This year’s Super Bowl halftime performance was somewhat chaotic. Well, at least it was with the sound system. In the beginning of Justin Timberlake’s performance, the sound was muddled, and his singing was hard to understand. This was his first Super Bowl halftime show since the one he performed with Janet Jackson back in 2004. Just as that performance caused murmurs through the crowds, so did Justin’s decision during this year’s Super Bowl to use an image of Prince singing on a big screen behind him as he too sung a cover of one of Prince’s songs.

This sparked a lot of controversy among Prince fans everywhere. Some said that it was wonderful, and others disagreed. Shelia E. commented on Fox News: “Prince had told me … don’t let anybody do a hologram of him for religious reasons, so I just posted that if this happened it’s kind of messed up and not cool.” Even BJHS students are getting in on the fact that it might have been disrespectful, especially since Timberlake and Prince had a feud before he had died. Junior Kafui Sakyi-Addo said, “Apparently they had a bit of a feud when Prince was alive, and although they worked things out before Prince died, I still don’t think that it was the best thing for Justin Timberlake to sing one of his songs, even it was a tribute.”

Timberlake has also received many negative comments on his appearance and his singing. Janice Hendrick, a senior at Bob Jones, thought that had he not worn such an odd shirt she would have probably liked his halftime show more. “His outfit was not the best. I heard Nike earned millions of dollars because of the shoes he wore, but his suit could have been a Nike tracksuit and I would have felt better.” Students of Bob Jones also commented on his singing, many saying that he was lip-synching and that it seemed his microphone wasn’t on for the first three minutes.

Other people also expressing how they wished others had performed, like a rock group to hype up the crowd, Janet Jackson, or Pink. A video was also released on Twitter from a woman who had gone to the Super Bowl that showed the crowd being as quiet as ever instead of singing along to his songs, instead it’s just the crowd in the stands sitting and doing nothing.

I agree with the opinions of the other BJHS students; his entrance was not any good and his outfit didn’t match what he was singing or doing. On an Vox article, “Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl Halftime Show: The Good, The Bad, and The Prince,” the author stated, “Timberlake was clearly in his comfort zone… Without the weird disconnect of Timberlake’s embellished vocals, it was easier to appreciate his talents as a pop star who can sing, dance, and strut effortlessly. The cacophony that was the beginning of his performance actually made Timberlake’s older songs seem better and stronger by comparison…” I believe that this is true, some of his fans also strongly agreeing with this. Many of them saying that they appreciated when he went back into his older songs which truly made him the pop star that we all know and love, these older songs truly making him who he is today.