Justin Timberlake is ready to make his third career performance during a Super Bowl halftime show, and he’ll take the stage just two days after the release of his new album Man of the Woods. A lot has changed for the singer-songwriter, actor and music producer since his 2001 Super Bowl halftime show debut with NSYNC and his controversial duet with Janet Jackson in 2004.
According to Nielsen’s N-Score Talent Tracker, which assesses the endorsement and casting potential of actors, athletes, musicians and other celebrities in the U.S., Timberlake is tied with Jennifer Lopez as the most marketable artist in the Pop music genre (with an N-Score of 88) among artists under age 50. He’s also the sixth most well-known in the music landscape behind Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.
A a five-time guest host of Saturday Night Live, Timberlake is thought of as the funniest pop U.S. music artist, according to N-Score.Timberlake’s biggest albums so far came before he devoted a bigger career focus on acting. His most popular album to date is FutureSex/LoveSounds, released in 2006, with more than 6.4 million in album activity (albums + track equivalent albums [TEA] + streaming equivalent albums [SEA] On-Demand), but his biggest song came a decade later. “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” from 2016 has been purchased, downloaded and streamed more than 7.6 million times. It has 3.7 million radio airplay spins to date.
Timing is right for Timberlake to release a new album, as Super Bowl halftime performers have historically experienced a surge in interest from fans immediately following the event.
Leading into the Super Bowl performance, Timberlake trails Beyoncé, Coldplay and Katy Perry in total purchases, downloads, streams and radio airplay. Super Bowl LII is Sunday, Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.