[4] Jay-Z was also rumored to be a solo performer, but it was reported that he turned it down due to the NFL's treatment of Colin Kaepernick, which he later confirmed in his song "Apeshit".

While the organization acknowledged that Timberlake apologized for the 2004 incident, they asked him to stay true to his word, saying "we are heartened by your response that the events of 2004 are not going to happen in 2018," as the singer stated in a prior interview that "we are not going to do that again.

[8]The Halftime Show included a remembrance for Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson, who died just hours before Super Bowl LII after being struck by a vehicle.

During the performance, Timberlake wore an outfit designed by Stella McCartney, which consists of "alter nappa fringed jacket with a shirt, featuring a landscape artwork by British artist Martin Ridley," according to a press release.

The show featured past tour dancers, Ivan Koumaev, Dana Wilson, Natalie Gilmore, Maja Karesh, Max Pham Nguyen, Codie Wiggins, Diana Matos, Lyle Beniga, Lindsay Richardson, among others.

[11] Timberlake stated in a press conference that there would be no guest musicians in the halftime show and that the event would focus solely on himself and his backing band, the Tennessee Kids.

[13]Prince had previously stated he did not want to be included in new music after death in a 1998 interview, citing The Beatles' "Free as a Bird" as an example of a practice he considered to be "demonic."

Upon reaching the main stage, he performed a number of songs, including "SexyBack", "My Love", and "Cry Me a River", which featured a dance break mid-field.

[15] Timberlake proceeded to walk up to a white grand piano while performing "Until the End of Time", then segued into "I Would Die 4 U" as a tribute to Minneapolis-native Prince.

An aerial shot showed downtown Minneapolis covered in purple lighting that morphed into Prince's trademark Love Symbol, with the stadium at the center.

She also considered it to be a "made for a TV experience" rather than for the public in the stadium, mainly for the sound quality difficulties, but also criticized him for including Rock Your Body in the set list.

[21] From the same magazine, Nina Braca wrote "his moves were on point,"[2] and Andrew Unterberger said two things were "relatively certain" about the performance: "most of America would love it, and most of the Internet would hate it," and added Timberlake was "in a situation that was both a can't-lose and a can't-win.

"[22] Also from Billboard, Andrew Unterberge wrote, "Timberlake's audio was somewhat lacking throughout...but the choreography, live-band energy and song selection were all pretty impeccable.

"[23] Chris Willman of Variety stated, "Timberlake turned in a more enjoyably physical performance than just about anybody else who's done the Bowl show… and if it was more a feat of athleticism than aestheticism, you can't say that's entirely inappropriate for the occasion.

[29] In an interview with NPR, Ann Powers said that "the entire performance was shrouded in the sense of Timberlake not being right for this moment — and the Janet Jackson controversy haunted it.

"[30] Daniel D'Addarrio of Time.com gave the performance a negative review, criticizing Timberlake for singing "Cry Me A River" and "Rock Your Body", calling the first song's lyrics about an evil promiscuous woman out of step with the national mood, and said that the only message from Timberlake's performance was that he loves his back catalog[31] Deadline felt "but you could see the motions more than you felt the music.

[34][28] Amanda Petrusich of The New Yorker wrote that Timberlake's decision to omit the end of "Rock Your Body" (which was performed during the controversial 2004 halftime) felt, "less like an apology than yet more spineless deflection".