trueiopian said:

Agreed about Can't Be Good! And I had forgotten that she sounded like him on LAMBF from the debut album.

SEANMAN said:

Okay, that's cool. Respect lol.


Now I have heard both versions of "One More Chance". That's actually one of my fave songs from The Jacksons and Janet as well. I love both versions. I've also heard Trust a Try, Just A Little While, Black Cat, etc. all her rock songs. I have all of Janet's albums so I'm definitely familiar with her work, but apart from those songs, as well as Enjoy and What's Your Name, I just don't hear it. They might have somewhat of a similar tone but that doesn't mean she can pull off his songs. No way. I can't see Janet ever pulling off "Beat It" or "Wanna Be Startin' Something", it's completely out of her range. However, I guess I could agree they had a similar tone. They certainly have similar speaking voices, but singing voices, not so much for me.

The one Michael song I could see Janet doing well though is "Human Nature". I think it would suit her voice perfectly. Maybe I could see her doing "Rock With You" as well.

Cinnamon234 said:

I totally agree with the Human Nature thing. She could definately do that. Funny you mention Wanna Be Startin' Something, because last night I watched a youtube video of Latoya doing WBSS on some show, and it was HILARIOUS! The comments people made had me ROFLMAO!

Cinnamon234 said:

yeah she sounds like him sometimes when her voice is low, but she's not as strong as him though she has a very pretty voice.

Cinnamon234 said:

Everyone and their mama can pull off Beat it!

MJ and Janet do sound alike! MJ has a wider range then her. She has a 3 and I think he had a 4 or 3.5 (??)

midiscover said:

wow! that slowed down sounds just like MJ. I've always loved this Janet track.

sony squashed the whole tribute. no show can happen until after they release the movie.

dannyd5050 said:

Good question...I think Jimmy and Terry are very relevant. And I think they are more suited to produce Janet than anybody. I think they "get" Janet and I think she trusts them. Not just as producer but as people. In this juncture in the road, I think all 3 of them wants to put out a bangin' album from Janet. For personal reasons if for nothing else. Like I stated in my original post, I think Janet will be more motivated and more driven than she has since perhaps "Control".

blackguitaristz said:

I totally agree. It's time for JJ to come back on top.

why does everyone think Jam & Lewis working on Janet's album is going to make it some massive, awesome comeback record?

those guys were on on DJo and 20Yo and it sure as hell didn't help anything. have they produced ANYTHING noteworthy in the last 5-10 years?

errant said:

They were on there partly (DJ moreso than 20yo), but neither album was a total JJ, Jam and Lewis collabo, the way that Control, RN, janet. and TVR were. The music has always been hot, but radio and MTV acting like total dickheads after the SB incident are what hindered sales. It doesn't matter if they haven't put out a substantial amount of work as of late. If anything, we need Jam and Lewis back in the forefront as producers, period, because this dreck being produced nowadays is more than depressing. BRING BACK GOOD MUISIC!
[Edited 7/27/09 9:08am]

How capable Janet is of coming back remains to be seen. Discipline was her 2nd comeback album in 4 years, and it didnt do well. I really enjoyed the majority of the record - the first half of the album was her strongest since Velvet Rope, so its not necessarily just a case of bringing back Jam & Lewis IMO. I think Discipline probably suffered from 20Y.O hangover - as that was such a disappointing album, i think she may have lost a few long term fans with that one.

I also enjoyed Damita Jo, but i can see why it wasn't a hit - there arent many commercial songs on it. One thing is clear from all her 00s output - she needs to quit it with the drippy dreary ballads, and "slow jams" as they sound tired and forced. Discipline should have been an all out dance record - no ballads 0- that would have been a statement that she'd moved on from what had become a tired formula for her.

SEANMAN said:

I dunno, they were still at the helm for "All For You" and up until DJ and 20YO, that was her worst album since 1984. So I'm not really sure they have it in them anymore. I'm not sure she does either, though I did thoroughly enjoy her last album, which by all accounts was phoned in on her part.

CrozzaUK said:

I think what her albums are suffering from lately, especially DamitaJo and Discipline (and to an extent All For You), is that they are overly long and repetitive. They're great half-albums, but every decent or great track on them has a stillborn twin that that waters the whole thing down. 20YO is its own mess.

SEANMAN said:

I agree her stuff has been getting REAL old for years. I liked Control and Rhythm Nation, basically cause they sounded like Time records. But the minute she started with that sexpot image its all gone down hill. Gotta wonder if she ever had any real talent outside of acting on Good Times and Different Strokes. She might be his sister but MJ had way more talent imo.

Poplife88 said:

Well, her biggest critical success as far as albums go is The Velvet Rope, and that cd came long into her "sexpot" image years. It's always been there as far back as Control, but she felt comfortable enough in her own skin to explore it deeper by the time she made the janet. cd. And, sorry, but I don't hear one bit of The Time in any of her records, but that's just me...

errant said:

yup!

kenlacam said:

Was Janet trying to sound like Michael? I have all her albums and I don't hear her trying to sound anything like her brother, but my ears function different I guess.

estelle81 said:

one or two of those ballads from Discipline is all i can come up with

errant said:

"When you live a nightmare it's hard to dream" from "Better Days" sounds quite Michael-esque!

SEANMAN said:

And what's crazy about that is that none of these heffas ever seem to credit her. They're always throwing Madonna's name out whenever an interviewer asks them who they admired in the music industry when they were younger and rarely do I ever hear any of them say 'Janet' and that's sad considering that many of them seem to try to emulate her every chance they get. Give credit where credit is due. It's all good, because not a single one of them have broken her record of most Top 5 singles from a single album and she got that achievement from 'Rhythm Nation'...an album realeased over 2 decades ago. Janet ain't got nothin' to worry about. Janet may be Michael's little sister, but Janet has proven that she is more than able to stand on her own two feet and do the work. She'll be just fine.

estelle81 said:

I don't think that'll ever be broken. And to think that she could have had 8 with "State of the World"!

estelle81 said:

Thank you! The media as well always seems to throw Madonna out there as THEE inspiration for these girls out today, mostly Britney, but if you watch their videos and see their shows and study their choreography, it is Janet who is the obvious inspiration. And, you're right, not only did Rhythm Nation spawn 7 top 10 singles (the only album other than Thriller and Born in the USA to do so), but the RN singles all went top 5, unlike Thriller and Born in the USA whose singles were strictly top ten.

SEANMAN said:

well, to be fair, in an old interview with Jam or Lewis (don't remember which - although I think the more flattering excerpts of it were reprinted in the Design of a Decade liner notes), he mentions that with Control, A&M were consciously grooming Janet to be the "black Madonna".... hey, it worked and she carved out an identity of her own outside of the shadow of her brother and Madonna. kudos to her.

but maybe that's why all these young heifers mention Madonna and not Janet. it really IS odd, though, considering they copy their moves and vocal stylings right from her with very little variation.

The only chance is if she goes back to when she had a wide audience and not to alienate that audience again. We forget, Janet isnt a musician, theres a big difference with "control" and getting back your audience when you have producers calling your shots. Jimmy and Terry need to take her back into pop/dance, NOT, Rb/dance/rap guest stars. Sorry but that shit is TIRED and last time i checked the 90's were long gone, so lets lose the 20 tracks, the poetry readins and bathroom breaks interludes, give us 10 strong pop dance well written songs and not just "im sexy, here are my breasts"

lastdecember said:

it pains me to agree with you, but....

Poplife88 said:

If Madonna can still keep up the sexpot image at 50 (she's been doing it since she debuted), I don't see why Janet shouldn't be allowed to do the same if that's what she wants to do. Personally, I would like to see her try something new, but if she's doing what she wants to do with that image, more power to her. The only problem I really have with Janet is that her current albums sound very uninspired and unmotivated.

She's been in the spotlight since she was like 7 years old, something that only her big brother Michael seemed to have to deal with because he was always the biggest star in the Jackson 5 and soo young when they hit big. I do believe that's why Janet and Michael remained the closest of the siblings as years passed. They have always been the real stars in that family and they both have always seemed to have a very similar dispostion to me...very soft-spoken, kind-hearted, and somewhat fragile at times. I believe that anyone who has been performing for the majority of their lives is going to get bored at some point and I do believe that's why her current stuff isn't all that great.

She needs to go back to the attitude that she had during the TVR era. When she agreed to perform on that Vh1 fashion show, she had to fight with them because they didn't want her to perform 'What About?' and she said if she didn't get to perform it she wouldn't be performing, so she got to perform it and it was outstanding. That's the Janet I miss and that's the Janet that I hope comes out of hiding and into the light sometime soon because this current Janet (who seems to want to please the musically-challenged majority by jumping on the bandwagon of the drivel that's called 'music' nowadays) isn't working. Just my

Haven't MJ fans been through enough already?

errant said:

Honestly, I think I don't hear the similarities, because I don't really go out of my way to hear them.

LeToya's speaking voice sounds almost exactly like Michael's speaking voice and all of his siblings kinda look like him too. Could them all being related have something to do with the similarities? Hmm, I wonder. Seriously, if she sounds like Michael, it's because she's related to him and has no real control over that in the end. Not her fault Joe and Katherine didn't want to stop after 6 kids.

SEANMAN said:

PREACH! She did something that even big brother Michael couldn't do and nobody has done to this day, so she deserves respect just for that IMO. Unfortunately, the haters won't give her any respect because they choose to dwell on a 2-second nipple slip, some risque lyrics, and her sexed-up image more than the fact that she stepped out of her brother's ginormous, superstar shadow and made her own history with her own talents and abilities. Janet is too good to be just a diva...she's an icon...copy, print, save, meditate.