Justin Timberlake Announces He’s “Ready”; New Music Coming in Three Days?

Stand aside, Bieber, 'cause it looks as though the original Justin is returning to the pop charts. After sending a cryptic tweet Wednesday night teasing a big announcement Thursday at noon ET, Justin Timberlake has now indicated that new music from him is coming soon.

In a video posted on YouTube and on the website Countdown.JustinTimberlake.com, Justin is seen walking through a hallway, while in voiceover, he dismisses rumors that he's given up his music career.

"Someone asked me the other day, 'So, are you just done? With music?'  [But] it means more to me than anybody else in the world," says Justin. "Look, I've only done two albums in ten years.  That's the way I really look at it: what does the next decade mean for me?"

He continues, "I'm the one who sits and is obsessive about it before you even get to hear it.  As close as I get to it, I don't know if I could physically torture myself year-in and year-out and expect it to fulfill me the way that it does and the way that it is right now."

"I don't want to put anything out that I feel like is something I don't love. You just don't get that everyday. You have to wait for it," he finishes.

Then, we see Justin stepping into the studio, going up to the mic and telling an unseen person, "I'm ready."

Next, a countdown clock appears, which seems to indicate that we'll be hearing something from JT in just over three days.

Sources tell Billboard that Justin is indeed working on a new album, his first since 2006'sFutureSex/LoveSounds.  In fact, back in October, the website Showbiz411.com reported that Justin was "working around the clock" with Timbaland, his longtime collaborator, as well as other producers, and that the album could be ready as early as the first quarter of 2013.

It's worth noting that in January of 2011, Justin's manager, Johnny Wright, told ABC News Radio, "I guarantee you that you will hear a brand-new Justin Timberlake album within the next 18 months."  So Wright's prediction was a little off, but not by that much.