Justin Timberlake claims he won’t be having special guests at his Super Bowl halftime performance this Sunday (04.02.18) – and that includes reuniting with his old group ‘NSYNC.
The 37-year-old pop superstar is preparing for his appearance at the NFL showpiece final between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles and rumours had been rife that Justin could be joined on stage by his former bandmates Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass and JC Chasez for a medley of their greatest hits.
However, Justin, 37, has quashed the speculation by saying he’s only going to be singing with his backing band.
Speaking at a pre-Super Bowl press conference on Thursday (01.02.18), he said: "To be honest, I had a ton of grand ideas about special guests. There’s a whole list … I think Vegas has a lot of odds on it, from ‘NSYNC to Jay-Z to Chris Stapleton to Janet Jackson.
"My band, the Tennessee Kids, I feel like they’re my special guests. I’m excited this year just to rock the stage. So, yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun."
If Justin did bring 51-year-old Janet out on stage it would come 14 years after the pair created the most controversial musical moment in Super Bowl history.
During the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, held in Houston and broadcast by CBS, Justin shocked the crowd and an a TV viewing audience of over 140 million when he tore open part of Janet’s PVC top to expose her right bare breast adorned with a piece of nipple jewellery.
The ‘Say Something’ singer has been busy rehearsing for the coveted gig all week and now he just can’t wait to hit the stage at the U.S. Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and wow everyone watching his 13-minute slot at Super Bowl LII.
Justin – who is married to Jessica Biel – said: "I’m excited to be on this stage once again and at this point in my life. It’s just a great opportunity. I feel so grateful every day … I feel so grateful every day to have the opportunity to bring people joy through my favourite thing to do, which is to write and perform music. We’re going to take it seriously. We’re doing a few things with this halftime show that they’ve never quite done before. I’m excited to do that. I always like to push to be able to do something like that … I like to make dance music, so, I hope everyone’s dancing."
On Sunday, Justin will become the first artist to play the Super Bowl halftime show on three occasions. Before his controversial performance with Janet he sang with ‘NSYNC in 2001.