[img:$uid]http://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/t_article_image/wyi56yzjkzkyrrorhvcy.jpg[/img:$uid]

There will never, ever be another Janet Jackson.

Mega stardom of her kind is increasingly hard to reach, especially if you are a black woman. There is Beyoncé, but even she can no longer claim to have the sort of radio dominance Janet once commanded—though that’s more so a testament to the diminished influence of “urban” music than Yoncé’s catalog. She’s also more an amalgamation of several pop stars of yore—Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Michael and Janet Jackson, respectively—than a singular artist. There is also Rihanna, but she’s long noted that she desires to be more of a “Black Madonna.”

Both dance (one way more energetically than the other), but neither offer the sort of choreography that made Janet Jackson the iconic pop star she is today.

I’m sure some people would now like to interject Ciara, who I’ve jokingly said in the past could’ve been some country-fried-steak version of Damita Jo. I wish Ciara the best in all her future endeavors, but she lacks vision, cohesion, and for all intents and purposes, blew whatever chance she had at becoming a behemoth in music. At this stage of her career, she’s more like a Kardashian who can dance.

Nonetheless, there is hope of an artist who can at least encompass some of Janet’s best qualities for a new generation.

If there’s anyone who might be able to muster what Janet Jackson meant to me growing up, it is the 22-year-old singer Tinashe. Whenever I say this to someone, I’m often met with one or two response: “Who?” or “That ‘2 On’​ girl?” These are fair reactions, but not necessarily credible ones.

For starters, Tinashe has made her love of Janet Jackson very clear. In an interview with The Cut, Tinashewas asked about “How Many Times,” a track that features Future and is a sample of the Janet classic “Funny How Time Flies When...Having Fun.” Tinasheexplained, “I listened to her all the time growing up, and she was definitely one of the people I idolized from a dance perspective, to performance, to music videos, to the music, just all around.”

If you listen to her very well done debut album, Aquarius, the previous mixtapesshe released prior (which she wrote and produced on her own), you can tell The Velvet Rope is likely Tinashe’s favorite Janet album. She confirmed that last summer with theGrio, noting, “I would tell my future kids that if they wanted to know what artist represented R&B, it would be Janet. The Velvet Rope-era Janet was my favorite.”

I’ve seen complaints that perhaps Janet influences Tinashe a wee bit too much in terms of both style and vocal arrangement. Younger acts tend to draw heavily from those who inspire them, but for a woman who has been the dominant force of her own creative direction, one imagines those are more kinks needed to be worked out in her own development. If you listen to Tinashe’s excellent new EP,Amethyst, one thing should be certain: She has a distinct point of view.

In her review of Amethyst, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote, “There's an ease and intellect, a fortitude and freedom.” This is much of Janet’s catalog in a nutshell, and if Tinashe spends much of her career trying to create her own The Velvet Rope, R&B lovers should all be so lucky.

The “All Hands on Deck” video is Tinashe’s best thus far, and honestly, one of the few music videos I’ve bothered to watch more than once. Tinashe actually tries to give audiences a show—see her most recent performance of the song onConan.

It remains to be seen as to whether Tinashe will ever be able to amass even a fraction of the success and influence Janet Jackson once yielded, but if going by her already impressive catalog, music videos, and performances, she at least gets the tenets of Janet’s success better than most who have come after Damita Jo and before her. That makes her a breath of fresh air. That said, if she does blow up, please keep Nick Jonas away from her tits. That’s one Janet redux none of us need.

http://www.complex.com/music/2015/04/tinashe-is-as-close-to-janet-jackson-as-well-ever-get?utm_campaign=musictw%2Bsocialflow%2B04%2B2015&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

[Edited 4/30/15 12:20pm]

isn't Ciara sometimes considered the 'Janet Jackson of this generation'?

WHO???

SoulAlive said:

isn't Ciara sometimes considered the 'Janet Jackson of this generation'?

thats because of the dancing, she dont have a fraction of janet's music discography.

lowkey said:

There will always be only one Janet. Whoever try to be a new Janet, will finish like Ciara.

I saw her on 106 & Park before it was cancelled. She's a cutie, and yes I am sure she is influenced by Janet Jackson just the same as every pop singer for the last 20 years.

Empress said:

BlackCat1985 said:

Lawdy!!! I like Tinashe but she has some very big shoes to fill. Like the article said this ain't the 80's or 90's. Its much harder for artist especially black female artist to reach that level. The level of shade they threw at Ciara....Nobody does Janet better than Janet. But I can see where he was trying to go with this. The Jamfam is none to pleased about this. I saw the tweets under this article and folks were going ham! I hope Tinashe doesn't read them because she favored this tweet on Twitter.

Ciara is beyond Beautiful & Sexy...She was a "vision" on "BET: Black Girls Rock 2015"..The song she sang was TIRED crap...

ScarletScandal said:

its not necessarily that we have no idea who this broad is, its just that, at this point, she is a relative nobody...totally unworthy of ANY comparison to Janet Jackson...

and im not even that big of a Janet Jackson fan..

but this young chick is a dime a dozen, cookie cutter, industry peasant..

Janet Jackson?

no

[Edited 5/2/15 12:45pm]

Chancellor said:

RJOrion said:

"..At this stage of her career, she’s more like a Kardashian who can dance.."

shoulda stopped typing after that....

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

RJOrion said:

its not necessarily that we have no idea who this broad is, its just that, at this point, she is a relative nobody...totally unworthy of ANY comparison to Janet Jackson...

and im not even that big of a Janet Jackson fan..

but this young chick is a dime a dozen, cookie cutter, industry peasant..

Janet Jackson?

no

[Edited 5/2/15 12:45pm]

I know, sorry that post was a bit condescending of me, apologies. Anyway, I gently don't pay any attention to comparisons the media make between upcoming talents and established legends, it's usually a lazy journalistic development shorthand which doesn't really tell you anything. Tbh at this point it seems pretty much impossible for a new talent to ever match the acclaim and popularity of stars from earlier generations, what with the dissipation of attention among many different types of media and media outlets, i.e. Families aren't sitting around the tv at the same time to watch this generation's equivalent of Motown 25 or whatever. I just find it a tad annoying when people on this board use these comparisons (made by the media, not the artist) to instantly dismiss newer artists immediately. Instead of saying "who" for the millionth time people could Google her and give her stuff a listen, and if they don't like it then fine, but that would be better imo than the close minded attitude that a lot of people seem to display on these forums. Anyway, I haven't heard her music but I've heard good things about it, I'll have to give it a listen when I have the chance.

no apologies necessary... no disrespect taken... all peace

RJOrion said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

ScarletScandal said:

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

I've found a wonderful new internet service that should help you in your quest for knowledge: Google.com You're welcome.

Silly rabbit, Google is for finding porn lol

Actually bing is a lot better for that, if you're using google you're missing out

http://www.dailydot.com/technology/bing-porn-search-engine/

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

RJOrion said:

WHO???

Exactly.

Typical snobbish attitude at the Org from some posters in here. Like it's already been said, Google her, listen to some of her songs and then form your own opinion before acting all snobbish.

No one said she was better than Janet Jackson. Don't act all sensitive lol.

"who?" "who?"

smh

Pr1nceQuik said:

Typical snobbish attitude at the Org from some posters in here. Like it's already been said, Google her, listen to some of her songs and then form your own opinion before acting all snobbish.

No one said she was better than Janet Jackson. Don't act all sensitive lol.

"who?" "who?"

smh

I need to see receipts

[Edited 5/6/15 18:08pm]

janet fans have any of you checked out teyana taylor? i would remove this tinashi girl's name from the article and insert hers.

lowkey said:

janet fans have any of you checked out teyana taylor? i would remove this tinashi girl's name from the article and insert hers.

Teyana Taylor gave me more of an Aaliyah vibe, but I like the comparison more than Tinashe.

Cinny said:

BlackCat1985 said:

Cinny said:

Teyana Taylor gave me more of an Aaliyah vibe, but I like the comparison more than Tinashe.

People always talk about Aaliyah being the inspiration for these girls. But truth be told Janet is always the one they refer to first. Hell even Aaliyah was a huge Janet fan. Tinashe was asked about who her musical role models were and she instantly said Janet. She said that she didn't even get into Aaliyah until much later on.

aaliyah has definately been elevated to icon status in death