Leading up to Justin Timberlake’s  Super Bowl LII halftime show performance, on one of the biggest stages in sports, the anticipation grew strong as fans wondered what this year would bring.

The so-called “Prince of Pop” had some big shoes to fill, including those of a Mr. Michael Jackson who performed in 1993.

Many were excited to see Timberlake perform just like Sheffa Jacob, who is a psychology major here at AIC. “I am surprised they had him perform but I love him and his songs!”

Timberlake is no stranger to the stage, especially during the Super Bowl. Timberlake has performed in three Halftime shows in his career, performing alongside Aerosmith and Britney Spears while in his band, ‘N Sync, in 2001 for Super Bowl XXXV. In 2004, JT went on to work with Janet Jackson and his reputation took a punch.

While singing Timberlake’s song, “Rock Your Body”, Jackson and Timberlake were about to close out the song when Timberlake, accidentally, ripped off a part of Jackson’s outfit exposing her breast. This obviously was not on purpose; Jackson’s bra was supposed to be revealed but her infamous wardrobe malfunction occurred instead.

Although this was a setback for Justin Timberlake, he managed to win his fans over again by releasing new music and albums. He released FutureSex/LoveSounds in 2006, which debuted some of his most popular songs such as; “SexyBack,” “What Goes Around… Comes Around,” and “My Love.”

After FutureSex/LoveSounds, Timberlake decided to focus on acting and he was cast in The Social Network as Sean Parker, the founder of Napster. In 2012, Timberlake returned to the studio to create his third album, The 20/20 Experience.

At this year’s Super Bowl on February 4, Timberlake danced his way through the field and went on to feature songs from his new album Man of the Woods along with some JT classics.

As colorful lasers flashed, Justin starts his first song. The roar of fans filled the stadium as the special effects took over the stage. The Prince of Pop’s background music was filled with horns, showing his class, as well as a techno feel, bringing back the early 2000s Justin.

As a huge screen was lowered, a projection of Prince and his song, “I Would Die 4 You” was played. Timberlake sang in harmony with the holograph and dedicated his performance to the city of Minneapolis, Prince’s birthplace.

The performance came to a close with the song, “Can’t Stop the Feeling”, and a sea of color flooded the field as Timberlake ran into the crowd and took a selfie with a fan, also known as “The Selfie Kid”.

The show may have ended but for the AIC community, it is still fresh in their minds.

Bonnie Kennedy, a freshman marketing major, thought the Halftime show was entertaining and captured her attention.

“I thought he had a great song selection and he was very fun to watch!” Kennedy said.

Even though Timberlake gave a great performance, a general complaint about the performance was the volume on his microphone appeared to be quite low.

The music seemed to overpower JT’s vocals, making it slightly difficult to hear him.
Despite this flaw, it did not drive viewers away. When asked if there were anything that could be changed, Ave Mullen felt that viewers should have a say on who should perform.

“I think they should have the people vote on who we want to see perform every year,” Mullen said. “I’ve been dying to see Drake do a Super Bowl performance.”

The anticipation of next year’s Super Bowl is already setting in. Who will face off against each other? Who will reign champion?

But the biggest question would be, who will perform the halftime show? The answer to that question will be found at some point but until then, fans will have to play the waiting game.