"Drink You Away" is a song recorded by American singer and 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. It was sent to US country radio stations on November 23, 2015 as the fourth and final single from the album. Musically, it was defined by critics as a multi-genre song including classic rock, country pop, gospel blues and Memphis soul. Lyrically, on the track, Timberlake compares love to alcoholism while making references to several alcoholic brands including Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam. As of May 2016, the song has sold over 600,000 copies in the US.
"Drink You Away" received generally positive response from contemporary critics, with some of them labeling the song as a highlight and one of the most impressive moments on the album. Timberlake performed the song at the 2013 American Music Awards and it was part of the set list of The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013–15). In November 2015, the singer together with Chris Stapleton gave a rendition of track at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards; following it, "Drink You Away" sold 76,000 digital copies and debuted at number five on the US Hot Digital Songs chart. It also peaked at number 85 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
Production and release
"Drink You Away" was written by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon and James Fauntleroy. The song was produced by Timbaland, Timberlake and Harmon while Jones provided additional production. It was recorded the Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Timberlake arranged and produced his vocals. Harmon provided keyboards for the song, while Ives played the guitar. The track was engineered by Chris Godbey and mixed by Jimmy Douglass, Godbey and Timberlake; for the process they were assisted by Alejandro Baima. The keyboards were provided by Harmon. It was sent to country radio in the United States on November 23, 2015, as the fourth and final single from The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (2013). Regarding the single release, Sony Music Nashville executive vice president, promotion/artist development Steve Hodges stated, "we received several requests from key programmers and we decided to get them a shortened version [of "Drink You Away"] so they didn't have to air the longer cut from the album," adding "our promotion staffs will not be actively working the single, we simply wanted to make the song easily accessible for country radio. Now they have it and can play it if they'd like" in an interview for Billboard.
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Drink You Away" runs for a duration of five minutes and thirty-one seconds, while its radio edit lasts for four minutes and fifteen seconds. Chris Bosman of Time magazine described the track as a country-pop. On the other hand, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune thought that it was a gospel-blues song, while according to The A.V. Clubs Annie Zaleski it is a classic-rock "homage". Kira Willis of Starpulse.com noted that "Drink You Away" is an "unabashed" Memphis soul song, "steeped in a gritty country riff." Its instrumentation includes organ and acoustic guitar; elements of pop and rock music can be heard in the song's guitar.
Lyrically, the song features references to several alcoholic drinks which can be seen in the lyrics, "I can't drink you away. I've tried Jack, I've tried Jim... Now, tell me baby, do they make a medicine for heartbreak." Brad Stern of MTV News described it as a "plethora of alcohol references, and a whole lot of bluesy sorrow." According to Stacy-Ann Ellis of Vibe magazine, the song's lyrics continue the "druggy love analogy" which Timberlake started with some of the lyrical themes on The 20/20 Experience (2013) most particularly on, "Pusher Love Girl"; she noted that he is "trying to drown a bitter memory of her by opening up a bar tab and taking Tennessee whiskies to the head." Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine described "Drink You Away" as a "honky-tonking" song on which the singer compares his love to alcoholism.
Reception
Critical
HitFix's Melinda Newman gave "Drink You Away" an A grade and called it "the best" and "the most captivating track" on The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2, "with potential to be '2 of 2's'" "Mirrors". Similarly, Stern of MTV News thought that the song was one of the biggest surprises and one of the most impressive tracks on the album. Lewis Corner of Digital Spy labeled it as a "highlight" on the album and encouraged Timberlake to further explore the "Tennessee swagger" present on the track.