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The Janet Jackson Praise Thread


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Always Imitated, Never Duplicated: Everything In Pop Music That Janet Jackson Did First

We’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking album Janet Jackon’s Rhythm Nation 1814 and bowing down before the pop goddess that is Janet Jackson. Almost from the start Janet was a trailblazer, fusing pop, R&B and hip-hop, raising the bar for music video choreography,  speaking out about social injustice and breaking racial and sexual taboos. The trends she started in fashion and music can still be seen in the work of today’s female stars, such as Ciara, Britney Spears and Beyonce among many others.

 

We’re not the only ones who think Janet changed the course of females in pop music. In the video below, see how others reflect on how the star influenced their lives. Her infectious dance moves and confidence oozed sexiness. Her messages were empowering. And if you thought your other favorite pop divas were completely original, your mind is about to be blown. Here are all of the things Janet did first, that everyone else couldn’t resist doing too.

1. Janet Set The Record For Top 5 Singles from A Single Album

RhythmNation1814

All seven of RN’s commercial singles – “Miss You Much,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Escapade,” “Alright,” “Come Back to Me,” “Black Cat,” and “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” – hit the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, even breaking the record previously set by brother Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Her record still hasn’t been broken.

2. Janet Was The First Woman To Create A Long-Form Music Video

Long before Yonce left us in shock and awe over her surprise self-titled visual album, Janet was blowing our minds with the groundbreaking long form “Rhythm Nation” video. Her iconic unisex militant attire, complex choreography and black and white coloring of the video was meant to erase the barriers between people of different races. Janet has said, “There were so many races in that video, from black to white and all the shades of gray in between.” Her song and video tried to start a movement, while other pop singers, like Madonna, were creating videos like this.

 

3. Janet Rocked High Waisted Pants And Chiseled Abs Before Everyone Else

janet-abs

Janet coined this signature look of the 1990s and later used by just about every pop star and model of the era and you know it.

4. Janet Took Music Video Choreography To The Next Level
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSH12tHfRas
Before Britney Spears and Beyonce, Janet truly raised to bar on dancing in her music videos. While Madonna was still frolicking and rolling around in a wedding dresses, Janet was getting down with her bad self. Next time you see a pop singer working it with intricate group choreography while singing, know that Miss J did that shizz first.

5. Janet Was The First Female Artist To Have Multiple No. 1 Hits From A Single Album In Three Separate Years

“Miss You Much” (’89), “Escapade” and “Black Cat” (’90), and “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” (’91) were all from Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 and rose to the top of the charts in three consecutive calendar years.

6. Janet Was The First African-American Pop Singer To Promote Feminism Through Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmTd1fky3AQ
“Listen up. I’m not a prude, I just want some respect.” Until the ’80s, feminism in music was hard to find and when you did it was it mostly the provence of marginal white artists operating on rock’s fringe.  It was “crossover” music star Jackson who really explored the subject and brought the perspectives of African-American women into the conversation. As noted rock critic Anthony DeCurtis said , the combination of Janet’s lyrics and presence allowed for  “[a] product that has as one of its aims the betterment of black people and the creation of role models for black women.” Janet was teaching women everywhere not to take any s–t from men, long before Beyonce preached feminism with “***Flawless.”

7. Janet Jackson Was The First Women  To Break Down The Racial Barriers In Pop

In Rhythm Nation’s introduction, Janet states: “We are a nation with no geographic boundaries… pushing toward a world rid of color lines.” Just years prior to the album’s release, radio was strictly segragated between white rock and pop bands and black R&B singers and rappers. Then Janet came on the scene and helped build the bridge between these isolated genres, fusing hip-hop hooks with R&B soul and a sleek pop sheen, starting a new revolution through music and dance.

8. Janet Was The First Female African-American Artist To Explore Her Sexuality In Public
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m33PlctkFrU
With hits like “Anytime, Any Place” and “If,” it was clear that Janet was striking against the taboo of women talking about their sexuality. Although Madonna beat her to the punch by making jaws drop with her 1984 hit “Like a Virgin,” Janet was the first black singer in the pop genre to do the same. Tina Turner and Whitney Houston were not telling men to call out their name or ask who it belonged to and they certainly wouldn’t go to the extremes of The Velvet Rope album where Jackson explored themes of BDSM.

9. Janet Jackson Was The First Female To Win A Grammy For Best Long Form Music Video

Janet Jackson took home the Best Music Video, Long Form gold for “Rhythm Nation” in 1990, the first female artist in music history to do so.

 

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5 hours ago, State of the Game said:

Trendrr isn’t exactly a credible source by putting Janet at #1 :blink: 

Her music is better than her acting 

I never said it was but it's something positive lol. I think you might be thinking they listed her as the best actress but they said hottest as in looks.

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via NYLON magazine

Janet Jackson’s ‘Discipline’ Was Way Ahead Of Its Time

In honor of the album’s 10th anniversary, we explore why

Janet Jackson’s 10th studio album, Discipline, was ahead of its time when it came out in 2008. People were hoping for something a little more like 2006′s 20 Y.O., something like... Well, honestly? We don’t really know. What were people expecting from Jackson? She was—and remains—pop royalty, a diva in her own right, and had recently been through a PR nightmare—thanks to Justin Timberlake. If she’d released an album reminiscent of Rhythm Nation 1814, it would have been reductive. She had to do something drastic, something that moved the needle in a way only Jackson could. Discipline may not have been the album people thought they wanted, but it sure as hell was the album Jackson needed to release.

Let’s not forget, Jackson was in a peculiar place 10 years ago. She had left Virgin Records on poor terms and was still reeling from being virtually blacklisted following the Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” four years earlier. At the same time, the pop scene was spiraling; the release of Britney Spears’ Blackout in late 2007 laid the foundation for Top 40′s imminent club-friendly renaissance, which would only be further cemented when Lady Gaga released a juggernaut called “Just Dance” in April 2008. The sound Jackson helped make iconic was being replaced with a much more electronic sound. So, instead of going against the grain, Jackson went with it, linking up with Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile, and then-beau Jermaine Dupri to imbue her brand of R&B with flourishes of pop’s future.

The result is a 22-song deep album that, if released today, would have the kids gagging. Jackson may have leaned a bit too far into the future a decade ago, but, even then, its lead single, “Feedback,” banged. (It still does!) As a fey 15-year-old anxiously anticipating pop’s next Blackoutmoment, songs like “So Much Betta” and “Rollercoaster” felt revolutionary to me. Jackson was flexing Missy x Timbaland-inspired productions through a decidedly pop lens. Though her voice is processed to no end, the raw sexuality and flirtation are still palpable. A decade in and the songs still go hard.

Look, did Ms. Janet create a masterpiece with Discipline? No. The interludes, which run aplenty on Discipline, went against the burgeoning singles-only culture iTunes was fostering then, bastardizing the concept of an album altogether. But in between those seconds-long tracks are honest and true jams: “What’s Ur Name” is a sensual highlight trapezing with fetishism and hookup culture; “2nite” takes the anticipation of sex to a disco cosmos; “Discipline” is an ode to S&M wrapped in an impeccable soulful package. When Jackson drops the “yo” in you for “Rock With U,” she pushes the song Michael made famous in 1979 to 2079 where sensuality and carnality have somehow become bedfellows. It’s future-funk, and it’s infectious. But what else would you expect from “Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty”? Restraint? Please. A little discipline is more like it.

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