Janet Jackson has high hopes for new album

< Prev | 1 | 2

Interviews, performances

Genesis, ABBA nominated for Rock Hall of Fame
Dec. 15: The nominations are out for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Brian Williams reports that it reads like a stroll down memory lane.

Usher on new fragrance, tour

Blues legend continues to shape genre

Maxwell sings ‘Pretty Wings’

I searched the world for inauguration hat, Aretha says

Entertainment Weekly recently described Jackson as an “aging pop star” while ranking her new album 22nd of its top 25 most-anticipated fall releases — after folks like Fantasia, relative unknowns The Hold Steady and aging rockers The Who (though she did make it above geriatric legend Jerry Lee Lewis).

Says EW senior editor Rob Brunner: “The attention she’s getting now is mostly about her appearance, which is not usually a good sign for someone looking to be taken seriously.”

Brunner also wasn’t too impressed with Jackson’s homage to the past with the new CD: “Anytime you’re looking back to a 20-year-old album to make yourself relevant, it’s not exactly great.”

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

But he also noted her long history of making hits, and said any lingering image problems after the Super Bowl incident “can be erased with a great song.”

Jam, who along with partner Terry Lewis has worked with Jackson since her “Control” days, believes “20 Y.O.” is chock full of them. The album features a typical Jackson mix of dance tracks, sexy, after-dark grooves and heartfelt ballads.

Besides Jam and Lewis, the album also features another collaborator — Jackson’s boyfriend, hitmaker Jermaine Dupri, who is also president of urban music at her label, Virgin Records (a unit of EMI Group PLC). On “Damita Jo,” Dupri and Jackson made a conscious effort not to work together; this time he’s an executive producer.

“I think their relationship during ’Damita Jo’ ... hadn’t matured to the point where he felt comfortable to step in,” Jam says.

Dupri was one of the main producers and architects on Mariah Carey’s massively successful comeback record, 2005’s “The Emancipation of Mimi” (which Jam & Lewis were also a part of).

Whether Dupri’s presence on “20 Y.O.” will have a similar effect is unclear. However, after the Super Bowl backlash, Jam says Jackson has downplayed multiplatinum success as a requirement for her overall happiness.

“It was definitely hard for her,” Jam said. “I think you learn a lot about yourself and you look inward. I think she’s probably a lot more spiritual person now. And I think she also realizes in the true sense of control ... there are some things that are out of your control, and you just have to do your thing.”

< Prev | 1 | 2