Nearly four decades ago, Janet Jackson burst out of boomboxes and into global consciousness as she belted out the lyric, “I ain’t your baby, I’m Janet—Miss Jackson if you’re nasty.” Over synth-laden R&B and New Jack Swing, she cemented herself as a pop powerhouse who would play by her own rules. Across her third studio album, ‘Control’, she called out misogynistic and advocated for safe sex, female empowerment, abstinence, AIDS awareness and liberation from her family’s grip. Describing the album in her teens, she boldly declared, “It’s aggressive, cocky, very forward. It expresses exactly who I am and how I feel. I’ve taken control of my own life. This time, I’m gonna do it my way.”
By her fourth studio album, gun violence was on the rise, the crack epidemic was in full swing, and the LA riots were simmering beneath the surface. Activists stormed St. Patrick’s Cathedral and crashed the New York Stock Exchange by protesting HIV drug profiteering while NWA propelled a hip-hop movement rapping ‘Fuck tha Police.’ When her fans needed it most, Janet delivered ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’—a socially conscious concept album envisioning an anti-racist utopia powered by dance. The critically lauded, industrial, pop elixir courtesy of production heavyweights Jackson, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis and fused with Janet’s lion’s-roar vocals, metal, funk, an hour-long MTV “telemusical,” razor-sharp choreography and military kicks. Gangs of dancers united, donned metal-plated baseball caps, dangled keys from one ear and marched to the beat of Janet’s defiant drum.
In the decades that followed, Janet Damita Jo Jackson solidified her multi-hyphenated prowess as an actress, dancer, producer, singer, songwriter and sex symbol. She released deeply personal, provocative and pulse-racing albums – 1993’s ‘Janet’ and 1997’s ‘Velvet Rope’ – that juxtaposed her artistic agency and fearlessness to challenge societal norms with vulnerability and feverish footwork. Swerving from self-worth and sexual exploration to domestic abuse, LGBTQ+ acceptance to her own struggles with mental health.
She racked up accolades, becoming a five-time GRAMMY award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. But there also came a never-ending list of controversies – censorship of her sexually liberated material, wrongful blacklisting for the infamous Super Bowl nip-slip where Justin Timberlake ripped off her bra mid-performance, and most recently, public scrutiny for a mind-boggling comment about Vice President Harris’ mixed heritage.
On stage, Miss Jackson’s legacy as a cultural icon and unparalleled performer remains unshaken.
This weekend, just two weeks after the death of her brother Tito, Janet celebrates her 13-year return to London with back-to-back, sold-out shows that electrified London’s O2 Arena.
She lets her vocal chops, and choreography steal the show for two hours and across four stamina-defying, dance-fueled acts which celebrated her groove-inducing catalogue.
Draped in silver sequins, billowing coat, under undulating spotlights, Janet opens act one with an ode to ballroom culture and a quintet of dancers who commanded the floor for club-driven deep cuts and understated heaters. ‘Rock With U’, ‘All Nite (Don’t Stop)’, ‘Throb’, and ‘No Sleeep’ are met with a storm of ultramarine lasers. Building to the Joni Mitchell-sampling ‘Got ’til It’s Gone’, the crowd are on their feet, erupting into chorus, with iPhones twinkling like a galaxy of stars during ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ and ‘Love Will Never Do (Without You)’.
Act Two tears off at a breakneck pace, and Janet doesn’t come up for air. Following a quick costume change into head-to-toe Thom Browne tartan tailoring, she delivers seminal dance sequences for ‘Pleasure Principle,’ ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately’ and ‘Control’ like she’s hitting the choreo for the first time and she knows it. Calling out over thunderous applause, “I’m 58 and still serving.”
No signs of playback at any point, Janet weaves her signature dulcet falsetto, sultry, breathy vocals on ‘Any Time, Any Place’, with a sample of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Poetic Justice’ and unleashes vocal pyrotechnics all over ‘Nasty’ as she hollers ‘gimme a beat’ and has the packed-out stadium transfixed.
For Act Three, Janet fires off career-defining hits such as ‘Alright,’ ‘Escapade,’ and ‘Miss you Much’ but saves the best for last in Act 4. Flanked by screens of archive footage, she works through slick, cult choreography and her most politically-charged music to date with ‘Rhythm Nation,’ State Of The World,’ ‘If,’ and ‘The Knowledge’ bellowing out “Prejudice (No!) Ignorance (No!), Bigotry (No!) Illiteracy (No!)” Before a strobe-heavy finale performance of her and her late brother Michael’s maniacal belter ‘Scream’
We’re beamed backstage as she touches up her make-up before returning for an encore of the tour’s title track and the most intimate moment of the show. As Janet looks up to the proverbial heavens singing, “Cause I can see your star shinin’ down on me”, she sends masses of adoring fans off into the night in joyous song.
‘Together Again’ is a 40-track testament to Janet’s unprecedented skillset, showmanship and unwavering control – it’s an honour to dive into her discography. But as a dancer myself and day one fan, I’d be remiss not say that the pristinely polished Janet Jackson of today felt like witnessing a Las Vegas Residency, as opposed to being gloriously knocked for six by the sweat-drenched, raw, hard as nails, Janet back when she was nasty.
