By Natalie Forster, Features Assignment Editor
Fans worldwide rushed to Minneapolis to watch Super Bowl LII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots on Feb. 4. Not only did the Eagles prove themselves on Super Bowl Sunday, but so did halftime performer Justin Timberlake.
Instead of having a big introduction before Timberlake’s performance, like some previous artists have done, Timberlake followed in the footsteps of Beyoncé in having a Pepsi commercial beforehand. Pepsi sponsored the halftime show.
Timberlake started the show with “Filthy,” his brand-new song off “Man of the Woods,” which dropped Feb. 2. With more of a new-age pop song with techno beats and random soundbites, the song itself is a new direction for him. It was a stereotypical setting, a club-like scene, and Timberlake seemed almost unimpressive at first, relying heavily on laser displays to entertain a bored-looking audience.
When he emerged from under the stadium, he finally gave the crowd what they wanted, singing old classics like “Rock that Body” and “Senorita,” off his first album “Justified.”
Timberlake did not sing any other new songs and brought back crowd favorites like “Sexyback” and “My Love” from “FutureSex/LoveSounds.” He brought back classic ballads like “Cry Me A River,” but he gave them a more upbeat, energetic sound to go with the rest of his set. He focused his set on his older hits, making the audience able to sing along and reminisce of the memories his songs brought about.
The stand-out moment of the night was when Timberlake paid homage to the late Prince. The hometown tribute was to Prince’s classic “I Would Die 4 U.” Timberlake sang alone on stage while playing a beautiful white piano.
Originally, a Prince hologram was supposed to appear on stage with Timberlake. After Prince’s former friend, Sheila E., came out and told the press that he did not want to be in hologram form after his death, Timberlake removed the idea from the set., according to USA Today. Instead, a large sheet projecting Prince’s former performance of the song was placed behind Timberlake.
The show ended with an energetic rendition of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Timberlake’s latest movie, “Trolls.” Justin brought out dancers dressed in rainbow-colored clothing and his own marching band to help play along. He left stage to run up into the stands with all his fans for his big finale.
This part of the show actually went viral, but it was not because of the actual song. While Timberlake was taking selfies with fans, there was a boy who looked very confused at his phone. Yes, that’s right, Justin Timberlake did not go viral, but rather a confused fan did.
“I knew that kid was gonna be famous,” said Cori Miller, sophomore classical language and philosophy student. “I knew he was going to go viral.”
Timberlake brought himself back to his roots for this performance. There were no special effects or grand moments like Katy Perry, Madonna and others have done in previous years. It was just him and the stage for the most part, and that was all he needed.
“He really went back to his roots, and I feel like his performance encompassed the theme of his album,” said Ashley Gallagher, freshman journalism major and music director at 88.3 FM The Buzz. “You can hear elements of his last album and songs off his former albums while showing a new side to him.”
