Justin Timberlake Pays Prince Tribute In Halftime Show
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Justin Timberlake didn't appear alongside a hologram at the Super Bowl halftime show. Instead, he was dwarfed by a massive projection of Prince against a giant sheet as he covered Prince's "I Would Die 4 U."
The buzz over the weekend was that Timberlake intended to feature a holographic representation of Prince during his halftime show, which raised a number of concerns about respecting Prince's legacy, as the artist himself was no great fan of the technology.
Instead, Timberlake's halftime show merged a performance of his own single "Until the End of Time," which features Prince's immortal Linn drum patterns, with a slowed-down version of the aforementioned 1984 single.
Images of Prince were projected against the giant sheet behind Timberlake, in what many took to be a reference to Prince's own halftime show performance of "Purple Rain."
Justin Timberlake halftime show — purple tribute to Prince #SuperBowlLII pic.twitter.com/5LDkVbkgXX
— WCCO - CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) February 5, 2018
Shades of Miami: Here's the Prince tribute. Not a hologram, but a projection in a white sheet alluding to Prince's famous silhouette in 2007 pic.twitter.com/JL1ly3vXrQ
— David McCoy (@mccoympls) February 5, 2018
Purple Minneapolis during the halftime show with the Prince shoutout- come on that's awesome. pic.twitter.com/mTtQPWNftl
— Jason DeRusha (@DeRushaJ) February 5, 2018
I fixed the halftime show... #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/LK14t1wavt
— Stormchasernick (@stormchasernick) February 5, 2018
We can finally say it out loud... WE MARCHED WITH JT! #UMNmarchwithJT #SBLII #SB52 #PepsiHalftime #BoldNorth pic.twitter.com/sY50aXGOjE
— UMN Marching Band (@UMNmarch) February 5, 2018
DO THE SONG FROM "TROLLS"
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) February 5, 2018
The singer's set started out in an underground portion of U.S. Bank Stadium made to look like a club filled with lasers and dancers. Timberlake emerged from into the stadium and performed a dance-filled set that included "Sexyback" and "Cry Me A River."
Timberlake danced atop the NFL logo and then with a marching band for "Suit & Tie."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)