At the end of the second quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles were leading 22-12 in the epic show-off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, setting the stage for Justin Timberlake’s Pepsi Halftime Show. He was introduced by Late Night Show host Jimmy Fallon, who told viewers around the world to prepare for a great performance.
Starting in front of a traditional enclosed concert crowd, Timberlake opened with his hit “Filthy” from his new studio album Man of the Woods. This performance included nothing notable, except for when Timberlake danced his way upstairs to the live audience of thousands, showing off superb twerking skills in the process. Timberlake then paced down the walkway and successfully led the crowd of cheering fans to dance, or rather jump, in sync along with his dancers on stage. Until this point, most fans were still waiting impatiently to see who the star might bring out to perform onstage with him.
The second part of the Halftime Show focused much more on bright lighting and color schemes. After singing in front of an ensemble of trumpet players arranged in a triangle formation, Timberlake paid a touching tribute to the late Prince, singing his “I Would Die 4 U” on a white piano, projecting images of the singer in his early career onto a billowing screen above the stage. For additional measure, the entire US Bank Stadium was illuminated by a bright purple light which flooded outside to parts of Minneapolis as well. The next highlight of the performance was “Mirrors,” which Timberlake sang on a glass structure while backup dancers came together all around holding mirrors facing the light to create a beautiful collage of unity.
The performance then transitioned into Timberlake’s 2016 catchy hit from Trolls, “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” where the singer danced up the aisles in the stadium to interact with several audience members. The end of this song also marked the end of the Halftime Show.
Like always, there was backlash against the performance, but this year, it was much more severe. Viewers criticized J.T.’s Halftime Show for lacking excitement and for not featuring any other guest performers, a practice commonplace in previous Super Bowls. Additionally, many viewers, including myself, had hoped that Timberlake would redeem himself after Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction in 2004. During the controversial Halftime Show in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Timberlake pulled off too much of Jackson’s costume during their dance routine, exposing her bare breast to millions of people while onstage. It would have been respectful to invite Jackson back to the Super Bowl, and his decision to not offer her a second chance was disappointing.
During other Halftime Shows in recent memory, Katy Perry entered singing her anthem “Roar” while riding in on a giant robotic tiger, and Lady Gaga jumped off the top of the stadium after belting out “God Bless America.” The root of the problem in this year’s Halftime Show was that Timberlake’s performance simply didn’t have a memorable “wow” moment like in previous years. Although Timberlake is a very talented singer and performer, this performance was quite bland, and is best described as forgettable.