Justin Timberlake has apparently been inspired by Jay-Z, his co-headliner on the upcoming “Legends of the Summer” tour. The 12-city tour, which begins on July 17th, makes a stop at the Rose Bowl on July 28th. Timberlake’s latest album, The 20/20 Experience, features Jay-Z on the hit single Suit & Tie. The duo recently performed the song together live at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards at STAPLES Center.
One of Jay-Z’s biggest hits is the now-classic Empire State of Mind, featuring Alicia Keys. Noting that Jay-Z’s song has become as much of an anthem as Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York, Timberlake said he wants to do the same thing for Los Angeles and create a signature song for the City of Angels. “I Love LA is a classic, and Randy Newman is a Hall of Famer, but with all due respect that song is 30 years old. It’s time a great, modern city like Los Angeles gets a song to match,” said Timberlake.
As previously reported, Grammy-winning artist Adele has been planning to move to Los Angeles. When the English superstar heard that Timberlake wanted to record an LA anthem, she immediately contacted JT, who was thrilled to work with her. At the Grammy Awards, Timberlake and Adele made plans to begin working on the track right away. The duo have already booked studio time and are scheduled to begin their recording sessions on April 1st, perhaps better known to Western cultures as April Fools’ Day.