Janet Jackson is nothing more then a Britney Spears with a more well known brother.

She can't sing, she can't write great songs, its empty, superficial pap, nothing more.

errant said:

I doubt she owns her stuff. That sort of ownership almost lends to an artist having a lot more clout w/ record companies. It's a more even playing field from both sides. "90/10 is employment." Janet seems to have heavily depend on the record companies for promotional efforts. All For You's singles stalled after a while. Janet herself said "Come On Get Up" was begging for remixes, and it was going to be a single. It never materialized, in any degree. Damita Jo did okay, and Discipline had a lot of initial hype, but Island dropped the ball after a scuffle over the next single, so there were only two from that album. If Janet had ownership of her Virgin and Island material, it almost seems that she would have dropped a GH package before now, especially once the Island deal fell through in the middle of her tour, which was also eventually canceled midway through.

I wish she did own her stuff. I think we'd get more things from the JJ camp. But her career since about 2001 is almost reminiscent of Prince's. There's a big build up, a lot of hype, a handful of television appearances, then it just sort of dies off quickly. It seems that if she owned her music, she'd obviously have a bigger stake in things, and would push harder for more promotion, sales, interaction, etc. It just seems that there's been a lot of start-stop-gone going on, and that doesn't hint at her owning her own stuff.

ernestsewell said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Janet owns her Virgin material. She had HUGE clout with the label when she signed to them. Her original contract with them was one of the biggest in history and it stipulated that if Richard Branson sold the company, she had a clause that the contract was terminated and she got ALL the money from the contract, even though she'd only put out one record. He did. They re-signed her. I wouldn't be surprised if that second contract gained her ownership of her material. Obviously the first one didn't, because she was a free agent at the time of DOAD, which is why she did new songs for it, even though it was on A&M, but only contained one Virgin track.

I find it curious that there hasn't been a comp released by Virgin of her material with them since they let her go 2-3 years ago after 20 Y.O. It could be because she took all of that with her. Because no matter how poorly DJ and 20YO performed, they'd definitely be looking to cash in on her hits with them to recoup. Especially when she toured last year. Or this fall after she's been back in the public eye this summer in a more positive light.

Graycap23 said:

Yeah, I forgot how hit less "All For You" was...But seriously, the hits get smaller but considering how many nearly hitless artists have hits sets out, it's about damn time!

I dug that. Vocals upfront, Jam & Lewis produced possibly? nice throwback indeed.

Janet will have additional supporters now that MJ passed. That is a fact.

Dr. Funkenberry just posted this:

Exclusive: Janet Jackson To Drop #1 Hits CD!
http://www.drfunkenberry....1-hits-cd/


I have been waiting like a week to let you guys know about this Janet Jackson news!

I am hearing that Janet Jackson will be releasing a number 1 Hits CD with a brand new track called “Make Me” and we hear the track is hot! (You can hear it now at JanetJackson.com)

Fresh off the heels of her performance last night on the MTV VMA’s, which was a tribute to her brother Michael Jackson, it looks like things are looking up for Ms. Jackson.

We are super excited and when I have more info for you, you know I will hook you up.Right now, I have to put it as rumor til everything is signed-Dr.FB
[Edited 9/14/09 13:02pm]

VinnyM27 said:

AFY had 2 pretty big hits (title track and Someone To Call My Lover was a radio staple for like a year), plus it had Doesn't Really Matter. it wasn't hit-less, it's just that this decade, you're lucky to even get 3 singles promoted off an album. the lack of big hits from everything since then ought to at least make things tidy for this collection

so is ita 2CD? or is it a #1's comp? hopefully the former. i'm about sick of these #1's. they're so uneven and they have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find #1's from around the world, like the #1 Dance Singles By Western Female Artists In Timbuktu Chart to fill them out. and they leave out a lot of hits for that ridiculous #1 criteria.

OH HELL YEA!!!!!

It's a tribute to Mike!

You can tell! It has the OTW feel to it!

Marrk said:

Rodney Jerkins produced this.

errant said:

Apparently is a double-disc collection titled "#1's".

VoicesCarry said:

does she really have enough legitimate #1's for a double disc with that title?

so is ita 2CD? or is it a #1's comp? hopefully the former. i'm about sick of these #1's. they're so uneven and they have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find #1's from around the world, like the #1 Dance Singles By Western Female Artists In Timbuktu Chart to fill them out. and they leave out a lot of hits for that ridiculous #1 criteria.

midiscover said:

as far as we know we don't know if was written before or after.

posted to my facebook page a few seconds ago:

WOW!!! I. Haven't. Liked. A. Janet. Song. Like. This. In. Ages!!!

I was totally disappointed in her tribute performance tonight and ohh, the past ten years of her musical career but this is some straight up funk/pop grooves. Sure the lyrics are pedestrian but...so what! Sometimes you just need to shake your a@@.

Moonbeam said:

i like Discipline. AFY is alright, but it's in one ear out the other. it stuck with me for 2 weeks and i was done with it. up to that point, i was a rabid janet fan.


DJ and TwohYo are shit. especially the latter. DJ has some good songs, but there's like 2 of every one of them on there. the interludes are idiotic ("of COURSE i love music" -- well, can you blame us for wondering, janet? though i do love that stupid one about humidity, as you know ). plus she's got nothing her mind but her vagina for, what, 10 years now? Discpline has the same problem of repeating songs, but they're at least fun and you can kinda-sorta remember them and distinguish them from one another 3 seconds after you've heard them. 20YO... just no. massive fail on all counts.

but, um, this is like the 8,000th time we've had this conversation with each other, isn't it?





PS: love the new song!
[Edited 9/14/09 2:33am]

VoicesCarry said:

i think it's my favorite from this decade too. why has she wasted so much time?

VoicesCarry said:

you know what i noticed last night? it was like janet was back. not completely, but there were flashes of fierceness on her face. where you could tell there was a person in there. a person with some talent and some drive. at that moment, i realized that i haven't seen that on her face in years. at all, this decade. it's been like the lights are on but nobody's home, that she's just going through the motions in interviews and on records and in her live performances.

loved the hot mess that was her live show last year, but thinking about it, it seemed like she was pretty disconnected. like she was just phoning it in or she was just concentrating on getting the shit done competently instead of engaging herself in what she was doing. and i think some of that came through in the schizo nature of the setlist with all its medleys and whatnot. she's looked almost animalistic at times where she's just functioning on instinct without thinking anything through or any deeper level of thought or connection to what she's doing.

but anyway, my point is. last night i saw signs of a human being in there at certain points.

i hope she's back. i hope whatever she does next (and no, i don't mean a fucking Tyler Perry movie), she puts Janet back into it. she's been coasting for way too long. almost a decade now. as sad and painful as the things she's dealt with this summer are (brother's death, breakup with JD), i hope that she can harness that emotion. she's definitely got something to write about. something to inform and fuel her performance and creativity. i hope she takes advantage of it.

but again, back to my point: last night I saw Janet in there, inside of her. I didn't realize it until then, but it has been a long time since I've seen her. the one I remember. the one with a personality. the one with a brain and something to say and a reason to perform. and it was good to have her back.

love this new song. i hope it means something

VoicesCarry said:

no idea what the details of her second Virgin contract were, but it's possible that she took the ownership of the songs with her when she left (or was booted, whatever).

errant said:

i think EMI now owns both labels so it should be fairly easy.

errant said:

she may have been done. Like Kylie was kinda phoning in Body Language and the Showgirl:The Greatest Hits Tour and rumors of her retiring from the pop scene after the tour was finished. I thought the energy in the show and the choice of costumes was just sad. than she had cancer and came back full steam

sometimes it takes something to remind you why you do what you love.