Janet Jackson gives fans what they want in Portsmouth

[Reyna ♔]

After more than 30 years of impressive runs in film, TV and pop, perhaps Janet Jackson has earned the right to celebrate herself in a tour. It’s almost impossible to imagine the careers of Britney Spears, Rihanna and Beyonce without her.

The show, “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal,” which stopped at nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Portsmouth last night, never felt like an ego trip.

In an interview in the Pilot last week, Janet said the tour was a thank-you to the fans. And Tuesday’s sold-out show felt like a hug. It promotes her latest release, 2009’s “Number Ones,” a double-disc greatest hits collection. She crammed almost all 35 smashes in the two-hour show mostly in the form of medley. Backed by six dancers and an eight-piece band, the 45-year-old superstar truncated the choreography from her iconic videos, staples on MTV back in the ’80s and early ’90s.

In fact, she opened the show with a clip of her dancing 20-year-old self. Before Janet took the stage donning a flowing weave, skin-tight jeans, boots and a black tank top, the full video for “The Pleasure Principle” played on the giant screen above the sleek two-tier stage set. She dedicated it to the people of Portsmouth, establishing a personal touch to the show before appearing on stage.

Afterward, Janet performed her greatest hits as if they were on an iPod shuffle, which is probably the way most fans hear them these days. She started with the hits from her 1986 breakthrough, “Control,” including the title track and “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” Then she touched on smashes from “Rhythm Nation 1814” and “janet.,” her two biggest albums following “Control.” She mostly breezed through hits from subsequent efforts, including 1997’s flawed “The Velvet Rope.”

In between the high-energy performances, where Janet’s moves were sharp and the weave tossing dramatic and frequent, she flashed back to her career on the big and small screen. Clips of her acting, starting with the memorable child-abuse scene from her stint on the ’70s TV show “Good Times” and ending with the over-the-top scorned-wife performance from last year’s “Why Did I Get Married Too,” played overhead during one of her well-timed breaks from the stage.

Throughout the show, Janet balanced professionalism with warmth. She performed with the intense impeccably made-up diva face often captured in her glamour shots. A slideshow of her various looks over the years filled the screen for several minutes at one point.

Janet paused here and there – eyes searing, hand on hip, weave tossed out of her face -- to take in the adoration. Or maybe it was a fierce way to take a breather between all that dancing. Either way, she was the consummate pro giving the fans what they came to see: a well-aged pop star who knows her worth.

Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/janet-jackson-gives-fans-what-they-want-portsmouth

:wub: :wub: :wub:

I can't wait to see her tomorrow