Track Review: Coco Jones & Justin Timberlake, ‘ICU’

Coco Jones knows how to take a moment and run with it. We’re a little under three months away from the one-year anniversary of “ICU,” but Coco is still pushing the gorgeous ballad. Today, the Bel-Air actress debuted a new remix of the DJ Camper-produced track featuring fellow Tennessee kid Justin Timberlake.

Camper’s lush mélange of twinkling piano and steady percussion remain intact as Coco sprinkles new ad-libs across the track to usher the arrival of JT’s perspective-shifting new verse. “Since you've been gone, everything been a mess / You've got a hold on this thing in my chest, babe,” the *NSYNC alum croons. Timberlake first enters the track providing some extra backing vocals during Coco’s first chorus — a move that eases his voice into the song’s universe and plays on the similar, yet distinct, perspectives that he and Coco are each singing from. In his verse, Justin expounds on the conflict Coco touches on in her original second verse, adding more context to the yearning that each vocalist embodies throughout the song.

Timberlake’s inclusion in the remix was met with some initial apprehension, but the Grammy winner spends the entirety of “ICU” reminding everyone why he is one of the most cherished male voices of ‘00s and ‘10s pop and R&B. The vocal arrangement on the remix — courtesy of R&B singer-songwriter Kenyon Dixon — only exacerbates this fact. While some of Coco’s original vocal inflections in the verses are missed, the new harmonic choices on this remix highlight the gorgeous textures of both singers’ voices while also making sure to showcase how beautifully the depth of Coco’s voice contrasts with Timberlake’s buttery falsetto. It’s the final harmony that bleeds into Timberlake’s somber closing riff, however, that truly ties the entire affair together.

Of course, it would have been amazing to see one of Coco’s peers like Josh Levi or Lucky Daye on this remix, but Timberlake more than holds his own on what is almost certain to be a Grammy-nominated song by the end of the calendar year.

Vote for Coco Jones at the 2023 Bulletin Awards.

Score: 80