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."

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.)

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