Have you ever noticed that despite plenty of announcements for concerts involving holograms, they either never happen, or you never hear much about them afterwards? Maybe that says plenty about their quality and reception, which might explain why so many people are against the recent news that Prince might be making an appearance at this year’s countdown, despite the notable handicap of being dead.

Last year, it was announced by Prince’s family that the late musician could return to the live stage in hologram form. “A hologram could be done as long as it is of excellent quality,” the late rocker’s sister, Tyka Nelson, said, adding, “It would have to allow the fans to experience Prince in the way he allowed us to experience his music.”

Now, it has been announced that this year’s Superbowl (which kicks of Sunday, February 4th, local time) will feature Prince’s hologram performing with Justin Timberlake.

TMZ has reported the news, citing “sources inside”, noting that Prince’s return would be used as a way to honour his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where this year’s Superbowl is being played.

Of course, many have already hit back at the news, including Sheila E., a former collaborator of Prince, taking to Twitter to announce that “Prince told me don’t ever let anyone do a hologram of me.”

The Fader also notes that a move such as this would be against Prince’s wishes, with the musician having spoken out against such technology 20 years ago.

According to an interview with Guitar World in 1998, Prince was asked, “With digital editing, it is now possible to create a situation where you could jam with any artist from the past. Would you ever consider doing something like that?”

“Certainly not,” he responded bluntly. 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. Also, what they did with that Beatles song [‘Free As a Bird’], manipulating John Lennon’s voice to have him singing from across the grave… that’ll never happen to me,” he continued.

“To prevent that kind of thing from happening is another reason why I want artistic control.”

However, despite reports to the contrary, it seems like such a performance may not go ahead, at least according to Prince’s brother, Omarr Baker.

Taking to Twitter to address the rumour, Barker simply shared a Tweet reading “🚫 #PrinceHologram.” When asked by a fan whether it means that he “didn’t authorize it or that it’s not happening,” Barker responded simply by stating “Both.”

While we’ll just have to wait and see what really happens, or whether there will be any sort of tribute shared in honour of Prince and/or his hometown, we might be leaning towards believing his family with this one. Regardless, it’s pretty clear by now that these hologram performance announcements are getting a little out of hand, so let’s hope this could be the last controversy regarding the topic.

Check out Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’:

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