Peak
2
Weeks
42
Score
8,016
Chart Year
2013
The music video was directed by Floria Sigismondi[67] and saw its world premiere as the highlight of an hour-long special on The CW in celebration of The 20/20 Experience's release.[68] Timberlake dedicated the music video to his maternal grandparents William and Sadie Bomar, who were married for 63 years until William's death in 2012.[68] The video is choreographed by Noemie Lafrance. It features montages of three separate time periods of a couple's life, from their initial introduction and whimsically falling in love on a funhouse date (portrayed by actors Ariane Rinehart and Keenan Cochrane), to the difficult start of their marriage with a pregnancy (portrayed by Chloe Brooks and James Kacey), to when they have grown old together and the old lady (Judith Roberts) packing up her recently deceased husband's belonging whilst reflecting on their life together. At the beginning, the elderly woman looks back on her teen years in the 1950s when she meets her husband in a bar and goes on a date to a funhouse. Then, in the 1960s, she cries with black mascara all over her face as she is pregnant and they are unmarried. Meanwhile, the elderly woman, who sees the events of her teen years and interspersed with scenes of her and her husband dancing for the last time before they move out, walks into a mysterious room where an old man is seen staring at the real life woman in her white wedding dress next to two mannequin people while rain pours down on the glass. This is probably symbolizing that he always viewed his wife as beautiful as the day they married. She moves through the video while the old man and the elderly woman move walk through separate ways through the video and through the mirrors symbolizing his death and her moving on. During the final chorus, one of the books the teenaged couple left on the floor of the funhouse falls back into the elderly woman's hand as she closes the book. The old woman is then seen with a ring which is revealed in flashbacks to be her wedding ring, after she married her husband after pregnancy. Her husband looks on and they move through separate areas before the end of the video where the old man and woman walk through three versions of mirrors. The elderly woman drops the ring, showing she is ready to move on after her husband's death. This transitions into Timberlake catching it, symbolizing that he is carrying on their legacy. He then sings "you are the love of my life" while dancing through and around the funhouse mirrors. Eventually he is joined by two female dancers in blue wigs. Justin and one of the other dancers eventually mirror each other's movements through glass at the end of the video.
This eight-minute vulnerable epic finds Timberlake wooing a girl. "You're shining something like a mirror," he sings, "and I can't help but notice you reflecting this heart of mine." Timberlake adds that he has come to the realization that she is his "other half." While he didn't mention her by name, Timberlake insinuated in an audio clip posted on his website that the song is about his wife, the actress Jessica Biel, whom he married a few months earlier. Said Timberlake: "It's definitely a special song for me. 'Mirrors' is a love song to someone that you feel like is, sort of your other half. And it became a play on that. Not specifically about looking into a mirror. One of the most valuable things in a relationship is being able to constantly change and be individual, but look to the other side to the person that you're with and know that they're changing as well individually, but somehow you two can mirror each other and be the other half of that world that you both create. I think a relationship, when it's working, is constantly evolving because we as individuals evolve. You want to know that the person you're with is evolving with you. People change like seasons. We're always growing, always evolving, and to know that the other half of a special part of your life is, like I said, mirroring you, but also being an individual in their own way." The song was offered as a free download when pre-ordering The 20/20 Experience after Timberlake's performance at the 2013 Grammys. The song was helmed by Timbaland, who executive-produced Timberlake's previous albums Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds. Timberlake debuted the song during the BRIT Awards 2013 ceremony at the O2 Arena in London on February 20, 2013. His performance was an edited version of the eight minute track that can be found on The 20/20 Experience. This was Timberlake's second solo UK #1 hit, following "SexyBack." The former 'N Sync singer has also featured on three other UK chart-topping singles: Timbaland's "Give It To Me," Madonna's "4 Minutes" and as an uncredited vocalist, The Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is The Love?" At 8 minutes 5 seconds length, "Mirrors" was the longest-running UK #1 single since Oasis' "All Around The World" topped the charts in 1998 with a running time of 9 minutes 20 seconds. The song's music video opens with a dedication to Timberlake's grandma Sadie Bomar and late granddad William Bomar, who passed away in December 2012 after being together for 62 years. The 8-minute clip traces an elderly couple throughout different stages of their lifetime as they "reflect" on their time together over the years. Timberlake doesn't appear in the video until after the 5-minute mark, where he performs some dance moves alongside mirrors. The clip was directed by Floria Sigismondi, who helmed The Runaways movie. The song's visual won the VMA for Video of the Year at the 2013 MTV awards show. The clip also won Best Editing at the same ceremony. Timberlake also picked up moonmen for Best Direction for the David Fincher-directed "Suit & Tie" clip and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award, which is essentially a lifetime achievement prize. Justin's 16-minute performance at the MTV awards show was the longest in VMA history and featured a medley of his biggest hits. It included a reunion with his former 'NSYNC band mates for the first time in a decade. When Timberlake performed this at halftime of the 2018 Super Bowl, the dancers created a coruscating visual effect by holding mirrors to the lights.
Aren't you something to admire, 'cause your shine is something like a mirror And I can't help but notice, you reflect in this heart of mine If you ever feel alone and the glare makes me hard to find Just know that I'm always parallel on the other side 'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go Just put your hand on the glass, I'm here trying to pull you through You just gotta be strong 'Cause I don't wanna lose you now I'm looking right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Coming back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making two reflections into one 'Cause it's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me Aren't you something, an original, 'cause it doesn't seem merely assembled And I can't help but stare 'cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes Ooh I can't ever change without you, you reflect me, I love that about you And if I could, I would look at us all the time 'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go Just put your hand on the glass, I'm here trying to pull you through You just gotta be strong 'Cause I don't wanna lose you now I'm looking right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Coming back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making two reflections into one 'Cause it's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me Yesterday is history Tomorrow's a mystery I can see you looking back at me Keep your eyes on me Baby, keep your eyes on me I don't wanna lose you now I'm looking right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Coming back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making two reflections into one 'Cause it's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 2, 2013 | 24 | 102 |
| 2 | Mar 9, 2013 | 76 | 50 |
| 3 | Mar 16, 2013 | 97 | 29 |
| 4 | Mar 23, 2013 | 77 | 49 |
| 5 | Mar 30, 2013 | 25 | 101 |
| 6 | Apr 6, 2013 | 13 | 113 |
| 7 | Apr 13, 2013 | 11 | 115 |
| 8 | Apr 20, 2013 | 12 | 114 |
| 9 | Apr 27, 2013 | 7 | 119 |
| 10 | May 4, 2013 | 7 | 119 |
| 11 | May 11, 2013 | 5 | 121 |
| 12 | May 18, 2013 | 3 | 123 |
| 13 | May 25, 2013 | 3 | 123 |
| 14 | Jun 1, 2013 | 3 | 123 |
| 15 | Jun 8, 2013 | 3 | 123 |
| 16 | Jun 15, 2013 | 2 | 124 |
| 17 | Jun 22, 2013 | 4 | 122 |
| 18 | Jun 29, 2013 | 5 | 121 |
| 19 | Jul 6, 2013 | 7 | 119 |
| 20 | Jul 13, 2013 | 7 | 119 |