Getty Singer Prince performs onstage during the 2007 NCLR ALMA Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on June 1, 2007 in Pasadena, California.
For weeks, fans have been wondering about surprise performers for this year’s 2018 Super Bowl halftime show. In the past, many headlining performers have incorporated surprise guests into their acts in the past. For example, two years ago, Katy Perry had Missy Elliott and Lenny Kravitz join her for her big Super Bowl performance. In 2013, Beyonce was the halftime show headliner and she took the opportunity to have a Destiny’s Child reunion incorporated in her big performance.
This year, NSYNC fans were desperately hoping that Super Bowl headliner Justin Timberlake would bring his old buddies into the mix for his big halftime show. Unfortunately for fans, CNN has reported that an NSYNC performance this year is not going to happen. Janet Jackson fans have also been blowing up Twitter, in hopes that Timberlake will have her in his show to make up for their 2004 nipplegate situation. During Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Timberlake appeared as a guest performer and removed a piece of Jackson’s top at the end of his song “Rock Your Body”. He exposed her right breast, which resulted in a media firestorm.
In a recent press conference, Timberlake shot down the possibility of guest performers in his act, as reported by People. Timberlake explained that, “To be honest, I had a ton of grand ideas about special guests. There’s a whole list. I think Vegas has a lot of odds on it, from ‘NSYNC to Jay [JAY-Z] to Chris Stapleton to Janet.” He then said that he really wanted to showcase his band, The Tennessee Kids, as his special guests. But, according to TMZ, Timberlake will be incorporating a hologram of the late music icon Prince in his halftime show. With the Super Bowl being held in Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, it’s a great way to raise some hometown spirit.
According to People, Prince’s brother Omarr Baker has shot down chances of a hologram appearance. So, the hologram may not have been approved by Prince’s family. Prince’s former fiancee, musician Sheila E., also weighed in on Twitter, writing that, “Prince told me don’t ever let anyone do a hologram of me. Not cool if this happens!” But, it looks like he was wrong. Timberlake did include a hologram for his performance … well, sort of. It was a video of Prince singing “I Would Die 4 U.”
In a recent press conference, 2018 Super Bowl headliner Timberlake cited Prince as one of his greatest influences in his career, according to Billboard. Timberlake stated that, “In my opinion, [he is] the greatest all-around musician in pop culture. The time I got to spend around him, with him, talking about music — those are memories that I’ll take with me forever.” Unfortunately for Timberlake, if he did have plans to incorporate a hologram, it definitely isn’t going over well with Prince’s family.
This isn’t the only performance for the Super Bowl tonight, that may have had a hiccup. Singer Pink is scheduled to deliver this year’s national anthem, but she recently revealed on Instagram that she is suffering from the flu. She has had a rough time singing and is hoping that she will be able to make it through her performance.
