Didn't know about the video from Madonna.

I wanna say the Q article is from like 1994. She's openinly comparing Madonna's concerts to Michael's and how MJ's was better. I sooo wish I could remember details but I haven't read that article in eons so I don't want to start making up stuff but I recall the consensus being that Madonna didn't do much. This really stood out to me because when I finally saw Madonna I thought her show was killer.

She was dissing Madonna by boosting Michael. To my knowledge Madonna never responded.

JackieBlue said:

There's also a story about how Madonna and Janet were appearing in the same club or something, and Janet paid the DJ to play only Janet songs and no Madonna ones when Madonna showed up.

Tessa said:

What? I don't know if any of these stories are true but if they are Janet must have had some major insecurities.

8 out of 10
a couple of the tracks near the end i can do with out. best song for me is "so excited". on the dvd they're (Jimmy Jam, Janet, and JD) working on a remake of Debbie Deb's "Lookout Weekend"; does anyone know if that was an outtake from this album or.....?

JackieBlue said:

God what a bitch Janet is about M! Why was she hating on her so much when Janet was at her commercial peak and M was at her commercial lowest (besides AL). Weird.

I remember the "Take A Bow" interview with Kurt Loder in 94. He asked M about why Janet was talking about her in Vibe.

Madonna: She dissed me...I don't know why...I've never met the woman...Maybe she'll tell me one day.

Kurt: That's bizarre.

Madonna: (As bitchily as possible) It's rather transparent, wouldn't you say?[i]


Go get your Q mag! I loves me some JJ and M rivalry, the two best pop divas of all time! If only Erykah and Jill could be bitchy toward one another...

CHIC0 said:

Earlier this year, it was offered as a onetime free download (might've been for only a day) and it was stated that it would not go on the album.

I'm sorry but this is a horrid pic. I don't know if it's been seen before.....

JackieBlue said:

There's also a story about how Madonna and Janet were appearing in the same club or something, and Janet paid the DJ to play only Janet songs and no Madonna ones when Madonna showed up.

Tessa said:

What? I don't know if any of these stories are true but if they are Janet must have had some major insecurities.

Too bad U guys are not privy to the bonus track, titled, Roll Withcu - that shit is tight.

jayaredee said:

Yeah... sometimes I really think she does. I dunno... Now Janet is starting to annoy me! It's as if J.D. and others come to Janet's defense, but she sits back like I'm so "together" but I just don't think so. It's one thing for a fan club president to encourage something like buying more cds to insure an artist's success or defending an artist against haters, but quite another when a Janet insider becomes a cheerleader and defender. I don't frequent Madonna boards, but have any of her team reprimanded fans for having criticism? Has Jamie King become defensive? Or as William Orbit posted anything in response to fan criticism? Or does he try to boost sales by encouraging the fans to buy more cd's. (I don't remember Jam and Lewis ever doing that.) Is there any fan criticism on Madonna sites? I know people are pretty open about criticizing Prince here, and I don't see people from his team jumping to his defense.

VinnyM27 said:

oh. through her fan club i take it? i'll live with out it. it was decent, but nowhere as great as the original. thanks Vinny!
i hope this album does well for her.

Isel said:

Janet doesn't annoy me, these stories are just speculation anyway. I don't think Janet ever said anything about these stories.

I think the situation with Madonna and her producers are different because Janet and JD are a couple, so it's obviously much more personal than Janet and Jam and Lewis or anything like that.
I know any kind of critism Janet receives might bother JD on a personal level rather than a professional level, because he wants to see his love do well, lol.
Guy Ritchie was certainly defensive over "Swept Away" which featured his wife even though it was a pretty crappy movie (i'm not implying 20 YO is crappy.)

jayaredee said:

Yeah... sometimes I really think she does. I dunno... Now Janet is starting to annoy me! It's as if J.D. and others come to Janet's defense, but she sits back like I'm so "together" but I just don't think so. It's one thing for a fan club president to encourage something like buying more cds to insure an artist's success or defending an artist against haters, but quite another when a Janet insider becomes a cheerleader and defender. I don't frequent Madonna boards, but have any of her team reprimanded fans for having criticism? Has Jamie King become defensive? Or as William Orbit posted anything in response to fan criticism?

goat2004 said:

I have it. As well as Days Go By. They both should have been included. I'm excited for Clap Your Hands.

Isel said:

funny story, actually. the guy that wrote the liner notes to GHV2 sent me a nasty email (about 3 years after the fact) when i posted a scathing critique of said liner notes at alt.fan.madonna or the old madonna mailing list (i forget which).

not really the same thing, becuase i was flaying him, and he was responding, but for some reason i just thought of that.


btw, those liner notes suck and he's a douche.

jayaredee said:

Yeah... sometimes I really think she does. I dunno... Now Janet is starting to annoy me! It's as if J.D. and others come to Janet's defense, but she sits back like I'm so "together" but I just don't think so. It's one thing for a fan club president to encourage something like buying more cds to insure an artist's success or defending an artist against haters, but quite another when a Janet insider becomes a cheerleader and defender. I don't frequent Madonna boards, but have any of her team reprimanded fans for having criticism? Has Jamie King become defensive? Or as William Orbit posted anything in response to fan criticism? Or does he try to boost sales by encouraging the fans to buy more cd's. (I don't remember Jam and Lewis ever doing that.) Is there any fan criticism on Madonna sites? I know people are pretty open about criticizing Prince here, and I don't see people from his team jumping to his defense.

Then the Today show interview bugged me. Janet became defensive when Matt asked her questions about the SB and then about Michael. In a way, I understand Janet's perspective because she had said on Oprah that it was the last time she would be discussing the SB. But at the same time Matt was only doing his job. It's like she wants to "control" what she is asked--just going there for promotion only without really addressing anything else. At this point in the game, if she's not willing to respond to questions, she should just perform and be done with it. There is just something that really annoyed me about her demeanor. Then at the end, she chided Matt for "pressing" her during the interview. Well, that's his job just as her job is to entertain. She tried to make him look like the bad guy for even asking the questions, but it's his job to ask the questions. Why should she be insulated from that? If she doesn't want him to do his job, then don't agree to the interview.

Finally, I saw another interview on BET she did with...I can't think of the guy's name, but he's this young African American music critic I've seen before. Nice guy. He asked her about her image and these photo shoots. She responded that she just does what "they" tell her to do. (She always uses "they." Who are "they" anyway?) So basically she's saying that she's not responsible for her own image. Exactly what is she responsible for? Is she only responsible for the good press? It's really starting to annoy me that she just doesn't take responsibility. It's always someone elses "fault," or a matter of circumstance. Or it's hating fans, critics, media, magazine execs, Virgin, other artists, other record companies OR this mysterious "THEY" who are out to get her or foil her efforts.

I've noticed that with other celebrities, too. It seems like some celebrities are clueless as to why the public misunderstands them or that media jumps on something that will help sell their stories. It's always everyone else's fault, but the point is that the celebrity is the one who "puts it out there" to begin with--whether intentionally or not. At one point I just think it might be better to say--yeah.. I understand why people feel the way they do. It's just like with the SB. I understand why Janet will not admit to it being planned--particularly if it was really a wardrobe malfunction. But at least "understand" why people get their knickers in a twist about it. All "isms" notwithstanding, at least concede that the SB may have not been the best venue to try a costume reveal in the first place. At least take some of the responsibility for that. It's not "right" but at least understand where the interest comes from and the reason why people want to talk about it--even now.


BTW, I posted a little something within a thread on the official site about the fact I didn't like Janet's vocals for 20 Y.O. It's obviously just a matter of taste, but fans have the right to voice an negative opinion as well.
[Edited 9/30/06 5:33am]

Actually, Matt Lauer sorta bothered me in the interview more than Janet. I understand that reporters are just doing their job but I hate when they don't take no for an answer or they don't like the answer they've been given. It's not like she's in politics or health care.

But Toure is the guy that interviewed her on BET and I was surprised and I guess a little disappointed by her answer which you commented on. It reminded me of someone mentioning that she's like a puppet. That immediately came to mind. It really doesn't seem like she has much input in her image or an aggressive creative incentive.

not horrible...not a classic...somewhere in the middle.

Couldn't agree more. The liner notes for "Immaculate" were much better. The guy was an asshole and you would've thought they were his greatest hits!

I understand what you mean about reporters doing their jobs and trying to get the answers to questions people have. I think it's a peeve I have regarding celebs and it's really more geared to questions regarding their personal lives and opinions than career and art.

Usually when these type of questions are answered and the interviewer is not satisfied or can't believe the response is hardly the truth because it's not 'Hollywood' enough, they follow up with a question that starts with But don't you think... That's the kinda crap that bothers me. They're not accepting the answer they've been given because it's too simple and 'normal' or unexpected. They really want them to give a different answer--one that fits the impression that we and they have of the celeb or that we expect to be true because of the Hollywood steroty[e. When an entertainer gives a short, solid, unwavering answer to what is a 'hot' question, they're trained to keep poking so I loved that Janet was firm about it.

I saw an interviewer do the same thing to a young grounded actor the other day and it bugged me but he held firm to his response, didn't back down or become uncomfortable. He meant what he said and was confident about it. The interviewer had to eventually accept it and move on. So that was really my issue with Matt but I totally understand what you mean.

I think as far as Janet's interviews are concerned, she should make it clear before she grants the interviews that she doesn't want to discuss the Super Bowl or Michael.

As far as the Today show interview, I do understand Janet's perspective because she had addressed some of the same topics on Oprah. I'm just not completely sympathetic with her because Matt Lauer was just doing his job. As a matter of fact, I don't think Oprah pressed her all that much as I have seen her with other guests. To me Oprah didn't seem to be very involved with Janet or her music: Oprah looked like she was just politely going through the motions. But whatever the case, why should Oprah be the only one to be allowed to ask the questions? I think even reporters are becoming frustrated with celebrities in general. I'm not a Matt Lauer fan necessarily, but of course he's going to ask questions. And I don't think he's was necessarily over-bearing: he just went through the questions that the audience who may have missed Oprah wanted to hear about. It's his job to at least try, and he wasn't going to let her off-the-hook. She's on the show to promote her music, but at the same time his job is to ask the questions for his audience--not Oprah's and not necessarily to make Janet comfortable. It's a two-way street. Even on this site there is still discussion about the SB, her "sexy" image, even Michael among other issues. So Lauer was only asking questions about which some in the general public-- Oprah viewers or not--are still talking and debating.

If she doesn't want to answer questions, she should stay home and just issue press releases. She pulled the same thing on Letterman back when Damita Jo came out. He asked her about the Super Bowl. "I dont' want to talk about that." He asked her about Jermaine Dupri. "I don't want to talk about that." He asked her about Michael. "I don't want to talk about that." The thing is, she doesn't ever want to talk about anything, including her music, so why's she even bothering to give interviews?