Justin Timberlake Is Bringing Sexy Back To MySpace

MySpace previews an entirely redesigned site with a new video.

ByABC News
September 25, 2012, 10:39 AM

Sept. 25, 2012 — -- The headline might say it all. And it's really not a cute pun: Justin Timberlake is really bringing sexy back to MySpace, or at least that's how it looks from a new teaser video.

Late on Monday night Timberlake tweeted: "THIS IS MYSPACE vimeo.com/myspace/the-ne…#NEWMYSPACE."

The link took his followers to a preview video the New My Space, which brings an entirely new design to the outdated social network. The video shows a very clean looking interface, similar to Pinterest in design, with lots of white space and photos, with pages that now scroll horizontally rather than vertically.

The video also reveals that users can now use MySpace, one of the original key social networks, to connect to the networks that overtook it, including Facebook and Twitter. It appears you can bring over your photos and videos to the service, update your Facebook and Twitter statuses right from the new MySpace, as well as find your friends from those other services.

There is also a heavy music component, with radio and playlist sharing. The demo highlights that MySpace is a great way for musical artists, like Timberlake, to stay in touch with fans. One portion shows him sharing his new song with some of his biggest fans.

In 2011, Specific Media and Timberlake bought MySpace from News Corp. for $35 million. News Corp. had purchased MySpace for $580 million six years prior to that. "There's a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place," Timberlake said at the time.

The demo looks slick and very, very attractive, but is it too late for MySpace to capture the hearts and clicks of social media users?

"It takes more for a social network to succeed than a pretty face, it needs faces to populate it," Michael Gartenberg, Gartner Research Director, told ABC News. "Given the traction Facebook has with consumers and the center of gravity it has achieved, MySpace would have to offer a very compelling reason to get users who have abandoned the site to return and entice new users."

The new.myspace.com site doesn't reveal when the site will be available to the public. Anyone can sign up for an invite to the site and the company promises to send an "invite very soon."

MySpace did not respond to ABC News' immediate request for comment.