Justin Timberlake's Justified CD looks set to be the sleeper album hit of early spring in the UK, largely thanks to some effective and exhaustive PR (including his appearance with The Flaming Lips on Friday night's TOTP) and the nation's heavy-rotation fascination with the video for upcoming single Cry Me A River. I saw the video before I'd heard the song on its own and so to me the two now seem undistinguishable - it's a brooding mid-tempo slow-burner given an extra edge and frisson with a scenario where Timberlake appears to stalk his erstwhile main squeeze before showing her a video of him with another woman.

(Semi) autobiographical material is nothing new in pop music, from Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl' through Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' album to recent output by the likes of Eminem and Pink, but by laughing in the face of tabloid speculation with such an in-yer-face fuck-you to Britney, Timberlake reveals a dark playfulness which, if properly cultivated, bodes well for his future solo career.

The main criticism of Justified on its release was that it sounded like a Neptunes/Timbaland LP which Timberlake just happened to be singing on. The video for Cry Me A River helps reclaim the song as a Justin Timberlake record which Timbaland just happened to produce.