The sequel to Trolls, Trolls World Tour, is coming out in April. I didn’t see the first movie. I don’t plan on seeing the second movie. But I am, like you, familiar with the song that came out of Trolls: Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling”, which went on to receive an Oscar nomination but it also topped the list of Worst Songs of 2016.
Justin is back on the Trolls World Tour soundtrack and this time, a better result. His collaboration with SZA, “The Other Side”, dropped yesterday with a video. This is a throwback to the early 2000s, complete with the fishbowl lens. And it’s definitely a stronger effort than its predecessor – because, of course, it’s SZA. If her album, Ctrl, isn’t on regular rotation in your earphones, improve your life immediately and add it. Thanks to SZA, JT’s got some swagger back.
Some.
Because as I wrote in the open today, this is apparently video release week. The biggest video right now, this morning, the one getting the most attention, is Taylor Swift’s “The Man”. This will continue through the day. At post time, though, BTS’s new – and second – video for “ON” has yet to drop. When it does, it too will be a dominant force. Even if you’re not a member of the BTS ARMY, I’m sure you can appreciate how thirsty everyone has been for ARMY traffic the last couple of weeks. Almost all major North American media outlets have been covering as much BTS as they can to capitalise on the band’s popularity. Which means that JT hasn’t been getting the kind of play he may have been used to at another point in his career. Not only because other artists are getting the attention but also because Man of the Woods was so forgettable. Was there even a hit off that album?
Trolls World Tour, then, and this song with SZA, is somewhat of a reset and he needed a little help.
