Top 10 Super Bowl halftime shows

Check out the Sunday edition for a look at what it takes to bring the Super Bowl halftime show to life.

Justin Timberlake will set at least as two records when he takes the field for the Super Bowl LII halftime show today. The pop-R&B star will become the first artist to appear in three Super Bowls for one thing. And he’ll also become the first to get invited back after being an unindicted co-conspirator in the infamous “wardrobe malfunction,” as his role in baring the breast of Janet Jackson during the 2004 halftime show was euphemistically known. We’re sure of very little about the Super Bowl today — the Philadelphia Eagles really could win this thing all you (over)-confident New England Patriots fans should know — but you can bet Tom Brady’s stolen game jersey there’ll be no Nipplegate II during Timberlake’s performance. He might bring sexy back, but not that much. Exactly what Timberlake has planned for the performance has been kept tightly under wraps, though there’s sure to be a new song in his mini-set given that the singer-songwriter’s fifth solo album, “Man of the Woods,” arrived on Friday.

Will it be an all-Timberlake show similar to Lady Gaga’s halftime show a year ago, or feature guest stars as has often been the practice in Super Bowls past? Our money is that a guest or two will show up. Chris Stapleton and Alicia Keys are both featured on the new album, and he’s worked with artists such as Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams on previous collections.

And where will it rank among the all-time best Super Bowl halftime shows. We’ve got high hopes given that Timberlake continues a run of more modern Super Bowl performers such as Gaga, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars, and a continued move away from the older icons of rock such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.

Time will tell. For now, let’s go to the list of the Top 10 halftime shows of the first 51 years of the Super Bowl.