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For years, listeners have connected Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around" to his highly publicised relationship with Britney Spears. The singer has now offered a different explanation, saying the inspiration came from a friend who was dealing with a painful breakup.
Timberlake shared the story during a recent appearance on Complex's Re-Rank series, where he revisited some of the most significant songs in his catalogue. He explained that the track was never intended to tell a story from his own romantic life, despite the persistent assumptions surrounding its meaning.
According to the singer, a friend had been recounting what happened in his relationship when Timberlake asked whether he could use the experience as material for a song. His friend agreed, responding with the phrase that would eventually provide the track with its central idea: "Yeah, torch that b---h, what goes around comes around."
The exchange immediately sparked a creative idea. Timberlake recalled ending the phone call so he could get to work, telling his friend, "I have to go, thank you."
The song came together remarkably quickly. Timberlake said he wrote it in approximately 20 minutes, making it the first track he worked on for his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, released in 2006.
The accompanying music video ran for around 10 minutes, and Timberlake said the combination of the song and its visual presentation "hit on all cylinders" for him. During the Complex interview, he placed it among the top two songs he has recorded.
The clarification revisits speculation that had followed the singer since his relationship with Spears ended in 2002. The former couple first met while appearing on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as children and began dating in 1999.
