Timberlake talks Prince, doughnuts and Tom Brady's hair ahead of halftime performance

Those were a few of the takeaways from Timberlake's news conference Thursday, Feb. 1, when he spent 20 minutes taking often inane questions and gamely enduring several hundred reporters attempting to sing him "Happy Birthday." (His response: "You get a little nervous when someone's watching you sing, huh?")

Timberlake, who turned 37 on Wednesday, shared very little about his halftime concert with the crowd.

He said he had "a ton of grand ideas about special guests," including a reunion of 'N Sync, with whom he first played the Super Bowl in 2001. Janet Jackson, his musical partner at the big game in 2004, was also on that list, along with Chris Stapleton (who collaborated on a song for Timberlake's new album, "Man of the Woods," which is out Friday) and Jay-Z (who co-headlined a tour with Timberlake in 2013).

But Timberlake said his band, the Tennessee Kids, would be the only people joining him for the show.

He confirmed he would be singing his 2016 hit "Can't Stop the Feeling," but added "that's all I am giving away, I'm not giving away anything else so don't even try it." Timberlake later said "we're doing a few things with this halftime show they've never quite done before."

As for Prince, Timberlake called him "the greatest all-around musician I can think of in popular culture (and) a huge influence on me. It seems like maybe braggadocios to say, but I'm going to say it anyway. The time I got to spend around him, with him, talking about music, those are memories that I will take with me forever. He's always been such a big idol of mine."

Timberlake booked Prince's Paisley Park studio-turned-museum Thursday night for a "Man of the Woods" listening party.

He said he was checking off numerous bucket list goals this week, including playing the Super Bowl for the third time. "But to top it off, I get to walk the hallowed, sacred ground of Paisley Park."

Tom Brady came up several times and Timberlake complimented his coif more than once: "He has great hair, though, don't you agree?" He said while he does share a bromance with the quarterback, "nothing could ever come between Jimmy and I," referring to another one of his pals, "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon.

When asked about his son Silas, who turns 3 in April, and his potential future as an entertainer, Timberlake said he would support him if he wanted to pursue music or sports, but not football. "He did come to rehearsals yesterday," he said. "I was shocked at how quickly he could cover 100 yards." He said speed runs in his family and offered a message to Patriots coach Bill Belichick: "If all of your receivers go down, shoot me a text."

Timberlake said he spent his birthday in rehearsals and that he preferred doughnuts over cake. A reporter from Boston pushed him to say he loved Boston creme doughnuts, but Timberlake refused to take the bait. She then pressed him to confirm he was rooting for the Patriots. Timberlake's response: "Go Pack, go."

While the news conference took a mostly light tone, Timberlake made it clear he was honored to be performing. "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," he said. "To do that on such a grand stage, we're going to take it seriously (and) we want everyone to have a ton of fun.

"I like to make dance music, so I hope everyone is dancing. I think that's the greatest thing anyone can to do express joy."