Ifsixwuz9 said:

Age is indeed a factor! None of the greats from the 80s are getting the airplay that they use to. But, some of the men can act half their age such as Mick Jagger and don't get ANY grief for it, nor is it talked about. It's different for female artists. So, the twenty something female artists have taken Janet's place. Does that mean they've taken Madonna's place too. Maybe not, huh? It's only Janet. Her place, and her place alone has been taken due to her lack of ability to re-invent herself like Madonna, grasp hold to the youth, manage her weight. Make a hit everytime she makes an album. Never fails, eventhough she's human. And, unlike allot of male artists' act her age. How dare Tina Turner wear mini-shirts when she was in her forties and fifties. Women should simply not fail and act their age unlike men, no matter what! Good luck Janet. When it comes to you allot of individuals who DO pay you any attention at all will definitely be hard to please, eventhough you are human and is subject to fail at some things every now and then. Artist do fail once in awhile, but Janet isn't allowed to. Okay, then....

Her actions (not touring, superbowl, r&b singles) has made it seem like she's over.

lilgish said:

Yeah, but what artist that's out now or from the past didn't act a damn fool from time to time. Did allot of them make the effort to do better? Or continue to try to do better? No artist is squeeky clean unless, maybe they are a child star and even then, well you never know. Shouldn't she be given chance after chance like other artists' who screw up? That is if you're into her music. If not, i guess it really doesn't matter.

lilgish said:

And lack thereof like not talking about her current music or album when it first dropped.

From what i've seen, it's good she decided not to tour right now. I mean, Beyonce who is crowned "THE HOTTEST CHICK IN THE GAME" isn't selling out in ALL of the cities she's touring in. So, if the biggest thing that's suppose to be out now is having a tad bit of trouble, maybe it is best that Janet should wait until...

JackieBlue said:

Yeah, but the press is more interested in her weight loss or gain, not her music. I for one would love to hear her talk about her music.

YOu guys keep on complaining about Janet... but she actually released a nice album 20 Y.O... and you guys still aren't happy....

that album did not get any recognition.... NOTHING... and she deserves some credit on that album....

I hope for her sake that she does release a BlockBuster album... and Sold out world tour... So all you janet haters will just shut up...

Some of you guys are so fake... YOu only like an artist when they are considered "HOT" or "POPULAR" by the media....

I bet if janet has a blockbuster album at the end of this year or next year.. everyone will claim to be a fan...

I am a janet fan. The truth is like some people said she isn't that cute
20 something year old anymore. The show your breast antics and oversexing it up on the record just isn't working anymore. She did good with it on velvet rope and all for you. She should have stopped there although i did like the damita jo album. 20 Y.O was just not a good album. A lot of the material sounds like stuff mariah carey turned down from her mimi album.
I remember someone stating how mariah carey made her comeback by starting small after the glitter disaster. She did a simple but good album called charmbracelet with no fanfare, and did small intimate tours to show her fans she could still bring it before she made her big splash again with mimi.
I think janet could take a cue from mariah and quit worrying about sales and working with who is supposedly the hottest producer in the game. No producers know her the way jam and lewis does. Go back to the basics janet.

I'll go with number 2. Drop JD as well as Jam/Lewis (devoidofunk since "Velvet Rope") and start fresh with a new crew. And also, maybe change the musical direction altogether. She should experiment with otherworldy sounds and incorporate them into her Dance/Pop/Soul sound. It may initially disappoint some fans but Janet will get more respect as a musician that way.

phunkdaddy said:

you can NOT say what worked for Mariah will work for Janet...

you also have to realize Mariah is working with Benny Medina... He made Jlo a mega superstar.... Mariah's album was all Promotion/PR and hype...

it had like three or four decent songs... and yes if you keep listening to any album over and over again you will grow to like most of the songs...

IF janet had the same Great PR team as mariah.. maybe she would have done better... When you have someone who is a great manager like Benny Media... who wouldn't go far with their career... just look what happened to Jlo after he left her... her popularity went down hill


and NO janet's album sounded NOTHING like mariah's... I think mariah had two major hit songs on her album.. which pulled it to the top... but the average songs on her album I would give them a 4-6 rating.... with the exception of WBT and Don't forget about us (these two songs sound identical. because don't forget about us was a slower version of We belong together)


janet had a consistent album i would rate her songs from 7-9... but she did NOT have a mega hit on her album to carry it through like mariah did.... and mariah's WBT was number 1 for like 14 weeks...


Janet is a completely different artist... and the same thing WILL NOT WORK FOR HER.. so don't even compare her to MARIAH OR MADONNA...

Janet just needs new management... someone who will guide her career better...

NWF said:

Understood. But, Janet could damn near conquer the world with her new material and she STILL won't get respect and folks will STILL complain. That's just the way it is with her. She's damned if she does something new and damned if she doesn't. Any other female artist would get crazy praise, not Janet unfortunately. Allot has to do with her being a Jackson and Michael's sister. But, she has my respect from getting under his shadow and being an artist in her own right.

DawnD said:

It'd be nice if she could just talk about both.

I don't wanna say what she NEEDS to do but I feel it wouldn't hurt for her to do something experimental. The producers she's teaming up with for the most part are run-of-the-mill. It's hard for a woman over 40 in the music business to achieve success like they did in their 20s and 30s, I definitely think age is one of the factors to why Janet's records have not become hits... also, people aren't just feeling them. And if Janet is looking for a record that won't be like what they're playing on the radio, then she needs to coach these guys not to make her sound formulaic.

DawnD said:

She did? Maybe she conquer all of our (fans') worlds, but as for "the world", I don't think so. She did good enough to go gold and platinum (and I regard that as a success) but compared to how she sold her other records, that's pretty much a failure.

Timmy84 said:

Again, age is indeed a factor. Now, isn't it a shame that the greats from the 80s who to me, are far better artists than the folks "running shit" now are getting very little to no radio play. I heard PRINCE'S FUTURE BABY MAMA on the radio last night. I almost lost my mind! I was too happy! I say, bring back and play the greats from the 80s and 70s that are still making music. Has anyone heard Lenny Williams new song? I regret that I've forgotten the name of it. Anyway, he'd come out during the 70s and he has a new song out that would put R. Kelly to shame. He's telling a story and going through a sequence of events just like he did with his song from back in the day. I think it's called I LOVE YOU. It was great, I must say. I'm happy that Janet continues to try, though. True not allot of folks are into her anymore. But, dammit she's still trying. She gets knocked on her ass, she stands up, brushes herself off and tries and tries again. I so dig that!

Timmy84 said:

No. I said, "She 'could' conquer the world with her new material. COULD! And, she still would not get respect and folks would still complain.

DawnD said:

I applaud that too and I'm so happy to hear about Lenny continue to record. But still, I think with Janet, she DOES try but I can only hope she can at least shock me on this record. It seems she's been settled in her ways since she and JD became a couple, doesn't it seem that way? Maybe a few months away from him and in the studio can give her enough confidence to say "ALRIGHT, I'm through playing with you muthaf-----s!"

Timmy84 said:

The same could be said about PRINCE. He doesn't sell half or perhaps even a fraction as much as he use to with the stuff he made in the 80s. That's pretty much a failure too, huh?

DawnD said:

Oh ok, I still think Janet could find a way to get that swagger back (hence she probably never lost it but it seems like she wasn't into it because of continual issues) and the big chunk of commercial success that she's not been having as of late.

DawnD said:

Technically and individually, yes. Combined altogether, no.

Timmy84 said:

Yes! I agree! You, myself and allot others are waiting to be shocked. Hopefully, we will be.

Timmy84 said:

Damn! I love me some PRINCE and JANET! It's hard to be objective concerning the two.

Timmy84 said:

I agree. Experiment a bit with interesting sounds. It it flops then at least that's a better excuse than the same ones given for the last 2 albums.

It may be hard for women over 40 to get airplay in America, so I'd suggest to just take a step back from the competiton and do what you want to do. Janet's got the money and the catalogue/reputation behind her to be fortunate enough to be able to do that. She's got FAR more opportunities to hit big again than the likes of Stephanie Mills or Jodie Watley - people who unfortunately never had any significant success overseas, don't have the multi-platinum albums or names constantly in the media. She could do so much more than just hiring the same "hip" producers and trying to compete with Beyoncé.

... and the same goes for Michael too.
[Edited 7/23/07 10:10am]

Ellie said:

Co-signing with you because why are the Jacksons so hell-bent on trying to get run-of-the-mill producers to bring them back? For what, so if it fails, they can say "oh those two will never be what they were". I want the both of them to do something so different that even the media be like "WTF" in a GOOD way, they haven't done that in a mighty long time.

Exactly. if they work with all these producers who are hitting it big with 10+ other artists, if they flop then it only reflects back badly on the Jacksons. The producers can just move on to their next project with whatever 22 year old is hot at the moment and have another #1 in a second with more recycled "beats" - ugh, I hate that word.

It's the music that's on their permanent record for the rest of their life though, so why not try to make is good instead of trying to make it "hot"?

bottom line 4 me is jam and lewis. if she works with them only and get back 2 that mpls funk they were spilling she will b fine. as long as JD and others r in the mix, the output suffers. i still 2 this day have only "listened" 2 3 songs from 20 YO and took it out of my cd player and back in2 the jewel case.

as soon as janet does an album without jam and lewis..my connection becomes loose and adios janet

Ellie said:

Yep, but I think they like to be in "competition" and that in order for them to "be number-one", they gotta do what everybody else is doing... which seems to be the case here unless Janet and Michael can gear towards something great and not anything resembling shit hop or shitty pop.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

I'm glad she's giving acting a shot again, I think she should do a few more films and make music for the soundtrack, it worked wonders for her during nutty professor 2

I also think several songs on 20 YO sounded like mariah rejects, with u and call on me

I don't know about you guys, but maybe some people judge janet more than the other females because she was known for making consistent albums. Madonna's music got better with time, and I naturally expected that for janet too.

as for janet and timbaland, they already worked together during the velvet rope era on some remixes, when he was just beginning to make a name for himself
[Edited 7/23/07 10:48am]

I wish Janet and Michael well. I mean, there are so many people saying what they should do and what they shouldn't do. None of whom have walked into their shoes or experienced what they have for that matter. What is MUSIC itself suppose to be about. Some say it soothes the savage beast. Some say it's suppose to bring people together and make them happy. Nowadays too much emphasis and a big deal is placed upon what artist is working with what producer. MUSIC itself seems to be forgotten about. Allot folks voice what they think should happen and what they want TO happen. It's suppose to be all about the music. If it helps someone/gets someone through a trying day and makes some happy, shouldn't it be all good? Apparently not! Image has been kicking MUSIC in the ass and is constantly winning. Beautiful sounding music makes me happy, I don't give a damn who produces. As long as I'm happy with the sound and lyrics, it's all good to me.

I think that's because the R&B/Hip-Hop producers popular today aren't proper producers. They're "beat makers". Timbaland practically sounds the same no matter who's singing the songs. Pharrell worked with everyone 3-5 years ago and they were all in that same style with few exceptions. They never just work with an artist and bring the best out in them. It's always about sticking a tagline "Y'all know what this is", "Darkchild" as some stamp on the tracks. They're not songs anymore, they're tracks, club bangers, hot beats etc.