The Resurrection of the Talented Ms. Janet

Janet
Jackson: There are so many ways to slice this talent, this sex
symbol, this icon. Icon, defined as “the object of great attention
and devotion” is a term that indisputably — yes, I said
indisputably — fits her like a glove. One of the most strikingly
beautiful women on the planet, Janet’s megawatt smile has been
decking entertainment enthusiasts since 1973. We virtually grew up
together.

As I sit here and
listen to one of Janet’s greatest hits releases, Design of a
Decade for inspiration, my mind is transported to so many
memorable moments in my life. I’m back in 1987 swooning over my
first serious crush with “Let’s Wait Awhile” and “Funny How
Time Flies.” I move on to 1988 and I’m working at a shopping mall
ice cream parlor watching all the girls go by to the music of
“Pleasure Principle” in my mind. Then I’m in my college dorm
room in 1989 talking trash to my college sweetheart with “Come Back
to Me” playing in the background. And then it’s 1994 and I’m
approaching the ATL skyline in a car full of excited college buddies
headed to Freaknik and singing “That’s the Way Love Goes.” You
remember those abs? I could go on, but that’s what is so telling
about Janet’s career — the fact that those recollections don’t
even begin to scratch the surface of how she has been part of the
tapestry of some of our most transforming experiences — and that’s
just from my limited perspective.

Just think, she
started out with pigtails and a wispy voice, doing the “I can
barely dance” shuffle and moving from side-to-side with a mildly
seductive wiggle on stage with her brothers. Humble beginnings for
sure, but Ms. “I guess I’m nasty” Janet went on to usher in
many cultural movements during her long tenure as a recording artist
— and more aptly put — as an entertainer. She’s covered
television, film, music and dance. The latter two bear separation
because her dancing was just as big, if not bigger, than her music,
and it left an indelible mark on each medium.

Besides the
Jackson’s variety show, Janet went from playing Penny on “Good
Times,” whose infamous iron scene is permanently etched into pop
culture anals, to Charlene on “Diff’rent Strokes,” whose
feathered hair and popped collar had young girls emulating her and
young men salivating over her. She became a phenom that transcended
well beyond the confines of R&B music.

And then there is
her exalted status with music lovers in the gay community, who are
notorious for taking stars to that other level, the one that’s
beyond next. Janet had to find her footing in an industry where vocal
powerhouses like Mariah and Whitney dominated, but she found her lane
and ran in it with determined and calculated might, leaving scores of
performers in her dust. How can I mention her name in the same
sentence with two of the most revered vocalists of all time, you ask?
Again, 100 million records sold worldwide and one of the highest paid
recording artist of all time. Need I say more?

Her ability to
capture the attention of fans and foes alike, by continually
reinventing herself and allowing her life to unfold through her music
earned her a good run as a maestro for pop culture. She kept males
mesmerized and had females across the country catching attitude with
“What Have You Done for Me Lately,” while dying and flat ironing
their hair and dancing like maniacs to achieve her swagger in the
“Pleasure Principle” video. Janet went on to inspire the bamboo
earring fad and the key fad. She introduced independence and social
consciousness to many who otherwise would not have had a clue. And
the more I write about her, the farther the closing paragraph seems
to move away. I feel like I’m afflicted with Alice in Wonderland
syndrome!

I will concede that
my emphasis has mainly been on what Janet has delivered in the ‘80s
and early ‘90s, which begs the question, “what has she done for
fans lately?” and there begins the debate.

Has her illustrious
career run its course? With three commercially failed but critically
accepted albums (Damita Jo, 20 Y.O., Discipline),
and an apparent inability to sell out arenas as she did in the past,
one has to wonder if her star has burned completely out. Her
detractors, many of whom are converts that defected after the
infamous 2004 Super Bowl scandal, seem to think or even hope so. In
fact, many say that the Super Bowl incident was her last rite and
pronounced her dead. But they’ve forgotten about how impactful
Janet has been over the decade plus since then. We’ve seen the
return of her being a household name and witnessed her legendary
ability to reinvent herself. How many false starts did Mariah have
before she hit pay dirt with The Emancipation of Mimi?
A few — including a highly publicized breakdown — but she’s
back. Hmmmmm …

Our once
practically-universally-beloved youngest Jackson sibling is no
“Janet-come-lately,” and should not be counted out, let alone
abandoned by longtime fans. If you consider that over a decade ago
she took a decidedly mediocre voice, a team of focused and hungry
producers and a birthright ability to entertain, and built an empire
for herself, you might consider holding off on declaring her career
dead at this point. One mo’ time: she’s sold over 100 million
records worldwide and is one of the highest paid recording artists
ever.

Jackson has wrongly
been compared to the likes of Ciara, Aaliyah — and the closer
comparison — Beyoncé Knowles. No disrespect to those ladies at
all, but even the most accomplished of them has to circle the block
quite a few more times before even coming close to the résumé of
Damita Jo.

Praise aside, I’m
actually with those that have questioned the merits of her vocal
abilities over the years and in light of that, what is next for her
now that her signature dance moves have become more of an arduous
task. But when the coin is flipped, and I take a look at how
masterfully she used what she had and blazed a trail for herself that
few urban artists have achieved, I can’t help but squash my
negativity. Furthermore, I’m nine paragraphs deep and have yet to
mention her beyond-iconic brother’s name … and still won’t,
because I don’t have to. Janet made it a point to dig deep within
herself and pull out everything she had to offer. Janet Damita Jo
Jackson became “Janet” almost entirely on her own and when you
hit that single-word-name stride — sans a few exceptions — you’ve
arrived. She did it bigger and sexier than most, earning enormous
respect along the way.

I’m gonna have to
linger on that last term, respect, for a second. I’ve had several
conversations over the past few days about Janet’s career and what
it has become. The comments have ranged from “she’s the greatest
thing since sliced bread” to “she’s washed up and needs to call
it a day.” I have a problem with the latter. How can such a
resoundingly successful and storied artist like Janet be spoken of in
those terms? Where is the respect? Yes she’s aged, but despite the
fact that she barely looks it, isn’t that what we’re supposed to
do? Let’s be real, celebrities grow older just as we do. Got it?
OK, that’s out of the way.

Left to question is
how she’s handling it, which calls her “fans” on the carpet.
Have we allowed her to age gracefully and produce a product that is
commensurate with where she is in life or have we wrangled her into
the conundrum of walking the fine line between remaining commercially
relevant while satisfying her simultaneously aging, non-record buying
demographic? Do we have any culpability in where she finds herself
now with three poor performing albums and low tour support? Is there
a double standard at work?

Let somebody like
Madonna, Elton John, Cher, or other Caucasian artists release a
record or announce a tour; fans and supporters come out of the
woodwork.The tours sell out and the records go platinum almost
instantly, whether their voices are still good or not. So, while
we’re criticizing the life out of our legends, those on the other
team are prospering almost unto the grave.

And speaking of
criticizing, Janet faces a considerably tougher crowd than she did at
the height of her career. Not only does she have to deal with the
trained, yet sharp-tongued professionals of traditional media, but
she now has the misfortune of reaching this delicate phase in her
career when ill-intentioned personal blogs are dictating the flow of
publicity. You can literally watch the public’s opinion of an
artist sway from good to bad from one day to the next, driven by
rumor, gratuitous vitriol, or just straight up lies. It’s murder on
the many gifted, but naturally fallible artists who are simply trying
to make it, and Janet is no exception. Michael (oops! I said it)
endured the same crippling scrutiny.

To her credit,
Janet appears to be well aware of her plight and the need to go back
to the drawing board. She’s placing more emphasis on acting and has
announced in recent interviews that she has no plans of releasing
another album anytime soon. Our girl is growing weary of the fickle
nature of the business, especially for black artists. She did provide
music for the soundtrack to Tyler Perry’s new release, Why Did I
Get Married Too, which has also been her acting vehicle of choice
lately — albeit to mixed reviews — and she has a few random
singles floating around, but that’s it. You can’t blame a girl
for trying.

Through
the course of my far from exhaustive analysis, I’ve decided to
stand behind the icon I’ve helped to build. Her talent and
pioneering spirit have helped to move my life along in so many
different ways, and for that at the very least, she deserves my
respect. No matter how big she became, she never abandoned the black
community, unless I missed something, so to abandon her like some
fans did after the ‘04 Super Bowl would be almost criminal.