Justin Timberlake & Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Show Proves She Deserves Another Shot

Justin Timberlake is returning to the Super Bowl Halftime Show this year after over a decade since he last appeared with Janet Jackson in that infamous performance in 2004. Lots of Jackson fans aren't pleased Timberlake has been invited back to the Super Bowl when Jackson hasn't (and bore most of the blame for the wardrobe malfunction). The video of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson's Super Bowl Halftime Show performance in 2004 is wild to watch so many years later. I remember watching this go down at a Super Bowl party my parents dragged my 11-year-old self to and everyone losing their sh*t when Timberlake pulled off too much of Jackson's costume. It's one of those infamous moments where everyone who saw it has a vivid memory of watching it go down, so rewatching the video definitely brings up some memories.

But honestly, rewatching it makes me really want to see another Janet Jackson Super Bowl Halftime Show. She absolutely killed that entire performance! Seriously, Jackson was absolutely slaying until Timberlake had to go and ruin everything at the end.

Jackson has an epic 10-minutes worth of performing before the nip slip happens near the end. Just watch and see for yourself.

God, that woman can perform. Give her another Halftime Show, NFL! Cut the sh*t already! Anyway, some people are hoping Timberlake will bring Jackson on stage with him during his performance, but his former *NSYNC bandmate Joey Fatone doesn't think that's going to happen. Fatone confirmed to TMZ that not only is an *NSYNC reunion definitely not happening at the Super Bowl (rip my heart out, Joey), but he also is positive Jackson won't be joining Timberlake on stage either. He said,

I'm here [at dinner] right now. If I was doing something [at the Super Bowl] I'd be in rehearsals right now, so obviously there's your proof. Nothing. And there's nothing wrong with that, he's doing his thing.

He said of fans hoping Jackson will be involved, "He's not that kind of person — he's not controversial. He is in a sense, but not in the sense that he'd do it deliberately."

Timberlake actually kind of hinted at this in his latest single, "Say Something."

The song features Chris Stapleton and seems to be more about the pressures and downfalls of fame than anything else. Timberlake and Stapleton sing lines like "Everyone knows all about my direction, and in my heart somewhere I want to go there. Still, I don't go there," and "Everyone knows all about my transgressions. Still, in my heart somewhere there's melody and harmony." This, to me, hints they know their fans expect things of them, but they're not always going to be able to do what everyone wants them to do. To drive this point home, the entire bridge consists of Timberlake and Stapleton singing, "Sometimes the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all."

The entirety of Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton's "Say Something" lyrics start off with:

Everyone knows all about my direction, and in my heart somewhere I want to go there. Still, I don't go there.

This is the pre-chorus:

Everybody says, 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' I don't wanna get caught up in the rhythm of it, but I can't help myself. No, I can't help myself. No, no. Caught up in the middle of it. No, I can't help myself. No, I can't help myself. No, no, no. Caught up in the rhythm of it.

The chorus goes:

Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.

Stapleton sings his verse before the pre-chorus and chorus come back in:

Everyone knows all about my transgressions. Still, in my heart somewhere there's melody and harmony. Oh, you and me tonight. I hear them call my name.

Everybody says 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' 'Say something.' I don't wanna get caught up in the middle of it. But I can't help myself. No, I can't help myself. No, no. Caught up in the rhythm of it. No, I can't help myself. No, I can't help myself. No, no, no. Caught up in the middle of it.

Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.) Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.) Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.) Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.)

Then comes the aforementioned bridge:

Sometimes the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all. Sometimes the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all. Sometimes the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all. Sometimes the greatest way to say something is to say nothing.

And the song closes out with Timberlake, Stapleton, and choir of people singing:

No, I can't help myself. No, I can't help myself. No, no. Caught up in the rhythm of it. No, I can't help myself. No, I can't help myself. No, no. Caught up in the rhythm of it.

Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.) Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.) Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.) Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have. (Maybe I'm looking for something I can't have.)

Timberlake releasing this song with this message as possibly the last single before his Man of the Woods album drops on Friday, Feb. 2 (just two days before the Super Bowl on Feb. 4), is telling. It seems like a bit of a heads up from Timberlake, telling us not to expect us to hear him say or do anything about this Jackson issue.