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Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16,
1966) is a Grammy Award-winning and Academy
Award-nominated American singer, songwriter, composer,
actress, dancer, choreographer, record producer, and
activist. She is ranked as the ninth most successful
artist in the history of rock and roll and the second
most successful female recording artist of all time in
the US according to Billboard.
In 2006, it was announced that Jackson
was the "Most Searched in Internet History",
and the "Most Searched for News Item", in the
Guinness Book of World Records. In 2007, Jackson was
ranked the 7th richest woman in the entertainment
business by Forbes Magazine, amassing a fortune of over
$150 million.
Early life: children. The family was
lower-middle-class and devout Jehovah's Witnesses. By
the time she was a toddler, Janet's older brothers
Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael had already
begun to perform on stage at nightclubs and theaters as
the Jackson 5. In March 1969, the group signed with
Motown Records, and by the end of the year the group
recorded the first of their four consecutive number-one
singles. The Jackson 5’s success allowed the entire
family to move to Encino, CA, Southern California in
1971. The Jacksons settled in a gated mansion that they
referred to as “Hayvenhurst.”
As a young child, Janet’s career aspiration was to be
a jockey. However, after the Jackson 5’s success began
to diminish, Joseph decided to bring use the rest of the
children in the act. On April 9, 1974, Janet made her
debut performance at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas,
alongside her eight older siblings. Janet quickly became
a standout in the show, winning over crowds and critics
with impersonations of Cher, Marie Osmond, Toni Tennille
and Mae West.
In 1976, the Jackson 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 its recently defunct The Sonny & Cher Show.
Debuting on June 16, 1976, The Jacksons became the first
television variety show starring an African-American
family. The series lasted two seasons. As the 1980s
began, Janet continued her career in television, in the
sitcoms: Good Times, A New Kind of Family and Diff'rent
Strokes, as well as the primetime drama Fame.
Recording career, 1982-1985: Fledgling years:
Although Janet never wanted to be a professional singer,
she obeyed her father’s orders and participated in
various family musical projects. Her first recording was
a duet with brother Randy on a song titled “Love Song
for Kids” in 1978. When Janet was fifteen, Joe
launched her recording career by arranging a contract
with A&M Records. Her debut album Janet Jackson was
released in 1982.
Produced by soul singers Angela Winbush,
René Moore and noted producer Leon F. Sylvers III (who
had previously worked with the The Whispers, Lakeside,
Shalamar, Dynasty) of the famed Sylvers family music
group, the album reached the top ten on the Billboard
R&B albums chart, spent 45 weeks in that chart's top
50, and had moderate success on the Pop albums chart.
The album yielded three moderately successful singles:
“Young Love,” “Say You Do” and “Come Give Your
Love to Me.” The Janet Jackson album sold over one
million (1,000,000) copies worldwide since the time of
its release.
In 1984, Jackson’s second album, Dream Street was
released. It marked a musical progression from her
debut, with funkier, up-tempo production by brother
Marlon and famed disco producer Giorgio Moroder (who
produced songs for artists such as Donna Summer.) The
album managed to peak at number nineteen on the R&B
albums chart, but failed to crack the top 100 in Pop.
Though Dream Street scored a top ten R&B hit with
“Don't Stand Another Chance,” sales of Dream Street
were less than Jackson’s debut album: about 300,000
units in the U.S and 1,000,000 world wide. Music
critics, at the time, largely dismissed Janet as simply
another supplement from the Jackson assembly line.
She’d later admitted that her heart wasn’t into
music at the time, and had a greater preference toward
acting—where she had made more of a name for herself.
1986-1987: Control era: After the limited
successes of her first two albums, A&M Records
executive John McClain hired producers Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis to jump-start Jackson's career as a
recording artist. Before leaving for Minneapolis, Jam
and Lewis were given the blessing of Jackson’s father,
her manager at the time, with the promise that they
would not have Jackson sounding anything like Prince,
who the two had previously worked with. Within months,
Jackson, Jam, and Lewis crafted Jackson's breakthrough
album, Control.
Released in February 1986, Control spun
off five top 5 singles: “What Have You Done for Me
Lately,” “Nasty,” “When I Think of You”
(Jackson’s first number one single on Billboard’s
Hot 100 singles chart), “Control,” and “Let's Wait
Awhile.” Most of the Control music videos, meanwhile,
were choreographed by Paula Abdul. The album went to the
top of the Billboard 200 album charts for two weeks, and
has sold more than eight million copies in America.
In early 1987, Control was awarded a Grammy nomination
for Album of the Year, six Billboard Music Awards, four
American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and
three Soul Train Music Awards, including Album of the
Year. The same year, Jackson took another step toward
independence by firing her father-manager, Joseph
Jackson.
1989-1991: Rhythm Nation 1814 era: In 1989,
Jackson began recording her fourth album, Rhythm Nation
1814. 1814 referred to the year the song "The Star
Spangled Banner" was written; in addition, 'R' is
the 18th letter of the alphabet and 'N' the 14th, hence
1814. Though executives at A&M wanted an album
similar to Control, Jackson instead created an album
that, in addition to songs about love and relationships,
had heady socially-conscious message.
Rhythm Nation 1814 peaked at number one on the Billboard
200 Album and R&B charts, sold eight million copies
in the US, and became the first album to spawn seven Top
5 singles: “Alright,” “Rhythm Nation,” and
"Come Back To Me”— as well as four number one
singles: "Miss You Much,” “Escapade,”
“Black Cat,” and “Love Will Never Do (Without
You).”
A black and white long-form video was created for the
album; it included “Miss You Much,” “The
Knowledge,” and the title track. The film was shot by
director Domenic Sena (See also Rhythm Nation 1814
Film). The video represented a “coming together” of
all people while taking a firm social stance on issues
such as bigotry, ignorance, and education. The Rhythm
Nation film went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Long
Form Video.
In 1990, Janet became the first artist to score a #1 hit
simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream
Rock singles charts with “Black Cat.” Billboard
named Rhythm Nation 1814 the #1 Selling Album of the
Year. Jackson went onto win 15 Billboard Music Awards,
five American Music Awards, four Soul Train Music
Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and her first
Grammy Award. The Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour had an
impressive attendance of more than two million people,
The tour is the Most successful debut tour of any female
artist.
1993-1995: janet. era: Jackson’s recording
contract with A&M Records expired in 1990. After
being courted by various major labels, Jackson signed
with Virgin Records in 1991 for a reported $40 million,
which at the time was the largest recording deal in
history. Janet initially considered titling her fifth
studio album “Damita,” referencing her middle name,
but settled on calling it simply janet. (She would later
name her eighth studio album Damita Jo)
Released on May 18, 1993; the album became the first by
a female artist to debut at number one during the
Nielsen SoundScan era. The lead off single, “That's
the Way Love Goes,” became the first and only single
in radio history to enter the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart at number one. Within
weeks it also became number one on the Billboard Hot
100. The album reached number one in twenty-two
countries, sold nearly twenty million copies (19 million
as of 2005), and won several awards, including a Grammy.
It was the fourth best-selling album of the year in the
United States, and the eighth best-selling album on the
year-end Billboard Top Albums chart during the following
year. The album spawned five more Top 10 hit singles:
"If,” “Again” (which also peaked at #1 on the
Hot 100), “Because of Love,” “Any Time, Any
Place” and “You Want This.”
In July 1993, Janet made her big-screen debut in the
John Singleton directed, Poetic Justice. Janet’s
ballad, “Again” was featured on the film’s
soundtrack, and garnered a Golden Globe and Academy
Award nomination for Best Original Song From A Motion
Picture.
In September 1993, Janet appeared topless on the cover
of Rolling Stone magazine. The cover became one of the
most celebrated photos ever taken of a rock artist, and
Rolling Stone named it their 'Most Popular Cover Ever’
in 2000. Janet was criticized for the explicitness of
the photograph. She insisted that the male hands
covering her breasts belonged to her partner, René
Elizondo. The janet. Tour, meanwhile, began in November
1993 and played for twelve full months at sold-out
venues worldwide.
After years of reservations, Janet agreed to collaborate
with her brother, Michael, on the 1995 single,
"Scream", the lead single from his album
HIStory. The song (which lashed out at the media) peaked
at #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, and
featured a futuristic music video created with the help
of director Mark Romanek.
In October 1995, Janet’s first hits compilation,
Design of a Decade 1986/1996, was released via A&M
Records. The album focused chiefly on the hits from the
Control and Rhythm Nation albums; due to contractual
reasons, the only janet. track featured was “That's
the Way Love Goes.” Two new songs were recorded for
the album, “Runaway” and “Twenty Foreplay,” the
former peaking at number three on the pop charts.
1997-1999: The Velvet Rope era: In 1996, Janet
renewed her contract Virgin Records for a reported $80
million, which made her the highest paid female
recording artist of all time. During the recording of
Jackson’s sixth studio album, she reportedly suffered
from clinical depression and anxiety—which fueled the
concept behind 1997’s The Velvet Rope. In August 1997,
the album’s lead single, “Got 'Til It's Gone” was
released to radio. The single sampled the Joni Mitchell
classic, “Big Yellow Taxi” and featured a cameo
appearance by rapper, Q-Tip.
Fans were taken aback by the album’s abrasive content.
Songs dealing with domestic abuse, depression,
self-esteem issues, isolation, and S&M, made up the
bulk of the album's design. Velvet Rope’s cover, shot
by photographer Ellen von Unwerth, featured Janet with
her head down, in a defeated-like pose, with only the
word, Janet, glazed over top of the image. The glazed
letters were invisible except in reflection, so they do
not appear in most pictures of the cover; they were not
included on later pressings of the album. There was much
speculation about the stories behind the songs, but
Janet has not divulged much about them. The Velvet Rope
became her fourth number-one album on the Billboard 200,
spawned the chart topping “Together Again” (an
upbeat musical tribute to her friends who had died of
AIDS) and the top five “I Get Lonely,” has since
sold more than eight million copies worldwide.
In 1998, Janet set out on a world tour, The Velvet Rope
Tour—which took her on an international trek that
included: Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, New
Zealand and Australia. As her world tour came to a close
in 1999, Janet lent guest vocals to a number of songs by
other artists, including: Shaggy’s “Luv Me, Luv
Me,” for the soundtrack to How Stella Got Her Groove
Back, and the Grammy-nominated “God’s Stepchild,”
from the Down on the Delta soundtrack,
“Girlfriend/Boyfriend” with BLACKstreet, and
“What's It Gonna Be” with Busta Rhymes. Janet also
dueted with Elton John for the song, "I Know The
Truth." As 1999 ended, Billboard Magazine ranked
Jackson (with only three albums released during the
1990s) as the second most successful artist of the
decade—behind Mariah Carey.
2000-2002: All For You era: In July 2000, Janet
returned to the big screen, with her second film, Nutty
Professor II: The Klumps, opposite Eddie Murphy. She
also contributed to the film’s soundtrack with the
track, '“Doesn't Really Matter,” which became
Janet’s ninth number one pop hit. In March 2001, Janet
was awarded a top honor American Music Award 'Award of
Merit,' and became the first honoree of MTV’s Icon
celebration, which resulted in performances featuring
Destiny's Child, N'Sync, Christina Aguilera, Usher,
Britney Spears and others.
Janet's seventh album, All for You, was released on
April 24, 2001. It debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200, with more than 605,000 copies sold in the
U.S. All for You would go on to sell more than three
million copies in America. The album's title track
topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for seven
weeks; the second single, “Someone to Call My
Lover,” peaked in the top five. Jackson also scored a
top 40 single with “Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This
Song Is About You)” featuring Carly Simon; remixed by
rapper Missy Elliot, it would be her third and final
single from the All for You album and would become one
of the centerpieces of her All for You Tour. In 2002,
“All For You” won Jackson her fifth Grammy Award for
“Best Dance Recording” Following this success, she
collaborated with reggae singer Beenie Man on the song
“Feel It Boy.” Janet began work on her next album
and accepted an invitation to join the 2004 Super Bowl
festivities.
2004: Damita Jo's Wardrobe Malfunction: During
the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1,
2004, Jackson performed with Justin Timberlake to a live
audience of more than one hundred million people. During
the performance, Janet sang along with Timberlake on his
song “Rock Your Body.” When Timberlake sang the
lyric ‘gonna have you naked by the end of this
song,’ he tore open Janet’s top exposing her right
breast, which was partially covered by a nipple shield.
Timberlake called the incident a “wardrobe
malfunction.” Janet apologized, calling it an
accident, and saying 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 wished she had not apologized at all,
due to the fact that it made her seem guilty to the
public.
CBS, the NFL, and MTV (CBS’s sister network), which
produced the halftime show, denied all responsibility
under a hail of criticism. Jackson and Timberlake
confirmed those denials, but the FCC continued an
investigation. Janet declined CBS’s inviting her to
appear at the 2004’s The 46th Annual Grammy Awards
ceremony, on the condition that she make another public
apology. Jermaine Dupri, Janet’s boyfriend, left his
post on the Grammy Awards committee after Janet refused
to apologize again for the Super Bowl incident. The
controversy surrounding the incident halted plans for
Jackson to star in a made-for-TV biopic on the life on
legendary singer Lena Horne for ABC-TV. Horne reportedly
was displeased with the Super Bowl halftime antics and
insisted that ABC pull Jackson from the project.
In March 2004, Jackson’s eighth studio album, Damita
Jo, was released, debuting at number two, with opening
week sales of nearly 400,000 copies. Despite the
album’s strong debut, its singles: “Just a Little
While,” “I Want You,” and “All Nite (Don't
Stop),” all performed modestly on the charts. Janet
described the album as ‘a portrait of the many
personalities living inside her.’ Though Damita Jo
failed to live up to full commercial expectation, it
sold three million copies worldwide and received
nominations from the American Music Awards, Billboard
Awards, Source Music Awards, BET Music Awards, and
Grammy Awards including Contemporary R&B Album of
the Year.
Janet appeared as a host of Saturday Night Live on April
10, 2004, where she performed a skit that parodied the
Super Bowl incident. Janet also appeared in the sitcom
Will & Grace playing herself as Jack McFarland
auditioned to be her back-up dancer. Janet became the
most-searched for person on the Internet in 2004.
Jackson was also the most-searched of 2005 on
Google.com. On June 15, 2005, Janet was awarded a
Humanitarian Award by the Human Rights Campaign, a
national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil
rights organization on behalf of her work and
involvement in raising money for AIDS charities.
She accepted the award saying, “what
I’ve learned in these recent months is that there is a
light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s real. It’s
a beautiful light that both comforts our minds and
strengthens our souls. Tonight my heart is filled with
gratitude for that light. I’m so grateful that prayers
are answered, that faith is rewarded and tolerance is
celebrated as a virtue. I’m grateful that God is of
unconditional love.”
2006-present: 20 Y.O. era: Janet celebrated her
40th birthday with a birthday bash at Shereen Arazms
Shag in Los Angeles. In attendance were many of her
former dancers—as well as singer Stevie Wonder, who
serenaded her. Jackson appeared on the cover of Us
Weekly in June 2006 and it became the magazine's best
selling issue ever, outselling issues with Angelina
Jolie and Jessica Simpson on the cover.
Virgin Records released Jackson’s ninth studio album,
20 Y.O., on September 26, 2006. 20 Years Old, a nod to
the twentieth anniversary of Control (and said to
reference to how young Janet feels). The album debuted
at number two on Billboard’s albums charts
respectively; selling 296,873 copies in its first week.
Janet launched a contest giving fans an opportunity to
create the artwork for the album. The “Design Me”
contest required participants to download images of
Janet and create proposed covers for the album. Janet
hand-picked dozens of images, new and old, to be used in
the contest. She selected her top four favorites, which
were used for the first one million pressings of 20 Y.O.
20 Y.O. first single, Call on Me, a duet with rapper
Nelly, peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles
chart; while topping the R&B singles chart. The
second single, “So Excited,” became Jackson’s
seventeenth number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club
Play Chart. 20 Y.O. was certified platinum in December
2006 and received a Grammy nomination for “Best
Contemporary R&B Album.” The release of 20 Y.O.
completed Jackson’s contract with Virgin Records.
On February 26, 2007, it was announced that Jackson
would star in Tyler Perry’s forthcoming film, Why Did
I Get Married?. Filming began on March 5, 2007 and the
film is scheduled to be released in October 2007. In
April 2007, Jermaine Dupri announced on his MySpace page
that Janet will record a single for the upcoming film,
Rush Hour 3. The film has an expected release date of
August 10, 2007.
Jermaine Dupri told MTV News recently, “Definitely
Janet will end up at Island Records, [Dupri's new
label]. That's without a doubt. L.A. always wanted to
sign her regardless [of whether] I was there or not. I
don't know where that deal is—I left that in the hands
of L.A. and Janet’s people—but more than likely,
he'll get what he wants.” A spokesperson for Virgin
did not respond to requests for comment by press time
about Jackson’s status with the label or Dupri’s
departure.
Personal life: In 1984, at age eighteen, Jackson
eloped with James DeBarge, a member of the singing group
DeBarge. News of the couple's nuptials was reported on
Entertainment Tonight. Jackson would later admit that
the marriage was not a good one, and that the
family—particularly Joe—disapproved of the union.
Jackson was granted an annulment in March 1985. There
have been allegations made by DeBarge’s brother that
Jackson and DeBarge produced a daughter who was born
shortly after their breakup and lived with her aunt
Rebbie Jackson. Jackson has refuted these rumors.
In 1991, Jackson and long-time lover/business partner
René Elizondo Jr., were secretly married in a private
ceremony. Hoping to avoid public scrutiny, the two
sought to kept their marriage a closely guarded secret,
while continuing to present themselves as simply live in
lovers in the eye of the media. As the decade drew to a
close, both Jackson and Elizondo admitted that they had
become more business partners than a couple. In 1999,
the two ended their eight year marriage. In 2001, Rene
Elizondo sued Janet for spousal support. Their court
battle ended in 2003 with the divorce finalized and
Elizondo receiving half the multi-million dollar pay-off
he was hoping for.
Since 2003, Janet has been involved with hip-hop
producer Jermaine Dupri. In the time that they’ve been
together, there have been numerous rumors that the two
have married, though they have consistently denied these
reports although she admits that the two do live
together. Dupri appeared in Janet’s video for “I
Want You,” while Janet returned the favor by appearing
in Dupri's video for his 2005 single, “Gotta
Getcha.” |
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