I remember watching one Patriots game that was on Sunday Night Football in late October when it was announced that Justin Timberlake would be headlining the Halftime Show for the upcoming Super Bowl. I was so excited and personally, thought this was very long overdue.
JT has been one of the most influential and successful pop stars of the past two decades. From his early jams like Rock Your Body or Cry Me A River to his other hits throughout the years including Sexyback, Mirrors and, Can’t Stop The Feeling, he has always kept us singing, dancing and, fangirling. PLUS, those are just from his solo career, who can forget his years prior to that as a member of the iconic boy band *NSYNC? He has been given the title of being the “President of Pop.”
Not only do fans love him for his music but, he also has made us laugh by hosting Saturday Night Live an impressive 5 times and appearing on his best friend, Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show (or when he previously hosted Late Night) many times with a variety of hilarious comedy sketches. He has proven himself to be a great actor in a few movies over the years like Friends with Benefits and Trolls as well.
All of this has raised the question, “Is there anything Justin Timberlake can’t do?” So, with a headliner as talented as him, I and many others, was really looking forward to his halftime show.
The Friday before Super Bowl Sunday, Timberlake dropped his latest album, Man Of The Woods. The inspiration behind the album is alleged to be about his home state of Tennessee and he and wife Jessica Biel’s two year-old son, Silas. When I first heard the singles he released prior to the album coming out, I was a little worried because they did have his usual sound and something was different. However, once I listened to the album as a whole, I realized that the same JT that we know and love was still there and those other songs were just an unexpected twist.
Right before the halftime show, Pepsi aired a commercial with Jimmy Fallon narrating and ending with Fallon saying “Go Get ‘Em Justin” Aka the epitome of friendship goals.
Then, the show started of with JT singing one of his newest songs, Filthy in what appeared to look like a dark and crowded nightclub.
Next, he danced his way through the crowd and ascended from inside the Stadium to the outside area while belting out his classic, Rock Your Body. This allowed us to see his Man of the Woods inspired outfit choice which included elements of camo, leaves, and mountains. As he danced his way through the stadium, he made his way onto the field and began clapping and singing the famous bridge to his song, Senorita.
Finally, he made his way onto the main stage where he then sang Sexyback and Cry Me a River
After that, he and his dancers moved back onto the field into a formation and were eventually joined by a marching band. Then, Justin grabbed a camo print sport coat and moved onto a B-stage to sing Suit and Tie. Throughout this song, he did some impressive tricks with the microphone stand.
Then, JT gave a brief tribute to Minneapolis’ own, the late Prince. Timberlake migrated to another B stage with a piano and a large white sheet displayed Prince singing, I Would Die 4 U. While this was taking place, the whole city’s skyline turned purple in Prince’s honor.
Then, after that, Justin proceeded back to the mainstage and sang his smash, Mirrors surrounded by many mirrors. Then, those mirrors were turned around to make the fill the filed with color as Justin started to sing the song from Trolls , Can’t Stop The Feeling. Throughout the song, JT made his way through the field back to the stands. While he was in the crowd, Timberlake approached a young teenage boy and attempted to take a “super bowl selfie” with him. The boy was startled and looked like he did not know who Justin was. This moment became the biggest meme from the Super Bowl. What an ending!