Janet Jackson gets poised for a comeback

January 1, 2006

With 2005 dominated by Mariah Carey's comeback, it looks like another diva may dominate 2006. Janet Jackson is ready to take control. Again.

Jackson's previous album, "Damita Jo" (Virgin), got a raw deal after her "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl - and the ridiculous political brouhaha that followed - scared off whatever radio and TV support she might have received. (If she had released "I Want You" or "My Baby," her collaborations with Kanye West from that album, today, she'd easily have a pair of Mariah-sized hits herself.)

But Jackson has put that setback behind her, says her longtime collaborator Jimmy Jam, who has produced all of her albums for 20 years with partner Terry Lewis. "Mariah is a home-run hitter; she really swings for the seats on her albums," he says. "Janet is like that, too."

Jam, who, along with Lewis, recently landed another producer of the year Grammy nomination for his work with Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige and others, says Jackson's new, still-untitled album is almost finished and is scheduled for an April release. The album's first single is due out in about a month.

Though he won't let any of the album's secrets out, Jam does reveal that the new record will include a tip of the hat to Jackson's breakthrough album, "Control," which turns 20 this year. And they all hope the new album will be as successful.

It's probably a pretty good bet, given the way America loves a comeback and the fact that Jackson's beau, Jermaine Dupri, was an essential cog in the Mariah machine.

"The important thing is that we're happy with it now," Jam says. "Once it leaves the studio, anything can happen."


OK so nothing new in the article but still...I excited.

I love Janet. but what kind of article is that? I look forward to Janet's new album but if she is going to be dancing, I assume the new years resolution is a massive workout and diet. That bouncing back and forth can't be good! I think Janet's album will be a hit and sell but I think fans will be let down becuase it will sound like Mariah and have little to no upbeat songs. I hope I'm wrong.

VinnyM27 said:

How could it sound like Mariah when JD is not producing the bulk of it The whole album has been described multiple times by Jam & Lewis as relentlessly uptempo. I don't know if that's the case, but hey, there you are. JD is trying to get Janet to release a first single that samples The Jones Girls "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else", which is a jam.
[Edited 1/1/06 11:51am]

VoicesCarry said:

Well "I Want You" and "My Baby", as the writer noted, were the kind of light R&B pop numbers that Mariah is now doing (and has done in the past)...very safe. I really do hope the album is uptempo as Jimmy promised but seriously, can Janet move it like she used to in the shape she is in? And is she turning 40 this year? Show us what forty can look like Janet!

VinnyM27 said:

Don't look at DJ as representative of what this album will be. It isn't even representative of the album Janet was originally set to release before the SB. Her work with Kanye was rushed by Virgin and they tacked those two tracks on there for the revised (post-SB) tracklisting because they were so non-controversial and non-sexual. This time they're letting her do her own thing because they fucked DJ up badly.

Asking if Janet can still dance is like asking if Madonna can still do the moves during her tours. Of course they are not going to release the album if she is 40lbs overweight. The last pics we have of her are from November, and she was working with her trainer back then. She has gained weight between albums for the past 20 years now.
[Edited 1/1/06 12:32pm]

Is Janet still fat? I doubt she could have a comeback in her, she's a punchline now. She's older than Mariah. She can't be taken serious and really isn't bold enough musically to recapture the audiences imagination.

kdj997 said:

This is what people said about Mariah & Madonna, too. Oops.

VoicesCarry said:

there is nothing that would make me happier than to have Jan come back and whip EVERYONE's ass creatively and commercially (well...almost nothing)...and SHUT THESE MUHFUCKAS UP!

btw, the writer of the article I posted needs to do some research. "I want you" WAS released.

did anyone see mariah on dick clark?

oy!!

VoicesCarry said:

who are the jones girls??

sosgemini said:

Mariah was on Dick Clark? I missed that I guess, I heard Dick Clark Slurring his words though. That was kind of sad. I saw Chris Brown, setting music back indefinitely with his horrible singing.

badujunkie said:

He said if it were released TODAY it would be a big hit.

Very poor phrasing:

If she had released "I Want You" or "My Baby," her collaborations with Kanye West from that album, today, she'd easily have a pair of Mariah-sized hits herself
[Edited 1/1/06 13:25pm]

dancerella said:

A great girl trio from the late 70's.

sosgemini said:

Lipsynching 90% of her material, wearing a teddy in the middle of Times Square.

Par for the course for '05 Mariah.

sosgemini said:

What happened on Dick Clark?

dreamfactory313 said:

See 1 post up. Mariah had big hair and her love pillows on display and a lot of the crowd shots were filled with people going . Then Ryan Seacrest was there. A mess.
[Edited 1/1/06 13:26pm]

Mariah has a killer voice...too bad her agent and marketing people think she has to play the part of sex kitten to get a following....

VoicesCarry said:

Damn. I shoulda taped it.

Did she have a "wardrobe malfunction", by any chance?

cubic61052 said:

No, but I was rooting for her to trip on one of the two boas she was prancing about in. They wound up at her feet by the end of the performance and she was walkin' right through them. It would have been hilarious to see her fall flat on her face at the end of 05 - literally.

Was that article an Org exclusive?

CinisterCee said:

Nope. It's from the NY Daily News.

This might be the first Janet album I get into since "All For You"

I hope Janet's new album is off the hook..with Michael's new music MIA..I hope Janet's new album delivers the goods.

Release date anyone?

jasonstar said:

Rumor is April, with a single in February, video in March (same as All For You)

whitney now has oprah flags...real bad ones under her arms..ive defended the girl's weight for a long time now but she is passing that "thick" stage and appears headed towards aretha-dome.

she aint there yet but she is no longer a "thick" girl.

sosgemini said:

That's old news (November). I'm sure she has lost weight since then.

VoicesCarry said:

Thanks!
Is Janet looking better these days? I saw pictures of her not to long ago and dang, she has been eating!
Not that there is anything wrong with her having some meat on her, but I would think the record label would want her all sexed up for the videos.
[Edited 1/1/06 13:53pm]

jasonstar said:

She has been working out with her trainer in preparation for this release. I do not know what she looks like right now since we so rarely get candids of her. I'm sure that she will be fit and ready when the album is released. She has done this multiple times in the past. When she filmed Poetic Justice in the summer of 1992, she was almost as big as she was recently. She thinned out for janet.'s release in early 1993.

VoicesCarry said:

oops..not whitney..mariah....

and its wasnt old news to me.. :shrugs: b

sosgemini said:

I thought you were talking about Janet