Music critics were divided on "Strawberry Bubblegum"; the song's production was generally praised, but the lyrics were criticized as being cliché. Despite the mixed reactions from reviewers, the song debuted at number 22 on the singles chart in South Korea, upon the release of The 20/20 Experience. It also peaked at number 34 and 38 on the UK R&B Singles Chart and US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart respectively. Timberlake performed "Strawberry Bubblegum" for the first time on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 15, 2013.
Writing and production
"Strawberry Bubblegum" was written by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, and James Fauntleroy,[1] with production by Timbaland, Timberlake and Harmon.[1] Timberlake arranged and produced his vocals, which were recorded at Larabee Studios in North Hollywood, California.[1] Harmon provided keyboards for the song, while Elliot Ives played the guitar.[1] The track was engineered by Chris Godbey, with assistance from Alejandro Baima,[1] and mixed by Jimmy Douglass, Godbey and Timberlake at Larabee Studios.[1]
A 30-second sample of "Strawberry Bubblegum", a pop and R&B song with a combination of slick grooves and psychedelic soul. It features electronic blips, string movements, and upbeat percussion breaks.
"Strawberry Bubblegum" begins with the sound of a stylus dropping on a vinyl record. The line "Hey, pretty lady" is declared by a deep voice, and Timberlake sings "This goes out to you!".[13]ABC News reporter Allan Raible wrote that "such a move seems engineered to make gullible teen girls in the audience scream".[13] The lyrics feature daft double-entendres and are complemented by spoken-word background vocals.[14]MusicOMH's David Meller wrote that the song's transition into "'70s funk-cum-porno keyboards" is likable, but may seem ridiculous to many listeners.[14] The string loops and the record scratches on the song complete "the faux-vintage" vibe of "Strawberry Bubblegum". Raible concluded that it attempts to sound like Michael Jackson's 2002 song "Butterflies" because of its delicate tone.[13] According to Clyde Erwin Barretto of Prefix Mag, "Strawberry Bubblegum" takes its R&B style in a more avant-garde direction, but its second half is more classic-sounding.[15] Craig Manning of the Western Herald said that the first half of "Strawberry Bubblegum" draws from Frank Ocean's psychedelic style of R&B, while the outro is more comparable to the music of 'NSYNC, Timberlake's former group.[16] Jason Lipshutz called the outro "sashaying" and "pleasant".[3]
Timberlake sings about the girl's many characteristics and sensual qualities,[17] and proclaims that he will love her until they "make it pop".[2]The Boston Globe's James Reed wrote that the lyrics are silly, but irresistible,[18] while Sarah Dean of The Huffington Post found "Strawberry Bubblegum" as seductive as its title, but according to her, "if you had too much of it you might end up feeling a little sick".[19] Additionally, Timberlake sings lyrics about he has "recipe for a good time".[19] Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club felt that the lyrics' sense of humor is somewhat similar to "Pop" by 'NSYNC.[20]
Critical response
Mesfin Fekadu of the Times Colonist called "Strawberry Bubblegum" an "eight-minute event" and one of the album's standout songs.[8] Sean Daly of the Tampa Bay Times wrote that the song is "best enjoyed on satin sheets".[21] Clyde Erwin Barretto of Prefix Mag wrote that "as the name suggests", the song is "as sweet as it sounds".[15] Kitty Empire of The Observer wrote that the "surface silliness" of the song "deepens to a feeling of respect a few plays in, when the penny drops, and everything suddenly makes sense".[22] Mesfin Fedaku, music editor of Associated Press, compiled a list of the "Top 25 Songs of the Decade", ranking the track at number 13.[23]
Robert Copsey of Digital Spy wrote that while "Strawberry Bubblegum" is musically "rich and rewarding", the lyrics are "embarrassingly cliché".[24] According to VH1's Bené Viera, one would expect a cliché such as "Strawberry Bubblegum" to "fall flat".[9] He wrote that Timberlake's falsettos "make it almost cute" to hear a "grown man referring to a grown woman as his strawberry bubblegum".[9] He concluded that envisioning Timberlake perform on stage at a "small juke joint on Bill Street" is not "far fetched".[9] Lauren Martin of Fact wrote that "if you're going to release an eight minute song with only two verses and a hook", singing the words "strawberry" and "bubblegum" 34 and 20 times respectively "begins to grate".[12] Jed Gottlieb of The Boston Herald wrote that "Strawberry Bubblegum" is a "killer vamp" without a "killer change to hook us".[25] Tom Hawking of Flavorwire found the verses "Little girl won't you be my strawberry bubblegum/ Then I'd be your blueberry lollipop/ And then I'd love you 'til I'll make you pop" to be offensive. Hawking added that when comparing the vagina to strawberry bubblegum it sounded both "creepy" and "ridiculous" and criticized the "penis-as-lollipop metaphor".[26]
Live performances
Timberlake performed "Strawberry Bubblegum" for the first time on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 15, 2013.[27] Wearing varsity baseball-style jackets, Timberlake and his backup singers "shook and finger-snapped" through the song, according to Rachel Brodsky of MTV Buzzworthy.[27] "Building upon the performance's sports theme", additional backup dancers later joined them onstage in full baseball uniforms.[27] Brodsky suggested that the choice of wearing baseball hats and striped pants could "have something to do with baseball players and their penchant for chewing [bubble]gum".[27]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The 20/20 Experience.[1]
Locations
Vocals recorded and mixed at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, California
Upon the release of The 20/20 Experience, due to digital downloads "Strawberry Bubblegum" charted at number 34 on the UK R&B Singles Chart.[28] For the week dated March 17, 2013, the song debuted on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number 22 with sales of 7,089 digital copies.[29]
