Tonight, Justin Timberlake will perform at the 52nd Super Bowl halftime show, marking the pop star’s first appearance at the big game since his infamous 2004 collaboration with Janet Jackson. As reported yesterday, rumors circulated that a hologram honoring Prince, who died of an accidental opioid overdose at age 57 in April 2016, would also appear at the televised performance. However, after the rumor was met with widespread criticism from family, friends, and fans, percussionist Sheila E. took her concerns to J.T. himself. “Family, I spoke w/ Justin 2nite and he shared heartfelt words of respect for Prince & the Purple fans,” Sheila E. wrote in a tweet last night, after saving the day. “I look 4wrd 2 seeing what I’m sure is going 2 be a spectacular halftime show. There is no hologram.”
Justin Timberlake made the respectful choice in scrapping this idea. As Consequence of Sound points out, Prince denied any interest in performing alongside a holograph of a deceased musician in an interview with Guitar World in 1998. “Certainly not,” he responded to the idea. “That’s the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing… it really is demonic. And I am not a demon.”
Thankfully, we can cherish the 2007 memory of Prince’s performance, because, let’s face it, nothing will ever top it.
The 2007 Super Bowl XLI saw the Indianapolis Colts trump the Chicago Bears 29-17, but perhaps the most victorious entertainment of the evening came from the Purple One himself.
“Can you make it rain harder?” Prince asked the production managers of the halftime event, hours before he was to perform the biggest performance of his career. It was one of those heavy, tropical rain and wind storms in the heart of Miami; but for Prince, it was a dramatic advantage to the pivotal performance that carried in over a 100 million television viewers alone.
“I was panicked. Prince was using four separate electric guitars; the stage was made out of a very slick tile, which when it got wet, was even more slippery,” explained one of the production managers. Along with the dancers, their heels, and all other electronic aspects involved, the state of the performance had a lot of reasons to worry.
Yet, Prince, obviously, pulled through with one of the most epic halftime performances of all time. His guitar ringing, his voice soaring, and his overall demeanor taking the audience by storm; the rain became less of a distraction and more of an intensely beautiful spectacle.
“He’s just one performer shaking the entire world,” described Jon Pareles, Senior Music Critic of the NY Times. Ultimately, Prince turned the horrific weather into his most powerful prop, mixing covers by Queen, The Foo Fighters, and Bob Dylan with originals hits like “Let’s Go Crazy” and “Purple Rain”. Watch an NFL film made about Prince’s performance, below.
Setlist: Prince | Super Bowl Halftime | Dolphin Stadium | Miami, FL | 2/4/07
1. We Will Rock You
2. Let’s Go Crazy
3. 1999
4. Baby I’m A Star
5. All Along the Watchtower
6. Best of You
7. Purple Rain
[Via Yahoo Sports]