Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears’ three-year relationship certainly gave rise to a lot of headlines. Though the relationship ended more than two decades ago after Spears released her memoir and revealed never-before-known details about the relationship.
Though the couple has seldom addressed each other in public, as artists they have found other ways to communicate instances of their relationship- through song lyrics and music video references.
Here are four songs that the ex-couple have penned down for each other.
‘Cry Me A River’ – Justin Timberlake
In 2002, after their split, Timberlake released a heart-wrenching ballad that many speculated to be about Spears. The music video for the song had a lot of references to Britney, such as featuring a blonde girl who looked similar to her.
The resemblance has also been addressed by Britney who said in a now-deleted Instagram post “Thoughts while making this video … Hmmmm something looks familiar. The hat … wait I look like that girl in the Justin Timberlake video with that hat in Cry Me A River!!! Oh s–t that’s ME !!! I’m Britney Spears ??? I guess I forget that sometimes.”
The song’s lyrics refer to Spears being unfaithful to Timberlake- something that led to thousands of fans bullying her later on.
Part of the lyrics go: “You don’t have to say/ What you did / I already know / I found out from him”
‘Everytime’ By Britney Spears
As a response to all of Timberlake’s shady songs, Britney released ‘Everytime’ which many speculated was a response to his ‘Cry Me A River’.
One part of the music video shows a mother with her newborn video- visuals of which has inspired many fans to believe that it’s a reference to her abortion.
Talking about the song she has said, “Everytime’ is just a really nice song because it’s kind of personal in a weird way. It’s one of the songs that when you hear, it’s like the kind of song when you go to heaven. It kind of takes you away. It takes you into a very cool consciousness I think.”
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‘Never Again’ By Justin Timberlake
Another heartbreak song following the breakup was ‘Never Again’ from his first album. Touching on the same issues, Timberlake sings about Spears’ infidelity and how he keeps thinking if he should give her another chance.
Part of the song goes, “Would have given up my life for you/ Guess it’s true what they say about love/ It’s blind/ Girl, you lied straight to my face/ Looking in my eyes.”
Timberlake continued to shade Britney on stage while performing his songs. During one of his performances he says, “Sometimes in life you think you found the one, but then one day you find out that she is just some bitch.”
Justin Timberlake in 2013 calling Britney a bitch before singing Cry Me A River. 🙃 #JustinIsALiar pic.twitter.com/qtthWRE5kt
— Lou M. Taylor Belongs In Jail (@lootmtaylor) February 1, 2024
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‘What Goes Around … Comes Around’ By Justin Timberlake
In ‘What Goes Around…Comes Around’, Justin seems to be continuing ‘Cry Me A River’.
With lyrics similar to his former songs about Britney, this one too was about betrayal and cheating. The music video for the song featured Scarlett Johansson and had a scene where Justin walks in on her cheating on him with Shawn Hatosy and then proceeds to fight with him. Justin apparently got very intense during this scene and ended up breaking his finger.
While none of these songs have been addressed by the artists to be about each other, the trail and hints are pretty clear on who they are for. As of now, Britney and Timberlake have had their past wounds reopened after Britney’s memoir revealed surprising new details about their relationship.
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