Pharrell Ft. Jay Z – Frontin’
Memorably introduced by a call of “Hooh!” by Pharrell, the bridge heard on ‘Frontin” is led by a simple chord progression and supported by revered Neptunes strings, a stabbing bassline and vocal harmonies that hark back to the 80’s. Initially, Jay Z even assists with words during the bridge before dropping into his show-stealing verse.
Toni Braxton Ft. Loon – Hit The Freeway
Toni Braxton rolled back the years and introduced herself to a younger generation of listeners with ‘Hit The Freeway’. The bridge included some complex but beautifully arranged vocal harmonies and some familiar sounding sauce provided by Pharrell and Chad that was very prominent at the time.
Justin Timberlake – Last Night
One of my favourite songs from Timberlake’s classic debut Justified, ‘Last Night’ has a bridge made up of dense, multi-layered vocal harmonies that are made possible by The Neptunes’ majestically composed instrumentation. The bridge is also a fantastic example of Timberlake’s vocal range.
Natasha Ramos – Midnight Hour
A fantastic track with a bridge to match. Natasha Ramos’ vocals lead a bridge comprised of intergalactic synths, a delicate guitar riff and a bassline immersed in an irresistible groove.
Justin Timberlake – Rock Your Body
‘Rock Your Body’ was very, very unfortunate to miss out on the first part of this series but finds a place here. The vocal back and forth between Timberlake and Vanessa Marquez is sensational and is the main reason for this bridge making the list, despite the impressive work by The Neptunes on production. The video of Pharrell and Timberlake arranging the vocals for the bridge (above) gives an excellent insight into their creative process.
