The start of the millennium seemed to foreshadow another era of pop domination for Janet Jackson. She had a number one single and a hit movie. Her divorce from long time husband Rene Elizondo spawned an album, "All for You," celebrating the freedoms of the single life, which subsequently then spawned another successful, massive tour. Fast forward to half-time at Super Bowl XXXVII in 2004. After performing a medley of her own hits, out comes special guest Justin Timberlake and with one line ("Bet I have you naked by the end of this song") and a "wardrobe malfunction," everything went down hill from there.
What followed for Janet post-Superbowl was a string of failed albums and a tour plagued with illness. All the while there was talk of career extinction. To top it all off, her family suffered a dizzying blow when her brother, the King of Pop Michael Jackson, died suddenly in the summer of 2009. Things weren't all bad though. Jackson revived her long neglected movie career by taking a leading role in Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married" and "Why Did I Get Married Too".
But most recently Lady Luck seems to be looking Janet's way. After a few lackluster award show performances, a surprise appearance on last week's "American Idol" finale had all the trappings of a comeback. Starting off with the tender ballad "Nothing" from the "Why Did I Get Married Too" soundtrack, Janet looked regal while singing the sweet love song.
The second part of the performance is when Janet really turned up the heat. Dressed in a body-hugging, black catsuit, Jackson exuded confidence and control of the stage as she performed her classic "Nasty." Though the stage was full of dancers and awash with lasers, all eyes were on Janet. Her curvy figure and palpable confidence were impossible to ignore. On the heels of such a dynamic performance it seems that Ms. Jackson is ready to once again take her rightful place at the top of the pop heap. But before she gets there, she'll need to make a few things happen first.
For the love of everything that is right in the world, please get Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis back in the mix. There's nothing wrong with wanting to try new things as far as production is concerne, however, it never made sense to take these two out of the equation completely. They basically created Janet's sound. Their smooth melodies provided the perfect backdrop for her soft, sweet voice. They've proved that whether it's a dance track, mid-tempo or a ballad, they've got Jackson covered. There are few times where using different producers actually worked in her favor. Very few. Case in point: the second half of 20 Y.O. sounded so much more cohesive than the beginning which was mostly produced by her then boyfriend Jermaine Dupri. Not to say that all work outside of Jam and Lewis is bad, it's not, it just doesn't have that same chemistry as anything off of "Rhythm Nation 1814" or "All For You." They just work together. That's all there is to it.
Don't try to go with the trends. Always remember to set them. One of the saddest occurrences in recent music was when Janet co-signed the back-handed compliment of a song that was Plies' "Bust It Baby" by hopping on the remix. He shouldn't have ever been allowed anywhere near a "Come Back to Me" sample and she had no business on the remix. She doesn't need to try and keep up with the young kids. She's the reason that most of them are around. For goodness' sake, she made "Rhythm Nation." Janet shouldn't just go along with the of-the-moment, disposable garbage that's out now. Her job as a legend is to show everyone what solid, classic, timeless music sounds like. After all, not every artist can make music with a 20-year plus shelf life. Janet needs to get back in the studio and make another classic, let the Soulja Boys do what they're gonna do.
