Move over ABBA. Move over Céline Dion. We have another global superstar taking to the stage at Eurovision 2016. SVT has just revealed that former NSYNC band member and global pop superstar Justin Timberlake will perform as the interval act during the Grand Final of Eurovision 2016. Get ready to rock your body, y’all!
Confirmed by the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest, the “Cry Me A River” hitmaker will perform his brand new single “Can’t Stop The Feeling” in what will be one of the biggest moments in the contest’s 61-year history.
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – “CAN’T STOP THE FEELING” (FIRST LISTEN)
Sven Stojanovic, the Show Producer for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, said:
This is a fantastic opportunity, we are very happy and excited that Justin Timberlake will perform his new song together with his band in our show. It makes it extra special that the Swedish songwriters Max Martin and Shellback have co-written and co-produced the song together with Justin Timberlake.
Songwriter and producer Max Martin has had 19 Billboard No. 1 hits, including Taylor Swift’s recent entries Shake It Off and Blank Space. That puts him third on the all-time record list in the U.S., behind only Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
Martin Österdahl, the Executive Producer for this years contest added:
“We are proud to welcome one of the world’s greatest artists! It is an honor and an inspiration to all of us.”
The sexy triple-threat has won nine Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards. His successful solo career includes hits like SexyBack and Mirrors and he has starred in movies like The Social Network, Bad Teacher and Friends with Benefits. Now he will perform as an interval act in the Grand Final this coming Saturday.
This all ties in perfectly with the news that the United States will be airing Eurovision 2016 live on LogoTV for the very first time! Eurovision is building bridges and making countries come together.
Amazing song, I lovvveee It. I hate that Eurovision lied and brought in Australia. I suppose they will try to weasle in U.S.A if they think they could and franchise. Already Australia’s entry has weakend Eurovision so much for me.
Well, Ovidiu Anton is not as sexy as him, so we have to understand. It doesn’t matter who won the right to perform there.
@mawnck
It’s doable on a small scale. Most Americans either watch live streams online or beinge watch shows of any kind. Any kind of advertising would bring in at least a million people. That’s enough for it to be the topic of the week. Empire is a big show here that gets about 15 million viewers but is heavily talked about as if all 180 million tv sets were on it.
Only the Super Bowl can bring us together… Mostly for the halftime show. Eurovision will be seen as one long halftime show that plays with world politics.
LOGO should host an X Factor style reality show
“the EBU could very well invite the USA to participate” Yes, and the answer would be “the WHAT contest???” There is NO possibility. None. Zero. Zilch. Bupkis. There’s no one here who would be interested in doing it even if Jon Ola personally begged them. Logo won’t do it – they can barely afford to throw together no-budget reality shows about drag queens. You’re YEARS away from seeing us in the contest. But as I said in my last post, far be it from me to stop your panic-fest with logic and facts. I am a very uptight guy,and I… Read more »
Stop the drama, one of the biggest artists of the planet will join at Eurovision.
Justin Timberlake is a f**king legend, this are amazing news. I don’t know if USA will join in a near future but that could be a really good thing for our european artists who could reach the american market. Open your minds, we are citizens of the world, there’s no place for any discrimination.
Mawnck – the EBU could very well invite the USA to participate despite the public’s ignorance. Same with China. They seem to have a burning desire to “expand” – see Australia. They think it makes them look good – so despite your sarcasm, it is still a distinct possibility. Not that I want them. I don’t care what US citizens think of the contest or whether they’ve heard of it or not. That is immaterial. I wouldn’t put anything past Jon Ola Sand.
@mawnck
Dude, Beiber and Rihanna ain’t even American, and I think Madonna renounced.
And holy crap, Chuck Berry’s still alive?
*checks Wikipedia*
89 years old. Well done, Chuck.
Seriously though, excellent post. Had me laughing.
He’ll be miming, I guess. That won’t look good.
OK, yes. Y’all are right. You’ve found us out. How could we have thought we could keep this a secret? America is going to enter in 2017, and we’re sending a 6 member group consisting of Rihanna, Beyonce, Bieber, Madonna, Springsteen and Chuck Berry. Not only will we win, but we will get all the points, because we’ve had our eye on the Eurovision Song Contest ever since the Volare Incident at the Grammys in 1958. You can not resist our cultural hegemony! Oh yes, we PRETENDED to not know about it. Those blank looks we gave you when you… Read more »
Who’s gona follow JT I wonder?!?!
I think the US are seeing how it rates over there and maybe they will be next to join. I don’t mind US joining one day – the more the merrier!
@Briekimchi: Plastic American pop music? American pop music … made by SWEDES? There are 17 songs on the competition made by SWEDES … and Russia is the Happy Meal of them all … Thanks John Ballard … for nothing …
So denial? Or just Anti-American vibes going on? And they hate me for being anti-Russia! The paradox here is unparalleled and amusing …
@Jonas: You cannot expect much from people who repeat themselves by copy pasting the same statistics over and over again as if any of that mattered … you see there is a life vs death emergency by analyzing and believing religiously on what is gonna happen if you are part of the 1st half or the 2nd half … or if you use LED or if you sing alone on stage, if you bring your grandma to bake cakes or a half naked male dancer to seduce the LGBT community cuz our genitals are vital in this whole process …… Read more »
…not good news for those of us who watch Eurovision to avoid manufactured, plastic, American pop music.
It’s stunning the apprehension of many here for the intimidating presence of a face representing the REAL world of music way outside the ESC bubble, that comfy bubble that allows crap like the Russian song to actually have momentum … Just hilarious!
@EugeneESCUK: Your soulless robotic self always on a high … just try not to fall … the fake iceberg is tricky … 🙂
“Keep taking the pills”?
I agree with a lot of your posts, but stigmatizing mental illness to score a point is not one of them.
Jessica Mauboy = Australian Debut
Justin Timberlake = USA Debut?
My fellow Americans…
Get some singing lessons…
Get some crazy fashion sense…
Get some camp…
And Get some Swedish songwriters and composers…
Because it’s. About. To. Go. DOWN!
@EugeneESCUK: Now you spoke some sense … JT’s song being the best of the whole show … perfect comment, because it’s true! 🙂 But are you sharing your view on the song or a collection of analysed views on the song? Just wondering …
I will only care if Linda Woodruff get up and sings with him.
Also no surprise when USA makes their debut next year *rolls eyes*
somehow i´m not comfortable with the idea to place such a worldwide superstar into the esc … don’t like it!
When you think again for it, it’s kind of a SanRemo-ish.
But then again, using the ESC platform as a PR stunt is nowhere near “credible” on whatever side.
@bbb
Yes. Because the “rich countries” have such strong track record of dominating the contest.
I really don’t know how else to impress upon you guys how little this contest registers in the average American mind.
EBU prepare us for another no full members of EBU to compete at Eurovision 2017 , after Australia we wili get USA at contest. And that wili be the end of Eurovision, and Eurovision will be contest for rich countries from west plus some from east plus big USA and Australia.
The Eurovision interval act has always been about the host country highlighting the country/talent and not just shipping a American artist, just think that if this is the direction they want to go in (just getting the biggest artist they can every year) we will miss gems like Irelands Riverdance. Over the next few months how many times do you think Timberlake is going to be plugging his new single on TV shows, the Eurovision Interval act is a one time gem!!! Which we are going to lose.
@mawnck
All well and good, but then Kenny Chesney sings in 2017 and the world melts.
I’m totally for this happening, btw.
I thought Eurovision was about music. My mistake!
Please inform us what Eurovision should be about!
“they just wanted a world superstar and they got it”
… because he has a MOVIE to promote in Europe.
This is pretty standard entertainment industry stuff, folks. It has nothing to do with America.
Once again, this is getting precisely ZERO coverage in the States. None. Nada. Bupkis. Not even a blurb. Even Justin himself has only sent out one two-word tweet about it. If this had ANYTHING to do with getting an American audience, it would be getting coverage.
I would have been happier to see a European superstar perform instead. Not some kind of x-factor winner, someone established but still relevant. How cool would it be if Adele were to perform? Succesful, european, likeable, pure class. I mean I don’t mind JT but you don’t necessarily have to invite an American to make it more appealing to the American audience. Just my thoughts.
Well played, Sweden, well played. You’ve earned my respect after some of your earlier screw ups this year. Some people are reading way too much into it, this is not some deliberate ploy to get americans hooked on the contest, they just wanted a world superstar and they got it. It’s quite amazing, honestly, his performance will really put Eurovision in the map o worldwide entertainment. I agree that they could have just as easily got Avicii or Zara Larsson to perform, since they are also world superstars and, y’know, swedish. Lol @ people corncerned about the european identity of… Read more »
“this is clearly not going to be the main interval”
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? If you think he’s the interlude, who are you expecting as the headliner? The ghost of Edith Piaf?
Having JT in Eurovision is MUSIC to my EARS (pretty sure it will GENITALS for a lot of other people) …:) 🙂 But it all seems a bit “forced”: not from JT who will be a delight to see performing, but to the way the connection Sweden – Eurovision – Max Martin – US is set here. There is a lot of money behind this attempt to showcase a more musically credible contest for the record companies … and setting an eye on the US. Sadly that takes away the European nature of the competition but anyway such nature has… Read more »
Does this have any copyright implications for the DVD release? Will it be included?
The more I think about this, the less of a big deal it seems – this is clearly not going to be the main interval – just a bonus. At least I hope so.
@Bastian
Thanks dude 🙂
Anyway, I ain’t as worse as that drama queen JT who dissed lots of singers and made songs out of it for profit and attention. It’s not just Prince who mattered in this case. Maybe if he scratched all his beefs starting that time he wanted to have a solor career, then he would be a more respectable singer who’s not known for being whiny about other singers he doesn’t like.
Justins song is too good. Will be the winner of Eurovision for sure. But I see there is enough references to Sweden to justify him being there. And surely it will be great to see how his performance compare to all these mostly super talented and up-and-coming european acts.
Ugh. I don’t like it.
I get that the EBU wants the contest to grow and expand and they’ve been working a lot to that effect for the last few years but it just feels too inorganic. Like it’s not a natural evolution of the contest but something forced and artificial.
Darren, i think you’re right mate
@james: 😉
I love JT, but I’m not really happy about him performing in the grand finale. I understand the advantages of having a superstar performing at the Eurovision, but still it feels wrong. The ESC is one of the only successful entertainment show in the world in which the US are not involved. And this is quite amazing considering how culturally omnipresent they are in Europe. The Eurovision should keep its European flavor and showcase its diversity. The show was created to unify a continent that tore itself apart, and that’s the idea that should remain behind it. The Eurovision is… Read more »
That’s not surprising seeing as he’s arguably concentrated on his movie career over his music in recent years. “Trolls” seems like an appropriate title! It also explained the sheer mediocrity of the song itself.
@Denisyes it’s an interesting reality but it is, as you say a reality. Swede has plenty of talented musicians, Robyn, Zara Larrson, Avicii, Icono Pop, Axwell ^ Ingrosso, even Eurovision winners Loreen and Mans Zelmerlöw would be great. But, Sweden looks elsewhere…. And, when I say that Scandinavian’s try to hard to be American, I mean it in the sense that they try too hard to be cool and hipster., attempting to change the way Sweden is perceived abroad. I love Sweden and I especially love them in Eurovision, but don’t lose your identity and culture. Sweden has a rich… Read more »
This shows how ESC’s quality has changed over the last years. I mean, come on. Immagine JT on stage along with russian babushka’s or similar acts.. not that their were not entertaining, I just think that ESC contestants nowadays are taking it way more serious, and the results are amazing! And now JT will be performing as an intervall act, that’s like WHAAAT??? I am still not sure if I am happy about this, cause I dont want that now, that a worldwide superstar will be on stage, it could draw all the attention away from the contestans. But still,… Read more »
Aaand moments ago, Justin finally tweeted about it. He says “Can’t wait!!”
And with less than a week to go, he won’t have to. 😉
THE THING ALL OF YOU ARE MISSING:
(And I was too until just now, when it finally occurred to me.)
Justin Timberlake is starring in a new Dreamworks animated feature called “Trolls”, which comes out later this year. “Can’t Stop the Feeling” is the theme song.
So no, this probably isn’t even about Justin. It’s about promoting a movie.
And now you know the likely theme of the interval act. ENJOY!
My god you are all so worried about your precious European identity yet you have no problem listening to non-European music and Hollywood films What is with your precious European identity you feel need to be protected from anything foreign? That worried it will be raped? Besides take a look at the artists this year. Rykka is Canadian. Frans is half-Nigerian and Amir is Tunisian-Jewish. Sandhja is half-Indian and Agnete is Sami. And don’t forget Dami Im is Korean And Slovenia sends a country song, Russia sends schlager, Germany sends Japanese inspired, Austria sends French. Going by your protective nature… Read more »
@light star aren’t Avicii a part of Swedish House Mafia?
@Mad-professor – found it. 🙂
I’d still like to know exactly when he’s on. Will there be an extra interval act between the jury results and the public televote? I suppose I could slot him in there.