Justin Timberlake Calls Himself the "Gatekeeper on Prince"

The Super Bowl is the most watched show in TV history and not just for the game itself, but for the

halftime performance. This year for the 52nd Super Bowl singer Justin Timberlake was asked to take

the stage. He has performed before on the Super Bowl with Janet Jackson, which caused an uproar

after her major wardrobe malfunction. Justin Timberlake boldly performed “Rock your Body,” the same

song he did with Janet Jackson. This time, he stopped the song at the exact point where he originally

exposed her breast.

But, that's not the only part of his performance that's got people talking. JT made headlines with his

performance before it even aired on TV for wanting to do a performance alongside the hologram of

legendary artist Prince, who passed away in April 21, 2016. The performance had a pre-recorded

video of the late singer, displayed on a projection screen. Prince's longtime friend and former

drummer, Sheila E. said she talked to Timberlake, who ensured that there would not be any ghost

appearances during his performance.

"It's a moment for me, if I'm being quite honest, because he's always been the pinnacle of

musicianship for me. And when we decided that, like, the serendipity and synergy that we would

be in Minneapolis, and that, you know, he's such a special thing here, aside from what he is all over

the world, I just felt I wanted to do something for this city and something for him that, uh, would just

be the ultimate homage to what I consider the GOAT of musicians," Timberlake said. "And also, I'm

not gonna lie to you guys because Questlove is the encyclopedia on music, but also, like, I feel like

a gatekeeper on Prince, so if I got the thumbs up from Quest, I'm good."

Kaitlin Jenkins