YMMV / Janet Jackson

• Award Snub: Despite being eligible since 2007, Janet Jackson was not nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until 2016...and didn't actually get inducted until 2019. For context, her contemporaries Madonna, Michael Jackson (who was inducted twice), and Prince were all inducted by 2008. It was so egregious that even Janet in her acceptance speech had to bluntly tell the Foundation to induct more women.
• Awesome Music: It's safe to say Janet was second only to her brother. Pretty much all of Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 and janet. count. But there are some standouts:
  • "Nasty" is considered a classic in her discography and cited as the song most responsible for kicking off the New Jack Swing sound that would go on to change R&B forever.
  • "Control", "What Have You Done For Me Lately", and "The Pleasure Principle" are notable 80s hits that focused on female agency and gender equality in relationships, while also just being extremely danceable.
  • "Let's Wait Awhile" is a sweet ballad about sexual abstinence and postponing sexual intimacy that manages to NOT feel preachy or accusatory.
  • "Rhythm Nation". "Rhythm. Freaking. Nation." As stated below, it is one of her signature songs, and for good reason. Aside from being a pretty epic dance-pop/new jack swing track, the song calls for social justice and equity. Also, the music video (and the short film) is pretty stellar.
  • "Miss You Much" and Escapade are pretty iconic dance pop bops.
  • "Black Cat" is a great rock song and the first song Jackson wrote completely on her own.
  • "Throb" is a pretty epic house jam.
  • "Got 'til It's Gone". Hands down. Alternative hip hop instrumental infused with R&B? Check. Great sultry vocals from Janet? Check. Great rap verse from Q Tip? Check. Oh and did we mention the guest vocals from Joni Mitchell? Check and check.
  • While we're at it, Janet's darkest and most introspective album:The Velvet Rope. Not just the killer opening title track, but the entire album. Even online music critic Anthony Fantano considers it a classic.
  • "Together Again", "Free Xone", the cover of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night", "I Get Lonely" and "Empty" are notable examples.
• Best Known for the Fanservice: Her scandal at the 2004 Super Bowl drew more attention afterwards than the actual game.
• Broken Base: The interludes. While they are staple in her discography, they definitely have their detractors who feel that they can get distracting. However, the "Let's Dance" interlude on Rhythm Nation 1814 is pretty universally loved.
• Epic Riff: "Black Cat". "If" and "Scream" are also notable.
• Even Better Sequel:
  • Rhythm Nation 1814 is this to Control.
  • The Velvet Rope is also considered this to janet..
• Growing the Beard: Control, her third album, was where she found her voice.
• Fandom Rivalry: A pretty nasty one with Madonna fans. Being two of the most innovative and popular female pop stars of the 80s, 90s, and the early 2000s, there is a debate over who is the more groundbreaking pop diva. It doesn’t help that the two have made potshots at each other in interviews over the course of their career.
  • And don’t even get people started on who is considered the "Queen of Pop". Even with the title often being reserved for Madonna, it is not unheard of to see it invoked for Janet Jackson as well. The title has also been debated vehemently for various pop divas, particularly Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and most recently, Ariana Grande.
  • Speaking of Beyonce, there is a peculiar rivalry between certain Janet and Beyonce fans. Many Janet fans will go out of their way to let fans of Beyonce know that whatever Beyonce does, Janet did it first. Many Beyonce fans will state that whatever Janet did first, Beyonce does better. Despite this, Beyonce (quite obviously) cites Janet Jackson as a huge influence, while Janet thinks these comparisons are very stupid.
  • With Justin Timberlake fans. It's not uncommon to hear about how Justin “threw Janet under the bus” when it came to the controversy surrounding the Wardrobe Malfunction. While Janet was blacklisted from various radio and music channels AND forced to withdraw from performing at the 46th Grammy Awards after the incident, Justin’s career continued to grow and he was permitted to perform at Grammys as scheduled. Years later, his divisive Superbowl Halftime Performance (and the annual performances that followed) were dubbed by many on the internet as "Janet Jackson Appreciation Day".
• Fanon Discontinuity: You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who acknowledges her first two albums, Janet Jackson (1982) and Dream Street (1984).
• Friendly Fandoms:
  • Naturally (or perhaps shockingly), Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson fans tend to get along just fine, even overlapping in many cases. It helps that the two borrowed from each other at various points in their career—despite having different sounds—and had always shown genuine respect, love, and support for one another as siblings.
  • Prince fans also seem to enjoy Janet’s work, as most of her albums have been produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who are both ex-Prince collaborators and pioneers of the Minneapolis sound.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Her character Patricia's breakdown scene in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? is a lot more heartbreaking when you realize that Janet found out about her brother’s death during filming.
  • Her character on Good Times, Penny Gordon Woods, endured brutal physical abuse by her biological mother before she was adopted. As if the scenes weren’t hard enough to watch already, it’s even worse when you consider the alleged physical abuse that Janet's siblings endured at the hands of their father.
• LGBT Fanbase: Like many pop divas, Janet has a huge LGBT fanbase. She also gets bonus points for being an actual LGBT rights activist, receiving various awards for her contributions both in and outside of her music.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "_________ if you're nasty.
  • "Get the point? Good. Let's dance!" (Michael even used this quote in his live performances of his song "Dangerous")
  • "Happy Janet Jackson Appreciation Day!"
• Minority Show Ghetto:
  • In spite of the heavy R&B influences on albums like Control, Rhythm Nation 1814, janet., and The Velvet Rope — all of these albums were able to generate many, many hits and crossover appeal. Granted, Janet and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated (and in some ways created) various pop sounds on multiple tracks, but since this is during a time when it was genuinely hard for black artists to crossover, it’s very noteworthy.
  • That being said, after the Wardrobe Malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show, Janet was completely blacklisted from all Viacom owned properties, including MTV, CBS, and various radio stations. Her music was forcibly relegated to more R&B focused music outlets.
• Nightmare Fuel: "What About" from The Velvet Rope details a very graphic depiction of domestic abuse, infidelity, and sexual assault.
• No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: One theory was that the "malfunction" mentioned above was a deliberate attempt on her part to invoke this trope. On one side, she lit up the gossip sites and was the focus of incredible media attention. On the other hand, the media blackout on Janet that followed continued for several years, causing 2006's 20 Y.O. and 2008's Discipline to underperform in sales and on the charts. It didn't help that her next single after the incident, a very sexual song called "All Nite (Don't Stop)", left MTV and other outlets a little gun-shy about promoting her music.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: For pretty much a decade, the Wardrobe Malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show was all people would talk about in reference to Janet Jackson.
  • However in recent years, after a critically acclaimed album in 2015, a Vegas residency, and the #MeToo movement causing former CBS CEO Les Moonves (who was actively responsible for Janet Jackson’s blacklisting) to step down amid sexual harassment allegations, she has reached a resurgence in popularity.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • One of Janet's friends in the music video for "That's The Way Love Goes" is a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez.
  • Two of the models featured in the music video for "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" are Antonio Sabato, Jr. and Djimon Hounsou.
• Signature Song: "Nasty", "Rhythm Nation", and "That's The Way Love Goes" are the top contenders. However, "If", "Together Again" and "All For You" are the runner-ups in a very extensive discography.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Control, to her first two albums— so much so that there are many people who consider it to be her real debut album. Many are even surprised to find out that it wasn’t.
• Tear Jerker:
  • "Together Again", despite being an uptempo dance house track, is still an ode to her friend whom she lost to AIDS and a song about accepting the death of a loved one.
  • Her tribute performance to her brother at the 2009 Galaxy Awards counts as both this and a Moment of Awesome.
• Values Resonance: "Empty", which dealt with online relationships. The lyrics are just as, if not much more relatable in the age of Facebook and Twitter than when the song was released in 1997.

---