Awww cute story about a Janet fan finding Janhova's blessing again

[janet.1814]

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/super/super/view/20110129-317206/My-journey-with-Janet

I had mixed feelings about her brother Michael but I was always sure about my love for Janet Jackson

I HAD mixed feelings about her brother Michael but I was always sure about my love for Janet Jackson.

My first brush with Janet was in 1989. Back then, my extended family loved coming up with variety shows for big parties—we seriously could put That’s Entertainment to shame. It was someone’s birthday and my aunts, who were just a few years older than me, were planning to dance to Janet’s hit “Rhythm Nation.” They choreographed, they rehearsed and—they had no choice—I joined in. I was only nine years old and I didn’t have a single graceful bone in my body but I didn’t care—I was part of the “Rhythm Nation.”

“Let’s Wait A While” was the first Janet Jackson song I learned to sing and I sang it with gusto, never mind that it was inappropriate for a little girl who had yet to hit puberty to be singing about waiting before having sex.

In 1993, Janet released her album “Janet.” and people fell in love with the song “Again.” Naturally, I spent hours and hours singing that song too. We had a rocking karaoke system—I’m surprised the neighbors never complained. But I felt that everyone loved that song too much (from radio stations to my friends) so I chose a new favorite from the album—“Where Are You Now?” I loved it so much and at 13, I felt like I owned that song.

Strong and fearless

“Because Of Love,” “Whoops Now,” “Runaway”—Janet churned out hit after hit and I ate them all up. But my love for Janet wasn’t just about hit songs. She was a strong, creative, fearless woman and I wanted to be like her one day.

The Velvet Rope was the peak of my relationship with Janet Jackson. It came out when I was a college freshman and it became the soundtrack of my life. Velvet Rope was darker than her previous releases. Even “Together Again” had dark undertones— Janet wrote it for the people she’s lost to AIDS.

I knew the entire album by heart. I could play Got ‘Til It’s Gone, I Get Lonely and Every Time over and over and not get tired of them. And her videos held me captive. I never switched to a different channel when they played on MTV.

But I let go of Janet soon after Velvet Rope. I found other rocking women to love—Alanis Morissette, Gwen Stefani, Rachael Yamagata—and let Janet slip away.

Rekindling

I enjoyed her new releases including “Doesn’t Really Matter” and “All For You” but I didn’t rekindle my love for her until 2009 when my band decided to play a beer-drenched version of “Someone To Call My Lover.”

It was only when I listened to that song again and again on my iPod to prepare for rehearsal that I realized how much I missed her.

Earlier this year, when my friends and I first heard that Singapore was one of Janet’s world tour stops, we said, “Oh my god, let’s fly to Singapore!”

And then we heard that there was going to be a concert in Hong Kong, too.

We were still trying to decide between Hong Kong and Singapore when we heard the great news that she was coming to Manila first.

For days, people kept asking, “Are you watching Janet?”

Yes, yes, I am. I owe it to the nine-year-old girl who danced (badly) to “Rhythm Nation,” I owe it to the little girl singing about sex, I owe it to the college girl who found a friend in a CD, I owe it to the woman who made that CD.

One friend asked, “Mahal yung ticket niyo?”

I answered, “Let’s put it this way—we will probably eat nothing but cereal in February.”

Cereal. For a whole month. But that’s a small price to pay for seeing one of your heroes up close.