Singer Marsha Ambrosius has revealed she was the voice behind a specific part of the ending to Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River,” more than 20 years after the song’s release.
A mystery solved. In an interview with The TERRELL Show on Friday (September 27), Marsha Ambrosius, known as a member of the band Floetry, revealed that she was the voice behind the famous ending of Justin Timberlake’s song “Cry Me a River,” from his first solo album “Justified”, released in 2002.
After performing the final seconds of the hit “Cry Me a River,” the musician joked that she was the “barbecue,” in reference to posts from the African-American community that praised the singer’s vocal performance, saying that ‘he deserved a place at their table for achieving such a mark.
“Apparently, according to Twitter, it was, ‘Oh, did you hear that voice? He can absolutely come to the barbecue,’ but years later they actually found out that part was me. And that’s not to denigrate the rest of the song… He’s from Memphis. He can always come,” she joked.
Although Marsha Ambrosius’ recent statements have sparked buzz on social media, her vocal contribution has never been a secret. Indeed, the artist was credited as a backing vocalist on the album.
A secret revealed in 2020
During an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2014, she said that while recording “Cry Me a River,” the producer told her that the song “had some missing elements that he thought were missing.” Marsha Abrosius) could refine it.
“I was listening to this incredible song that, at the time, had no full chorus or outro. I went into the booth, harmonized my voice with Justin’s, and did it several times to blend it perfectly, which is why not many people know I’m on the track. I sang the line “You don’t have to say, what you did,” as well as the outro. It was improvised, but Timbaland decided to keep it. I knew the song was great, but I didn’t realize how great it would become,” she said.
In 2020, the singer shared a video on X (formerly Twitter), where she sang her part of the song for her fans. Many had reacted by saying they had “no idea” it was his voice.
The singer-songwriter had already composed songs for Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys and Jamie Foxx before finding success with her first solo album, “Late Nights & Early Mornings,” released in 2011.
