Justin Timberlake made Billboard chart history with the release of his new single "Suit & Tie," which logged the highest first-week plays on U.S. radio since it premiered on Jan.14.

The Billboard Pop Songs chart, which measures mainstream top 40 radio stations, reported that "Suit & Tie" logged 6,045 radio plays across the air in the second week of January. Timberlake took over from the previous record holder Lady Gaga with her single "Born This Way," which opened with 4,602 radio plays in February 2011.

The radio achievement was not the only record that Timberlake broke. "Suit & Tie" came in at No. 14 in the chart, also making it the highest ever entry for a male artist.

The record breaking single "Suit & Tie" features Jay-Z and is Timberlake's first single in six years. During his break from recording music, Timberlake continued with his acting career and appeared in the Oscar-winning film "The Social Network" as well as romantic comedies such as "Bad Teacher" and "Friends with Benefits."

Timberlake is gearing up for the release of a new album titled "The 20/20 Experience." The singer talked about the development of the album in a letter to his fans on Jan. 14.

"The inspiration for this really came out of the blue and to be honest, I didn't expect anything out of it," Timberlake said in the letter, as reported by The Huffington Post. "I just went into the studio and started playing around with some sounds and songs. It was probably the best time I've had in my career. Just creating with no rules and/or end goal in mind and really enjoying the process."

The new album is a cause for excitement for Timberlake who developed his own a unique sound for the album.

"What I came up with is something I couldn't be more excited about! It is full of inspiration that I grew up listening to and some newfound muses that I've discovered along the way," Timberlake continued in the letter.

Tags
Billboard, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Born this way, Billboard charts