Did Janet Jackson blend all of her previous music videos — “Rhythm Nation,” “Scream,” And “Love Will Never Do,” just to name a few — to create the latest media marketing message for “Make Me”?
Janet is planning a big return. Not as big as, say, Whitney Houston’s, but Janet has some work of her own to do. Her last tour, titled Rock Witchu, was canceled and died without rescheduling. Her last albums have been commercial and talent failures. And while plenty of singers say their music is therapy, launching a career return while some think you should still be mourning your brother’s death is Mission: Critical.
But coming back is what Janet does, which is why she’ll open Sunday’s American Music Awards, the same broadcast that Whitney will also pop in for. And that’s why we’re ready to applaud any effort from Janet. Well, almost.
UPDATE: The full video arrives.
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Mike L.
Maybe since she doesnt have to compete for fans with her bro, but seriously she mode than likely had this comming for a while and her bro just happen to have been killed before she released info on her new album.
I doubt she’s like their father (may he go to hell).
I don’t like much of Jackson’s music some here, some there and really never cared about his personal live-still don’t-but their father just makes me sick to my stomach in a way it’s never been sick before.
Jerry
Janet seems like a wonderful person and some of her older music is absolutely brilliant. She said she wanted to make something to distract her, and this is a totally catchy dance-y song that can do that. Good for her. I hope the rest is good 🙂
jason
Janet Jackson is dull and boring. Never liked her image, either.
naprem
I agree that her older stuff was brilliant. But beginning with “All for You” it’s been a downhill slope. Tuneless and bland and totally lacking originality.
D.B.
The problem with Janet is that her music and image never really evolved in the same way her contemporaries’ careers did (most notably Madonna of course, but also Whitney, Kylie, Mariah and Annie, to name a few). Janet today sounds pretty much like the Janet of 1988.
Maybe this comeback will work for her, but I find it hard to believe that the timing of her “new” release is an accident of fate — attempting to resurrect one’s career on the wave of publicity surrounding her brother’s death is just in bad taste.
Fox
D.B.,
I would have agreed, if not for a few things.
Whitney, Kylie and Mariah haven’t evolved at all. Whitney’s music is the same as it always has been, but worse (the only great song on her new record is Million Dollar Bill). Kylie has always been brilliant but after her artist peak from the late ’90s to the early ’00s, her creativity fell off; the ‘X’ album is generic and sounds like a pastiche of her earlier dance albums. Mariah is a joke at this point, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is a good effort but she hasn’t moved forward creatively since Butterfly.
Janet hasn’t done anything new since All for You but that was 2001, not 1988. Every album of hers from Control through All for You has a totally different identity and message. The Velvet Rope, released in 1997, was her artistic peak and can go toe to toe with any of Michael’s work; I think it is better as an overall work than anything Maodnna has done including Ray of Light.
Janet has never made her career about Michael, and I don’t see why she would start now.
Sexy Rexy
Janet cannot sing. She’s made great music, or rather, producers have made catchy pop songs for her, but she never had a voice to fall back on. At her age she looks rather silly posing in her vids like a Playboy bunny. And still with that weak and uninspired, computer-enhanced voice.
andrew
Sexy Rexy,
Well said. Janet’s voice is weak. Her success largely came about using the same formula that many females seem to use: make “sexy” videos and have a good production team.
These women are horrible image artists rather than knowledgeable musicians or vocalists.
Dickie
Well, I think part of this criticism here is that people are looking at pop entertainers as musicians. Really they are just entertainers with only a small dose of artistry contributed by others, and perhaps they aren’t long-term iconic artists, but they entertain and provide some enjoyment right now.
I’m liking the song. I do think she had better in the “old days,” but this song sounds fun and catchy. The video almost reminds me of a Kylie video though… But, I do think she’s deliberately throwing in Michael imagery and stylings into the song. The references to the Scream video, the non-syllabic grunts and sighs… they sound pretty deliberate to me.
Dickie
Oh, not to mention the blatant “Don’t Stop To you get enough” rip in there too, almost missed that lol
dontblamemeivotedforhillary
Don’t stop ’til you get it UP! Obviously about Jermaine Dupree!
D.B.
@ Fox:
It’s clear that you are a Janet fan, and there’s no arguing with a true believer. I actually like Janet, and think she has produced a number of great pop singles. But for the sake of discussion, I will respond to your post.
The ladies I mentioned (Madonna, Whitney, Kylie, Mariah, Annie) all evolved both musically and image-wise. I never said that all them evolved in a good or even successful way, but they all changed over time. “Vision of Love” Mariah is not today’s Mariah. “How Will I Know” Whitney is not today’s Whitney. And most non-Americans know that Kylie has changed just as much as Madonna over the years. (Most Europeans would not consider her late 90s hits to be her “artistic peak” — that would probably be her mid-90s brush with alterna-pop.)
On the other hand, you could pretty much put any Janet single — say, “All for You” from 2001 — on to the “Rhythm Nation” disc from 1989, and it would fit right in. That’s because her music never changed. Janet just repeats herself again and again. She doesn’t seem to have any evolving musical image of herself or her work, at least compared to other long-successful pop stars. So, it’s not really a surprise that her career has waned in recent years.
arnau
never been a big fan of her (liked some tunes of “the velvet rope” but that’s all) mostly because i hate her mellow voice.
but “rock with u” is one of the best pop songs i’ve heard these last few years. i still listen to it a lot. the video clip was great too. it’s a shame it didn’t get much attention.
but apart from this song, janet is pretty dull to me…
Sexy Rexy
@ Andrew. Thanks for agreeing. ITA about them being image artists, and awful ones at that.
Dhampir
Janet isn’t the greatest singer, however she isn’t the worst singer either. Hell Britney Spears can’t sing either, but that doesn’t stop her success. HELL Madonna can’t sing but that doesn’t stop her success. I don’t understand why people have to be so damn negative with regard to celebrities. Janet never used her relationship with Michael for her career before, why would she do it now? She’s not Joe Jackson. If you look at her Number Ones, all those Number One hits up to 2008 had NOTHING to do with Michael Jackson. If you don’t like Janet fine, keep it moving that doesn’t mean you have to bash her. I don’t like Madonna or the new Whitney album but I’m not bashing her. Gay people are quick to rally together against a physical gay bashing but seem to be quick to give someone a verbal bashing
Keith
@DHAMPIR….Very valid points. As a long time Janet fan, I appreciate the rational and supportive comments.
I also think Janet has a bit of a different audience than Kylie, Annie, Britney, etc. None of those have much of an urban fanbase. While not always successful in her attempts, Janet tries to make sure that urban audiences understand their place as her CORE audience. While many of you guys didn’t care for songs like “So Excited” and “So Much Betta”, they were fairly well-recognized among urban audiences.
It’s seems analogous to how Madonna appears to understand that pop is her CORE audience.
Despite the records that made her a force to be reckoned with, it is always interesting that the pop community always seems to be the LAST to give Janet credit (and still do so begrudgingly) for doing anything but will praise and uplift others to no end…..
PootieTang
Why are we discussing this has-been?
The Artist
OMG!!!! Let me start by saying Janet is FUNtastic! Although she doesn’t have the strongest vocals, she has managed to brand herself with some really great and FUN music. I think that you can all agree that there is at least one Janet song that is fun! Just like the entertainment industry, it is soooo easy to write people off because of their age or because they have longevity. Also, let me add that I do not like Madonna. Why? I just don’t; however, I did jam to SOME of her tunes. Janet muse seems to have stopped with “All 4 U,” but I wishing her all the best with the next project. You never know she may surprise us all or not. Let’s give the lady a chance to get back out there…she’s made the first right move, by enlisting Jimmy and Terry to get back to that great MPLS sound.