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The last pre-game word on Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl LII halftime show

Sometime around 8pm ET, Justin Timberlake will get his 12-and-a-half minutes in front of about 100 million people for the Super Bowl halftime show. We’ve been talking about this for days, so let this be the last word on the matter before it actually starts.

1. Justin Timberlake told reporters “My son will never play football.”

Hey, totally get it. It’s a blood sport that destroys brains and ruins lives. But when JT was asked about his son’s football future during an official press conference, he replied

Uh, he will never play football. No, no.

I mean, yeah, it’s kind of like that thing where my main objective is that he become a great person. And if he wants to get into the arts or sports, then yeah, I would fully support that. I think I can hopefully offer him some advice on what to do and what not to do, so yeah, but right now we’re working on our manners. That’s a big deal in our house right now. It’s like, one thing at a time.

Apparently, the room got really, really quiet.

 

2. Janet Jackson has squashed all hope that she might be a surprise guest during the performance.

Saturday night, she posted this.

Damn. This would have been an audience-grabber for sure. And given that NFL attendance and viewership has been dropping steadily since 2014, the league could have used something like this. It would be even cooler if she and JT were to allude to another wardrobe malfunction in some way. Then again, this is the No Fun League.

3. There will be a tribute to Prince–but the Purple One’s family is not happy

It’s widely acknowledged that Prince’s 2007 halftime performance in the rain in Miami was the greatest musical Super Bowl moment of all time. Given his love for Prince and that the game is being held in his hometown, JT thinks it’s only appropriate that his performance honour Prince in some way. Fine.

But the family isn’t happy about the idea of Prince being reanimated as a hologram for the occasion. Omarr Bajer, Prince’s half-brother, tweeted this on Saturday.

So will Prince make a zombie appearance in the form of a hologram? Apparently not, after all.

4. Here are my picks for the five greatest Super Bowl performances of all time.

The biggest live TV event at which any artist can hope to appear is the Super Bowl halftime show, a 12-and-a-half minute slot with an audience of 100 million. The gig is so coveted that the NFL steadfastly refuses to pay those selected to perform. While certain expenses are covered, the league believes that the sheer exposure is priceless.

“Heck,” they’ve mused, “maybe the performers should pay us!”

But it wasn’t always this way. Read more about what I wrote for Global News here.

5. Bonus Fact: Pink may not be able to sing the national anthem.

The flu. It’s bad.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38019 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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