Justin Bieber’s New Single “Boyfriend” Scores Justin Timberlake Comparisons

Becky Bain | March 12, 2012 3:56 pm

Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend”, the lead single from his upcoming album Believe, drops March 26, and is already getting rave reviews – and some raised eyebrows – from the select few who have gotten a chance to hear the record. “Wow… so much different than his previous music,” wrote Mick Lee of Baltimore’s Z104.3. “AND get this… he raps… best comparison is it sounds like ‘Wait’ by the Ying Yang Twins.” The 18-year-old singer is also being compared (once again) to another obscenely famous Justin, Mr. Timberlake.

“Boyfriend”, which was produced by Mike Posner, is further described as “a mix of Justin Timberlake’s ‘SexyBack’ and ‘N Sync’s ‘Girlfriend’,” according to Rap-Up.com. “The song is basically, I’m talking to this girl and I’m like, if I was your boyfriend I’d never let you go,” the pop star told Ellen DeGeneres on her show earlier this month.

It’s no surprise Bieber is looking toward Timberlake’s career as a guide on how to artfully manage his own. Both started off as teen heartthrobs, both nabbed pop superstars as their girlfriends (Britney for JT, Selena for Bieber), and with Bieber announced as a host of Saturday Night Live sometime in 2012, Bieber might successfully transfer his musical skills to comedy gold. With JT still insistent on making movies instead of releasing new albums, there’s a chance that Bieber might sneak into the void Timerlake left to go make Yogi Bear and The Love Guru.

Bieber’s Believe is due later this year, and boasts collaborations with Pharrell, Drake, Timbaland, Danja, Hit-Boy, will.i.am and Diplo. This is definitely not My World 3.0.

“You can’t really expect anything from my album. It’s really, really different,” Bieber recently told MTV. “And it’s new; it’s not the same thing everyone’s used to hearing right now on the radio. It’s really exciting for me, ’cause I’m able to break out of my shell and show my fans what I’m all about and show other people who might not like my music that maybe they can like my music.”