Justin Timberlake is playing the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year, and he's lately been working with longtime collaborator Timbaland on a new album. Early rumblings suggest that Timberlake's latest might have some sort of nature-based/outdoorsy theme, which seems... dubious.
TMZ reports that Timberlake has filed to trademark two phrases. One of them -- which Timberlake could use for CDs, DVDs, downloadable music, clothes, concert posters, programs, live events, and tours -- is "Man Of The Woods." Another one -- intended for hats, robes, shorts, jerseys, and T-shirts -- is "Fresh Leaves." TMZ suggests that one of those could be the album title, while the other could be the single. And if Timberlake is giving out titles like that, he probably won't be going back to sleek, futuristic dance-pop anytime soon, will he?
Perhaps it's worth noting that, when I saw Timberlake at the Concert For Charlottesville a few months ago, his set was more notably rootsy than much of his past music has been. He played acoustic guitar more than he danced, and he opened things up by covering Sam Cooke. So we could potentially see Timberlake go full-on folk. We could even see him go country.
