TKO (song)

For other songs, see TKO (disambiguation) § Music.
"TKO"
Single by Justin Timberlake
from the album The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2
A-side"Not a Bad Thing"
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2013 (2013-09-20)
RecordedMay–July 2012
StudioLarrabee (North Hollywood)
Genre
Length7:04 (album version)
4:49 (radio edit 1)
4:32 (radio edit 2)
LabelRCA
Songwriters
Producers
  • Timbaland
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon
Justin Timberlake singles chronology
"Take Back the Night"
(2013) 		"TKO"
(2013) 		"Not a Bad Thing"
(2014)

"TKO" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his fourth studio album, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (2013). It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy and a sample of Barry White's "Somebody's Gonna Off the Man". The song was released on September 20, 2013, by RCA Records, as the second single from The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. A remix of the track by rappers J. Cole, ASAP Rocky and Pusha T, subtitled the "Black Friday Remix", was also released. Lyrically, the song uses boxing metaphors to describe the feeling of seeing a former lover with someone else.

"TKO" entered the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it reached number 36. The song was eventually certified Gold by Music Canada. The seven-minute official accompanying music video was released in October 2013, and stars Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough as Timberlake's love interest.

Production and composition

"TKO" was written by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, and James Fauntleroy.[3] The song was produced by Timbaland, Timberlake, and Harmon.[3] Timberlake arranged and produced his vocals, which were recorded at Larabee Studios in North Hollywood, California.[3] Harmon provided keyboards for the song, while Elliott Ives played the guitar.[3] The song was engineered by Chris Godbey, with assistance from Alejandro Baima.[3] The song was mixed by Jimmy Douglass, Godbey, and Timberlake at Larabee Studios.[3] The song samples "Somebody's Gonna Off the Man" by Barry White.[3]

The song features heavy drums and "scratchy" studio effects, which, according to a staff writer for Consequence, are reminiscent of a "slightly more refined Justified."[4] Jocelyn Vena of MTV News described the production as having "signature bleepy production" and "dark undertones".[5] Lyrically, "TKO" leans heavily on boxing metaphors, with the title "TKO", short for technical knockout, to describe the feeling of seeing a former lover with someone else.[6] The theme continues with lines like "I'm out for the count, yeah girl you knock me out."[7]

Release and promotion

After releasing "Take Back the Night" as the first single from The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, Timberlake faced controversy for its title, due to the similarities between the song's title and the anti-rape organization of the same name.[8] After that, on September 19, 2013, the singer teased his fans with an Instagram post, saying, "Should I release a new single today???."[9] Later, he posted another photo, saying, "Get Ready...", attached to a photo of him in the studio recording a song.[10] Five hours later, Timberlake posted a tease of the track with a 15-second snippet.[11] To finish the teasing, the singer posted the single's cover art, saying, "You ready to hear it in full???," also revealing its title: "TKO".[12] On September 20, 2013, the single was released.[7]

A remix of "TKO", subtitled the "Black Friday Remix", premiered on November 29, 2013. It features new rap verses from J. Cole, ASAP Rocky and Pusha T.[13] Timberlake included "TKO" on the set list of his 2013–15 worldwide tour entitled The 20/20 Experience World Tour.[14]

Reception

"TKO" received mixed reviews from music critics. Josh Dixon of Renowned for Sound said the song is "catchy and danceable, but it still keeps the unique Timberlake charm that sets it apart from other songs heard on the radio right now."[15] In a less enthusiastic review, Tom Breihan of Stereogum commented that the song "works as a midtempo club track that doesn't have much of the old-school loverman slickness that Timberlake brought to the last album," referring to The 20/20 Experience, and that "the melody doesn't quite stick the way you'd hope a Timberlake melody would."[16] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the track "another underwhelming single" and "a retread of Timberlake's past work with longtime collaborator Timbaland."[1] Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club wrote the song is "sunk by both its tired boxing clichés and chattering Timbaland beats that break no new ground".[17] Kyle Jackson of Common Sense Media was disappointed, calling the lyrics "repetitive" and "heavily reliant upon weak metaphors and predictable songwriting", additionally adding that the production is "uninteresting at best, monotonous at worst".[18] Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal panned Timbaland's vocal contributions, joking that he performed "the role of embarrassing uncle [...] starting the track off with unfortunately appropriate (and gross) baby talk".[19]

In its first week of release, the single sold 79,000 downloads in the US, debuting at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[20] On the chart issue date December 14, 2013, the song reached a peak of number 36.[21] The song did better on other Billboard genre charts, such as the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Pop Songs chart, where it reached number 9 and 12, respectively.[22][23] In Canada, the song reached number 28.[24] Elsewhere, it did not reach the top 40, peaking at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart,[25] number 68 on the Swiss Singles Chart,[26] and number 163 on the French Singles Chart.[27]

Music video

A music video for the song, directed by Ryan Reichenfeld, was released on October 29, 2013.[28] Timberlake's love interest in the video is played by Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough, with the video lasting for 7 minutes.[29] In another scene, Keough delivers a cast-iron skillet to Timberlake's cranium. Through it all, Timberlake keeps his chin up and continues to sing even while being dragged to his death.[29]

The video received a positive reception from most critics. Carl Williot of Idolator wrote that Timberlake "dropped another epic visual from 'The 20/20 Experience' with 'TKO,' and while the subject matter couldn't be further from that of his instant classic 'Mirrors' video, this one is just as sprawling and beautifully shot."[30] Billboard wrote that the video is "a knock-down, drag-out good time, with the singer getting into a bit of a mess with co-star Riley Keough in a slickly produced and thematic seven-minute clip."[29] However, Melinda Newman of HitFix criticized the video's violence, writing that, "[...] this is a misguided look at domestic violence and there's really no way you can make it work unless you take a much more obviously cartoon-y look than they do here", additionally comparing it to the music video of Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie".[31]

The music video on YouTube has received over 125 million views as of April 2024.[28]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2.[3]

Locations
  • Vocals recorded and mixed at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, California
Personnel
  • Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley – producer, songwriter
  • Justin Timberlake – Mixer, producer, songwriter, vocal producer, vocal arranger
  • Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon – keyboards, producer, songwriter
  • James Fauntleroy – songwriter
  • Barry White – songwriter
  • Chris Godbey – engineer, mixer
  • Jimmy Douglass – mixer
  • Alejandro Baima – assistant engineer
  • Elliot Ives – guitar

Charts

Certifications

Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[52] Platinum 60,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[53] Gold 40,000*
Sweden (GLF)[54] Gold 20,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates
Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various September 20, 2013 Digital download RCA [55]
United States September 24, 2013 Contemporary hit radio [56]
Italy October 18, 2013 Sony [57]

References

  1. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (September 20, 2013). "Single Review: Justin Timberlake, "TKO"". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  2. ^ O'Brien, Jon (September 23, 2013). "Weekly Singles Review: Justin Timberlake, Haim & Jonas Brothers". Yahoo! UK & Ireland. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (booklet). Justin Timberlake. New York City, NY: RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Consequence Staff (September 20, 2013). "Listen to new Justin Timberlake: "T K O"". Consequence. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  5. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (September 20, 2013). "Justin Timberlake Knocks Fans Out With New Track, 'T.K.O.'". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  6. ^ Sciarretto, Amy (September 24, 2013). "Justin Timberlake, 'TKO' – Song Meaning". PopCrush. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
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