Justin Timberlake pays tribute to the late Prince

Justin+Timberlake+pays+tribute+to+the+late+Prince

Yasmine Castañeda,
Contributor

Football’s biggest night was hosted in Minneapolis this year as the New England Patriots faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles for Super Bowl LII. The Battle for the Lombardi Trophy rocked the television screens of over 103.4 million viewers across the country.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who were once considered the underdogs, ultimately stood their ground and defeated the New England Patriots with a final score of 41-33.

For many, the main reason to tune in to the Super Bowl was to watch the highly anticipated commercials and the legendary halftime performance.

This year, Justin Timberlake had the honor of taking the stage during Pepsi’s Halftime Show.

Timberlake kicked off his performance by reminding millions of viewers exactly what makes his music stand out. He played a melody of all his top hits including, “Cry Me a River,” “Suit & Tie,” “SexyBack,” “Senorita,” “Mirrors,” “My Love,” “Can’t Fight The Feeling” and “Filthy,” the newest track off his new highly anticipated album, “Man of the Woods.”

One of the most memorable moments of Timberlake’s performance included the famous selfie he took with 13-year-old Ryan McKenna, who quickly stopped recording and raced to open the camera to catch the once in a lifetime chance of getting a picture with the famous superstar. At that moment, McKenna went viral and the famous selfie has been surfing the web ever since.

Timberlake also played a tribute to the late Prince, whose hometown is Minneapolis, with a rendition of “I Would Die 4 U.” During the performance, a giant projection of Prince was shown on a sheet with hues of purple behind Justin’s piano stage.

“I thought it was tastefully done,” said Lisa Castillo, long time Prince fan. “The performance was the highlight of my night.”

“Man of the Woods,” Timberlake’s newest album was released on Feb. 1, just days before the big performance.

Prior to his big performance, Justin teased several snippets of himself and his band practicing on the big field days prior to the Super Bowl. He documents all his practices. It was also his 37 birthday on Jan. 31.

Timberlake continued his big night with a live performance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. He performed “Supplies” and “Say Something” featuring Chris Stapleton.

Timberlake wore a bright orange “Man of the Woods” shirt for both performances, with his famous band The Tennessee Kids providing smooth instrumentals to complement Timberlake and Stapleton’s acoustic guitar.

Timberlake later went to Instagram to announce that he will be selling a limited amount of merchandise that he was seen wearing on “The Tonight Show.

He is set to take the world by storm with his Man of the Woods Tour, set to begin on March 13 in Toronto, Canada, and will go through the year and end on Jan. 29, 2019 in Denver. Following the Super Bowl halftime performance, the tour was extended to Europe and added new dates due to high demand.