Justin Timberlake: Cry Me a River (2002 Video)
Trivia
"Cry Me a River" is an R&B song about a brokenhearted man who moves on from his last girlfriend, who had cheated on him with another man.
The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Pop Songs charts and charted in the top ten in other countries.
It was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Timberlake performed "Cry Me a River" on his four major concert tours: The Justified World Tour (2003-04), Justified and Stripped Tour (2003), FutureSex/LoveShow (2007), and The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013-15).
"Cry Me a River" is written in the key of G minor, in alla breve, with a tempo of 74 beats per minute.
Billboard magazine critics called "Cry Me a River" a bittersweet song, in which Timberlake's "familiar tenor belting" is tempered with a soulful falsetto and a "convincingly aggressive rock-spiked baritone" rasp.
According to Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian, "Cry Me a River" stands out for its "slow-building sense of drama", which highlights Timberlake at his "husky best".
Peter Robinson of NME called it a "twisted epic" and "an acidic, filthy little song teeming with spite and retribution, with Timbaland's pounding."
Rolling Stone ranked "Cry Me a River" at number 20 on their list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2000s; a columnist for the magazine wrote that the real inspiration behind the song was the formation of the Timberlake-Timbaland team, "a match made in pop heaven".
It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 35,000 units.
In 2013, Billboard editor Jason Lipshutz opined the clip was "one of the more brilliant musical moments in pop music since the dawn of the century."
American singer Selena Gomez performed an acoustic version of "Cry Me a River" at the UNICEF charity concert in New York City.
Justin Bieber recorded a cover of the song together with Kanye West's 2007 single "Stronger", which he posted on his YouTube account.
