H
aving been born into music’s royal
family, it was inevitable that Janet
Jackson, the youngest sibling, would
eventually fi nd herself in the music
industry. While she had harboured a
childhood dream of becoming a horse
racing jockey, her disciplinarian father
had other ideas and steered her into
a string of unfulfi lling ventures in the
entertainment industry. It wasn’t until
18-year-old Janet took charge of her
life, fi ring Joe as her manager and eloping with
singer James DeBarge, that her career began to
take shape.
The marriage didn’t work out but it taught
Janet valuable life lessons and provided her
with the inspiration for her breakthrough album,
Control. Along with her musical soulmates
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet created
a dance-pop opus with themes of control,
independence and self-respect prevalent.
It was the beginning of an extraordinary run
of success that would see her score four more
multi-million-selling albums, countless hit singles,
innovative videos, spectacular tours and fi lms
as well as being an impassioned spokespersonfor issues such as racism, poverty, drug abuse,
homophobia, illiteracy and AIDS awareness.
A bona fi de music icon, Janet performed
at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004, an
appearance that changed her life. The now
infamous “wardrobe malfunction” resulted in
her being blacklisted by various media outlets,
something which had a catastrophic effect on
her career and future album sales.
While the most shocking thing on display that
day wasn’t Janet’s breast, but America’s blatant
sexism and racism (her duet partner Justin
Timberlake’s career fl ourished subsequently),
Janet bore the brunt of the fallout.
A string of underperforming albums followed
before Janet took a break from the music
industry altogether to pursue a career in acting,
then heading back into the studio with Jam
& Lewis for 2015’s triumphant return – her
Unbreakable album.
With a musical legacy spanning four decades
and an infl uence that is inherent in performers
such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Britney, Janet’s
return to the stage and the studio later this year
will be a welcome comeback for the leader of
the ‘Rhythm Nation’.DOWN
THE LOWJANET JACKSON
HAVING ESTABLISHED
HERSELF AS A
PIONEERING FIGURE
IN THE WORLDS OF
MUSIC, FASHION,
DANCE AND FILM,
JANET JACKSON IS
LIVING PROOF THAT
INDEPENDENCE AND
TAKING CONTROL IS
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
M A R K
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