Mirrors (Justin Timberlake song)

In September 2006, Timberlake released his second album, FutureSex/LoveSounds,^[1] which was a commercial success^[2] and received generally positive reviews from music critics.^[3] The album spawned six singles, including the US number-one singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around".^[4] After wrapping up a worldwide concert tour to support the album in 2007, Timberlake took a break from his music career to focus on acting,^[5][6] with occasional guest appearances on several singles by Madonna, T.I., Jamie Foxx, Timbaland, and Esmée Denters.^[6]

Timberlake's music manager Johnny Wright approached him in 2010, discussing possibility of going back to his music career and the difficulties of releasing his future material, because according to Wright, "a lot of the physical record sellers were gone, by the time they've got music again they needed to think about different ways to deliver it". Wright proposed a promotion based on an application or releasing a new song every month. Timberlake, however, was not interested in returning to music; instead, he continued to focus on his film career. Around the "late part of May, first week in June" 2012, Timberlake invited Wright to dinner and revealed that he had spent the last couple of nights in the studio with Timbaland working on new material. Wright was shocked by the revelation, and the two immediately began planning how to promote and release the album. Ultimately, they agreed on a shorter period, seven or eight weeks, between the singles and the album. Wright told Billboard that "such a short window" demanded "a big impact".^[7]

In August 2012, producer Jim Beanz reported that Timberlake had started work on his new music project.^[8] Shortly after the announcement, Timberlake's publicist denied plans for a new album, stating that Timberlake was instead working on Timbaland's upcoming project, Shock Value III.^[6] Wright stated that although the project involved artists who are primarily Timberlake's friends, it was tough to keep it a secret, so they used codenames. Originally planned for release in October 2012, Timberlake's project was postponed because of his wedding to actress Jessica Biel.^[7]

During an interview with Billboard, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon recalled that the song was conceived in 2009 during the recording sessions for Timbaland's third studio album, Shock Value II (2009). Timberlake decided to save the song for his own album, and the timing of its release was uncertain at the time. Harmon noted that they could have waited many years before Timberlake released it. Eventually, Timberlake brought "Mirrors" to the project when he was ready. Although the final version of "Mirrors" is eight minutes long, the R&B-oriented second half was created years later and independently of the original track. Harmon explained that the two parts were connected to flow like a single song, but the second half could function as a separate track. Once Timberlake finalized the songs for the album, the second half of "Mirrors" was incorporated into the album's overall structure.^[9]

In his autobiography Hindsight (2018), Timberlake described writing the song for his then-future wife, Jessica Biel. At the time, they were living together but not yet engaged. The music video for the song became a dedication to his grandparents, from whom he learned about "long-lasting love". Timberlake stated that the song reflects the impact Biel had on his life rather than specific details of their relationship.^[10]

"Mirrors" (2013)

A 29-second sample of "Mirrors". It features emo power ballad guitar strobes, hand-claps, orchestral flares, electro blips, chipmunk synth chirps accompanied with "vocoder-squawk backing vocals".

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"Mirrors" is a mid-tempo^[11] pop, progressive pop,^[12][13] progressive soul^[14] and R&B^[15][13] ballad^[11] with an approximate length of eight minutes and five seconds. Sheet music for the song is in the key of E♭ major, set in common time with a tempo of 72 beats per minute.^[16] Timberlake's vocals span from the low note of E♭₃ to the high note of C₅.^[16] The original mix has an instrumentation of emo power ballad guitar strobes, hand-claps, orchestral flares, electro blips and chipmunk synth chirps accompanied with "vocoder-squawk backing vocals";^[17] and the orchestra has a noticeable much-lower volume than the percussion and electric guitars.^[18]

Brad Stern of MTV Buzzworthy wrote that it is hugely catchy and contains melodies that have arena-sized appeal.^[19] Paste's Lauren Martin described it as "Coldplay-does-R&B",^[20] while according to Raible, "Mirrors" is a sad answer to Natalie Imbruglia's 1997 single "Torn".^[15] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times described it as a cross between Timberlake's 2002 single "Cry Me a River" and "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses.^[21] HitFix's Melinda Newman wrote that the melody features layer upon layer of the singer's vocals stacked upon each other.^[22] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone described Timberlake's singing on the song as "replete with laidback soulfulness, mountain-climbing croon, and falsetto butter."^[17] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that aside from the presence of Timbaland's "fantastically cluttered production", the difference between "Mirrors" and "Cry Me a River" is clear: "10 years ago, Timberlake was broken, and now he is whole."^[23]

"Mirrors" is a "new-age wedding reception song".^[24] Lyrically, in the song, Timberlake sings to a lover about "coming to the realization" that she is his "other half".^[25] The singer references "taking a break from the relationship": "It was easy coming back here to you/ Once I figured it out, you were right here all along", he sings in the chorus.^[25] "It's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me/ I couldn't get any bigger/ With anyone else beside of me".^[25] Vibe's Charley Rogulewski wrote that the strength of the song is in Timberlake's Neo blue-eyed soul delivery of the "catchy" lyrics, "I don't want to lose you now. I'm looking right at the other half of me".^[26] In the full-length version, Timberlake sings the phrase "you are the love of my life" over 35 times.^[27]

On February 11, 2013, "Mirrors" was digitally released worldwide as the second single from The 20/20 Experience.^[28] Timberlake had announced the release on his Twitter account the previous day.^[29] It was available to buy as either a stand-alone track or as an "instant-gratification download" when a customer pre-ordered the album.^[30] On March 1, it was released in Germany as a CD single, which also contained The 20/20 Experience's lead single, "Suit & Tie".^[31] A radio edit of the single, was released on March 13 for digital download in France,^[32] Spain,^[33] and the United States.^[34] On April 16, it was serviced to contemporary hit^[35] and rhythmic radio stations in the United States.^[36] Additionally, "Mirrors" was sent to adult contemporary radio on April 22^[37] and to urban contemporary radio on May 14.^[38]

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Jenna Hally Rubenstein of MTV Buzzworthy observed that, unlike the sultry and retro style of "Suit & Tie", the track is reminiscent of Timberlake's sound from FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), featuring layered synths and club-ready pop production by Timbaland.^[39] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy commented that despite musical changes over the preceding eleven years, the single sounds fresh, pairing reflective lyrics with a head-nodding Timbaland beat and grandiose strings.^[40] Emily Exton of VH1 described the song as grand and ambitious, highlighting its unusual character study and rhythm changes after the five-minute mark.^[41]

Marc Hogan of Spin offered a mixed perspective, criticizing the track's pickup-line lyrics and suggesting that some of Timbaland's beatbox-style production, though previously successful on FutureSex/LoveSounds, felt overused.^[42] Charley Rogulewski of Vibe wrote that Timberlake presents the song more as a pop performer than as an R&B artist, creating distance between himself and contemporaries such as Robin Thicke and signaling a serious comeback.^[26] Andy Kellman of AllMusic provided a less favorable assessment, describing the track as a drawn-out mid-tempo pop ballad and one of Timberlake's less remarkable singles.^[43] In a monthly mix review published in Sound on Sound, Mike Senior was not positive towards the track, feeling that the live strings used in the track were wasted, and sounded too low volume compared to the other instruments.^[18]

At the end of the year, Rolling Stone ranked "Mirrors" as the seventh best song of 2013,^[44] while Billboard editors placed it at number ten.^[45]

"Mirrors" peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100;^[46] it received a 2× platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)^[47] and sold 3,900,000 copies.^[48] It became Timberlake's fourth number-one single on the UK Singles Chart,^[49] receiving a triple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).^[50] It reached number four on the Canadian Hot 100 and became Timberlake's sixth top-five single.^[51] "Mirrors" was certified 3× platinum in Canada by Music Canada.^[52] In Australia, the song peaked at number ten^[53] and received a 3× platinum certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).^[54] It peaked at number seven in New Zealand^[55] and was certified 5× platinum.^[56]

Elsewhere, "Mirrors" peaked at number one on the Adult Pop Airplay,^[57] Australia Urban,^[58] Bulgaria,^[59] Canada AC,^[60] Canada Hot AC,^[61] Canada CHR/Top 40,^[62] Europe,^[63] Israel,^[64] Lebanon,^[65] Poland,^[66] Pop Airplay,^[67] Rhythmic Airplay,^[68] Scotland,^[69] UK Airplay,^[70] and UK Hip Hop/R&B single charts.^[71] It peaked at number two in Germany,^[72] Hungary,^[73] and South Africa.^[74] In addition, it reached number 160 on the Billboard Global 200 of November 28, 2020.^[75] "Mirrors" received a 3× diamond certification in Brazil,^[76] 3x platinum in Denmark for streaming,^[77] 2× platinum in Italy^[78] and Sweden,^[79] platinum in Germany,^[80] Mexico,^[81] Portugal,^[82] Spain,^[83] Switzerland,^[84] and gold in Austria^[85] and Denmark.^[86] Additionally, it sold 109,941 copies in South Korea.^[87]

The music video was directed by Floria Sigismondi^[89] and saw its world premiere as the highlight of an hour-long special on The CW in celebration of The 20/20 Experience's release.^[90] Timberlake dedicated the music video to his maternal grandparents William and Sadie Bomar, who were married for 63 years until William died in 2012.^[90]

It features montages of three separate time periods of a couple's life, from their initial introduction and whimsically falling in love on a funhouse date (portrayed by actors Ariane Rinehart and Keenan Cochrane), to the difficult start of their marriage with a pregnancy (portrayed by Chloe Brooks and James Kacey), to when they have grown old together and the old lady (Judith Roberts) packing up her recently deceased husband's belonging whilst reflecting on their life together.

At the beginning, the elderly woman looks back on her teen years in the 1950s when she meets her husband in a bar and goes on a date to a funhouse. Then, in the 1960s, she cries with black mascara all over her face as she is pregnant and they are unmarried. Meanwhile, the elderly woman, who sees the events of her teen years interspersed with scenes of her and her husband dancing for the last time before they move out, walks into a mysterious room where an old man is seen staring at the real-life woman in her white wedding dress next to two mannequins while rain pours down on the glass, likely symbolizing that he always viewed his wife as beautiful as the day they married. She moves through the video while the old man and the elderly woman walk separate ways through the video and through the mirrors symbolizing his death and her moving on.

During the final chorus, one of the books the teenage couple left on the floor of the funhouse falls back into the elderly woman's hand and she closes the book. The old woman is then seen with a ring, which is revealed in flashbacks to be her wedding ring, after she married her husband after pregnancy. Her husband looks on, and they move through separate areas before the end of the video, where the old man and woman walk through three versions of mirrors. The elderly woman drops the ring, showing she is ready to move on after her husband's death. This transitions into Timberlake catching it, symbolizing that he is carrying on their legacy. He then sings "you are the love of my life" while dancing through and around the funhouse mirrors. Eventually, he is joined by two female dancers in blue wigs. Justin and one of the other dancers eventually mirror each other's movements through glass at the end of the video.

"Mirrors" was performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show^[95] and Saturday Night Live.^[96] On February 20, 2013, Timberlake performed the song at the 2013 Brit Awards.^[97] On August 25, 2013, he performed "Mirrors" in a medley with other songs of his at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.^[98] After the performance, he accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the ceremony.^[99]

The song was featured on Justin and Jay-Z's co-headlining Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour (2013)^[100] and The Man of the Woods Tour (2018–2019),^[101] as well as being performed as the final song on the setlist of his two solo tours The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013–2015)^[102] and The Forget Tomorrow World Tour (2024–2025),^[103] where he performed the song on a floating stage.^[104] Timberlake made a guest appearance on Taylor Swift's 1989 Tour and they performed "Mirrors" together on August 26, 2015.^[105]

In May 2013, Boyce Avenue released a version of the song with Fifth Harmony. The Huffington Post noted that the duet "makes for the perfect blend of harmonies – and a convincing love story told through lyrics."^[106] The cover was nominated for a YouTube Music Award. In the same month, Issues frontman Tyler Carter released a cover of Mirrors, while replacing the second verse with his own.^[107] In April 2013, Paradise Fears covered this song, with lead vocalist Sam Miller adding his own personal flair to it.^[108]

In June 2013, Cimorelli released their version of the song along with Big Time Rush member James Maslow. Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush noted that the track "gets a boost from an added masculine element. Maslow's presence adds a whole other layer of harmony, too."^[109] In September 2013, Ellie Goulding also sang it in the Live Lounge. Entertainment Weekly wrote that she had added "some piano and a more soulful edge" and that "her vocal riffs give the tune a whole new flavor".^[110]

In August 2015, country singer Hunter Hayes performed a bluegrass version of the song at Nashville's famed Blackbird Studio for YouTube channel CountryNow. Stephen L. Betts from Rolling Stone gave it a positive review, writing "his performance focuses on a passionately delivered vocal laced with touches of R&B in his voice."^[111] Canadian country group Hunter Brothers recorded a cover of the song that was included on their debut studio album, Getaway, in March 2017.^[112] Indie groove band Goose performed a cover of the song at Goosemas X, in December 2023.^[113]

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The 20/20 Experience.^[115]

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