The Super Bowl is going to get a familiar face for halftime of Super Bowl LII when the game comes to Minnesota. Pop superstar Justin Timberlake will headline the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, it was confirmed on Sunday NIght.
Timberlake and the NFL locked down a deal that will put him on the stage for the first time since the Patriots and Panthers played in the Super Bowl in 2004, when he very controversially ripped off part of Janet Jackson's bustier.
There have been different rumblings about possibilities for the halftime show, which will take place on February 4 in the Vikings new stadium in Minneapolis. Brittney Spears was rumored as someone who was interested in participating in the show. The NFL was reportedly rejected by a pair of big-name performers, including rapper Jay-Z and Adele.
There was also some chatter in the US Magazine report that Timberlake could be joined on the stage by Jay-Z, although a source told US that "as of right now, it will just be Justin — no surprise performers."
Timberlake's previous performance changed the way the halftime shows operate, with the Federal Communications Commission implementing a delay on live broadcasts after Jackson's nipple was revealed during the live broadcast rendition of Timberlake's song "Rock Your Body."
It's been fairly remarkable to see the maturation of Timberlake's career over that stretch -- he went from a member of popular boy band N'Sync to the guy who created the "NippleGate" controversy at the Super Bowl with Jackson and has now become one of the most well-liked performers of this generation, a guy who can crush it on stage solo, bring on other superstars like Jay-Z and also bring down the house while hosting "Saturday Night Live."
Bringing back Timberlake to the biggest stage in sports and music makes a lot of sense and he might just be able to break the record set by Lady Gaga this past year for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show of all time.
