Among other virtues, Justin Timberlake's first new single in six years is utilitarian: a gift to the world's wedding DJs. It's a 21st century "Puttin' on the Ritz," an ode to dressing to the nines and going dancing that will be soundtracking nuptials, proms, and other formal-wear occasions for the foreseeable future. It sounds the part. Co-produced by Timberlake's longtime maestro Timbaland, "Suit & Tie" is natty – as expertly tailored and crisply pressed as a high-end tux. It opens with a fake-out – Timberlake drawling "I be on my suit and tie shit," over a woozy, downtempo synths – before segueing into the song-proper: an airy, swinging groove, with tinkling harps, finger-snap percussion, and tooting brass. There are traces of R. Kelly's Chicago-stepping songs, Robin Thicke's neo-Seventies soul, and, of course, the beatific Michael Jackson of "Rock with You." But there's no mistaking the JT touch – the confident suavity, and a falsetto as plush and pliable as anyone's. Jay-Z's rap sounds phoned-in, but he drops a bunch of fashion brand names (Tom Ford, All Saints, Alexander Wang) and that does the trick.

“Everyday People”

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.