Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana) is an American pop, R&B and soul singer-songwriter and the youngest child of the hugely successful Jackson music family. She rose out of the shadows of her famous brothers to become one of the most successful female entertainers of all time. She ranks as the ninth-most successful artist in the history of rock and roll, and is the youngest artist in the top ten of that group, according to Billboard magazine in 2004. She is well known for her high-octane dance moves, influencing many female artists such as, Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Beyoncé, Brandy, and Britney Spears among others.
Biography
Early life
Jackson was born the last of nine children in Gary, Indiana to parents Joseph and Katherine Jackson. Joseph worked hard labor as a crane operator in Gary's steel mills. Before Janet was born, Joe had his own music career forming the R&B band, the Falcons. They never got as far as the biggest nightclub in Gary. Joseph was also a tough disciplinarian whose teachings and lessons he instilled on his children would later be questioned by those who have written books about him since.
While Joe was stern and gregarious, mother Katherine seemed angelic. For a time before Janet was born, Katherine also held down a job working as a store clerk for Sears. She quit the job as soon as she became a devout Jehovah's Witness in 1965. She was considered the one who "kept the glue within the family" during the earlier years.
By the time she was a toddler, Janet's older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael had already begun to perform onstage at nightclubs and theaters as the Jackson 5. In March 1969, the group signed to Motown Records, and by the end of the year, the group recorded their first of their four consecutive number-one singles, "I Want You Back". By the time the J5 had achieved success, the entire family moved out of Gary to Southern California, eventually settling in a gated mansion they named Hayvenhurst in 1971. Janet was five years old by this point.
Early career
When Jackson was 7, she had aspired to be a horse jockey after a profound infatuation with horses. However, her father thought otherwise, as he saw her potential early on. After the success of the Jackson 5 began to dwindle, Joseph decided to bring the rest of his children into the spotlight, including Janet.
On April 9, 1974, Janet made her public debut performance at a Las Vegas nightclub, with nearly all nine members of the Jackson family (Rebbie did not join until a few months later at a different city). Jackson quickly became the star of the show, emulating and imitating various icons such as Cher, Toni Tennille, and Mae West, in particular.
By 1976, Janet and the family's Vegas act had caught the attention of CBS' president Fred Silverman. The network was desperately trying to find a new variety act to replace the recently ended Sonny & Cher Show, since ABC had a competing show featuring Donny and Marie Osmond.
Debuting on June 16, 1976, The Jacksons show became the first African-American family to have a variety show on TV. The show lasted only two seasons and was cancelled in 1977.
Acting career
In 1977, 11-year-old Jackson's enthusiasm for acting caught television producer Norman Lear's ear. Lear was looking for someone to reawaken one of his groundbreaking shows from TV ruin - the family sitcom Good Times. Lear cast Jackson in Good Times as an abused child named Penny. The show's star, J.J. Evans, played by Jimmie Walker, was the apple of Penny's eye on the show, a fact the character would make known every time she saw him. Jackson became one of the show's starring cast members during the 1977-1978 season, and would remain in the show until it was cancelled in 1979.
Jackson continued her acting career, appearing briefly in a short-lived sitcom titled A New Kind of Family, which was cancelled in early 1980. In 1981, she landed a recurring role on another family sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes, playing Charlene Duprey, the love interest of Willis (played by Todd Bridges). Jackson had become the idol of black girls, a notable example being Moesha Mitchell, who was portrayed by Brandy Norwood in the 1990s sitcom Moesha. Norwood was a huge admirer of Jackson.
In 1984, Jackson reluctantly took the role of Cleo Hewitt in the musical series, Fame. She later told interviewers that her father told her to do the role. After a year, Jackson asked to be let go of her contract, and did not appear in another television series for nineteen years.
Early musical endeavors
Jackson always had an interest in music, writing her first song at the age of nine, but she never aspired to be a professional singer. Nonetheless, she agreed to participate in music just to help her family out. Her first ever recording was a duet with baby brother Randy on a song titled "A Love Song for Kids" in 1978. She would participate in her family's other recordings, particularly with sister LaToya and brother Michael.
In 1981, Jackson and her two older sisters LaToya and Rebbie had wanted to start their own musical group, but disagreements between the older sisters forced the group to disband before ever making a record.
Beginning a professional music career
Although she was asked by her father Joseph to start a singing career, Jackson was uncomfortable with being in the recording studio, feeling she was not as talented vocally as her brothers, particularly brother Michael, who was becoming a pop superstar thanks to his albums, Off the Wall and Thriller.
Nonetheless, at the age of sixteen, she released her debut album simply called Janet Jackson though the teenager protested that her last name should not have been on the cover. Produced by soul singers Angela Winbush, Rene Moore and Leon Sylvers of the famed Sylvers family music group, the album reached #6 on the Billboard R&B album charts, and spent 45 weeks in the Top 50 and hit #63 on the Billboard Pop albums chart.
The album featured 3 Top 20 Billboard R&B singles "Young Love" (#6), "Say You Do" (#15) and "Come Give Your Love To Me" (#17). Two of the singles, "Young Love" and "Come Give Your Love to Me", went as high as #64 and #58 on the Billboard pop charts respectively.
The album sold over a quarter million copies in the US at the time of release. Billboard Magazine gave Jackson the rank of being the tenth biggest-selling R&B artist at the end of 1982, while the debut album was given the rank of being the tenth biggest-selling R&B album of 1983.
Despite the modest success, Jackson found that she had to compete with brother Michael for pop music prominence, after his success with his hit albums.
In 1984, Jackson, now eighteen, released her second album, titled Dream Street. It marked a musical progression from her debut, with funkier, up-tempo production by brother Marlon and famed disco producer Giorgio Moroder, producer of songs for artists such as Donna Summer.
The album only peaked at #147 on the Billboard pop album charts when it was released that July, though it reached #19 on the R&B chart, and the album overall only sold half of what her debut sold at the time of release. Critics soon began to demean Jackson's career as a pop star over.
Around the same time, Jackson fell in love and eloped with James DeBarge, member of the Motown family group DeBarge. The marriage was annulled in March 1985, with DeBarge's drug habit often cited as the reason. After the marriage was annulled and after years of dealing with being a member of a world-famous family, Jackson began to search for independence.
In Control and leading a Nation
After the limited success of her first two albums, A&M A&R John McClain recruited producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to enliven the music career of the 19-year-old. Before leaving for Minneapolis, however, the producers were given the blessing of Jackson's father, who later became her manager after they promised him that Jackson would not sound anything like Prince.
Within months, Jackson, Jam & Lewis crafted the record Control, in which Jackson told her life through a musical basis:
- "When I was 17 I did what people told me,
- Did what my father said and let my mother mold me,
- First time I fell in love I didn't know what hit me,
- So young and so naïve I thought it would be easy,
- But now I know I got to take control..."
The album was released in February 1986, and became a smash hit based on singles such as "What Have You Done For Me Lately", "Nasty" and "When I Think of You". Accompanying music videos featuring high-tech dance moves performed by Jackson received heavy rotation on MTV, BET, VH-1 and other music video channels. The album peaked at #1 that May and sold over 5 million copies in The United States according to the RIAA. It ranked as the No.4 biggest-selling album of 1986, and the No.8 biggest-selling album of 1987 according to Billboard Magazine. At age 19, "When I Think Of You" made Janet the youngest artist to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, since Stevie Wonder.
Jackson performed at both the American Music Awards (where she won two out of nine nominations) and Grammy Awards (where the album was up for Album of the Year). Despite the success of Control, some critics wrote Jackson off as a "studio project", and were still referring to her as "Michael's sister", whereas others disagreed "Control" was named as the 28th Best Album of the 80s by Rolling Stone magazine. "Control" was also Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century -"[Janet] demands respect, draws her boundaries, and kicks some nasty butt....bringing a new wealth of range, power, and grace."
Jackson, now 22, went into production on her next record, and was under pressure to deliver the same messages and format as Control. However, affected by images of shootings, drug dealing, gang-related violence and poverty on television, Jackson wanted to sing about those issues. The result was Rhythm Nation 1814, which was released in October 1989. Tracks on the album contained messages of unity ("Rhythm Nation"), education ("The Knowledge"), poverty ("State of the World") and school shootings ("Living in a World We Didn't Make"), along with light-hearted songs such as "Escapade" and "Alright", while "Black Cat", the solo Jackson production, showcased a more rock side to the artist.
Around the time that the album peaked at #1 in the beginning of 1990, Jackson found even more success with a three-set of videos from her "Rhythm Nation" mini-movie, as well as the videos for the songs that did not contain social messages that filled up the mini-movie. Jackson had co-choreographed most of the dance moves in the videos. Seven songs from the album hit the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart between 1989 and 1991. Four of those ("Miss You Much", "Escapade", "Black Cat" & "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" were #1 records. The album sold over 6 million in the U.S. according to the RIAA and became the top-selling album of 1990, solidifying Jackson's "hit-making" status. Rhythm Nation 1814 won the Billboard Award for the top-selling album of the year, along with multiple awards at the Billboard Music Awards. Jackson only won one of the eight Grammys she was nominated - for Best Long Form Music Video. Around the same time, Jackson embarked on a world tour that was praised by critics, and the it became the best-selling debut tour by an artist in rock history.
New Agenda & New Attitude
After finding success as a singer, Jackson was given a chance to resume her acting career when director John Singleton allowed her to audition for his film Poetic Justice, as a tough, poetic hairdresser from South Central, Los Angeles. Jackson won the role in the romantic drama, starring opposite rapper Tupac Shakur. The film opened in 1993, and depicted a very different image of Jackson than what had been seen before; her character cursed and even threatened people who ever crossed her. This coincided with a change in Jackson's music as she entered the studio to record her fifth album (and third with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis), simply titled janet., whose music was brasher and more sexually charged than her previous work.
Jackson released the album in May 1993, and the first song, "That's The Way Love Goes", became an unexpected hit; Jackson's new label Virgin had originally wanted the hard-edged "If" to be the album's lead single, but Jackson successfully protested the decision. "That's The Way Love Goes" becomes the first & only single in history to enter the Billboard Hot R&B Airplay chart at #1. "That's The Way Love Goes" hit the top spot onn the Hot 100 Singles Chart for 8 weeks, and also toped the Hot R&B Singles Charts and Dance Singles Chart.
In fall 1993 Janet appeared "almost nude" on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, which is considered to be the world's most popular magazine cover ever. The photograph also become one of the most influential and most copied photograph in Rock and Roll History, Spin Magazine to rap star O.D.B. to Brad Pitt, Benicio Deltoro, and Guy Richie copied this world famous photograph.
Jackson's album continued to sell also scored five other Top 10 singles including "If", the Oscar-nominated "Again" and #1 R&B single of the year, "Any Time, Any Place" (which spent 10 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B Chart). The album became a huge success worldwide, reaching #1 in 22 countries, selling nearly 18 million copies. janet. was awarded Grammy, MTV Video Music, and Soul Train Awards. The album became the No.2 biggest selling album of 1993 after just 7 months of release.
Inside Her Velvet Rope
In 1996, Jackson re-signed with Virgin for a reported $80 million. Around the same time, she was busy trying to create a concept around her seventh album. Yet she was faced with personal demons that almost downplayed the recordings. Jackson acknowledged later she went through clinical depression. The result was possibly her most painful album, "The Velvet Rope". Despite the usual love song ("I Get Lonely"), sex song ("Rope Burn") and anti-racism anthem (the hidden track "Can't Be Stopped"), most of the album showcased pain, life lost, and spiritual growth. The album's almost avant-garde approach took most of the buying public off guard when it was released on October 7, 1997; though it ended up becoming another multi-platinum effort for the diva. And unlike her previous albums, only four songs ("Got Till It's Gone", the AIDS anthem "Together Again", "Go Deep" and the smoky R&B number "I Get Lonely") were released as singles while three more were charted overseas. The tour, however, became a bigger success. A televised show from New York helped Jackson and her crew get nominated for Emmy's. The album also showed signs that personal strain had been developing in one of Jackson's relationships with a former dancer.
The Marriage & Divorce of Rene Elizondo
When Janet suffered from the aftermath of her failed marriage to James DeBarge in 1985, former dancer Rene Elizondo was always by her side. They began an on-again, off-again courtship in 1986 that resulted in a secret marriage in March, 1991. Many speculated at the time of "The Velvet Rope", their marriage had begun to fall apart. According to both Jackson and Elizondo, the couple had become more business partners than a couple. Together, they helped cultivate the sounds that made Jackson's music popular. By 1999, however, their marriage was all but over. But it took a year into Jackson working on her second box-office flick, "The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" that their marriage would finally be told to the world as Rene revealed in 2000. Jackson explained in interviews that she chose not to tell fans about her marriage because since she had been in the public spotlight at a young age that if word ever got out about her marriage, then it would have made it worse and the marriage was to be over anyway. Elizondo later sued Jackson for spousal support as they went through a nasty court battle that finally ended in 2002 with the divorce finalized and Elizondo only receiving half the multi-million dollar pay-off he was hoping for.
All For You and then some
Janet released her eighth album in 2001. Titled "All for You", Jackson made music history with the album's title track reaching every format of radio that day of its release. The song's success helped the album reach #1 and become a big seller. The other big hit included was "Someone To Call My Lover". Unlike "The Velvet Rope", "All For You" showcased a much happier Janet living the single life.
In 2002 she started her 3rd world tour, "All For You," at the same time another pop icon started a world tour, Madonna (entertainer), critics and fans couldn't help but compare the two superstars, NBC news went as far as to call it 1,000 times better than Madonna's "Drowned World Tour", even if Jacksin did any little lip syncing, The Washington Post said In the Dueling Diva Smackdown that has filled MCI Center for five of the past nine nights, Janet Jackson KO'd Madonna with a two-hour show that favored jubilant entertainment over somber art, and embraced the past instead of avoiding it. The Orange County Register: Janet Jackson dazzles her adoring audience, The Kansas City Star: Unlike audiences at most concerts, Saturday's crowd at Kemper was a cultural melting pot that cut across nearly every demographic: age, race, class and gender. That, makes Janet Jackson the queen of something more important than just pop music itself"
Meanwhile, Jackson was on the mind of many a gossip column about her alleged rapports with everybody from actor Matthew McConaughey, singer Justin Timberlake, singer Johnny Gill and rapper Q-Tip. There were already innuendos (that were later denied) that Jackson engaged in lesbianism with her female back-up dancers. However, in reality by 2002, Jackson was accompanying herself with hip-hop producer and music mogul Jermaine Dupri.
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Main article: Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
During the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004, Janet Jackson performed with Justin Timberlake to an audience of more than 100 million people. During this live performance, in which Jackson sang along with Timberlake his song "Rock Your Body", when they got to the part of the song which goes '"gonna have you naked by the end of this song"', her top was torn open by Timberlake, exposing Jackson's right breast; the nipple was partially covered by a starburst-shaped decoration held in place by a piercing. Timberlake called the incident a "wardrobe malfunction".
Jackson apologized at first, calling it an accident and claiming that Timberlake was supposed to pull away the bustier and leave the red-lace bra intact, however, she later said to an interviewer for Genre magazine that she wishes she had not apologized at all.
CBS, the NFL, and MTV, which produced the halftime show, disclaimed all responsibility under a hailstorm of controversy. Jackson and Timberlake confirmed those denials, but The FCC continued with its investigation. As a result, CBS conditioned its invitation for Jackson to appear at the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony on another public apology. She declined, but Justin Timberlake apologized and appeared as both a performer and a presenter. This led to some people complaining about a so-called "double standard": although both Jackson and Timberlake were complicit in the "wardrobe malfunction" incident, people were seemingly placing more of the blame for it on Jackson.
Because of heightened FCC scrutiny of obscene content on television and radio, the entertainment industry suffered a major backlash. Broadcasters implemented video delays of several minutes in some cases where only audio delays had been used before. Programs that once pushed the envelope began eliminating even mildly coarse language from their broadcasts. Some performers were penalized for things that had been acceptable previously. Many people directly blamed Jackson for igniting this new wave of censorship while in fact the FCC was already moving in that direction (and Timberlake's complicity has been largely ignored or forgotten). Even greater responsibility for the crackdown rests with such groups as the Parents Television Council which was responsible for the vast majority of FCC complaints regarding the incident and since then.
The incident also resulted in further professional setbacks for Jackson. Prior to the Super Bowl, she was set to play legendary entertainer Lena Horne in her bio-pic. But after the incident, Horne reportedly refused to return her contract for the film until Jackson was dropped from the project. The project, meanwhile, has been put on hold indefinitely.
Life after Super Bowl
Many thought it was awkward that a month after the Super Bowl scandal, Janet released her ninth album, "Damita Jo", with the cover of a topless Jackson covering her breasts. Controversy dogged what was potentially a hit album. But even in the midst of everything, the album still managed to make a #2 debut on the charts though it was her first since "Rhythm Nation" to not make it #1 in its first week. The album sold three million copies worldwide to date and garnered Platinum status in America. It could be because this album is a "copy controlled" disc in Europe. The only big hit from the album was her Grammy-nominated Motown inspired soul ballad, "I Want You". The single for "I Want You" was only released in Europe and Japan as part single with "All Nite (Don't Stop)", and was later rewarded with a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance. The album, itself, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album.
Fighting back against her critics, Jackson began doing interviews, and everywhere she appeared she managed to increase ratings, giving David Letterman his highest rated show ever. [1] She also hosted Saturday Night Live and was heavily praised in her ability to make light of her 'wardrobe malfunction'. She impersonated Condoleezza Rice flashing her breast to the 9/11 commission to divert attention from the war in Iraq, Jackson as host and musical guest on “SNL” was that program’s highest-rated episode in nearly 16 months. [2] It was the best performance for "SNL” in the overnight ratings since the Dec. 14, 2002 episode hosted by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. In a much lighter tone, Jackson appeared on a TV show for the first time since she was the special guest on the hit show, "Will & Grace" as herself.
As of 2005, there are plans to release a new album, which would feature production once again from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis with her boyfriend Jermaine Dupri as one of its executive producers. Jimmy Jam told an interviewer that the new album, expected to feature more dance numbers, will come out in 2006, 20 years after Jackson began her successful journey.
Discography
Filmography
- Poetic Justice (1993)
- Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
Trivia
- Janet's first biography was released in 1977 as a joint bio about her and brother Randy
- Janet's first musical recording was a duet with brother Randy on the b-side to his modest charted hit single, "How Can I Be Sure" on a song titled "A Love Song for Kids", in 1978 when she was only twelve.
- Janet sung background vocals on brother Michael's Top 10 hit, "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", in 1983.
- Janet wore a key earring throughout her tenure as a rising pop superstar in the 80s.
- Brother Michael claims in his "Home Movies" documentary in 2003 that Janet emulated his choreography from his "Captain EO" short movie into her "Rhythm Nation" music video which she choreographed with Anthony Thomas four years later.
- Janet's first nickname was "Dunk", given to her by brother Michael.
- Janet's debut tour has been dubbed the all time greatest debut tour in history.
- Janet is the #2 most successful artist on the hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, behind only Madonna.
- Janet's breakthrough album Control had one single - "When I Think Of You" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the other five singles ("What Have You Done For Me Lately," "Nasty," "Control," "Let's Wait Awhile" and "The Pleasure Principle") all hit #1 on the R&B Chart. "When I Think Of You" hit #3 on the R&B chart.
- Janet remains the only Jackson family member to be nominated for an Academy Award. Her single "Again" was nominated for Best Original Song in 1994.
- Janet held a record for having the most Top 10 hits in a succession of years: 9 (1989-1998) and held a record for the most consecutive Top 10 hits of any artist: 19
Awards & accolades
- For a list of awards see: List of Janet Jackson awards and accolades
- For a list of Grammy nominations see: Grammy nominations for Janet Jackson
- For a complete discography and sales information see: Janet Jackson Discography
See also
- List of best selling music artists
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (US)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
- 1966 births
- African American musicians
- African-American actors
- American actors
- American pop singers
- American songwriters
- Dancers
- Female singers
- Film actors
- Gay icons
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Funk musicians
- Jackson family
- Janet Jackson
- People from Indiana
- R&B musicians
- Record producers
- Soul musicians
- Television actors
- Whistle register singers
- Worst Actress Razzie nominees
- Sex symbols
- Artist-producers