Justin Timberlake left the Super Bowl stage to some pretty lukewarm reviews about his guest-less performance and, more importantly, his tribute to Prince that featured a clever alternative to a hologram. Though some Twitter users out there weren't feeling the "Filthy" singer's duet with late great Purple One, someone close to the late artist begs to differ.
Prince's sister Tyka Nelson told TMZ that she was impressed with the performance and thinks her brother wouldn't have been mad at the tribute if he were alive today. From her vantage point, Prince's music and legacy meant a lot to his fans, so everyone will have their different opinions on what he would have wanted.
One thing we do know for sure is that Prince never approved of collaborations between living and deceased artists. In a 1998 interview with Guitar World Magazine, the music legend was asked for his thoughts on the late Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable" posthumous duet with her father Nat King Cole.
"That's the most demonic thing imaginable. Everything is as it is, and it should be. If I was meant to jam with Duke Ellington, we would have lived in the same age. That whole virtual reality thing... it really is demonic. And I am not a demon," he said. "Also, what they did with that Beatles song ["Free As a Bird"], manipulating John Lennon's voice to have him singing from across the grave... that'll never happen to me. To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control."
Prince collaborator Sheila E. re-confirmed this by saying that he told her "don’t ever let anyone do a hologram of me."
Another element of criticism revolves around Prince not being fond of Timberlake in life. Prince took at jab at JT in 2006 during a post-Emmy's performance where he reportedly said, “For whoever is claiming they are bringing sexy back, sexy never left!" Timberlake fired back on the Timbaland track "Give It To Me" by singing, "Now if se-sexy never left, then why is everybody on my shi-i-it? / Don’t hate on me just because you didn’t come up with it."
According to Tyson, however, that would all be water under the bridge if her brother were still alive today. "He said what he said and kept it moving."
