Janet Damita Jo Jackson
Janet is born May 16, 1966
MULTI GRAMMY, AMERICAN MUSIC AWARD, WORLD MUSIC, NAACP, BILLBOARD, GLAD, MULTI AWARD WINNING ARTIST
Mother, Daughter, Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Actor, Activist, Philanthropist.
Rock Roll Hall of Fame Inductee
April 20, 1990 – Janet Jackson was bestowed with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
She has been a prominent figure in pop culture for more than two and a half decades. As the youngest member of the Jackson family, she began her career on the variety television series “The Jacksons” in 1976. Subsequently, she appeared in various television shows during the 1970s and early 1980s, including “Good Times,” “Different Strokes,” and “Fame.”
In 1982, she inked a recording contract with A&M, catapulting her to icon status across music genres with the release of her third studio album, “Control” (1986). Collaborating with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, her music incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, rock, and industrial beats, leading to widespread popularity in the music world. Her innovation extended beyond music to her choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV. She was also recognized as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.
In 1991, she signed record-breaking multi-million dollar contracts with Virgin Records, solidifying her position as one of the highest-paid artists in the industry. Her debut album with Virgin, “Janet” (1993), marked a shift in her public image towards being a major sex symbol as she delved into exploring sexuality in her work. That same year, she made her first starring film appearance in “Poetic Justice.” Though it didn’t initially propel her into the world of film crossovers, subsequent roles in movies like “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps,” “Why Did I Get Married?,” “Why Did I Get Married Too?,” and “For Colored Girls” showcased her acting abilities. By the end of the 1990s, she was ranked as the second most successful mainstream recording artist of the decade. Her catalog includes numerous movie roles and music hits, with iconic singles like “Nasty,” “Rhythm Nation,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Together Again,” “All for You,” “Love Will Never Do Without You,” “Scream,” “If,” “Again,” “Go Deep,” “Feedback,” “Black Cat,” “Control,” “Doesn’t Really Matter,” “Escapade,” “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “When I Think of You,” “Miss You Much,” “Come Back To Me,” “Runaway,” “I Get Lonely,” “Alright,” “Got ‘Til It’s Gone,” “Make Me,” and “All Night.”
Janet Jackson ranks among the best-selling and most influential artists in music history. The Recording Industry Association of America lists her as the eleventh best-selling female artist in the United States, with multiple certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked her as the seventh “Hot 100 All-Time Top Artist,” and in 2010, she was ranked fifth among the “Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.” Janet is one of the most honored and awarded artists globally, and her longevity, records, and accomplishments underscore her significant influence in reshaping and expanding the scope of popular music. Many performers cite her as an inspiration, and she epitomizes the concept of a global superstar, transcending geographical, cultural, and generational boundaries.
She holds a unique distinction in music history as the only female artist to achieve 18 consecutive top ten hit singles on the Hot 100 chart. Furthermore, with her 1986 song “When I Think of You,” she and her brother Michael Jackson became the first siblings in the rock era to have solo #1 songs. Remarkably, her last five albums (excluding her first two, “Janet Jackson” and “Dream Street,” as well as her greatest hits album “Design of a Decade: 1986 – 1996”) have all reached #1 on the Billboard Albums chart. She is also the sole female singer in Rock & Roll history to secure five consecutive #1 studio albums on the Billboard Albums chart, including “Control,” “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation,” “Janet,” “The Velvet Rope,” and “All For You,” collectively selling over 60 million copies worldwide. Her albums “Design of A Decade” and “Damita Jo” achieved triple platinum status and both reached the top 3 on the charts.
Janet’s vocal influences include Ella Fitzgerald and Marvin Gaye, and her vocal range is classified as 2nd soprano, with her highest note being an “e.”
Janet’s most recent album, “Unbreakable,” was released on October 2, 2015, under her independent label, Rhythm Nation, in partnership with BMG Rights Management. This marked a departure from Island Records due to her dissatisfaction with their promotion of her tenth studio album, “Discipline” (2008). She began recording new material with producer Rodney Jerkins but eventually put the project on hold due to film commitments and her marriage to Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana. In May 2015, she announced the “Unbreakable World Tour” and released the album, which was a resounding success, especially the concert in Honolulu, Hawaii.
For “Unbreakable,” Janet Jackson reunited with songwriting and production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with additional contributions from Dem Jointz, Tommy McClendon, and Thomas Lumpkins. Featured artists on the album include rappers J. Cole and Missy Elliott. The album’s theme reflects various aspects of Jackson’s life, including her childhood and the loss of her brother Michael, as well as socially conscious messages reminiscent of her 1989 album “Rhythm Nation 1814.” The lead single, “No Sleeep,” became her 40th entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching number 63, and it topped the US Adult R&B Songs chart for twelve non-consecutive weeks.
Janet Jackson’s return to the music scene after a hiatus, coupled with a social media campaign urging her to make a comeback, resulted in high ticket prices for her “Unbreakable World Tour,” averaging $167.20 on the secondary market. The tour’s most expensive shows were at The Forum in Inglewood, California, and the Chicago Theatre, while the Delta Classic Chastain Park Amphitheater in Atlanta hosted the least expensive show.
Sales reports from Live Nation indicated that 88 percent of tickets for the tour’s first leg (Aug. 31 to Nov. 15) were sold within two weeks of going on sale, and nearly 80 percent of tickets for the second leg (Jan. 12 to March 9) were sold in just two days. Due to overwhelming demand, additional concert dates were added, including shows at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and the Chicago Theatre. The tour also achieved a record for the fastest sell-out in the history of Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with 2,400 tickets selling out within 30 minutes.
According to StubHub, a ticket resale site, the “Unbreakable World Tour” ranked as the tenth most popular concert tour of the fall of 2015. By the end of 2015, the tour secured the 74th spot on Pollstar’s “2015 Year-End Top 200 North American Tours” list, grossing $15.0 million from 33 shows and attracting a total attendance of 179,340.
Janet Jackson’s resilience and ability to reinvent herself have been evident throughout her career. Her “Unbreakable” album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, making it her seventh album to achieve this feat in the United States. This accomplishment also made her the third artist in history to have a number-one album in each of the last four decades. The album also performed well in international music markets and garnered positive reviews from music critics, highlighting her artistic growth. As of April 2016, “Unbreakable” had sold over 253,000 copies in the United States and attained multiplatinum status.
Her most recent tour, the “Together Again Tour,” continued her successful streak, breaking box-office records with multiple sold-out shows, including a record $24,039,473 in earnings. Notably, Janet Jackson achieved these milestones without the backing of a massive promotional machine, emphasizing her personal commitment to her craft and her desire to prove herself to both her fans and herself.