Janet Jackson Appreciation Thread

[BetterForgotten]

I’ve always believed that Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction was staged by both Janet and Justin. However, neither anticipated the crushing fallout from it, and it was easier for Justin distance himself from it while Janet was left holding the bag.

 

[will81]

100% I loved Velvet Rope. Stood in line to get her to sign the album and went to the tour - she toured Australia right at the the time she was getting out of the marriage no one was aware she was ever in. I felt she was going from strength to strength creatively, but her next album was a disappointment for me. I jumped off there. You're right, it was light and fluffy and not for me. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Seeing this documentary makes me wonder if the light and fluffy, frou frou fare was more about not engaging in any type of heavy, emotional matter during a difficult time in her life, a kind of means of self-care.  Not everyone wants to pour all their emotional pain into their artistic work all the time. It may not have worked for her creatively or what fans have come to expect but maybe psychically it may have been what she needed. Also, enduring a kind of soft blackballing during Michael's trial and allegations and hard blackballing after the Superbowl fiasco, she may have felt the need to not make waves, including creatively. Just something to consider.

From the outside looking in, people may have assumed that Janet was a very powerful woman, but we can see from Coca-Cola pulling their offer that was on the table because of allegations against her brother and not her as well as the fact that, during the post Superbowl fiasco period, seemingly only Tyler Perry (and a few other musicians, mainly rappers) wanted to work with her, should tell you what an artistic bind Janet was likely. She may have made some concessions in order to not make waves.

Edited January 30, 2022 by DramatistDreamer

[BetterForgotten]

I think the collaboration with Jimmy Jam and Terry Jewis had just gotten stale by the time the ‘All For You’ album rolled around - but then she had a series of albums after that that were very half baked. Her nadir creatively was just probably during her relationship with Jermiane Dupri, she gave him way too much control over her material during that time and none of it was any good, IMO. That seems to be a trend with Janet - her musical output if often heavily influenced by whatever relationship she’s in at some point in her life.

Again, whether Janet wants to admit it or not, Rene Elizondo was very much creatively involved during her most successful period. Once that relationship faltered, it seemed her output went along with it.

[Vee]

It's what I suspected at the time given the climate at MTV, etc. with a lot of racy live stunts like that happening in that era constantly trying to one-up themselves - Britney, Madonna, etc. But years later it seems like it must've been an accident. Regardless of how it started, I never liked how Janet was treated vs. Justin. And I'd even suggest you can draw a line between that fallout and the continued decline of her artistic output, not just because of the reasons mentioned above by DD but because I think, professionally, she couldn't always get in the room with better people with new visions following the Super Bowl. So instead we got a lot of disposable stuff and/or some frankly embarrassing racy tracks and about 25 interludes per album. But did Justin Timberlake's career and musical output suffer following the Super Bowl? Nope.

Edited January 30, 2022 by Vee

[Khan]

In a way, her post-"Velvet Rope"/post-Super Bowl appearance musical output has regressed to the kind of music she was releasing before she hooked up with JIMMY JAM! and Terry Lewis: lightweight, highly disposable tracks that you forget about ten minutes after you've stopped playing them.  She just doesn't have the side gigs now as Penny Baby or Willis' gf to ensure that her fan base will keep buying the music.

Look, we all know it ain't easy for a woman trying to make it in pop music.  It's a long, hard push to the top; and IF you get there, you have only so long before you gotta make way for the new girls.  When that happens, some leave gracefully; others...don't.  To me, Damita Jo's just another one who's had to suffer that unfair trajectory.

Even if the Super Bowl fiasco had never happened, and the media and such didn't turn her into the villain in that tragedy, I feel like her career was bound to turn downward -- not because she didn't have the talent (because, she does!), but because, that's just the way the industry works.  I just feel like what happened at the Super Bowl only hastened the inevitable.

Edited January 30, 2022 by Khan

[Soaplovers]

I think part of Janet's problem was that she was always viewed as the kid sister singing and she also had a weight problem in her teens as well.

If you look at her music videos from the Control and Rhythm Nation era(for the most part), she was always in blazers, in black, and usually was covered up from the neck down.  Once she did the 'Love will never do without you' video where she was dressed in a more revealing way (for her.. that is).  I think she decided to embrace the sexual side that she had kept repressed because she still saw herself as being overweight.

Janet in 1993 was a very sensual album that was romantic, tough, and sensual.   Velvet Rope saw her dipping more into the sexual side of things, but she still wrote a mean hook.

I think she's been treading ground in her music for years focusing more on the beats instead of what made her so popular in the 80s/early 90s.. which were strong hooks, great beats, great lyrics, and a diverse musical soundscape.

She listed to men by embracing her sexuality, yet was also punished when those same people thought she went too far (even though Justin T wasn't held under the fire when he was the one that caused the wardrobe malfunction).

[Khan]

Exactly.  But there was also a racial component that I, for one, found hard to ignore.  Janet was vilified, because, "how DARE a BLACK woman show her nipple on live TV like that!?".  If that had happened to Madonna, white, conservative America would have just laughed and shrugged and said, "Well, that's our Madge!".

[Soaplovers]

I will agree that Janet got punished worse than Madge did.

Madonna did suffer a lot of damage after doing Erotica/Sex/Body of Evidence... and she had to do a major 180 and came out with 'Bedtime Stories' plus a ballad called 'I'll Remember'.  Madonna had to drastically back off the sexual exploits in order to save her career.

I don't recall, but did Janet Jackson try to do that after the whole Superbowl scandal?

[DramatistDreamer]

There is no comparison between someone grabbing at your clothes exposing your breast and someone putting out a planned and published sex book.

None. And any attempt to equate the two as if they are one in the same is obtuse thinking.

If we examine and believe Janet's words (unless you don't believe her when she said that it was an unfortunate accident, unplanned-(if you don't take her at her word, then that is another matter entirely) then one would have to acknowledge that the backlashes was something entirely different from what Madonna faced from publishing her Sex book and doing Justify My Love (using an unauthorized sample).

I do think it's funny that despite Janet trying to give Justin Timberlake some public cover from the years of backlash from her fans, the Black community are still like "We love you Jan, but nah, we're never letting him off the hook, he's still on the $hit list for that".

[Khan]

JT has built his entire career appropriating our (African-American) culture -- in music, in dance, in fashion, in everything.  We ain't about to let up on him for anything.

[j swift]

I always laughed when JT would talk about growing up listening to soul music.  Where?  Backstage at the Mickey Mouse Club?  He is as authentically soulful as Cheesecake Factory's jambalaya

[BetterForgotten]

Janet, for years, mistakenly thought people loved what she called her “baby-making songs” when that was not the type of music that drew people to her in the first place. It was cute with ‘Anytime, Anyplace’ but there can only be so many songs singing about your p.ussy on various albums…

Janet also went on a mini apology tour after the Super Bowl incident, which I think only ended up hurting her even more in the long-run. It purposely gave everyone else ownership of her personal narrative. When Madonna had her Sex book backlash, and even as she moved on from it, the one thing she refused to do was apologize for it (which she directly references on ‘Human Nature’). People who “punished” her for it had to deal with it and couldn’t really use it against her as she wasn’t going to say “sorry” for it.

Edited January 31, 2022 by BetterForgotten

[Franko]

I still remember VH1's Before They Were Rock Stars showing footage of Justin performing Michael Bolton songs at local talent shows.

[BetterForgotten]

He performed a Country routine on Star Search as well….