It is only October, but preparations are now underway for the Fifty-Second NFL Super Bowl, to be held at the US Bank Stadium at Minneapolis, Minnesota on February next year. The regular season still has two months left before the start of playoffs in January 2018. But organizers have just selected a performer to headline the Halftime Show. The chosen entertainer warranted a great deal of media attention, as the last time he had performed for a Super Bowl Halftime was in 2004 at the XXXVIII, 14 years ago. It is none other than former NSYNC member turned solo superstar Justin Timberlake, who together with Janet Jackson have figured in the unintended exposure incident that coined the phrase “wardrobe malfunction.”

Justin returns

The buzz that Justin Timberlake has been angling to do the Halftime Show for Super Bowl Lii has been going since about last month, but now it has been confirmed.

Timberlake himself announced the news by means of a funny video on his Twitter page, where he does a comedy skit with his good friend and collaborator Jimmy Fallon. The final game of the 2017 NFL season will be broadcast on NBC, which is also home to “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” Justin and Fallon did their gag on the set of the late-night talk show.

Super Bowl LII will actually be the third time Timberlake, now 36, gets to do an NFL Halftime show. His first outing in that prestigious presentation was in XXXV – 2001 when he was still with NSYNC, alongside an ensemble with Aerosmith and Britney Spears.

But it was his second appearance in 2004 with Janet Jackson that went to the history books after he tore off part of Jackson’s clothes during their set number. The original script was that Janet would be wearing a lace bra underneath. Instead, her right breast, adorned with a jeweled guard, was exposed.

Legacy of a controversy

That momentous "wardrobe malfunction" incident, as pop media eventually called it, resulted in the FCC fining CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show. The Supreme Court later overturned the fine. Neither Justin Timberlake nor Janet Jackson was invited back for repeat performances since, at least until this latest announcement for Super Bowl LII.

Interestingly, this incident is cited by the original founders of YouTube as their inspiration for developing the video-sharing website.

There has been no word yet on whether Timberlake will share the stage with some other music stars, or if he will go solo, accompanied only by backup performers like Lady Gaga did on Super Bowl LI earlier this year. The Super Bowl LII Halftime Show airs live on February 4, 2018, on NBC.
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