Love Sex Magic

A song entitled "Magic," performed by Justin Timberlake, leaked online in November 2008.[4] In February 2009, Rap-Up reported that Ciara and Timberlake had recorded a new duet for her then-upcoming album, Fantasy Ride.[5] The final version of the song, initially titled "Love and Sex and Magic," featured Timberlake dueting with Ciara.[4] Eventually known as "Love Sex Magic," the song was written by Timberlake, Mike Elizondo, and Timberlake's production team The Y's—James Fauntleroy, Timberlake, and Rob Knox. Timberlake wanted to create a song that both genders could relate to.[6] The Y's and Elizondo produced the song. Ciara said that her collaboration with Timberlake was one of the best of her career, because they actually collaborated in the studio, rather than him being added as a guest feature after the initial recording.[3] She explained, "I actually went into the studio to make the record from scratch, or he had the record there for me, but us being together was a very rare case I've had over the years." Ciara enjoyed her time with Timberlake, and valued the opportunity to work with him as an "artist and producer."[6] She also noted how passionate Timberlake was about his work, and mentioned his humbleness and positive attitude.[3][6]

With "Love Sex Magic," Ciara moved in a more pop direction than her past music.[7] Jordan Sargent of PopMatters noted that while a pop fan might see the singer "back in her mind creatively," a Ciara fan would see the song as "signal[ing] the end of the singer's career as it once was." Sargent stated that the song "sounds nothing like the chrome-plated crunk&b nor the moonlit balladry that Ciara has staked her name on."[8] Musically, the song is a dance-pop-R&B number which makes use of electro and funk music,[7][1] as well as displaying disco and soul influences.[8][2] The song has a minimalistic dance beat, with a "funky, retro 70s style R&B guitar" as the backdrop.[7] Lauren Carter of the Boston Herald said that the song is influenced by Timberlake's disco-funk work on FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), stating that "it sounds like a reworked version of his bass-heavy dance number "Sexy Ladies."[9] Carter commented that Timberlake was "ushering Ciara away from her typically crunk-laced stylings in favor of JT’s electro-slide."[9] Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times said that the song was "Madonna-esque."[10] Both Ciara and Timberlake provide verses, accompanied by vocal whims and falsetto.[9]

Critics were divided over the pairing of Ciara and Timberlake (pictured).

Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music said that with the track, Ciara "lucked into the sexiest thing to happen to pop since Timberlake's own FutureSex/LoveSounds," calling the song one of the "biggest anthems of the year." Gennoe went on to call the song the "highlight" and "saving grace" of Fantasy Ride.[11] Nick Levine of Digital Spy said that "the track itself is nearly as sexy as the promo clip", commenting "Ciara purrs, and Timberlake, if you'll pardon the pun, more than rises to the occasion. All in all, 'Love Sex Magic' is pretty much spot on."[1] Lauren Carter of the Boston Herald said "It’s not quite magic, but it grows on you."[9] Jeremy Medina of Entertainment Weekly said, "Hooking up with Timberlake essentially guarantees a one-way ticket back to chart supremacy, so nice work there, Ciara."[12] Medina went on to call the song an early candidate for "song of the summer."[12]

Jon Caramanica from The New York Times welcomed the "female aggression" presented by Ciara on the track.[2] Caramanica called it an unexpected twist, calling Ciara "still curiously anonymous". He noted that Timberlake, not a "vocal powerhouse" himself, out-sings Ciara on the track.[2] Tom Breihan of Pitchfork Media said that the song was not bad and complimented the song's disco feel. He said that it gained Ciara a "radio foothold that had been hers to lose a couple of years ago", and commented that it seemed like "a bargain-basement Justin Timberlake track, the sort of thing he could've had lying around in a closet somewhere nearly three years after FutureSex/LoveSounds."[13] Breihan pointed out that "Timberlake's nerdy swagger really highlights Ciara's total lack of presence."[13] Jordan Sargent of PopMatters criticized the song for being generic, calling it "a formulaic FutureSex/LoveSounds disco retread", commenting "The song probably could’ve been given to any struggling female singer and become a hit, and the fact that Ciara had to use it as her parachute is as puzzling as it is unfortunate."[8] Andy Kellman of AllMusic called the song a "hobbling flop" and said that it was "easily forgettable."[14]

At the 52nd Grammy Awards, "Love Sex Magic" was nominated for the award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.[15] It lost to Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's "Lucky."[15]

Love Sex Magic debuted at number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In its second week, the single jumped to number 27 on the chart.[16] In its third week, the song rose to number ten, becoming Ciara's fifth top ten single.[16] It was her first top ten entry since "Get Up" in 2006.[16] It was her highest-charting song on the Hot 100 since "Like a Boy" in 2007.[16] "Love Sex Magic" appeared on multiple Billboard component charts, reaching number fourteen on the Pop Songs chart,[17] number eighteen on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart,[18] and eighty-three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[19] The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of a million digital copies in the United States.[20]

Although the single did not rank among Ciara's most successful singles in the United States, it performed well overall in international markets. In Canada, the song debuted at number nine on the Canadian Hot 100, and would later peak at number six.[21] In Australia, the song debuted at number six on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, peaking at number five the next week.[22] It spent fourteen weeks on the chart, and was eventually certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments totaling 70,000 copies.[23] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number fourteen on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[24] It remained stagnant the next week until it peaked at six on the chart the following week.[24] Having spent thirteen weeks on the chart, the song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), for shipments totaling 7,500 copies.[25]

Across Europe, the single charted in the top ten of seven charts, and the top twenty of four others.[22] Due to its numerous chartings in Europe, the song peaked at number six on the European Hot 100 chart.[26] In the United Kingdom, "Love Sex Magic" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number five the following week. The song spent seventeen non-consecutive weeks on the chart, as well as topping the UK R&B Chart for two weeks. In the Republic of Ireland, the song peaked at number four on the Irish Singles Chart, climbing from number seven the previous week.[27][28]

On May 9, 2009, Ciara performed the song on Saturday Night Live with Timberlake, that night's host.[33] Accompanied by live instruments, Ciara performed choreography with backup dancers, while Timberlake played the keyboard.[33] Timberlake and Ciara danced provocatively after he came from behind the keyboard to perform his verse.[33] During the set, Ciara also performed "Never Ever."[34] A writer for BET's Sound Off Blog said: "Aside from the fact that her grunts were live and her stage humps were unreal, Ciara’s set was pretty decent. Not that I expected any less from the A-Town princess, but that was a pretty tasty performance."[34] The writer pointed out that Timberlake was not even noted on the set until he began his verse.[34] In an interview with MTV News, Ciara went into detail about the setup of the performance, stating:

"I just kind of felt cool, 'cause Justin can play [piano] real well and he really gets into the music and it was, like, 'Hey, let's make you part of the band.' Having Justin in the background for the live performance was very different from the music video for the song, where we two dance quite provocatively with one another. [We wanted to] do something different and make it fun. It was awesome to see him pick up the keys."[33]

On May 13, 2009, Ciara performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, accompanied by background dancers.[35] Ciara and the dancers performed choreography similar to that of the video and wore the 1970s-inspired suits and afros.[35] The same day, she performed the song with "Never Ever" on Jimmy Kimmel Live![36] Ciara performed the song at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Japan on May 30, 2009.[37]

• Ciara – vocals
• Justin Timberlake – vocals, producer, writer, instruments, music programming
• James Fauntleroy – producer, writer, music programming
• Rob Knox – producer, writer, instruments, music programming
• Mike Elizondo – producer, writer, instruments
• Spike Stent – audio mixing
• Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA - recording studio[41]