This year’s Super Bowl made history on,Feb. 4, when the Philadelphia Eagles won for the first time. In addition to the game and the commercials, we also have the much-awaited halftime show. Arguably one of the most talked about performances each year, people sit glued to their seats in anticipation of the iconic performances that the Super Bowl gives us. On Sunday, Justin Timberlake graced the stage.
He performed a mix of old hits and new songs for the audience, opening the show with his newest single, “Filthy.” The show started on a different stage from the main one, with many lasers pointed in every direction. The beginning was more unexciting than expected, and it was distracting to see every person in the audience filming with their cell phones.
After the lack-luster opening, Timberlake recovered with his flashy dance numbers as he walked from the first stage to the next one, which was still not the main stage. It took him about three minutes to finally get to the main stage on the field. Singing hits like “Rock Your Body” and “SexyBack,” he put a modern twist on his old music. He changed the beats the the music to make it feel like trap-like music of today. There were many backup dancers and a brass band to add flare to the set..
Timberlake’s outfit, meant to evoke his new album “Man of the Woods”, was definitely an interesting choice for the occasion. Overall, his outfit looked like it was a painting that belonged on the PBS show “Antiques Roadshow.” Maybe it could have passed as a Bob Ross landscape. Either way, the camouflage jacket and pants combo, along with the shirt depicting a landscape of two elk in nature match the high energy atmosphere of the Super Bowl.
The highlight of the performance was when Timberlake played a duet with a projection of Prince. Projected on a giant white sheet, Prince suddenly became the star of the show. Timberlake mentioned that he wanted to pay homage to the Minneapolis-native singer, who died in 2016. The entire stadium was lit up with purple lights that managed to also light up the city of Minneapolis surrounding the stadium.
After the Prince tribute, Timberlake wrapped up the show with “Mirrors” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” featuring a mob of people dressed in colorful outfits while holding mirrors. He went into the crowd and took several selfies with an audience member, . The awkward seeming young boy, in what has proven to be this year’s Super Bowl meme was mostly disinterested in JT, checking his phone immediately after his selfie with Justin (even though he continued to be showcased on national television).
Immediately after, there was a lot of discussion about the performance, whether on the Internet or at their own parties. Surprisingly, many of the comments were negative.
“In Super Bowl halftime shows, there’s always a ‘wow’ moment. He didn’t have one this time,” Jill Erlanger ’20 said.
“Lady Gaga will always be my favorite halftime show. You could just see how hers was so much better than [Timberlake’s]. Hers was a performance. His was a show,” Maddy Fischer ’20 said.
On the other hand, some people were pleased with his level of performance.
“I’m a big fan of his, so it was cool to see him on the stage performing his hits. I saw him in concert five years ago, and it was definitely one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. He really knows how to perform,” Serina Addona ’20 said.
Whether or not there were any “wow moments” to come out of this performance, everyone can agree that Timberlake is a good performer. It was overall a good game and a good show, and definitely an improvement from his last one with Janet Jackson in the 2004 Super Bowl.
Feature Image Courtesy of CNN
