Making Justin Timberlake the halftime entertainment for the 2018 Super Bowl was an odd decision from the beginning.

The singer was behind one of the NFL’s most controversial moments when he previously took the stage for the halftime show in 2004.

Timberlake finished his performance back then by shockingly reaching over to fellow musician Janet Jackson and partly stripping her outfit to expose one of her breasts. It was scandalous and absurd.

So bringing Timberlake back to the game — watched by families and people of all ages — was controversial to say the least. There was pushback from family advocacy groups and the hashtag #janetjacksonappreciationday began trending on social media, as many people were critical of a return by Timberlake.

This year Timberlake at least managed to keep his hands off the clothing of any of his fellow performers.

Unfortunately — he put on more of a dance show than a concert. The synchronized moves were certainly impressive, but there were entire gaps of his concert in which Timberlake did not even sing but instead hyped the crowd up while his songs (including lyrics) played in the background.

He did not even seem to hide the fact that he was performing to a prerecorded track.

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He later toned things down, dropped the dancers and moved behind a piano, where he seemed to actually start singing.

Video of the late Prince was projected behind Timberlake, which was only a reminder of the loss of the great musician and the far superior halftime show he once performed.

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Cameras made their way out of the stadium during the performance and showed the city behind lit purple in honor of Prince, who is from Minnesota — where this year’s Super Bowl is held.

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Considering Timberlake’s past with halftime shows and the growing use by artists of their platforms to preach politics and insult Americans — the musician had a pretty low bar for his performance. He managed to avoid causing controversy — and he never went political, so the performance was at least a partial success.

Taken on its own merits, though, it was one of the more forgettable performances in recent memory, choreography and all.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter