Justin Timberlake streams up 260%, Prince up 205%, after Super Bowl
Justin Timberlake’s polished and energetic half time show at the Pepsi Super Bowl may have put off some critics and aroused the ire of some Prince fans after his tribute “duet” during which the late superstar appeared in a visual projection – but his new fans went out in droves to get his music.
Spotify reported that Timberlake’s music had a 214% streaming surge – with his single ‘Until The End Of Time’ up a whopping 671% – an hour after his February 4 show at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Spotify’s breakdown of his setlist was:
‘Filthy’ (266%)
‘Rock Your Body’ (300%)
‘Señorita’ (291%)
‘SexyBack’ (332%)
‘My Love’ (203%)
‘Cry Me A River’ (329%)
‘Suit & Tie’ (553%)
‘Until The End Of Time’ (671%)
‘I Would Die 4 U’ – Prince cover (916%)
‘Mirrors’ (537%)
‘CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!’ (148%)
Spotify reported that aside from the massive rise for Prince’s ‘I Die For You’, the entire Prince catalogue lifted by 205%.
Meantime, 13-year old Ryan McKenna who got his 15 minutes of fame when Timberlake jumped into the audience and danced with him, reported he gained 8,000 Snapchat followers overnight.
The Prince re-ignition on Spotify has quelled to pacify some of his fans who took to social media to hyper-vent over the “disrespectful” Prince’s appearance.
Former Prince collaborator Sheila E voiced their annoyance when she tweeted that Prince, who had a deeply spiritual approach to making and performing music, would nave been horrified at his presence via a projection.
However Timberlake defended himself when he appeared after the Super Bowl on The Tonight Show taped that night in Minneapolis.
He said he’d spoken to The Roots’ drummer Questlove, a close friend of Prince.
“Questlove is the encyclopedia on music,” Timberlake said, “but I also feel like a gatekeeper on Prince, so if I got the thumbs-up from Questlove, I’m good.”
Questlove, when later asked about the Timberlake tribute responded, “It was dope.”
Timberlake continued on The Tonight Show: “It’s a moment for me, and if I’m being quite honest, it’s because [Prince] has always been the pinnacle of musicianship.
“And when we decided that the serendipity and synergy [of being] in Minnesota—he’s such a special thing here aside from what he is all over the world. I just felt like I wanted to do something for this city and something for him that would just be the ultimate homage to what I consider the G.O.A.T. of musicians.”
There were some fans disappointed after rumours circulated before Timberlake’s appearance that he would stage a NSYNC reunion or bring back on Janet Jackson after her 2004 ‘Nipplegate’ incident when he ‘accidentally’ exposed her breast.
Artists who appeared on ads aired through the Super Bowl also stirred Spotify action.
The biggest was for Will Powers’ ‘Adventures In Success’ which jumped 671% after being on a Squarespace ad, and Skylar Grey’s cover of Ben E. King’s soul standard ‘Stand By Me’ was up 408% after spruiking Budweiser beer.