When Pharrell Williams announced the lineup for his upcoming Something In The Water Festival back in April, the flyer touted that he’d be joined by some “phriends” and “some people we can’t announce.” Now, with the festival’s Juneteenth weekend dates looming on the calendar, Pharrell apparently can announce just who his “phriends” are — and while they’re certainly exciting, they’re hardly surprising. Pharrell will be joined by a who’s-who of his former (and current) collaborators, including Clipse, Justin Timberlake, NORE, Q-Tip, SZA, and more.
Of course, Clipse, JT, and NORE are obvious picks. As part of The Neptunes with Chad Hugo, Pharrell had a hand in some of those acts’ biggest hits of the 2000s, including Clipse’s breakout single “Grindin’” and their first album, Lord Willin’, Justin Timberlake’s solo debut Justified, which included bangers like “Senorita,” “Rock Your Body” and “Like I Love You,” and NORE’s “Superthug” and “Nothin’.” Meanwhile, Q-Tip was always a production mentor of Pharrell’s, and Pharrell was even in an A Tribe Called Quest-inspired rap trio with Timbaland and Magoo in 1991 called Surrounded By Idiots (some of their demos are floating around the internet to this day and are worth a listen). And of course, Pharrell produced SZA’s fan-favorite CTRL cut “Supermodel.”
The rest of the festival’s roster is absolutely stacked as well; you can check that out below and get more info on Something In The Water here.
Come Home, The Kids Miss You features an impressive set of collaborators, including Drake, Lil Wayne, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Timberlake. While Dua Lipa herself isn’t featured on the album, there is a track called “Dua Lipa.” This song is most likely the one Harlow teased on social media over the weekend, on which Harlow raps, “Dua Lipa, I’m trying to do more with her than do a feature.”
With over 100 million people consistently tuning into the Super Bowl every year, organizers consistently go all-out for the much-anticipated annual halftime show. And with any high-pressure live event, there are is little tolerance for error. So when something doesn’t go quite as expected, the internet lights up with viral memes and discourse.
Prior to the ’90s, the halftime shows usually consisted of university marching bands or drill teams. But since then, the NFL discovered they could increase viewership by making the halftime show a pop culture staple. Now, the performances invite the most recognizable names in music to take the stage with a past roster boasting artists like Michael Jackson, U2, Madonna, and more.
Let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable moments that have gone down at Super Bowl halftime shows of the last two decades. Cringey, hilarious, and just plain captivating, these halftime performances made a major impact in pop culture.
Shakira and J. Lo’s 2020 performance at the Super Bowl halftime show was one for the history books. Not only was it the last large-scale music event before the pandemic effectively shut down live music, but it was also a major celebration of Latin American culture. J. Lo wore a massive feathered Puerto Rican flag cape and Shakira decided to honor the moment with a customary gesture. Moments into her rendition of “Hips Don’t Lie,” the singer leaned into the camera to stick her tongue out and make a high-pitched sound.
Many (white) people on the internet were perplexed by the gesture and it easily became the most-memed moment of the night. But it didn’t take long for others to point out the mocking was in poor taste. The tongue move is actually a zaghrouta, which translates to a ululation. It’s a part of Arabic culture meant to signify joy and is oftentimes used to celebrate weddings, engagements, and the birth of children.
As much work went into Maroon 5’s 2019 Super Bowl halftime performance, the most memorable part of the set didn’t come from the music itself. The 13-minute spectacle as a whole felt very disjointed and seemed as though organizers were trying to pack in as many stunts as possible in a very short amount of time. It included an abrupt transition to Travis Scott’s barely-integrated performance, a clip from Spongebob, Big Boi driving through the crowd in a convertible Mercedes-Benz, a gospel choir, and thousands of paper lanterns.
But despite all the on-stage antics, the internet was the most concerned with the moment Adam Levine decided to go shirtless for some reason. Like some of the women in Super Bowl halftime show history, Levine wanted to get away with an outfit change mid-set. But apparently, his idea of a wardrobe change was actually just ripping his clothes off. Levine started the set wearing a black trench coat and as the show progressed, Levine would shed more and more layers until he was in just a tank top. While singing Maroon 5’s final song of the evening, “Moves Like Jagger,” Levine decided to peel off his tank and toss it into the crowd, leaving him shirtless. The move received mixed reactions. Some praised Levine’s six pack with others chided him for a generally lackluster performance.
“Left shark’s” uncoordinated dance moves with Katy Perry: 2015
Katy Perry may have ridden into her 2015 Super Bowl halftime set on the back of a giant gold lion, but there was only one thing people were talking about after her performance. No, it wasn’t appearances by guests Lenny Kravitz or Missy Elliott. Instead, the internet was buzzing with jokes about one of her backup dancers.
The stage turned into a beachy paradise for her rendition of “Teenage Dream.” Perry was joined by dancers dressed as anthropomorphic palm trees and beach balls, and was flanked by two people in blue shark costumes. The shark to her right hit every dance move with ease, but the shark to her left looked as though it was struggling to keep up. As Right Shark confidently danced to the beat with precise movements, Left Shark continued to flail its way through the set by contrast.
After the performance, the internet was ablaze with talk of Left Shark’s fumbling movements and even Perry herself joined in on the memes. It wasn’t until the following year that the man underneath the Left Shark costume spoke out. His real name is Bryan Gaw and he had actually been a part of Perry’s dance ensemble for five years. Gaw described the movements as “free-style choreography” and later told NPR he didn’t get anything but love after his performance. He even put his Left Shark moment on his resume.
Surprise Destiny’s Child reunion: 2013
Unlike more recent performances, Beyonce‘s 2013 Super Bowl halftime show was remembered for its significance. Not only did it feature impressive visuals, awe-inspiring choreography, a flaming guitar, and a stage of all-female musicians, but it also had a surprise cameo by Beyonce’s Destiny’s Child group members.
Halfway through Beyonce’s set, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child were literally launched out of the stage. They fired off a brief medley of songs, which included “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women,” before joining together for a rendition of “Single Ladies.” The entire performance created such a buzz on the internet that it garnered 268,000 tweets per minute, making it the then-most-tweeted about event in the history of the social media platform.
Fergie butchering “Sweet Child ‘O Mine”: 2011
It’s been just over a decade since the Black Eyed Peas took the halftime show stage and even ten years later, Fergie‘s performance of “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” is still hard to watch without grimacing. The show was meant to captivate a younger audience and contrast the prior year’s legacy act, The Who. In general, the group stayed true to the assignment – up until they decided to pander to an older crowd with a Guns N’ Roses cover.
Slash made a surprise appearance on the stage sporting his signature top hat and joined forces with Fergie to cover the band’s No. 1 track “Sweet Child ‘O Mine.” While Slash’s guitar sounded great, the same can’t be said of Fergie’s ill-advised decision to emulate Axel Rose’s wailing vocals and gyrating dance moves. The combo resulted in a jaw-droppingly bizarre performance which was most definitely memorable — just not in the way Fergie had presumably intended. The performance would be hailed in the following years as one of the worst Super Bowl halftime shows in history, and a poll by ESPN found 35 percent of respondents graded the event an “F.”
Bruce Springsteen’s iconic knee slide: 2009
Just remember at the Super Bowl halftime show 10 years ago Bruce Springsteen ran and slide his crotch into the camera on national television pic.twitter.com/hwFNKJct1Z
During his performance at the 2009 Super Bowl halftime show, Bruce Springsteen made it clear that he does all his own stunts. During a rendition of his song “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” The Boss ran across the massive stage and attempted an epic knee slide towards the camera, which is now officially dubbed the “Springsteen Slide.” But Springsteen over-shot his slide a bit and ended up barreling into the camera, knocking it over completely. Thankfully, he didn’t seem hurt and played it off as a happy accident. He didn’t even miss a beat in delivering his song’s lyrics.
After the performance came to an end, the rocker was still in good spirits about the mishap. “I feel like I’ve just taken a syringe of adrenalin straight to the heart,” he said, explaining exactly what went down. “Then the knee slide. Too much adrenalin, a late drop, too much speed, here I come Mike BOOM! And I’m onto his camera, the lens implanted into my chest with one leg off the stage.”
Prince bringing on rain during “Purple Rain”: 2007
2007 — Super Bowl halftime show — closing with ‘Purple Rain.’
Prince‘s 2007 Super Bowl performance is remembered as one of the most awe-inspiring halftime shows. The set took place in the middle of an unexpected Miami downpour, but the weather ended up making the event all the more magical, particularly as he sang “Purple Rain.”
Before the show took place, organizers were told they shouldn’t worry about the weather because it hadn’t rained in the entirety of Super Bowl history. But the morning of the big game, the skies opened up in what was described as a torrential downpour. Prince decided to make the most of the moment. Totally unfazed by the weather, he went ahead with using four live electric guitars during his performance. The rain made the stage unbelievably slick, but the singer never faltered. In fact, he turned the dramatic weather to his advantage, especially during his rendition of “Purple Rain.” He even coaxed the entire crowd to sing along in harmony, creating a breathtaking moment even for those watching it from home.
Justin Timberlake giving Janet Jackson a wardrobe malfunction: 2004
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake‘s 2004 set is perhaps the most-talked-about Super Bowl halftime performances in history — and it’s one we’re now collectively revisiting with Jackson’s new documentary, Janet. The two singers were performing a sultry rendition of Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” track on stage. At the end of the song, Timberlake reached over and yanked off part of Jackson’s corset top, exposing her entire breast adorned with a gemstone nipple pasty. The infamous nip slip is frequently referred to as a “wardrobe malfunction,” though the way Timberlake ripped off Jackon’s top looked more than purposeful.
Over half a million FCC complaints came flooding in following the halftime show, prompting the FCC to launch an investigation. Then-chairman Michael Powell made a statement at the time, saying he was “outraged” by what he saw. “That celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt. Our nation’s children, parents and citizens deserve better,” he said.
What people might not remember as much about the moment is the extent to which Jackson was reprimanded by the public. Though Timberlake joked about the moment in interviews, radio stations refused to spin Jackson’s then-new album Damita Jo and she was essentially dis-invited to the Grammys the following week. Jackson was then endlessly interrogated by the media after she declined to relive the incident in interviews.
Jackson addressed the so-called “wardrobe malfunction” in her recent documentary, where she essentially absolved Timberlake. While Jackson noted she asked him not to make a statement about the incident (which he clearly ignored), Jackson says the two are now on very good terms. “Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion,” she said in the film. “Of course, it was an accident. That should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame, and that’s got to stop.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Janet Jackson’sself-titled documentary aired this weekend, and one of the issues addressed was her notorious 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show with Justin Timberlake. During their performance, a wardrobe malfunction caused Janet’s breast to be exposed, sparking backlash as well as an FCC investigation. Janet specifically addressed how Justin, who’s often been criticized for how he handled the incident, responded to the controversy.
“We talked once, and he said, ‘I don’t know if I should come out and make a statement,’” Janet recalled. “I said, ‘Listen, I don’t want any drama for you. They’re aiming all of this at me.’ So I just said if I were you, I wouldn’t say anything.” She also took a moment to deny rumors that suggested there’s been tension between her and Justin since the Super Bowl incident.
“Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion,” she says. “Of course, it was an accident. That should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame, and that’s got to stop.” Janet added, “Justin and I are very good friends, and we will always be very good friends. We spoke just a few days ago, and he and I have moved on, and it’s time for everyone else to do the same.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, Janet reveals that she turned down an offer from Justin’s team to perform with him during his 2018 Super Bowl Halftime Show. “When I think about it, would it be nice to be able to perform? Yes,” Janet said. “Our family, we love entertaining. But on the flip side of it, it’s stretching out the past, reliving something that happened over 10 years ago.”
In his third season, Memphis Grizzies guard Ja Morant has risen to full-fledged stardom. Averaging 24.7 points, 6.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals on 57.5 percent true shooting, he seems en route to his first career All-Star berth. He’s been awesome and is vital to the Grizzlies’ 28-14 record that sees them just a game back of the three seed out West.
Last week, when initial returns on All-Star votes were released, Morant sat third among West guards, about 118,000 votes behind Luka Doncic for a starting spot. So, on Tuesday, Grizzlies minority owner Justin Timberlake ended his self-imposed social media hiatus to advocate for the high-flying playmaker’s All-Star campaign.
Like I said… I haven’t been on any platform in a while so I’d like to take this opportunity to make a very important statement:
I was not aware that hashtags counted as votes. So, retweet THIS one…#JaMorant#NBAAllStar
Fan votes compose just half of the criteria for selecting All-Star starters, but Timberlake’s efforts surely won’t hurt. Stephen Curry has nearly two million more votes than Doncic and Morant, while Klay Thompson is fourth, more than 300,00 votes behind Morant. Among fans, it seems like a two-man race between Doncic and Morant to join Curry as a starter.
Morant and the Grizzlies are riding an eight-game winning streak and have the NBA’s fifth-best record this season. They’ll have a chance to make it nine in a row and add another layer to Morant’s All-Star hopes when they welcome Curry’s Golden State Warriors to town Tuesday evening.
Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl scandal has become the subject of a new documentary coming soon to Hulu and FX, according to Deadline. After the success of the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears, the streamer is taking on the backlash against Jackson in Malfunction: The Dressing Down Of Janet Jackson, launching on November 19 (incidentally, both docs prominently feature Justin Timberlake for his role in both women’s respective downfalls. I don’t know what it says about JT that he was so closely involved in both but it feels a little like he’s gone through his own version of what they went through over the last few years, falling out of public favor as social media became more prevalent.).
For those who don’t remember, during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Janet Jackson joined Justin Timberlake on stage during a performance of his song “Rock Your Body,” ending with Timberlake pulling part of Jackson’s costume off, baring her breast and touching off a national controversy that led to Janet essentially being blackballed by the entertainment industry. The incident coined the infamous term “wardrobe malfunction” and a content crackdown by government and network regulators.
According to Deadline, the film will “examine the racial and cultural currents that collided on the Super Bowl stage, and explores how the incident impacted one of the most successful pop musicians in history.” It will include interviews with some of the producers of the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, as well as “music industry insiders,” cultural critics, and members of Janet’s famous family.
Brintey Spears used Thursday to look back at some highlight moments in her music career. This includes the singer’s iconic performance at “I’m A Slave 4 U” during the 2001 MTV VMAs.
“I will tell you this … before I went on that night I was feeling kinda out of body with nerves … I mean … I was in a cage with a live lion !!!!! I will never forget the moment before I went in the cage !!!!” she wrote in her Instagram caption. Later on in her message, the singer revealed how Justin Timberlake helped calm her nerves prior to the performance.
“Justin saw I could hardly talk so he held my hand and gave me a 5 minute pep talk which obviously worked!!!!!” she wrote. This moment came when the two were dating, a relationship that began in 1999 and concluded in March 2002. The note also comes after Timberlake voiced support for Britney’s battle against her conservatorship earlier this year.
“After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time,” he wrote on Twitter. “Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what’s happening to her is just not right. No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body.” He added, “No one should EVER be held against their will… or ever have to ask permission to access everything they’ve worked so hard for.” He concluded, “We hope the courts, and her family make this right and let her live however she wants to live.”
You can check the throwback and read the singer’s full message in the post above.
Drake’s new album Certified Lover Boy has been out for a few hours now, and between its release and now, fans have been carefully examining the project. That sleuthing has led to an eyebrow-raising discovery: R. Kelly has a writing credit on the album.
Along with Drake, the artists credited as writers on the song “TSU” include Harley Arsenault, Noel Cadastre, F. Hills, Timothy Mosley (aka Timbaland), Ronald Coleman (aka OG Ron C), Christopher Cross, Justin Timberlake, and Robert Kelly (aka R. Kelly).
As Genius notes, the song samples NSYNC’s 1997 song “Sailing,” a cover of Cross’ 1980 single. Furthermore, others have pointed out the song also samples Timberlake’s “Until The End Of Time,” which Timbaland co-wrote. According to WhoSampled, the song also samples Kelly’s 1998 song “Half On A Baby,” which is where his writing credit comes from.
I swear some of yall just be fking talking. Let’s break this down for the numbskulls: There are 3 DIFFERENT SAMPLES ON TSU:
Sailing by #NSYNC (song written & performed originally by C. Cross)
It was reported recently that Kelly is attempting to sell the publishing rights to his back catalog. If somebody purchased the rights, Kelly would not profit from his song being sampled on “TSU.” However, it appears Kelly is struggling to find a buyer, so as it stands now, Kelly still owns his publishing rights and will therefore profit from “TSU,” which is becoming a much-discussed song on one of the year’s biggest albums.
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