Timberlake eager to headline Super Bowl halftime again

MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Timberlake strolled into the third-floor ballroom of the Hilton Minneapolis on Thursday afternoon sporting an unbuttoned flannel shirt, a pair of unreleased Air Jordan sneakers and a coarse beard to complement his handsome kisser.

The baby-faced pop star who triggered Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII isn’t baby-faced anymore.

He’s a married man now. A 37-year-old father.

And, still, one of the world’s greatest entertainers.

The 10-time Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter oozed charisma as he bantered, playfully, with reporters in advance of his record third Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

In short, his 3-year-old son, Silas, won’t ever play football, ‘N Sync won’t be reuniting — at least not on Sunday — and he really, really loves New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

“Tom is definitely the type of dude you invite over to watch the Super Bowl with you. The problem is, he’s always in the Super Bowl,” Timberlake said to a chorus of laughs. “I’d say he’s on my list (of man crushes) … If you want to make it official.”

Amid the bromance, though, Timberlake declined to reveal whom he was rooting for, instead offering “Go, Pack, Go” — an ode to the Green Bay Packers.

Media in attendance jokingly moaned and groaned, but Timberlake laughed it all off and belabored his genuine excitement for Sunday’s proceedings.

He entertained rumors of a guest performer — like Jackson, Jay-Z or Chris Stapleton — appearing during his show, revealing only that “we’re doing a few things with this halftime show that they’ve never quite done before.”

He referred to late great Minnesota native Prince as “the greatest all-around musician that I can think of in popular culture” — and might perform alongside a hologram of the Love Symbol, per TMZ.

And he stressed that he’s a family man now.

More than anything else.

“My son and my wife (actress Jessica Biel) are my inspirations. My mom has always been a big grounding force in my life,” he said. “Now to have a family and to think about how my son will live in this world, that’s probably the biggest factor.

“That, and Tom Brady,” he cracked.

Timberlake’s new album, “Man of the Woods,” was released Friday — there was a listening party at Prince’s private estate, Paisley Park — and he’s spent the last handful of days at U.S. Bank Stadium rehearsing his set-list.

Preparing to entertain 120 million people.

Again.

“I’m excited to be on this stage again at this point in my life,” Timberlake said. “I feel so grateful every day to have the opportunity to bring people joy through my favorite thing to do, which is write and perform music. To do that on such a grand stage, we’re going to take it seriously … we want everyone to have a ton of fun.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.