Justin Timberlake rocked our bodies, cried us a river and made sure the feelings didn't stop at halftime of Super Bowl 52. The beloved pop star was the featured act at the mid-point of the game between the Patriots and Eagles on Sunday night, as he was introduced by good friend Jimmy Fallon and started his act underneath the field. “Haters gonna say it's fake,” he then said many times, starting his performance with a brief rendition of “Filthy.” From there, Timberlake danced his way on to the field, rocking a red handkerchief around his neck that became the talk of Twitter. He sang “Rock Your Body.” He broke into “SexyBack.” He sampled “Gone.” He played all the hits, basically. Then, at one point, he sat at a piano and covered Prince, who tragically passed away last year from a drug overdose and who made his home in Minnesota. (The Super Bowl was played in Minnesota, it's worth noting.) “Minneapolis, this one's for you,” he said, prior to a few images of Prince being projected on a giant screen. Impressively, lights across Minnesota then lit up in Prince's trademark color of purple. It was pretty cool. The performance culminated in a rendition of “Rock Your Body,” which found Timberlake jumping into the crowd and telling a young fan to snap a selfie of him and the superstar. Overall, there was a whole lot of dancing, which is what Timberlake does as well as anyone, of course. The sound was off nearly throughout the entire act, but it's possible this was even done on purpose… lest millions of viewers hear Timberlake wheezing for 20 minutes after essentially running a 5K or so. There was no Janet Jackson, as had been rumored. Much to the chagrin of NSync fans everywhere, Timberlake’s halftime show did not include a reunion with his former bandmates, either. We didn't see Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass or JC Chasez. How did JT stack up against Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and past halftime acts? Give him a grade below: And then watch highlights from the performance here:
Read this article:
Justin Timberlake Halftime Performance: Grade It!
