He kicked off his halftime set with “Filthy” in a laser-filled dance club, a song from his new album, and it was followed by “Rock Your Body,” though it was evident that the sound system at the venue had audio issues. He continued with “Señorita,” “SexyBack,” “My Love” and “Cry Me a River.”
The University of Minnesota Marching Band joined him for “Suit & Tie,” and continued with “Until the End of Time.” Timberlake played it very safe, and refrained from taking risks (compared to Lady Gaga’s spell-binding and daring Super Bowl performance from last year, which was pitch perfect).
Timberlake paid homage to Prince with his song “I Would Die 4 U,” which featured a video projection of Prince (in his hometown of Minnesota) on stage, as he accompanied himself on piano. After the first verse, there seemed to be a lack of connection with the song and the lyrics. Even his closing songs “Mirrors” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (two of the best songs of the night) weren’t enough to save his Super Bowl LII halftime performance, since the rest of it was a complete mess.
The Grammy winner should have at least brought N SYNC on stage with him, even for a brief reunion. That would have fared better than the outcome of the halftime performance, since it seemed that it was all about him. This year, he brought no special musical guests on stage with him.
In previous years, pop queens Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce and Madonna all delivered dynamic Super Bowl halftime performances that were leaps and bounds better than Timberlake’s. His performance fell short this year, and was quite disappointing. It only earned two out of five stars.
