Justin Timberlake to feature Prince hologram in Super Bowl performance

Justin Timberlake is set to feature a hologram of the late music legend Prince in his Super Bowl half-time show on Monday (NZT).

Timberlake is expected to pay tribute to the late star in Prince's former hometown of Minneapolis, the venue of Monday afternoon's Super Bowl.

While many have praised Timberlake for his proposed tribute, friends and family of Prince have hit out at the idea of using a hologram, something Prince outspokenly hated.

Prince's former drummer tweeted that Prince told her not to allow holograms of him.

"Prince told me don't ever let anyone do a hologram of me. Not cool if this happens," she wrote.

In 1998, Prince described the concept of virtual reality and holograms as "demonic" when he was asked if he'd ever play alongside a hologram of a late musician.

"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.

"What they did with that Beatles song, 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."

Despite the backlash, Timberlake did have support from Prince's sister Tkya Nelson, who was open to the idea of reviving Prince through a hologram.

"A hologram could be done as long as it is of excellent quality. It would have to allow the fans to experience Prince in the way he allowed us to experience his music," she told iNews.

The Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles kicks off at 12.30pm on Monday NZT.