mjscarousal said:

Longtime Janet fan here, since Good Times, and before she even starting recording.

I've always been in her corner, and supported her career, especially as a longtime dj.

She's had great songs, and even greater 12" singles / maxi-singles.

Janet has not been black-balled.

Careers fade. That's just what they do, even with the at-one-time most popular, multi-million selling, influential, pioneering artists.

So many of my personal beloved artists, have had a brief moment in popular fame, and then, not so much, as time goes by. I would absolutely love for Swing Out Sister to have garnered more popularity in the states, post-2000, but I've still supported them, seen them live here twice, and admire their constant chugging along with a quality release every few years.

I'm fine with that most people consider them a one-hit wonder. Fuck it.

Maybe that's a false comparison, so take that with a grain of salt.

Still, Janet didn't get blackballed. Most fans know this to be true, and are good with the great music she has put out, and some things were not so great.

There's no conspiracy, but I know my little shitty response will convince no one.

"I'ma have me a glass of Ripple" -Fred Sanford

[Edited 12/28/16 11:34am]

mjscarousal said:

What does that have to do with her being blacklisted in 2004 and 2005? Lawd help some of these posters!

Janet Jackson was not blacklisted in 2004 or 2005, my friend! Let's be real: You can't announce that you're going to do something "shocking" at the Super Bowl, have a boob fall out, claim it was a "wardrobe malfunction," and think the majority of America is going to say "It's okay, Janet." Before Janet even took the stage at the Super Bowl in 2004 she was all on TV saying things like "It's going to be shocking!" And don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest Janet Jackson admirers you will ever know but truth is truth. And the Damita Jo album wasn't very good! I was working in music retail at the time and couldn't give that shit away. Plus it came out right around the same time as Usher's Confessions which I could not keep on the shelves. It was a subpar album from an entertainer who is known to bring it with each album release. The "Just a Little While" video wasn't released in the States - and it should've been - but instead they released "I Want You" and I guess that was to capitalize on Kanye because he was the man then with The College Dropout. The biggest mistake she made at the time was saying "It was a wardrobe malfunction." The hell is that? She would've done better just keeping it real and saying "Okay y'all... my tittie fell out and it is what it is!" Laughed that shit off and let's move on because real fans like myself were like... okay. I'm sorry but there isn't some sort of conspiracy to keep Janet Jackson down. There isn't one. I don't think there are a group of Illuminati folks saying "Let's railroad Janet Jackson's career." All For You sold millions. Damita Jo and 20 YO went platinum. Discipline did gold, maybe barely platinum. Unbreakable did about 300,000 units. Her music changed and unfortunately it began to suffer. I was really up in arms with the "Feedback" song because that was some of whackest lyrics I had ever heard. How you go from some thought-provoking music like "State of the World" to saying "got me heavy like a first day period?" Really, Dunk? And once again, I don't give a damn who you are because in this music business you got to be consistent with your product. You don't disappear for years and think you're gonna come back and be the shit again. Especially when Beyonce can drop a surprise album at midnight and it sells like hotcakes by the time I wake up for my morning coffee. Janet black balled her damn self. You can't keep making subpar music and think people are going to ride with you just because you're Janet Jackson. Point blank. Drop the mic. End of story.

MotorBootyAffair said:

Longtime Janet fan here, since Good Times, and before she even starting recording.

I've always been in her corner, and supported her career, especially as a longtime dj.

She's had great songs, and even greater 12" singles / maxi-singles.

Janet has not been black-balled.

Careers fade. That's just what they do, even with the at-one-time most popular, multi-million selling, influential, pioneering artists.

So many of my personal beloved artists, have had a brief moment in popular fame, and then, not so much, as time goes by. I would absolutely love for Swing Out Sister to have garnered more popularity in the states, post-2000, but I've still supported them, seen them live here twice, and admire their constant chugging along with a quality release every few years.

I'm fine with that most people consider them a one-hit wonder. Fuck it.

Maybe that's a false comparison, so take that with a grain of salt.

Still, Janet didn't get blackballed. Most fans know this to be true, and are good with the great music she has put out, and some things were not so great.

There's no conspiracy, but I know my little shitty response will convince no one.

"I'ma have me a glass of Ripple" -Fred Sanford

Exactly.Janet was not blackballed by the industry.There are other reasons for her declining career.She's a veteran artist now,which means no more radio airplay.Look at the current charts....how many 50-year old artists do you see having hit singles? The hit parade eventually ends for every major artist.Also,during the time that she was with Jermaine Dupri,there was a sense that her "sexpot" image was finally getting stale.Add to that,the constant cacellations and postponements of her tours during that period,and you have all the reasons why her career was having problems.

SoulAlive said:

MotorBootyAffair said:

Longtime Janet fan here, since Good Times, and before she even starting recording.

I've always been in her corner, and supported her career, especially as a longtime dj.

She's had great songs, and even greater 12" singles / maxi-singles.

Janet has not been black-balled.

Careers fade. That's just what they do, even with the at-one-time most popular, multi-million selling, influential, pioneering artists.

So many of my personal beloved artists, have had a brief moment in popular fame, and then, not so much, as time goes by. I would absolutely love for Swing Out Sister to have garnered more popularity in the states, post-2000, but I've still supported them, seen them live here twice, and admire their constant chugging along with a quality release every few years.

I'm fine with that most people consider them a one-hit wonder. Fuck it.

Maybe that's a false comparison, so take that with a grain of salt.

Still, Janet didn't get blackballed. Most fans know this to be true, and are good with the great music she has put out, and some things were not so great.

There's no conspiracy, but I know my little shitty response will convince no one.

"I'ma have me a glass of Ripple" -Fred Sanford

Exactly.Janet was not blackballed by the industry.There are other reasons for her declining career.She's a veteran artist now,which means no more radio airplay.Look at the current charts....how many 50-year old artists do you see having hit singles? The hit parade eventually ends for every major artist.Also,during the time that she was with Jermaine Dupri,there was a sense that her "sexpot" image was finally getting stale.Add to that,the constant cacellations and postponements of her tours during that period,and you have all the reasons why her career was having problems.

Exactamundo!

That's right, she said there will be some surprises....I had forgotten about that. Both had apologized after, but because they were asked to again on the grammys and janet said no, the ban came shortly after.

SoulAlive said:

MotorBootyAffair said:

Longtime Janet fan here, since Good Times, and before she even starting recording.

I've always been in her corner, and supported her career, especially as a longtime dj.

She's had great songs, and even greater 12" singles / maxi-singles.

Janet has not been black-balled.

Careers fade. That's just what they do, even with the at-one-time most popular, multi-million selling, influential, pioneering artists.

So many of my personal beloved artists, have had a brief moment in popular fame, and then, not so much, as time goes by. I would absolutely love for Swing Out Sister to have garnered more popularity in the states, post-2000, but I've still supported them, seen them live here twice, and admire their constant chugging along with a quality release every few years.

I'm fine with that most people consider them a one-hit wonder. Fuck it.

Maybe that's a false comparison, so take that with a grain of salt.

Still, Janet didn't get blackballed. Most fans know this to be true, and are good with the great music she has put out, and some things were not so great.

There's no conspiracy, but I know my little shitty response will convince no one.

"I'ma have me a glass of Ripple" -Fred Sanford

Exactly.Janet was not blackballed by the industry.There are other reasons for her declining career.She's a veteran artist now,which means no more radio airplay.Look at the current charts....how many 50-year old artists do you see having hit singles? The hit parade eventually ends for every major artist.Also,during the time that she was with Jermaine Dupri,there was a sense that her "sexpot" image was finally getting stale.Add to that,the constant cacellations and postponements of her tours during that period,and you have all the reasons why her career was having problems.

You are not a Janet Jackson fan and always have something negative to say about her. I don't like everything she has done myself but I can objectively acknowleged that she was black listed after the Super Bowl.

thesoulbrother said:

mjscarousal said:

What does that have to do with her being blacklisted in 2004 and 2005? Lawd help some of these posters!

Janet Jackson was not blacklisted in 2004 or 2005, my friend! Let's be real: You can't announce that you're going to do something "shocking" at the Super Bowl, have a boob fall out, claim it was a "wardrobe malfunction," and think the majority of America is going to say "It's okay, Janet." Before Janet even took the stage at the Super Bowl in 2004 she was all on TV saying things like "It's going to be shocking!" And don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest Janet Jackson admirers you will ever know but truth is truth. And the Damita Jo album wasn't very good! I was working in music retail at the time and couldn't give that shit away. Plus it came out right around the same time as Usher's Confessions which I could not keep on the shelves. It was a subpar album from an entertainer who is known to bring it with each album release. The "Just a Little While" video wasn't released in the States - and it should've been - but instead they released "I Want You" and I guess that was to capitalize on Kanye because he was the man then with The College Dropout. The biggest mistake she made at the time was saying "It was a wardrobe malfunction." The hell is that? She would've done better just keeping it real and saying "Okay y'all... my tittie fell out and it is what it is!" Laughed that shit off and let's move on because real fans like myself were like... okay. I'm sorry but there isn't some sort of conspiracy to keep Janet Jackson down. There isn't one. I don't think there are a group of Illuminati folks saying "Let's railroad Janet Jackson's career." All For You sold millions. Damita Jo and 20 YO went platinum. Discipline did gold, maybe barely platinum. Unbreakable did about 300,000 units. Her music changed and unfortunately it began to suffer. I was really up in arms with the "Feedback" song because that was some of whackest lyrics I had ever heard. How you go from some thought-provoking music like "State of the World" to saying "got me heavy like a first day period?" Really, Dunk? And once again, I don't give a damn who you are because in this music business you got to be consistent with your product. You don't disappear for years and think you're gonna come back and be the shit again. Especially when Beyonce can drop a surprise album at midnight and it sells like hotcakes by the time I wake up for my morning coffee. Janet black balled her damn self. You can't keep making subpar music and think people are going to ride with you just because you're Janet Jackson. Point blank. Drop the mic. End of story.

MTV did not play any of her videos and because NFL/CBS etc are all in conjunction and operated under Viacom which owns the air waves, they did not play any of Damita Jo or 20.YO on the radio at all. A NFL offical came out last year and said what they did was not right to Janet. Now you can believe what you want in your head but I will stick to receipts and quotes and Beyonce albums are not selling like anything. There was a recent thread that exposed her very medicore album sells. Its really really idiotic to sit here and argue that the Super Bowl aftermatch in no way hurt Janet's career. Its absolutely absurd to even suggest that.

[Edited 12/28/16 16:25pm]

mjscarousal said:

Yes, she was absolutely blacklisted at Top 40/Pop radio in 2004. That is well established.

But, there were multiple factors that contributed to her career decline.

1. She was 37 (nearly 38) when the the SuperBowl hit. Which means she had already hit the sell-by date for a female pop star (or a male one, for that matter). This is because Pop/Top 40 radio caters almost exclusively to the 18-34 demographic. (The same is not true for other radio formats, which tend to skew older.) It is exceedingly rare for an artist over 40 to garner significant airplay as they might once have in the 70's, 80's and even the 90's.

I should note (because I've seen some references to them in this thread) that tracks like Cher's "Believe", Jennifer Lopez's "On the Floor" or Madonna's "Music" do not refute this statement; they are outliers. Cher never had another substantial radio hit; J. Lo's smash benefited from a feature from a popular rapper, Pitbull; and "Music" was released at the tail end of the period when the over-40 set could get radio play. Since the Music era, Madonna has experienced great challenges at US radio herself - only "4 Minutes" made any great impact in the States, and you can attribute that to the Justin Timberlake feature.

For reference, here is the average age of lead artists on the Hot 100 over the past six decades:

1960s: 27.2
1970s: 29.9
1980s: 30.8
1990s: 27.9
2000s: 26.7
2010s: 26.8

2. "Just A Little While" was incredibly pop, and was never going to be well-received by either Urban or Rhythmic radio - two formats that had historically supported Janet, but that had shifted in tone since the release of "All For You". The immediate follow-up, "I Want You", was a moderate Urban and significant (top 5) Urban AC hit.

3. The singles from Damita Jo were simply underwhelming compared to her past hits. I suspect that if she'd released "All For You" post-SuperBowl, it would have been more difficult for Top 40 radio to ignore it. Let's be real: her output for the entire decade was incredibly disappointing as a whole considering this woman once released albums so strong she could release everything on them and have a hit.

The artists who have generally sustained their radio success beyond 40 have often transitioned to Urban AC, Hot AC and/or AC formats. It's interesting that Janet had a good radio success (Top 20 cross-format airplay) with Call On Me", the lead single from 20 Y.O.. It flopped at Top 40 but was a major success at Urban, Rhythmic and Urban AC. In 2008, "Feedback" flopped because it was a pop song by an R&B artist who hadn't had a pop hit in several years, so the chances of pop radio backing it without support from her core format as a launching pad was slim. Not to mention she was over 40 with over 25 years in the industry at the time, so she was already viewed as yesterday's news.

The same decline is now happening for Britney Spears, a Pop radio staple who is releasing Pop radio-ready singles - in fact, she just released her best album - but guess what, she's 35.

[Edited 12/28/16 18:24pm]

mjscarousal said:

thesoulbrother said:

Janet Jackson was not blacklisted in 2004 or 2005, my friend! Let's be real: You can't announce that you're going to do something "shocking" at the Super Bowl, have a boob fall out, claim it was a "wardrobe malfunction," and think the majority of America is going to say "It's okay, Janet." Before Janet even took the stage at the Super Bowl in 2004 she was all on TV saying things like "It's going to be shocking!" And don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest Janet Jackson admirers you will ever know but truth is truth. And the Damita Jo album wasn't very good! I was working in music retail at the time and couldn't give that shit away. Plus it came out right around the same time as Usher's Confessions which I could not keep on the shelves. It was a subpar album from an entertainer who is known to bring it with each album release. The "Just a Little While" video wasn't released in the States - and it should've been - but instead they released "I Want You" and I guess that was to capitalize on Kanye because he was the man then with The College Dropout. The biggest mistake she made at the time was saying "It was a wardrobe malfunction." The hell is that? She would've done better just keeping it real and saying "Okay y'all... my tittie fell out and it is what it is!" Laughed that shit off and let's move on because real fans like myself were like... okay. I'm sorry but there isn't some sort of conspiracy to keep Janet Jackson down. There isn't one. I don't think there are a group of Illuminati folks saying "Let's railroad Janet Jackson's career." All For You sold millions. Damita Jo and 20 YO went platinum. Discipline did gold, maybe barely platinum. Unbreakable did about 300,000 units. Her music changed and unfortunately it began to suffer. I was really up in arms with the "Feedback" song because that was some of whackest lyrics I had ever heard. How you go from some thought-provoking music like "State of the World" to saying "got me heavy like a first day period?" Really, Dunk? And once again, I don't give a damn who you are because in this music business you got to be consistent with your product. You don't disappear for years and think you're gonna come back and be the shit again. Especially when Beyonce can drop a surprise album at midnight and it sells like hotcakes by the time I wake up for my morning coffee. Janet black balled her damn self. You can't keep making subpar music and think people are going to ride with you just because you're Janet Jackson. Point blank. Drop the mic. End of story.

MTV did not play any of her videos and because NFL/CBS etc are all in conjunction and operated under Viacom which owns the air waves, they did not play any of Damita Jo or 20.YO on the radio at all. A NFL offical came out last year and said what they did was not right to Janet. Now you can believe what you want in your head but I will stick to receipts and quotes and Beyonce albums are not selling like anything. There was a recent thread that exposed her very medicore album sells. Its really really idiotic to sit here and argue that the Super Bowl aftermatch in no way hurt Janet's career. Its absolutely absurd to even suggest that.

[Edited 12/28/16 16:25pm]

Bless your heart, love. Bless your heart.

thesoulbrother said:

mjscarousal said:

What does that have to do with her being blacklisted in 2004 and 2005? Lawd help some of these posters!

Janet Jackson was not blacklisted in 2004 or 2005, my friend! Let's be real: You can't announce that you're going to do something "shocking" at the Super Bowl, have a boob fall out, claim it was a "wardrobe malfunction," and think the majority of America is going to say "It's okay, Janet." Before Janet even took the stage at the Super Bowl in 2004 she was all on TV saying things like "It's going to be shocking!" And don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest Janet Jackson admirers you will ever know but truth is truth. And the Damita Jo album wasn't very good! I was working in music retail at the time and couldn't give that shit away. Plus it came out right around the same time as Usher's Confessions which I could not keep on the shelves. It was a subpar album from an entertainer who is known to bring it with each album release. The "Just a Little While" video wasn't released in the States - and it should've been - but instead they released "I Want You" and I guess that was to capitalize on Kanye because he was the man then with The College Dropout. The biggest mistake she made at the time was saying "It was a wardrobe malfunction." The hell is that? She would've done better just keeping it real and saying "Okay y'all... my tittie fell out and it is what it is!" Laughed that shit off and let's move on because real fans like myself were like... okay. I'm sorry but there isn't some sort of conspiracy to keep Janet Jackson down. There isn't one. I don't think there are a group of Illuminati folks saying "Let's railroad Janet Jackson's career." All For You sold millions. Damita Jo and 20 YO went platinum. Discipline did gold, maybe barely platinum. Unbreakable did about 300,000 units. Her music changed and unfortunately it began to suffer. I was really up in arms with the "Feedback" song because that was some of whackest lyrics I had ever heard. How you go from some thought-provoking music like "State of the World" to saying "got me heavy like a first day period?" Really, Dunk? And once again, I don't give a damn who you are because in this music business you got to be consistent with your product. You don't disappear for years and think you're gonna come back and be the shit again. Especially when Beyonce can drop a surprise album at midnight and it sells like hotcakes by the time I wake up for my morning coffee. Janet black balled her damn self. You can't keep making subpar music and think people are going to ride with you just because you're Janet Jackson. Point blank. Drop the mic. End of story.

Wasn't it Justin Timberlake who coined the pharse wardrobe malfunction? you seem to have left him out in all of this.....they were both were at fault for what happened in 2004. In fact it was sponsored by MTV, who knew beforehand what Janet and Justin was planning (after all she did do a similar thing back in 1990 with Black Cat).....but when the shit hit the fan, both Justin and MTV threw her under the bus....and I think it took her by surprise. After all Michael was the media's whipping boy and she was the "normal" one in the Jackson Family.

For a while the media were very hostile towards her. eg. even Fox News Channel wanted to have her prosecuted, and accused her of pulling a smutty stunt to take the focus away from the MJ case.....calling her a pervert like her brother (looking at you Steve Dousey). As a result Janet copped the brunt of the backlash.....even Justin regrets years later admitted to not supporting her.....The Grammys banned her and when they have compilations of previous Grammy Performance Specials, they NEVER include Janet's classic performance in 1987....like she didn't exist. But you are correct there were miscalculations...... the combination of her age, some poor decision making with her music, PR and tours (along with Jackson family drama eg. 2010's "Grannygate"?) and the decline in record sales dating back to The Velvet Rope (1998) has affect Janet's career. People taste in music changes and some move on to other artists, genres etc. But I'm sure should Janet pass away (which I hope won't happen for a very long time)......those people who trashed in the media her etc, will be kissing her ass, and saying what a great inspiration she is blah blah blah. Maybe then she might one day get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

[Edited 12/28/16 22:30pm]

[Edited 12/28/16 22:33pm]

SoulAlive said:

mjscarousal said:

You are not a Janet Jackson fan and always have something negative to say about her. I don't like everything she has done myself but I can objectively acknowleged that she was black listed after the Super Bowl.

We'll have to agree to disagree I refuse to believe that,because Janet's breast was exposed at the Super Bowl,a bunch of music industry bigwigs got together and decided to destroy her career.That is ridiculous.I already listed some reasons why she was having career problems.It's not because of some big conspiracy.

Her career mistakes does not negate the fact that she was Black listed which you purposely choose to ignore because you dont like her.

[Edited 12/29/16 5:33am]

thesoulbrother said:

mjscarousal said:

MTV did not play any of her videos and because NFL/CBS etc are all in conjunction and operated under Viacom which owns the air waves, they did not play any of Damita Jo or 20.YO on the radio at all. A NFL offical came out last year and said what they did was not right to Janet. Now you can believe what you want in your head but I will stick to receipts and quotes and Beyonce albums are not selling like anything. There was a recent thread that exposed her very medicore album sells. Its really really idiotic to sit here and argue that the Super Bowl aftermatch in no way hurt Janet's career. Its absolutely absurd to even suggest that.

[Edited 12/28/16 16:25pm]

Bless your heart, love. Bless your heart.

No bless yours because you are naive as hell.

VoicesCarry said:

Yes, she was absolutely blacklisted at Top 40/Pop radio in 2004. That is well established.

But, there were multiple factors that contributed to her career decline.

1. She was 37 (nearly 38) when the the SuperBowl hit. Which means she had already hit the sell-by date for a female pop star (or a male one, for that matter). This is because Pop/Top 40 radio caters almost exclusively to the 18-34 demographic. (The same is not true for other radio formats, which tend to skew older.) It is exceedingly rare for an artist over 40 to garner significant airplay as they might once have in the 70's, 80's and even the 90's.

I should note (because I've seen some references to them in this thread) that tracks like Cher's "Believe", Jennifer Lopez's "On the Floor" or Madonna's "Music" do not refute this statement; they are outliers. Cher never had another substantial radio hit; J. Lo's smash benefited from a feature from a popular rapper, Pitbull; and "Music" was released at the tail end of the period when the over-40 set could get radio play. Since the Music era, Madonna has experienced great challenges at US radio herself - only "4 Minutes" made any great impact in the States, and you can attribute that to the Justin Timberlake feature.

For reference, here is the average age of lead artists on the Hot 100 over the past six decades:

1960s: 27.2
1970s: 29.9
1980s: 30.8
1990s: 27.9
2000s: 26.7
2010s: 26.8

2. "Just A Little While" was incredibly pop, and was never going to be well-received by either Urban or Rhythmic radio - two formats that had historically supported Janet, but that had shifted in tone since the release of "All For You". The immediate follow-up, "I Want You", was a moderate Urban and significant (top 5) Urban AC hit.

3. The singles from Damita Jo were simply underwhelming compared to her past hits. I suspect that if she'd released "All For You" post-SuperBowl, it would have been more difficult for Top 40 radio to ignore it. Let's be real: her output for the entire decade was incredibly disappointing as a whole considering this woman once released albums so strong she could release everything on them and have a hit.

The artists who have generally sustained their radio success beyond 40 have often transitioned to Urban AC, Hot AC and/or AC formats. It's interesting that Janet had a good radio success (Top 20 cross-format airplay) with Call On Me", the lead single from 20 Y.O.. It flopped at Top 40 but was a major success at Urban, Rhythmic and Urban AC. In 2008, "Feedback" flopped because it was a pop song by an R&B artist who hadn't had a pop hit in several years, so the chances of pop radio backing it without support from her core format as a launching pad was slim. Not to mention she was over 40 with over 25 years in the industry at the time, so she was already viewed as yesterday's news.

The same decline is now happening for Britney Spears, a Pop radio staple who is releasing Pop radio-ready singles - in fact, she just released her best album - but guess what, she's 35.

[Edited 12/28/16 18:24pm]

THANK YOU for this intelligent and objective critique.

SoulAlive said:

mjscarousal said:

You are not a Janet Jackson fan and always have something negative to say about her. I don't like everything she has done myself but I can objectively acknowleged that she was black listed after the Super Bowl.

We'll have to agree to disagree I refuse to believe that,because Janet's breast was exposed at the Super Bowl,a bunch of music industry bigwigs got together and decided to destroy her career.That is ridiculous.I already listed some reasons why she was having career problems.It's not because of some big conspiracy.

What planet on you living on? If the entertainment industry wants to be successful you will be if they do not you will fail. It has happened to dozens of artist. They black balled Prince but he was too hardheaded to stop putting out music and just did his own thing but he struggled to get music on RnB stations. People get blackballed. It happens.

VoicesCarry said:

Yes, she was absolutely blacklisted at Top 40/Pop radio in 2004. That is well established.

But, there were multiple factors that contributed to her career decline.

1. She was 37 (nearly 38) when the the SuperBowl hit. Which means she had already hit the sell-by date for a female pop star (or a male one, for that matter). This is because Pop/Top 40 radio caters almost exclusively to the 18-34 demographic. (The same is not true for other radio formats, which tend to skew older.) It is exceedingly rare for an artist over 40 to garner significant airplay as they might once have in the 70's, 80's and even the 90's.

I should note (because I've seen some references to them in this thread) that tracks like Cher's "Believe", Jennifer Lopez's "On the Floor" or Madonna's "Music" do not refute this statement; they are outliers. Cher never had another substantial radio hit; J. Lo's smash benefited from a feature from a popular rapper, Pitbull; and "Music" was released at the tail end of the period when the over-40 set could get radio play. Since the Music era, Madonna has experienced great challenges at US radio herself - only "4 Minutes" made any great impact in the States, and you can attribute that to the Justin Timberlake feature.

For reference, here is the average age of lead artists on the Hot 100 over the past six decades:

1960s: 27.2
1970s: 29.9
1980s: 30.8
1990s: 27.9
2000s: 26.7
2010s: 26.8

2. "Just A Little While" was incredibly pop, and was never going to be well-received by either Urban or Rhythmic radio - two formats that had historically supported Janet, but that had shifted in tone since the release of "All For You". The immediate follow-up, "I Want You", was a moderate Urban and significant (top 5) Urban AC hit.

3. The singles from Damita Jo were simply underwhelming compared to her past hits. I suspect that if she'd released "All For You" post-SuperBowl, it would have been more difficult for Top 40 radio to ignore it. Let's be real: her output for the entire decade was incredibly disappointing as a whole considering this woman once released albums so strong she could release everything on them and have a hit.

The artists who have generally sustained their radio success beyond 40 have often transitioned to Urban AC, Hot AC and/or AC formats. It's interesting that Janet had a good radio success (Top 20 cross-format airplay) with Call On Me", the lead single from 20 Y.O.. It flopped at Top 40 but was a major success at Urban, Rhythmic and Urban AC. In 2008, "Feedback" flopped because it was a pop song by an R&B artist who hadn't had a pop hit in several years, so the chances of pop radio backing it without support from her core format as a launching pad was slim. Not to mention she was over 40 with over 25 years in the industry at the time, so she was already viewed as yesterday's news.

The same decline is now happening for Britney Spears, a Pop radio staple who is releasing Pop radio-ready singles - in fact, she just released her best album - but guess what, she's 35.

[Edited 12/28/16 18:24pm]

-

I agree with your fair assessment of the situation.

laurarichardson said:

SoulAlive said:

mjscarousal said: We'll have to agree to disagree I refuse to believe that,because Janet's breast was exposed at the Super Bowl,a bunch of music industry bigwigs got together and decided to destroy her career.That is ridiculous.I already listed some reasons why she was having career problems.It's not because of some big conspiracy.

What planet on you living on? If the entertainment industry wants to be successful you will be if they do not you will fail. It has happened to dozens of artist. They black balled Prince but he was too hardheaded to stop putting out music and just did his own thing but he struggled to get music on RnB stations. People get blackballed. It happens.

Laura I know we don't agree on everything but dammit I agree with you on this!!!!!!

I really think janet's catalogue is strong enough to do a vegas residency. Maybe the travelling part gets to her when it comes to touring. If she did that, it can be successful like the number ones tour and keep her catalogue out there, and it'll be a draw for tourists. It's clear she will not be getting radio airplay anytime she puts out something new and has nothing to prove. But if she wants to be active in music again (and I can't say I blame her if she isn't), that's the perfect route to go.

[Edited 12/30/16 12:18pm]

alphastreet said:

I really think janet's catalogue is strong enough to do a vegas residency. Maybe the travelling part gets to her when it comes to touring. If she did that, it can be successful like the number ones tour and keep her catalogue out there, and it'll be a draw for tourists. It's clear she will not be getting radio airplay anytime she puts out something new and has nothing to prove. But if she wants to be active in music again (and I can't say I blame her if she isn't), that's the perfect route to go.

[Edited 12/30/16 12:18pm]

Well that is the only route that would work for her. Her touring reputation is shot at this point and its evident that Janet is not interested in being in the music industry anymore. I say she should do the residency and I think she would be successful at it but I think her ego will not allow her to do one though.

mjscarousal said:

VoicesCarry said:

Yes, she was absolutely blacklisted at Top 40/Pop radio in 2004. That is well established.

But, there were multiple factors that contributed to her career decline.

1. She was 37 (nearly 38) when the the SuperBowl hit. Which means she had already hit the sell-by date for a female pop star (or a male one, for that matter). This is because Pop/Top 40 radio caters almost exclusively to the 18-34 demographic. (The same is not true for other radio formats, which tend to skew older.) It is exceedingly rare for an artist over 40 to garner significant airplay as they might once have in the 70's, 80's and even the 90's.

I should note (because I've seen some references to them in this thread) that tracks like Cher's "Believe", Jennifer Lopez's "On the Floor" or Madonna's "Music" do not refute this statement; they are outliers. Cher never had another substantial radio hit; J. Lo's smash benefited from a feature from a popular rapper, Pitbull; and "Music" was released at the tail end of the period when the over-40 set could get radio play. Since the Music era, Madonna has experienced great challenges at US radio herself - only "4 Minutes" made any great impact in the States, and you can attribute that to the Justin Timberlake feature.

For reference, here is the average age of lead artists on the Hot 100 over the past six decades:

1960s: 27.2
1970s: 29.9
1980s: 30.8
1990s: 27.9
2000s: 26.7
2010s: 26.8

2. "Just A Little While" was incredibly pop, and was never going to be well-received by either Urban or Rhythmic radio - two formats that had historically supported Janet, but that had shifted in tone since the release of "All For You". The immediate follow-up, "I Want You", was a moderate Urban and significant (top 5) Urban AC hit.

3. The singles from Damita Jo were simply underwhelming compared to her past hits. I suspect that if she'd released "All For You" post-SuperBowl, it would have been more difficult for Top 40 radio to ignore it. Let's be real: her output for the entire decade was incredibly disappointing as a whole considering this woman once released albums so strong she could release everything on them and have a hit.

The artists who have generally sustained their radio success beyond 40 have often transitioned to Urban AC, Hot AC and/or AC formats. It's interesting that Janet had a good radio success (Top 20 cross-format airplay) with Call On Me", the lead single from 20 Y.O.. It flopped at Top 40 but was a major success at Urban, Rhythmic and Urban AC. In 2008, "Feedback" flopped because it was a pop song by an R&B artist who hadn't had a pop hit in several years, so the chances of pop radio backing it without support from her core format as a launching pad was slim. Not to mention she was over 40 with over 25 years in the industry at the time, so she was already viewed as yesterday's news.

The same decline is now happening for Britney Spears, a Pop radio staple who is releasing Pop radio-ready singles - in fact, she just released her best album - but guess what, she's 35.

[Edited 12/28/16 18:24pm]

She most definitely got blacklisted. It was a simpler era where presidents elect didn't walk around grabbing p^&&!#s and pop stars didn't flop out saggy boobs at nationally televised sporting events. I will say, however, that the blacklisting was mostly a thing of the past on the lead up to the drop of her latest album. She was getting that comeback buzz, but squandered that.

In my opinion, the Superbowl incident only rushed the inevitable decline in her popularity.

Prior to the Superbowl, she was seen as an icon and legend. After it, there was an undeniable smear campaign against Janet. The media and press did everything they could to tarnish her name and image.

Her breast wasn't exposed for more than a second, yet they acted as if she committed every sin imaginable.

Stepping away from the Superbowl, Janet has always performed all of her big hits, whether it's in concert or award shows. But I don't think she's done the needed work to maintain her music's longevity.

If she doesn't have an album, tour, or movie, she's gone. We don't see her doing any spot dates.

While I respect her private life, after a major incident like the Superbowl, not touring for Damita Jo and 20 Y.O., touring issues for Rock Witchu Tour and Unbreakable World Tour, it's seems like she's lost.

Truth is, she's comfortable where she's at in life and wants her work to speak for itself. Unbreakable is an amazing album. I'm surprised that she didn't do any interviews or live performances. She's closed herself off because she's truly tired. She grew up in the spotlight and saw what the industry did to her brother. She's VERY strong for coming back to the game and not giving up after a hard year in 2004.

But I do want her to do better. I'd LOVE for her music to get more recurrent play on Adult Contemporary radio ("Come Back To Me" is the ONLY single of hers to go #1 on that format), do another tv or concert special (I miss the 90's HBO and MTV specials), and overall, just let her presence be known.

She is too important to music and entertainment. She's influnced and paved the way for too many artists to be so overlooked. The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame has nominated her twice, but has past her up to induct hip-hop and rock acts.

In order for her legacy and contributions to truly withstand time, she has to make better career choices. I'm just not sure if that's a priority for her right now. Only time will tell...

[Edited 1/3/17 9:28am]

kishi said:

In my opinion, the Superbowl incident only rushed the inevitable decline in her popularity.

Prior to the Superbowl, she was seen as an icon and legend. After it, there was an undeniable smear campaign against Janet. The media and press did everything they could to tarnish her name and image.

Her breast wasn't exposed for more than a second, yet they acted as if she committed every sin imaginable.

Stepping away from the Superbowl, Janet has always performed all of her big hits, whether it's in concert or award shows. But I don't think she's done the needed work to maintain her music's longevity.

If she doesn't have an album, tour, or movie, she's gone. We don't see her doing any spot dates.

While I respect her private life, after a major incident like the Superbowl, not touring for Damita Jo and 20 Y.O., touring issues for Rock Witchu Tour and Unbreakable World Tour, it's seems like she's lost.

Truth is, she's comfortable where she's at in life and wants her work to speak for itself. Unbreakable is an amazing album. I'm surprised that she didn't do any interviews or live performances. She's closed herself off because she's truly tired. She grew up in the spotlight and saw what the industry did to her brother. She's VERY strong for coming back to the game and not giving up after a hard year in 2004.

But I do want her to do better. I'd LOVE for her music to get more recurrent play on Adult Contemporary radio ("Come Back To Me" is the ONLY single of hers to go #1 on that format), do another tv or concert special (I miss the 90's HBO and MTV specials), and overall, just let her presence be known.

She is too important to music and entertainment. She's influnced and paved the way for too many artists to be so overlooked. The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame has nominated her twice, but has past her up to induct hip-hop and rock acts.

In order for her legacy and contributions to truly withstand time, she has to make better career choices. I'm just not sure if that's a priority for her right now. Only time will tell...

[Edited 1/3/17 9:28am]

Very mature and rational comments on this topic. The only thing I disagree with is her "happiness". I question how happy she really is. IMO, she seems indifferent about the future of her music career. Now, I dont think she has anything to prove at this point. However, she should put more effort into preserving her legacy. I think she is closed off out of resentment and indifference from how the industry treated her. I don't think she is happy IMO. The decline in her career is very tragic because although the way she was treated was unfair, Janet also kinda gave up imo. I do like that she tried to give it one more shot with Unbreakable although she messed that up. I wish she would fire her manager and get a new camp of people around her. Although their is a smear campaign against her, she has also made poor career decisions. She NEEDS to invest in her legacy though. She needs to pick herself back up and stop feeling sorry for herself. You can still live a private life away from the spot light and still make your music accessible. Michael had it much much much much harder than her and he still invested in his legacy by producing box sets, DVDs, documentaries, collector editions, etc. I think what the industry has done to Janet has been horrible BUT that still is not an excuse for her not to invest in her legacy. If the industry wont, SHE should.

kitbradley said:

The industry didn't black ball Janet Jackson. Once black female singers hit 40, their hit making days are over. No high charting singles, very little to no radio support. The only way they can make money is by constantly touring or collecting royalties from previous songs that hopefully they wrote.

Right! I also read somewhere that Janet doesn't like to tour. So that might explain some of the constant cancellations (she had excused with the pregnancy though).

And plus Janet had been in the industry since a little girl. Maybe she just tired and want to chill during her second half of her life. I would rather see her doing that than just push herself hard to please the fans. That is what I like about Janet she does things her way and plus she wants to tour when she is ready.

To me she has nothing to prove. I also enjoyed her albums during years the most from 1982 to her Velvet Rope album.

As a major fan who followed the aftermath of SB I vividly remember the treatment of Janet - and it's safe to say she did suffer some kind of blacklisting in America - these are some of the examples to support this:

1. Just a little while - was the highest airplay gainer on the Billboard Top 100 a week (at top 50 debut ??) before the performance, at the time Janet was the airplay Queen (see the record breaking 'All for you' stats just 3 short years earlier) so it was no surprise here, but straight after the controversy she was taken off almost all station playlists and the track fell from the charts - she didn't have I-tunes to help recover from the slump in airplay.

2. She was disinvited to the 2004 Grammys as she refused to do another apology. I have never heard of this happening to another high profile star. At the Luther tribute that Janet was supposed to present, replacement Patti Labelle voiced her support for Janet which provided zero reaction from the audience - support for her seemed to be frowned upon.

3. Justin Timberlake and Michael Powell years later admitted the treatment of Janet was unfair. Powell even admitted the pressure he faced from his party forced him to be unfairly tough on Janet.

4. 'Damita Jo' received some of Janet's best reviews in years in Europe, but USA ones were brutal focusing more on SB than the actual music.

5. Support form peers and media was almost non-existent. I recall Perez Hilton likening Janet's appearance on the DJ album cover to a monkey, George Clooney blamed Janet's nipslip for a cancellation of a project and Lena Horne refused to allow her to play her in a movie.

I'm certain like 'Confession on the Dance floor' and 'The Emancipation of Mimi' Janet was on course to have a successful period in 2004, but she was blacklisted and ridiculed by the industry - the public and Europe followed like sheep. Look at Mariah's current situation - the woman's whole legacy is in danger of being tarnished from one performance.

I admit the two project that followed 'Damita Jo' had major issues and the content, promotion and single/ video choices prevented them from being successes along with Janet's age.

The industry is only now forgiving and she is getting love from media because it's a new generation of writers and critics who are the same age group as me and are fans - they are not the same people who treated her so unforgivingly in 2004. But all this love and support for Janet is too late - she too old and uninterested to have commercial success now.

kitbradley said:

The industry didn't black ball Janet Jackson. Once black female singers hit 40, their hit making days are over. No high charting singles, very little to no radio support. The only way they can make money is by constantly touring or collecting royalties from previous songs that hopefully they wrote.

OldFriends4Sale said:

IDK after Velvet Rope she kind just fell into a rutt to me

yep...

blackballed?..or, got old?...happens to all of us...she had an amzing run... no need to conjure up conspiracies...its someone else's time now...

kishi said:

In my opinion, the Superbowl incident only rushed the inevitable decline in her popularity.

Prior to the Superbowl, she was seen as an icon and legend. After it, there was an undeniable smear campaign against Janet. The media and press did everything they could to tarnish her name and image.

Her breast wasn't exposed for more than a second, yet they acted as if she committed every sin imaginable.

Stepping away from the Superbowl, Janet has always performed all of her big hits, whether it's in concert or award shows. But I don't think she's done the needed work to maintain her music's longevity.

If she doesn't have an album, tour, or movie, she's gone. We don't see her doing any spot dates.

While I respect her private life, after a major incident like the Superbowl, not touring for Damita Jo and 20 Y.O., touring issues for Rock Witchu Tour and Unbreakable World Tour, it's seems like she's lost.

Truth is, she's comfortable where she's at in life and wants her work to speak for itself. Unbreakable is an amazing album. I'm surprised that she didn't do any interviews or live performances. She's closed herself off because she's truly tired. She grew up in the spotlight and saw what the industry did to her brother. She's VERY strong for coming back to the game and not giving up after a hard year in 2004.

But I do want her to do better. I'd LOVE for her music to get more recurrent play on Adult Contemporary radio ("Come Back To Me" is the ONLY single of hers to go #1 on that format), do another tv or concert special (I miss the 90's HBO and MTV specials), and overall, just let her presence be known.

She is too important to music and entertainment. She's influnced and paved the way for too many artists to be so overlooked. The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame has nominated her twice, but has past her up to induct hip-hop and rock acts.

In order for her legacy and contributions to truly withstand time, she has to make better career choices. I'm just not sure if that's a priority for her right now. Only time will tell...

[Edited 1/3/17 9:28am]

Great points