Justin Timberlake danced his method by way of a club-inspired Tremendous Bowl halftime present Sunday as he paid tribute to Prince within the late singer’s hometown with a towering but tasteful projection. After fevered hypothesis on whether or not or how Timberlake would salute the icon because the Tremendous Bowl got here to Minneapolis, the pop star obliged halfway by way of his efficiency.
“Minneapolis, that is for you,” Timberlake instructed the group as he sat all the way down to a piano, the sphere bathed in purple gentle. As Timberlake slowed down the tempo for a soulful cowl of I Would Die 4 U, footage of Purple Rain-era Prince shot up towards the roof of the brand new US Financial institution Stadium in a smoky haze, closing with a silhouette of The Purple One along with his guitar. However Prince, who died in April 2016 of an unintentional overdose, didn’t “carry out” in a hologram — as some followers had feared — and the section, whereas memorable, amounted to a fleeting second of the up-tempo present.
There was additionally no bare “wardrobe malfunction” of the sort that marred Timberlake’s final look 14 years in the past, when he joined Janet Jackson on the Tremendous Bowl — by far probably the most watched US tv occasion of the 12 months. Whereas many Tremendous Bowl performers go heavy on pyrotechnics, Timberlake as an alternative confirmed off his dancing expertise, opening the present in a nightclub-like maze of lasers as he sang his latest single Filthy.
Timberlake then strutted into the stadium along with his mic in hand, main a squad of dancers — and matching them step for step — as he sang a medley of his best-known songs together with SexyBack. He rose to heart stage and sang Swimsuit and Tie with back-up from the appropriately attired College of Minnesota marching band, who moved to the music with their devices doubling as props.
Timberlake has described Prince as a “big affect” on him, however his Tremendous Bowl tribute had generated controversy even earlier than it occurred. The movie star gossip website TMZ earlier stated that Timberlake was contemplating a Prince hologram, horrifying many followers. Sheila E., certainly one of Prince’s closest collaborators, stated late Saturday that she had spoken to Timberlake who voiced “heartfelt phrases of respect” for The Purple One — and warranted no hologram.
Prince had a famously sophisticated relationship with know-how, with the artist among the many first stars to embrace the probabilities of on-line music however ultimately turning into disgruntled over the web’s cultural results. In a 1998 interview with Guitar World, Prince stated he would by no means wish to “carry out” with a lifeless artist resembling Duke Ellington by way of digital results, calling such lack of inventive management for a late musician “probably the most demonic factor possible.”
In Timberlake’s final Tremendous Bowl look in 2004, he entered because the shock visitor of headliner Jackson and swiped his hand throughout her chest — exposing certainly one of her breasts. A scandalized TV-watching nation noticed Jackson’s nipple — properly, coated with a steel nipple protect — and broadcaster CBS was fined $550,000 for indecency. Jackson took to social media forward of the newest Tremendous Bowl to clarify she was not coming again for a do-over.
