CNY Played a Huge Part in the Superbowl Halftime Show
Justin Timberlake provided the halftime entertainment during Superbowl 52 in Minneapolis. Central New York played a huge role in that performance - at least virtually.
Minneapolis is the hometown of the Prince, the pop icon who died in 2016. In an homage to the artist, Justin Timberlake included a projection of Prince while they "performed a duet" of the Prince hit "I Would Die 4 U".
The Wall Street Journal reports that the footage for that tribute was taken from the movie Purple Rain and from a March, 1985 concert that took place in Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.
In 2017, a DVD of the two-hour long concert was released as part of a reissue of Prince's hit album "Purple Rain."
The inclusion of Prince's image during the halftime show was not without controversy, with many fans noting that Prince would not have supported the use of his image in that way as well as bad blood between Prince and Justin Timberlake.
In fact, Prince's family didn't like the idea either, tweeting their disapproval. The Wall Street Journal explained that it was the bank that currently controls Prince's estate that approved the use of his image, and not the late singer's family.
Were you at the concert in 1985? What do you remember about it?