Super Bowl LII halftime show

Super Bowl LII halftime show

Date	February 4, 2018
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Venue	U.S. Bank Stadium
Headliner	Justin Timberlake
Sponsor	Pepsi
Director	Hamish Hamilton
Producer	Ricky Kirshner
Super Bowl halftime show chronology
LI (2017) LII (2018) LIII (2019)

The Super Bowl LII Halftime Show (officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show) took place on February 4, 2018 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as part of Super Bowl LII. Justin Timberlake was the featured performer, as confirmed by the National Football League (NFL) on October 22, 2017. It was televised nationally by NBC.

Synopsis

Timberlake with dancers during the halftime performance

Justin Timberlake walks out of the tunnel at the start of the Super Bowl LII halftime show.

The show began with Jimmy Fallon introducing Timberlake, followed by a video screen depicting Justin Timberlake performing "Filthy" in a club setting below the field level of the stadium. He then walked up a staircase and appeared on a ramp stage extending outward into the field, descending into a series of stages surrounded by a crowd. Timberlake proceeded to move through the crowd performing "Rock Your Body" with a troupe of female backup dancers, abruptly stopping short of the end of the song and shifting to "Señorita" on a small stage with his backing dancers. Upon reaching the main stage, he performed a number of songs, including "SexyBack", "My Love", and "Cry Me a River", which featured a dance break mid-field. Upon reaching the next stage, Timberlake performed his hit song "Suit & Tie" as the University of Minnesota Marching Band, wearing black tuxedos, played backup instrumentals and marched out to meet him.

The Stadium and the city of Minneapolis were shown to be lit purple during Timberlake's tribute to Prince

Dancers fill the field during Timberlake's performance of "Can't Stop the Feeling!"

Timberlake proceeded to walk up to a white grand piano while performing "Until the End of Time", then segued into "I Would Die 4 U" as a tribute to Minneapolis-native Prince. A video of Prince performing the song played in the background, projected onto on a large multi-story sheet. An aerial shot showed downtown Minneapolis covered in purple lighting that morphed into Prince's trademark Love Symbol, with the stadium at the center. He then returned to the main stage to perform "Mirrors", as hundreds of dancers and members of the marching band performed choreography with large mirrors, creating bright reflections in the broadcast and across the the roof of the stadium. Timberlake closed the show with "Can't Stop the Feeling!", entering the stands at the conclusion of the song.

For the first time since the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in Indianapolis in 2012, no pyrotechnics were used throughout the performance. The show relied mostly on lasers and video screens for visual effects.

Background

Field being set up for Timberlake's performance

During August and September 2017, several publications informed that Timberlake was the frontrunner to performer at the Super Bowl LII halftime, first along with his frequent-collaborator Jay-Z as co-headliner, and then as the solo performer. A spokesperson from the NFL stated at the time, "along with Pepsi, we know that we will put on a spectacular show. When it is time to announce her name we will do it. Or his name. Or their names." The NFL confirmed the announcement on October 22 with a video starring Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon.

This was Timberlake's third appearance in a Super Bowl halftime show. As a member of NSYNC, Timberlake appeared in the Super Bowl XXXV (2001) halftime show, and as a guest artist in the Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004), which performance featured a controversial incident where Timberlake accidentally exposed one of Janet Jackson's breasts on national television, described as a wardrobe malfunction. The Parents Television Council penned an open letter to Timberlake asking to keep the performance "family-friendly." While the organization acknowledged that Timberlake apologized for the 2004 incident, they asked him to stay true to his word, saying "we are heartened by your response that the events of 2004 are not going to happen in 2018," as the singer stated in a prior interview that "we are not going to do that again."

In an interview with Billboard, Pepsi executives expressed:

We are all big fans of Justin Timberlake. We’ve kind of felt that Justin deserves, and has for a number of years, to be the main artist for the halftime show because previously he wasn’t the main artist. It was just about the timing. To be honest, we have discussed Justin for the last number of years for coming and doing halftime, and this year just felt really right to us. He is hands down one of the greatest entertainers currently alive, it was a no-brainer. We know he’s gonna bring it.

The Halftime Show included a remembrance for Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson, who died just hours before Super Bowl LII after being struck by a vehicle.

Development

The U.S. Bank Stadium, where Super Bowl and the halftime show was held.

The University of Minnesota marching band, performing with Justin Timberlake.

During the performance, Timberlake wore an outfit designed by Stella McCartney, which consists of "alter nappa fringed jacket with a shirt, featuring a landscape artwork by British artist Martin Ridley," according to a press release. Also part of the look is a Prince of Wales-check and camouflage splatter-print suit and matching jacket. As usual for McCartney, these pieces were made from animal-free leather and organic cotton.

Timberlake stated in a press conference that there would be no guest musicians in the halftime show and that the event would focus solely on himself and his backing band, the Tennessee Kids. Regarding the Prince tribute, the performance's creative visual lead, Fireplay's Nick Whitehouse, told Rolling Stone:

Paying tribute to Prince was something JT highlighted as an important moment for this show, and we spent quite a bit of time ensuring this moment would be true to his legacy. Ultimately, Justin decided that the only person who could do Prince justice is Prince. The band held 50-hours worth of rehearsals in preparation for the show.

Prince had previously stated he did not want to be included in new music after death in a 1998 interview, citing The Beatles' "Free as a Bird" as an example of a practice he considered to be "demonic." His family granted permission to use Prince's likeness on the condition that it not be used in a hologram, and they approved of the final result.

Timberlake performing "Suit & Tie" with members of the University of Minnesota Marching Band

Despite the lack of an individual guest artist, the more than 300-member University of Minnesota Marching Band was featured in the show, due in part to a social media campaign initiated by members of the band. The band's drumline, brass, and saxophone sections pre-recorded and performed with Timberlake during his performance of "Suit & Tie." The upper woodwind and auxiliary sections led drill formations and held large mirrors during Timberlake’s performance of his song "Mirrors", and acted as fans and dancers throughout other portions of the show, including the club scene at the show's opening. All members of the band were featured on the field in the show's finale, "Can't Stop the Feeling!". The band had previously performed in the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVI.

Critical response

Bruce R. Miller of Sioux City Journal wrote "Timberlake is a masterful live performer – which made Sunday's Super Bowl performance about the only sure bet," he continued commenting the performer "did a lot of infectious dancing and managed to play with the crowd like no other." Although it did not have a moment that "stuck," he considered the Prince tribute the best moment of the show. With a similar opinion, Chris Willman of Variety stated "Timberlake turned in a more enjoyably physical performance than just about anybody else who's done the Bowl show… and if it was more a feat of athleticism than aestheticism, you can’t say that’s entirely inappropriate for the occasion." Taylor Weatherby of Billboard said "there is no denying that Timberlake absolutely rocked his first headlining [halftime]", further adding "Timberlake's halftime show was undeniably mesmerizing. From starting in the concourse to making his way into the crowd (and making #SelfieKid an instant superstar) for the ending." She also considered it "is made for a TV experience" rather than for the public in the stadium, mainly for the sound quality difficulties. From the same magazine, Nina Braca wrote "his moves were on point," and Andrew Ubterberger said two things were "relatively certain" about the performance. "most of America would love it, and most of the Internet would hate it," and added Timberlake was "in a situation that was both a can't-lose and a can't-win. It would've been virtually impossible for him to please the critics he'd alienated over the last couple years."

Amanda Petrusich of The New Yorker said of Timberlake’s decision to omit the end of "Rock Your Body" (which was performed during the controversial 2004 halftime) as feeling like, “less like an apology than yet more spineless deflection”. Chris Richards of the The Washington Post called Timberlake’s performance, “unambiguously underwhelming”.

Commercial reception

The Super Bowl LII halftime show was seen by 106.6 million television viewers in the United States, 9% less than Lady Gaga's in 2017. It had higher average viewership than the game itself.

According to initial sales reports from Nielsen Music, sales of the songs Timberlake performed during the halftime show gained 534% in the United States on February 4, the day of the Super Bowl, compared to Feb. 3, while his streams on Spotify gained 214%.

Setlist

Timberlake performing alongside a video projection of Prince

1. "Filthy"
2. "Rock Your Body"
3. "Señorita"
4. "SexyBack" (with elements of "Supplies")
5. "My Love"
6. "Cry Me a River" (with elements of "Kashmir")
7. "Suit & Tie" (featuring the University of Minnesota Marching Band)
8. "Until the End of Time"
9. "I Would Die 4 U" (along with a pre-recorded video of Prince, displayed on a projection screen)
10. "Mirrors"
11. "Can't Stop the Feeling!"

See also

• 2018 in American television

External links

• Media related to Super Bowl LII halftime show at Wikimedia Commons