Strawberry Bubblegum

Writing and production

"Strawberry Bubblegum" was written by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, and James Fauntleroy, with production by Timbaland, Timberlake and Harmon. Timberlake arranged and produced his vocals, which were recorded at Larabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. Harmon provided keyboards for the song, while Elliot Ives played the guitar. The track was engineered by Chris Godbey, with assistance from Alejandro Baima, and mixed by Jimmy Douglass, Godbey and Timberlake at Larabee Studios.

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Strawberry Bubblegum" is characterized as a pop song by HitFix's Melinda Newman, an R&B song by Billboard magazine's Jason Lipshutz, and a combination of slick grooves and psychedelic soul by Arwa Haider of Metro. Jean Bentley of Hollywood.com found the song influenced by electro, while Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal said that it evokes music by Barry White, Sly Stone, and Drake's "ambient R&B" style. According to Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times, the song transitions from a stark electro song to an amiable keyboard vamp comparable to Stevie Wonder's 1973 song "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". The song features electronic blips, string movements, and upbeat percussion breaks. Mesfin Fekadu of Times Colonist wrote that the song is "smooth, airy and full of sexual innuendoes, and it transitions into something that's heaven-like." Timberlake sings in a falsetto voice and refers to a mature woman as his strawberry bubblegum in the song's lyrics. Joey Guerra of The Houston Chronicle remarked that the eccentric song recalls the work of Prince. Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph attributed the song's relaxing style to how it samples Barry White, while Lauren Martin of Fact found the song to be in the style of Frank Ocean.

"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!". ABC News reporter Allan Raible wrote that "such a move seems engineered to make gullible teen girls in the audience scream". The lyrics feature daft double-entendres and are complemented by spoken-word background vocals. 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. 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. 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. 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. Jason Lipshutz called the outro "sashaying" and "pleasant".

Lyrically, Timberlake assures his love interest that they are "making love like professionals" and declares: "If you’ll be my strawberry bubblegum, I’ll be your blueberry lollipop". In addition, he sings about the girl's many characteristics and sensual qualities, and proclaims that he will love her until they "make it pop". The Boston Globe's James Reed wrote that the lyrics are silly, but irresistible, 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". Additionally, Timberlake sings lyrics about he has "recipe for a good time". Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club felt that the lyrics' sense of humor is somewhat similar to "Pop" by 'NSYNC.

Critical response

Mesfin Fekadu of the Times Colonist called "Strawberry Bubblegum" an "eight-minute event" and one of the album's standout songs. Sean Daly of the Tampa Bay Times wrote that the song is "best enjoyed on satin sheets". Clyde Erwin Barretto of Prefix Mag wrote that "as the name suggests", the song is "as sweet as it sounds". 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".

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy wrote that while "Strawberry Bubblegum" is musically "rich and rewarding", the lyrics are "embarrassingly cliché". According to VH1's Bené Viera, one would expect a cliché such as "Strawberry Bubblegum" to "fall flat". He wrote that Timberlake's falsettos "make it almost cute" to hear a "grown man referring to a grown woman as his strawberry bubblegum". He concluded that envisioning Timberlake perform on stage at a "small juke joint on Bill Street" is not "far fetched". 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". Jed Gottlieb of The Boston Herald wrote that "Strawberry Bubblegum" is a "killer vamp" without a "killer change to hook us".

Live performances

Timberlake performed "Strawberry Bubblegum" for the first time on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 15, 2013. Wearing varsity baseball-style jackets, Timberlake and his backup singers "shook and finger-snapped" through the song, according to Rachel Brodsky of MTV Buzzworthy. "Building upon the performance's sports theme", additional backup dancers later joined them onstage in full baseball uniforms. 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".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The 20/20 Experience.

Charts

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. 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.