint Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction. He was recently mentioned by his ex-girlfriend Britney Spears in her memoir, and that story didn’t help his image either.
A smash single could turn things around for Timberlake—but will “Selfish” be the song to do it?
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