“Strawberry Bubblegum” by Justin Timberlake

If you’re the type of person who presumed that a Justin Timberlake song titled “strawberry bubblegum” is about sex, then by and large you are correct. That sentiment really comes through from the second verse going. For instance, the second pre-chorus revolves around the vocalist proclaiming the addressee his “little strawberry bubblegum“, and in the bridge that follows, he likewise offers to be her “blueberry lollipop”. And there is a lot of that going on in the extended third verse also, i.e. colorful lingo that any adult would recognize as pointing to sex but relayed in such a metaphorical manner that it isn’t NSFW per se.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Justin Timberlake's Strawberry Bubblegum at Lyrics.org.

However, the first part of the song is different – the prelude to the sex, so to speak. As explained by Justin, this piece isn’t actually intended to center on sex (even though that’s how it turned out). Instead, the subject is rather supposed to be love at first sight and more specifically, when a person gets smitten in such a manner, how one particular characteristic of the person they have fallen for sticks in their head. 

In this case, that particular characteristic would be the addressee “smacking that strawberry bubblegum” when she and Justin first crossed paths. Generally speaking, of course a person wouldn’t know the flavor of gum another is chewing just by looking at the chewer. So ultimately the “strawberry” serves as a metaphor itself, indicial to the sweetness of the addressee particularly, as pointed out earlier, in a sexual context as the song progresses.

Interesting thing to Note:

As an interesting side note, it has also been pointed out that when Timberlake married Jessica Biel in 2012, she was wearing a dress whose color resembles that of strawberry bubblegum. So it may be that the lyrics are speaking to their relationship specifically. But in any event, by the time all is said and done what the piece reads like is one of those colorfully-raunchy outings artists like Timberlake are known to engage in every now and then.

Justin Timberlake,"Strawberry Bubblegum" Lyrics

Release of “Strawberry Bubblegum”

“Strawberry Bubblegum” was originally recorded by Justin Timberlake. It came out on March 15 of 2013 as part of his hit album titled “The 20/20 Experience”.

Accolades

“Strawberry Bubblegum” was placed at the 13th position on the list, “Top 25 Songs of the Decade”, a compilation by Mesfin Fedaku of Associated Press.

The song appeared on the UK Singles Chart.

Credits

Justin composed “Strawberry Bubblegum” in conjunction with Timbaland and the following songwriters:

  • James Fauntleroy
  • “J-Roc”

Justin, Timbaland and J-Roc are also credited as the Strawberry Bubblegum‘s official producers.

Covers

In 2016, American R&B singer, JR Castro released a cover for “Strawberry Bubblegum”.

Renowned Live Performances of “Strawberry Bubblegum”

On 14th March, 2013, Timberlake danced his way through “Strawberry Bubblegum” on American TV talk show, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”.

This song was also part of his set list for some shows from his “20/20 Experience” Tour venues before removing the track from the list. “Strawberry Bubblegum” was performed in some states such as PhiladephiaPhoenix, and Los Angeles in 2013.

Strawberry Bubblegum

The 20/20 Experience Album

“The 20/20 Experience” was officially released as Justin’s 3rd studio album.

American record label, RCA Records, a subsidiary of music giants, Sony Music, was responsible for the official release of the album.

Debuting at No. 1, “The 20/20 Experience” became the singer’s second album as a solo artist, to top the Billboard 200 chart. By the end of its first week, it had recorded sales of almost a million copies, the highest first week sales to be recorded that year.

In the United Kingdom, the album put up a similar performance. It topped the OCC and became Justin’s third album to achieve such a feat in that country. Aside from the US and the UK, it was No. 1 in many other countries including:

  • Taiwan
  • Scotland
  • Switzerland
  • Russia
  • New Zealand
  • Canada
  • Germany

At the close of 2013, no album had recorded sales of more than 2,427,000 copies in the US, aside from “The 20/20 Experience”, making it the highest selling album for that year.

“The 20/20 Experience” has been certified 2x platinum by the RIAA and Music Canada in the US and Canada respectively. It attained platinum status in the UK, Poland as well as Denmark. Germany, Mexico, Norway and Sweden among others have certified it gold.

In addition to the release of singles as a means of promoting the album, Justin appeared on a number of shows including an appearance as a guest host on the late night TV show, Saturday Night Live in March of 2013. He also embarked on a couple of tours including “The 20/20 Experience World Tour” and the “Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour”, with American rapper, Jay-Z.

Grammy Glory

The album earned Justin five nominations at the 56th edition of the annual Grammy Awards in 2014. At the event, he took home the awards for “Best R&B Song”, courtesy the song, “Pusher Love Girl” and “Best Music Video”, with the album’s 2nd track, “Suit & Tie”. The latter was a song with rapper Jay-Z as a feature.

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