| Biography | Nama : Janet Jackson
Birth Name : Janet Damita Jo Jackson
Birth Date : 05/16/1966
Birth Place : Gary, Indiana, USA
Height : 5' 4"
Sex : F
Nationality : American
Occupation : Pop/R&B singer
Father : Joseph Walter Jackson
Mother : Katherine Esther Jackson
Spouse : James DeBarge (7-Sep-84 - 18-Nov-85), Rene Elizondo (31-Mar-91 - 13-Mar-00)
Relation : Jermaine Dupri (record producer, rapper)
Claim Fame : Album "Control" (1986)
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana) is an American R&B, soul and pop singer and sister of pop, R&B and soul legend Michael Jackson.
Born into a family of show-business legends, she has since become a legend herself in the entertainment field, mostly in the music business. From a late-'70s and early-'80s teen idol to a mid-'80s pop phenomenon to a critically-acclaimed singer and songwriter throughout the '90s and now, Janet Jackson has had one of the longest and most enduring careers of any entertainer in the history of the galaxy.
She was born Janet Damita Jo Jackson, the last of nine children, on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana by a hard-working and stern father named Joseph Jackson who worked as a steel mill crane operator and was at one time a leader of an R&B/blues band named the Falcons. Janet's mother Katherine worked as a Sears store clerk and was a devout Jehovah's Witness who spent most of her time watching out for her nine children.
By the time Janet was born, her older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael had already begun to perform onstage at local nightclubs as the Jackson 5. By the time she turned 3, the group had signed to Motown Records and their first of four #1 hits, I Want You Back, sent their career to the stratosphere. All the Jacksons eventually moved out of Gary before the dawn of the '70s.
Although she originally wanted to be a horse jockey when she was six, her father was determined to make the littlest member of music's most famous family as big as her brothers.
In 1974, the seven-year-old Janet made her public debut performance at a Las Vegas nightclub as part of a family act. Janet was clearly the star of the show.
By 1976, Janet and the family had landed a historic spot with their variety show, "The Jacksons", becoming the first African-American variety show on TV, though the show only lasted two seasons before cancelling in 1977.
She also took on acting jobs outside the family; appearing as Penny Woods in the television series Good Times from 1977-1979. She subsequently had roles in A New Kind Of Family, Diff'rent Strokes, Fame and The Love Boat.
Jackson's recording career began with small roles. A duet with brother Randy on "Love Song For Kids" (1978); backgrounds on two songs by sister LaToya (both tracks were also co-written by Janet Jackson); and backgrounds on brother Michael's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" from his mega-successful "Thriller" album (1982).
By 1981, Jackson and her two older sisters were on the bill to start their own group but difficulties between LaToya and Rebbie forced the group to disband before ever making a record. Janet was inspired to go at it alone.
Although she was asked by her father Joseph to start a singing career, Janet was uncomfortable with being in the recording studio feeling she wasn't 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 shouldn't be on the cover. Produced by soul singers Angela Winbush, Rene Moore and Leon Slyvers of the famed Slyvers family music group, the album didn't achieve the commercial success of her siblings' recordings; though the album reached #6 on the US R&B album charts, and spent 45 weeks in the Top 50 and hit #63 on the Pop albums chart.
The album held 3 Top 20 R&B singles Young Love, which went #6, Say You Do went went #15 and Come Give Your Love To Me which hit #17 while on the Pop side, two of which barely cracked below the Top 50 with Young Love reaching its peak at #64 while Come Give Your Love To Me reached #58.
The CD sold around a respectable 500,000 copies in the US and in 1982, Billboard Magazine named Janet the #10 Biggest Selling Black Artist and by that next year Billboard named her album Janet Jackson the #10 Biggest Selling Black Album of 1983.
Despite the modest success, Jackson was now dealt with a professional blow for having to compete with brother Michael for pop music prominence.
In 1984, the eighteen-year-old TV veteran and singer released her sophomore effort titled Dream Street. It marked a musical progression from her debut, with more funky, up-tempo production by brother Marlon and famed disco producer Giorgio Moroder, who had established himself as a hit producer thanks to his work with disco legend Donna Summer.
The album produced two hits on the R&B charts, Don't Stand Another Chance reaching #9 and Fast Girl which peaked at #40. However, the album only peaked at #147 on the Pop chart and #19 on the R&B chart and the album overall only sold about 300,000 copies, twice lower than the sales achieved on her debut. The album did find success in South Africa with her duet with British music legend Cliff Richard titled Two The Power Of Love it peaked at #7 on the Top 75 sales chart there.
That same year, after a couple of years together, she eloped with singer and member of the famed Motown family group DeBarge, James DeBarge in 1984. The marriage didn't last long, with DeBarge's drug habit often cited as the reason for the break-up.
One year later Jackson recorded a single only to be released in Japan. The song "Start Anew" was very much in the same vein as the material from her last album. Ironically, Jackson would start anew with her next project.
After the release of her first two albums failing to light up the charts or garner any interest, many critics cited Jackson's musical career had hit a dead end. Her management at the time believed a departure away from her light pop roots towards a far more funk and R&B sound was the necessary approach in rejuvenating her career.
In an 1993 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Jackson spoke of the experience in producing Control. She cited that the departure from pop, and the recruitment of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (famed proteges from the band "The Time" and had been producing hits for the likes of Luther Vandross, Patti Austin, Alexander O'Neal and the SOS band) at the helm of the project was met with much resitance by her family especially her manager-father who famously told the two Minneapolis producers to not have his daughter sounding like a Jackson family rival - Prince.
The sound that was captivated in Minneapolis was of Janet's and Jam and Lewis' own doing. Much of the themes explored in Control thus centred around gaining independence, and self-assertion. In many respects the album Control served as a platform to prove detractors (family and critics), that she was in charge of making professional and personal decisions and she alone was accountable for the end results. The lyrics of the title track Control explained much her frustrations and even mentioned her annulled marriage to James DeBarge-
When I was 17 I did what people told me,
Did what my father said and let my mother mold me,
But that was long ago now I know I have to take control. . . .
First time I fell in love I didn't know what hit me,
So young and so na?ve I thought it would be easy. . . ."
The end result of the experience vetted positively in her favour. Upon its release, the album went to number one on both the pop (#1 for 2 weeks) and R&B charts (#1 for 6 weeks). The first single, What Have you Done For Me Lately gained massive radio airplay would go on to #4 on the Billboard Top 100, and #1 on the R&B Singles chart. Six of the nine tracks were released as singles. Five singles went to the Top 5 of the Pop charts, with Jackson achieving her first #1 pop single with When I Think Of You. Nasty, Control, The Pleasure Principle and Let's Wait Awhile all went #1 on the R&B Singles chart. The album sold over 20 million copies worlwide, won 6 Billboard Awards including Top Selling Pop Singles Artist and Top Selling Black Singles Artist, 3 Soul Train Awards (Including Album Of The Year), 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 4 American Music Awards, and was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year.
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.
A&M Records co-founder and artist in his own right, Herb Alpert would record three songs with Jackson and singer Lisa Keith in 1987 for his next album. Only two would make the cut, but both tracks would be released to radio. The single Diamonds would hit #5 on the Pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts while her backing vocals on the Keith-led single, Making Love in the Rain, reached #7 R&B and #35 Pop.
It took until 1989 for a new album to surface. The release date was pushed back several times as Jackson, along with Jam and Lewis, struggled to commit their ideas to record.
By then, A&M Records associates wanted the 23-year-old singer to do a sequel to the hugely-successful Control album yet Jackson wanted to do something else. The young diva wanted to sing more about world struggles than the topsy-turvy life she had led up until that point.
Rhythm Nation 1814 was the result of those world struggles. Jackson explained that "Control was about my life; Rhythm Nation is about what's going on in the world around us". Much of her inspiration on Rhythm Nation she said drew from other socially conscious artists such as Marvin Gaye, U2, Tracey Chapman, Bob Dylan.
The album opens with a suite of songs about drugs, homelessness, education and prejudice. Musically, there is a much harder edge than on "Control" but the public did not flinch. The album hit #1 on Pop and R&B charts spawning four US number ones and a further three Top 5 hits. Rhythm Nation 1814 went to sell over 14 million copies like her last LP. She went on to win 14 Billboard Music Awards, including Top Selling Album of 1990, 5 Soul Train Awards, 1 Grammy, 2 NAACP Image Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, and 5 American Music Awards. Her single Miss You Much also became the longest running #1 single of 1989. She also set a record by becoming the first and only artist ever to score 7 Top 5 hits from one album, the album was also the first in history to score 4 #1 hits on the Dance / Club Play chart. Jackson not only achieved success with her songs on the Pop, R&B and Dance singles charts, she also managed to make a #1 berth on the Mainstream Rock Singles chart with the revenge anthem "Black Cat".
Jackson headed back to the studio to record "2300 Jackson Street" with her brothers. The track would feature all but 2 of the Jackson siblings. A video was also filmed.
A massive world tour followed in 1990, The Rhythm Nation World Tour became the biggest and most successful debut tour by any artist in history, it was seen by over 2 million people worldwide, the tour ran a full nine months and performed over 120 shows, trailing only Madonna's "Blond Ambition" tour around the globe.
The tour also set a record in Japan, for being the fastest sell out in the history of Japan's Tokyo Dome, tickets sold out in a record 7 minutes, once the tour finished, Jackson would hardly have some time to herself.
By 1991, Jackson had rose to fame in ways even her family members couldn't have imagined her. After nine years with A&M, Jackson's contract with the label had ran out. Jackson decided that she would sign with a different label. As the biggest free agent of music at the time, a variety of big time and independent labels put out their hands to sign the singer to their label. Finally, however, Jackson chose Virgin Records and signed with the label for a reported $50 million on March 11, 1991. It was, at the time, the biggest recording deal in music history.
Throughout 1992, Jackson continued to record, being involved as one of the singers on the all-star Eddie Murphy track "Yeah" while her duet "The Best Things In Life Are Free" with Luther Vandross, from the movie, Mo' Money, became a #1 R&B hit for the duo, and was nominated for a Grammy award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
Playing opposite Tupac Shakur, Jackson played Justice, a young African-American poet and hairdresser. However, some critics thought Jackson's film debut performance was meek.
She earned the "Worst New Star" award at the 1993 Golden Raspberry Awards, though she did win two MTV Movie Awards (Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female) for her performance. Despite the reviews, the movie eventually entered #1 in the box office.
Jackson found better success with the movie as a singer and songwriter rather than an actor when her ballad, Again, although not on the soundtrack album and only featured on Jackson's janet. album, gave her both Golden Globe and Oscar award nominations for Best Original Song.
Jackson had done something her brother Michael hadn't done - she was nominated for her "writing ability". Though Michael's 1972 Number One single Ben was nominated in 1973, he didn't write it.
Often referred to by fans as her "sex album", the janet. album was released in 1993. From the get, Jackson wanted to call the shots and Virgin didn't stand in her way. Originally wanting to release the dance number, If, the 26-year-old Jackson vowed to release the slower jazz-influenced That's The Way Love Goes. The label decided to allow the singer to release that song. It would prove to be faithful as the song eventually hit #1 on the Billboard pop and R&B singles charts, eventually staying at the Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks.
In retrospect, the album was almost like a love letter to her new husband and long-time friend Rene Elizondo. The couple had married in secret to avoid press speculation, and Elizondo is said to have co-written many of the tracks on janet. although Jackson and longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have said that he only gave Jackson and her co-horts "ideas for a particular song". Elizondo's hands does make an important contribution to the album cover where he covered the singer's breasts while Jackson looked seductively through just jeans on. The album was a departure from Jackson's earlier images and showed proof that after 11 years in the music business and 20 as an entertainer, the baby Jackson had grown up...for good.
Like Control and Rhythm Nation before it, janet becomes a big worldwide success. The album becomes the first by a female artist to enter the Billboard Top 200 albums charts at #1 during the Soundscan era. It also becomes the fastest selling album in history at that time with 350,000 copies in the US in it's first week, and worldwide over 950,000 copies sold. The album also went #1 in 22 other countries including the UK, Japan, Australia, Denmark, and others. "janet." spawned six top ten singles, two of which hit the top spot.
The album track "where are you now" managed to hit #12 on the Rhythmic Top 40. The non-album track "and on and on" (only available on the single to Jackson's "any time, any place) also managed a spot on the Rhythmic Top 40, hitting #17. Jackson's international success was expanding. In the UK, for example, the single releases saw Jackson return to the top 10 for the first time since 1986.
Jackson performed a second consecutive world tour. She was on the road for the "janet." tour for two years.
In 1995, Janet Jackson recorded the duet "Scream" with her brother Michael. Another number huge hit, reaching the Top Five on the Pop and R&B charts. The video became the most expensive video ever, weighing in at a cost of around $7 million tops. The video would later win the Jacksons a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video and would pave the way for other bankable videos from the Backstreet Boys' "Larger than Life", Busta Rhymes' "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" and Janet's own video with Rhymes, "What's It Gonna Be?!"
Also in 1995, A&M Records released Jackson's first greatest hits album. Titled 'Design Of A Decade 1986/1996', the album featured all of Jackson's hits from her "Control" and "Rhythm Nation 1814" albums, as well as including Jackson's big hit "that's the way love goes. Also included were two new recordings. One of those songs, "Runaway" became a big hit for Jackson. The single peaked at #3 on the Pop charts and #6 on the R&B charts. The second, "Twenty Foreplay" would hit the Top 40 mainstream charts at #36.
After the success of the "Janet" album, Jackson re-negotiated her deal with Virgin Records for a reported $80 million in 1996, making her the highest paid recording artist of all time.
By the time 1997 rolled around, Janet Jackson, now 31, was a multi-dimensional, instantly successful and recognizable musical icon. She was the highest-paid music performer ever at the time too. And her total worldwide album sales had reached over 40 million. And she had done what only Marie Osmond had done and what Eric Roberts, Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Prince's sister hadn't done - establish their own legacy than to be seen as just a footnote to the older sibling's success.
But she was also a mental and emotional wreck. Citing a mental depression, the singer spent most of the previous year in seclusion. By that summer, she had completed an album full of sadness, pain, depression and yet presented an album of encouragement and survival. In October of that year, that album, The Velvet Rope was released.
Jackson decided to come out with a different flow as the "first" single. With the hip-hop influenced groove of Got 'til It's Gone and featuring friend and rapper Q-Tip and acquiring the sample of Joni Mitchell's 1971 classic single, Big Yellow Taxi, Jackson had fooled a lot of her audiences and skeptics by releasing a song that didn't feature much of her singing yet letting the flow dictate her moves.
The video for the song was a bigger hit, though, while the song wasn't released as a single. The song would be remembered more for the South African-inspired short movie that showcased Jackson in her hair in twists and dyed red and wearing a retro outfit to complete the 1970's feel of it. The song particularly had a "love was here and now you're gone" atmosphere. Q-Tip's rap is also memorable.
The album also turned out to be the first Jackson released where not a lot of singles were released commercially with only two - the AIDS-dedicated, dance anthem Together Again (#1 Pop, #7 R&B) and the slinky, sexy and funky I Get Lonely (#3 Pop, #1 R&B) - released in total. But Gone and the funky and lyrically frank Go Deep became radio favorites. The videos for each of the songs she put out were as memorable as the album had entailed to be, particularly for Jackson's longtime fans.
Jackson's voice could be heard all over the radio even after the last single from The Velvet Rope was released. First she would appear on Shaggy's singleLuv Me, Luv Me from the How Stella Got Her Groove Back soundtrack, though the song didn't meet up to Shaggy's 1995 blockbuster Boombastic as the song would only make it as high as #76 on the Hot 100. With that, it ended Jackson's history-making streak of being the only artist to have 19 consecutive Top 10 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 and the only one to do so in nine straight years.
Rapper Busta Rhymes recruited Jackson to sing on his song What's It Gonna Be?! from the rapper's 1998 album, E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event). With help from a steamy video featuring Jackson, the song became an instant smash reaching #3 Pop, and #1 R&B and Rap. It was the first song from hers to be on the rap charts and would later be nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Jackson would become the first and only artist to be nominated in the Pop, R&B, Dance, Rock and Rap fields of the Grammy awards and would be the only artist to have a charted single on those respective charts including the Adult Contemporary charts where she has reached #1 with 1990's Come Back to Me
Jackson next hit the charts with R&B group Blackstreet, who had appeared in a remix version to Jackson's 1998 hit I Get Lonely with the track Girlfriend/Boyfriend. The song would just miss the Top 40 of the pop charts peaking at #47, but still hit the Top 20 of the R&B charts at #17.
The singer would then record a duet with legend Elton John for his "AIDA" soundtrack. The song I Know The Truth was a touching ballad, showcasing Jackson's ever-growing versatility as an artist. Jackson would also write, produce and record a song for a Pepsi promotional campaign. The campaign and accompanying song Ask For More would never reach North America, but nonetheless a single released overseas. Jackson had returned to her pop roots while maintaing the euro-influences from her last album.
Also during 1999, Jackson finally accepted another movie role when famed comic actor Eddie Murphy tagged her to play his love interest in the sequel to his 1996 blockbuster, The Nutty Professor, where he had launched his comeback after several years releasing movie duds.
By the end of the '90s, Janet Jackson was now as legendary as her famous brother. But she would begin the new millennium with her movie career
Seven years after her last film, 34-year-old Jackson returned to the box office with the release of the Eddie Murphy vehicle, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps in 2000. Portraying Professor Denise Gaines, she falls in love with Sherman Klump (Murphy) and learns to deal with Klump's difficulty and outrageous family (to which Murphy played most of the characters).
Again, she seemed to not get love from the critics for her acting, though, the film would become a bankable success eventually becoming one of the biggest films of 2000 and kept her in the spotlight. Again, like before with Poetic Justice, Jackson found more success for her music than her acting. The single, Doesn't Really Matter became her first #1 of the new millennium making her the only artist to have a number one single in the '80s, '90s and 2000's.
But while the film was out, news had spread that the singer and her longtime husband Rene Elizondo had split up after nine years. Their divorce wasn't as shocking to fans than to the ones who didn't know the couple was married at all. Elizondo publicly exposed the secret a year after Jackson filed for legal separation. Jackson went on to explain that since she was in the spotlight that it was hard to deal as a couple so they kept the marriage a secret in hopes that it would work out without a problem. Their divorce wouldn't be finalized, however, until 2003, in which by that point, Jackson had already moved on with a new man - famed record producer and music mogul Jermaine Dupri.
After the film's release, Jackson worked on her next album, her fourth with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jackson was in need of a new sound, however, some fans had grown tired of Jackson with the same producers and wanted her to expand her craft with others. Jackson immediately did just that but career problems led to some releasing themselves from the project. In the end, Jackson used hip-hop producer Rockwilder along with Jam & Lewis as part of her new production team, now excluding now former husband Rene Elizondo.
Finally in 2001, Jackson's seventh studio recording, All For You, was released. The album was much more upbeat than 1997's Rope with songs dealing about romance, sex and the single life.
Commercially Janet was back, selling over 600,000 copies her first week. The most ever in her 1st week of sales. The title track became Janet's second biggest hit to date, reaching #1 for 7 weeks. The title track from the R&B superstar's seventh album made radio and chart history when it was added to every pop, rhythmic and urban radio station that reports to the national trade magazine Radio & Records. No other song has conquered all reporting stations in its first week at radio, let alone mastered three formats in one week. Janet once again had a simultanious #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The second single Someone To Call My Lover hit the Top 5 of the Pop charts, an equally big hit for Janet.
Jackson's box-office appeal was not in doubt, as another sell-out tour proved. Although the European leg of the concert was cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, extra dates were added around the USA and the television / DVD release of the final, Hawaiian date of the tour was a massive success, bringing into question why Jackson would cancel a leg of the tour due to flight risks, yet fly to Hawaii and Japan. Perhaps the low ticket sales in Europe were a reason no dates were re-scheduled.
Jackson returned to the studio to feature on *N Sync singer Justin Timberlake's song (And She Said) Take Me Now from his 2002 solo album Justified. Jackson was also featured on Beenie Man's "Feel It Boy", the song and video would become another hit for Jackson. However controversy was caused when Jackson's fans protested her collaboration with Beenie Man whose album's lyrics very blatantly promoted the violent attack on and killing of homosexuals.
During this tense period, Jackson's personal life was as famous as her professional as after her marriage to Elizondo ended, she was romantically linked to everyone from longtime friend, R&B singer and New Edition member Johnny Gill (as had been reported while Jackson and Elizondo were married), rapper and Jackson collaborator Q-Tip, actor Matthew McConaughey and Timberlake. Jackson ended the rumors when it was confirmed that she and Jermaine Dupri, who was seven years younger than Jackson, were romantically involved.
Jackson's newest album Damita Jo was released in March 2004. Its first single, Just A Little While, which has a pop-rock feel to it, was marketed to mainstream and adult contemporary radio in early spring 2004. However, likely due in part to the Super Bowl controversy (see below), it was a commercial not as successfull as her previous efforts but still a solid showing for any other artist.
The fact that MTV and VH1 had declined the video did not help matters. And while the song debuted at the highest number for a song that year with While peaking at #45 on the Pop charts, it failed to hit the Billboard Top 40 on the pop charts. The first Jackson single to do so since the early-'80s.
It was almost immediately followed by the second, more urban single, I Want You. To date, "I Want You" has not fared any better than While at either pop radio or urban radio. MTV, VH1, and BET did decide to play the "I Want You" video; nevertheless it has not been spun as frequently as many of Jackson's previous videos. The song fared better on the R&B charts where it eventually peaked at #18 and ended up becomig a platinum certified single for Jackson.
The third, and eventually final, single released, All Nite (Don't Stop) received some airtime for its promotional video but the single didn't catch on at radio and failed to appear on the charts despite the song and Just A Little While becoming massive #1's on the Dance single charts.
To fight back against her critics in 2004 Jackson also began doing television talk show promotions, a first for her. She hosted Saturday Night Live and was heavily praised in her ability to make light of what had been blown way out of proportion just months earlier. Jackson delivered a stunning impersonation of Condelezza Rice, Flashing her breast to the 9/11 commission to divert attention from the war in Iraq. The episode went on to win an emmy for best lighting.
Even though Damita Jo didn't live up to her past album sales, artisticly Damita Jo was recognised as one of the great R&B Albums of 2004. She received an American Music Award nomination for Favorite R&B/Soul Artist in 2004, and on December 07, 2004 NARAS announced the 2004 Grammy nominations, though Janet was banned from attending the award show last year (see, Super Bowl controversy below), she earned two nominations for Damita Jo, one for Contemporary R&B Album the Year, and another for her platinum-certified single I Want You in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category.
Not only that, but Jackson has managed to be recognized for her efforts on the album, which has gone Platinum, with an American Music Award nomination, as well as nominations from the Source Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and BET Awards.
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, 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 hadn't apologized at all.
CBS, the NFL, and MTV, which produced the halftime show, disclaimed all responsibility under a hailstorm of controversy. The FCC has announced an investigation.
As a result, CBS cancelled its invitation to Jackson to perform at the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony. The FCC tightened up restrictions on lewd content on television and the entertainment industry suffered a major backlash. Programs that once pushed the envelope began eliminating even mildly coarse language from their broadcasts. Some performers were penalized for things they had gotten away with previously. Many people directly blamed Jackson for this new wave of censorship.
To make things worse, Jackson was told by representatives and family members of entertainment legend Lena Horne that she was cut out of the role to play the legendary singer-actress due to the controversy.
Despite all of that, Jackson has managed to survive the incident and that of the troubles her older brother Michael is facing due to his child molestation case by showing the perserverance that has made her a legendary superstar.
See also: Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime controversy
After becoming the talk of controversy last year and after the disappointing sales of Damita Jo, Janet Jackson reportedly has lots more than sex on her mind to talk about. The 38-year-old singer is reportedly about to head into the studio to work on a "full-fledged, hard-edged dance record" according to her longtime boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri who, along with Jackson and perhaps her collaborators of 20 years, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, will be one of the executive producers for the next album, which would reportedly come out this year.
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