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      Justin Timberlake Looks Back but Doesn’t Reckon on ‘Everything I Thought It Was’

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      On “Everything I Thought It Was,” his sixth solo album, this artist feigns new vulnerability but relies on old tricks and his ’N Sync bandmates.Shortly before writing the song that would become his first single in six years, Justin Timberlake worked with his musical director Adam Blackstone on an arrangement of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” in the style of Donny Hathaway’s famous cover.As they rehearsed the version that Timberlake would sing at a small jazz club where Blackstone had a residency, they discussed the song and, as Timberlake recounted in a recent interview with Zane Lowe, “the idea that you just don’t hear that from men often — that they would express an emotion that makes them vulnerable.” Inspired by Lennon and Hathaway’s soul-baring, the lyrics to “Selfish,” the lead single from Timberlake’s new album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” began to pour out.A truly vulnerable Justin Timberlake — one stripped of the Teflon charm that has coated his music and career thus far — is a tantalizing concept, especially at this moment. In the years since his minor 2018 misstep “Man of the Woods,” Timberlake’s image has tarnished somewhat. Audiences are reconsidering mid-2000s pop cultural events like the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction seen ’round the world at the Super Bowl halftime in 2004, and the media’s cruel treatment of Britney Spears, Timberlake’s ex-girlfriend.In February 2021, amid the re-evaluation of Spears’s career and nearing the end of her court-ordered conservatorship, Timberlake posted a long, since-deleted statement on Instagram, apologizing specifically to Jackson and Spears. He added, “I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn or did not speak up for what is right.”Is “Selfish” a musical reckoning with all of this? Well, not exactly. The song does bear some sonic hallmarks of introspection: It’s muted, minor-keyed and sung in a slightly deflated tone. But, lyrically, Timberlake seems to have confused vulnerability with humblebragging. “It’s bad for my mental,” he sings in his nimble croon. “But I can’t fight it when you’re out lookin’ like you do, but you can’t hide it.” This is not exactly a soundtrack for dismantling masculine bravado: The song’s most intimate confession is that Timberlake gets jealous when other men look at his girl — and that they are always looking at his girl, because damn, she is hot.Still, the song debuted at the respectable, if not spectacular, position of No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and, after he performed it on the Jan. 27 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” it was warmly received by one unexpected well-wisher. “I am in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish,’” Spears wrote on Instagram the next day, in a post where she also apologized “for some of the things I wrote about in my book.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Esa-Pekka Salonen to Leave San Francisco Symphony

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      Esa-Pekka Salonen, the ensemble’s music director, said that he no longer shared the same goals as the administration, which has been cutting costs.Esa-Pekka Salonen, the music director of the San Francisco Symphony since 2020, announced on Thursday that he would step down when his contract expires next year, citing differences with the orchestra’s board.Salonen, 65, a groundbreaking conductor who has promoted new music and experimented with virtual reality and artificial intelligence, said he no longer saw a path forward.“I have decided not to continue as music director of the San Francisco Symphony because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does,” he said in a statement. “I am sincerely looking forward to the many exciting programs we have planned for my final season as music director, and am proud to continue working with the world-class musicians of the San Francisco Symphony.”Disputes between maestros and management rarely break into public view, and this split is notable because of Salonen’s stature: A revered conductor and composer, he has been a leading force in efforts to redefine the modern symphony orchestra. In San Francisco, he appointed a team of what he called “collaborative partners” from a variety of genres, and he oversaw a steady stream of premieres.The rift between Salonen and the board appeared to be over efforts to cut costs, which include reducing the number of concerts and commissions, as well as putting tours on hold. The orchestra is also seeking to make unspecified shifts in programming to drive revenues. That approach raised broader questions about whether Salonen could achieve his expansive vision for the orchestra. (Salonen declined to comment for this article.)Matthew Spivey, the San Francisco Symphony’s chief executive, said in an interview that the orchestra had different challenges and priorities than when Salonen was named the orchestra’s music director in 2018. The pandemic exacerbated longstanding budget woes, he said, and there were “significant financial pressures on the organization that have become impossible to ignore.” He said the orchestra would need to “evolve in various ways to respond to those pressures.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Appeals Court Overturns Vybz Kartel’s Murder Conviction

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      A judge ruled that the dancehall artist’s 2014 trial had proceeded improperly after a claim of juror misconduct.The murder conviction of the dancehall artist Vybz Kartel and three co-defendants was overturned on Thursday by the highest court of appeal for Jamaica and other Commonwealth countries.Vybz Kartel, born Adidja Palmer, had previously been convicted and given a life sentence for the 2011 murder of Clive Williams, known as Lizard. The sentence was later reduced to 32 and a half years.On Thursday, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London overturned the conviction because of allegations of jury misconduct in the 2014 trial. A juror, described in court documents as “Juror X,” was allowed to remain seated after a claim that the person had attempted to bribe other members of the jury. Jurors ultimately convicted Mr. Palmer, Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and André St. John of murder.“Allowing Juror X to remain on the jury is fatal to the safety of the convictions which followed,” the court ruled. “It was an infringement of the appellants’ fundamental right to a fair hearing under the Jamaican Constitution.”Another appeals court will now decide whether Mr. Palmer should be retried. Lawyers for Mr. Palmer and for the prosecution did not immediately respond to requests for comment.After a string of successful singles in his native Jamaica, Mr. Palmer reached U.S. charts in 2009 with “Romping Shop,” which also featured Spice, and collaborated with Rihanna, Jay-Z and other artists. He also starred in the reality TV show “Teacha’s Pet,” which aired on Jamaican TV in 2011. While imprisoned, Mr. Palmer continued to release new songs, including the 2016 single “Fever,” which went gold.During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Mr. Williams and another man had been given two unlicensed firearms belonging to Mr. Palmer. When the pair did not return the weapons on time, they were summoned to Mr. Palmer’s house, where Mr. Williams was killed, according to prosecutors, who relied on evidence from Mr. Palmer’s cellphone to advance their case. Mr. Williams’s body was never found.All four defendants had pleaded not guilty. More

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      Popcast (Deluxe): What’s an Industry Plant Anyway? Plus: Ariana Grande

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTubeThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:Popcast’s win at the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards for best music podcastThe 2024 Oscars, including Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” and Diane Warren’s reported meltdownThe quick ascent of the downtempo R&B singer 4batz and what the “industry plant” conversation that he’s triggered gets wrongThe new Ariana Grande album, “eternal sunshine,” and how it’s an impressive and modest comeback in advance of her star turn in the upcoming film adaptation of “Wicked”Reports from the opening nights of the Olivia Rodrigo tour and the Zach Bryan tourNew songs from Yung Lean and Yaya BeySnack of the weekConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More

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      On ‘Deeper Well,’ Kacey Musgraves Is Closer to Fine

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      The country singer and songwriter’s fifth album of original songs is a study in quiet thoughtfulness rooted in gratitude.Contentment makes for tricky songwriting territory. Songs thrive more often on extremes: desire, heartache, rage, despair, striving, longing, ecstasy. But Kacey Musgraves has now made two superb albums suffused with satisfaction: “Golden Hour” from 2018, which won the Grammy for album of the year, and her new one out Friday, “Deeper Well.”On “Golden Hour,” Musgraves sang about the gratification and relief of blissful romance in songs like “Butterflies.” With “Deeper Well” — which follows her divorce album, “Star-Crossed” — Musgraves finds more comfort in a wistful self-sufficiency. She savors small pleasures, personal connections and casual revelations, with a touch of new-age mysticism.In the album’s title song, Musgraves calmly notes how she’s setting aside youthful misjudgments. She’s moving away from people with “dark energy” and no longer getting high every morning (though her Instagram account is still @spaceykacey). At 35, she’s glad to be more mature. “It’s natural when things lose their shine,” she sings, “so other things can glow.”Musgraves grew up in a small East Texas town and she’s nominally a country singer. Her 2013 debut, “Same Trailer Different Park,” won a Grammy as best country album, as did “Golden Hour,” and she has won multiple Grammys for best country song.But while mainstream country has leaned into booze, trucks and arena-scale bombast, Musgraves prefers delicacy, detail and wryly upending small-town expectations. The title song of her second album, “Pageant Material,” explained: “It ain’t that I don’t care about world peace/But I don’t see how I can fix it in a swimsuit on a stage.”Her music prizes understatement, bypassing standard Nashville sounds and often harking back to 1970s Laurel Canyon folk-pop. Like that era’s songwriters and producers, Musgraves is steeped in folk music and seemingly diaristic, but also unassumingly savvy about pop structures and studio possibilities.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      James Conlon to Step Down as Music Director of Los Angeles Opera

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      James Conlon, who has conducted more performances with the company than anyone else, will step down from his post in 2026.The year 2026 will mark James Conlon’s 20th anniversary as music director of the Los Angeles Opera. That seemed to him like it would be the right time to step down.“I’ve had 20 years — that’s a good round number,” Conlon, 73, said in a telephone interview. “I want to stop when I’m at my full capacity and I want to be able to go on loving the company the way I do.”His final season, the 2025-26 season, will coincide with the company’s 40th anniversary, and Conlon said that he “wanted to be there to celebrate that with them.”“It will mean I will have been there for half of its history,” said Conlon, who has led more than 460 performances of 68 different operas there, more than any other conductor.Conlon will be named the opera’s conductor laureate, which the company said would be in recognition “of his distinguished tenure and contribution to Los Angeles Opera and the community at large, and in acknowledgment of the mutual intention for Conlon to return to the company as a guest conductor.”Christopher Koelsch, the opera’s president and chief executive, praised Conlon’s musical leadership and said that there was “something elegant about the timing” of his departure, coinciding as it does with both anniversaries. He added that the transition “presents an opportunity for us as an organization for a different perspective and generational change.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Neil Young Will Return to Spotify, Ending Protest of Joe Rogan

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      The rock musician removed his songs from the streamer in 2022 to protest coronavirus podcast episodes, but reversed course in light of the show’s wider distribution.Neil Young will return his music to Spotify, two years after withdrawing it in protest over the podcast host Joe Rogan’s shows about Covid-19, the veteran rock musician announced on his website Tuesday.Without naming Rogan, Young wrote: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify.” Rogan previously had an exclusive deal with Spotify, which has since been renewed to allow wider distribution of his show.In January 2022, Young drew wide attention by accusing Spotify of “spreading fake information about vaccines” through Rogan’s show, and he gave the platform an ultimatum: “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”Rogan, a comedian and actor, has become one of the most popular and influential figures in podcasting with his show “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which features long, freewheeling interviews with guests like Elon Musk, Ye, scientists and fellow comedians.Days before Young’s public letter, a group of doctors, scientists and public health officials asked Spotify to crack down on Covid-19 misinformation, pointing to an episode of Rogan’s show that featured Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist and vaccine skeptic who promoted a theory that millions of people had been “hypnotized” about the coronavirus.Following Young’s protest, the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell also removed her music from Spotify, and the R&B singer India.Arie circulated clips showing Rogan using a racial slur repeatedly on the show. Rogan apologized for his use of the word, and Spotify quietly removed dozens of episodes of his show. Rogan also said he was willing to have “more experts with differing opinions right after I have the controversial ones.”In a public statement at the time, Daniel Ek, Spotify’s chief executive, said, “It is important to me that we don’t take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.” The company added a “content advisory” notice to any podcast episode that involved Covid.Spotify signed Rogan to a deal in 2020, worth at least $200 million, that made his show exclusive to that platform. Last month, the company announced a new, multiyear arrangement with Rogan in which Spotify would also distribute “The Joe Rogan Experience” to other podcast platforms, as well as YouTube. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the new deal could be worth as much as $250 million.In his statement on Tuesday, Young didn’t give a timeline for when his music would return to Spotify, and a representative of Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Last year, in an analysis of how Young’s streaming activity had changed since withdrawing his music from Spotify, Billboard estimated that the protest had cost him about $16,000 in royalties per month. More

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      Tate McRae, Dua Lipa and the Fight to Be ‘Main Pop Girl’

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      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicOver the past few years, one question has been hovering over the careers of some of the most well-known pop singers in the world: Have they reached the tier of Main Pop Girl?It is elite company — think Rihanna, Taylor, Ariana. But what about Dua Lipa, who has loads of hits but maybe no metanarrative? Or Tate McRae, a young up-and-comer who understands the contours of pop stardom but is still filling in the outline? Or even Charli XCX, who plays with the idea of pop stardom in a self-aware way?On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about the history of the Main Pop Girl idea, its roots in stan communities and whether it’s a title conferred upon you, or one you can earn.Guests:Jason P. Frank, news writer at VultureLarisha Paul, staff writer at Rolling StoneConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More