Janet Jackson

Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana) is a Grammy winning and Oscar nominated American pop, R&B and soul singer-songwriter and the youngest child of the hugely successful Jackson music family. She rose out of the shadows of her famous brothers to become one of the most successful female entertainers of all time. She ranks as the ninth-most successful artist in the history of rock and roll, and is the youngest artist in the top ten of that group, according to Billboard magazine in 2004. She is well known for her high-octane dance moves, influencing many female artists such as Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Beyoncé and Britney Spears among others.

Biography

Early life

Janet was born the last of nine children in Gary, Indiana to parents Joseph and Katherine Jackson. Joseph worked hard labor as a crane operator in Gary's steel mills. Before Janet was born, Joe had his own music career forming the R&B band, the Falcons. They never got as far as the biggest nightclub in Gary. Joseph was also a tough disciplinarian whose teachings and lessons he instilled on his children would later be questioned by those who have written books about him since.

Related Topics:
Gary, Indiana - Joseph - Katherine

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While Joe was stern and gregarious, mother Katherine seemed angelic. For a time before Janet was born, Katherine also held down a job working as a store clerk for Sears. She quit the job as soon as she became a devout Jehovah's Witness in 1965. She was considered the one who "kept the glue within the family" during the earlier years.

Related Topics:
Sears - Jehovah's Witness - 1965

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By the time she was a toddler, Janet's older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael had already begun to perform onstage at nightclubs and theaters as the Jackson 5. In March 1969, the group signed to Motown Records, and by the end of the year, the group recorded their first of their four consecutive number-one singles, "I Want You Back". By the time the J5 had achieved success, the entire family moved out of Gary to Southern California, eventually settling in a gated mansion they named Hayvenhurst in 1971. Janet was five years old by this point.

Related Topics:
Jackie - Tito - Jermaine - Marlon - Michael - Jackson 5 - 1969 - Motown Records - I Want You Back - Hayvenhurst - 1971

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Early career

When Jackson was 7, she had aspired to be a horse jockey after a profound infatuation with horses. However, her father thought otherwise, as he saw her potential early on. After the success of the Jackson 5 began to dwindle, Joseph decided to bring the rest of his children into the spotlight, including Janet.

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On April 9, 1974, Janet made her public debut performance at a Las Vegas nightclub, with nearly all nine members of the Jackson family (Rebbie did not join until a few months later at a different city). Jackson quickly became the star of the show, emulating and imitating various icons such as Cher, Toni Tennille, and Mae West, in particular.

Related Topics:
April 9 - 1974 - Las Vegas - Cher - Toni Tennille - Mae West

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By 1976, Janet and the family's Vegas act had caught the attention of CBS' president Fred Silverman. The network was desperately trying to find a new variety act to replace the recently ended Sonny & Cher Show, since ABC had a competing show featuring Donny and Marie Osmond.

Related Topics:
CBS - Sonny & Cher - Donny - Marie Osmond

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Debuting on June 16, 1976, The Jacksons show became the first African-American family to have a variety show on TV. The show lasted only two seasons and was cancelled in 1977.

Related Topics:
June 16 - 1976 - 1977

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Acting career

In 1977, 11-year-old Jackson's enthusiasm for acting caught television producer Norman Lear's ear. Lear was looking for someone to reawaken one of his groundbreaking shows from TV ruin - the family sitcom Good Times. Lear cast Jackson in Good Times as an abused child named Penny. The show's star, J.J. Evans, played by Jimmie Walker, was the apple of Penny's eye on the show, a fact the character would make known every time she saw him. Jackson became one of the show's starring cast members during the 1977-1978 season, and would remain in the show until it was cancelled in 1979.

Related Topics:
1977 - Norman Lear - Good Times - Jimmie Walker - 1978 - 1979

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Jackson continued her acting career, appearing briefly in a short-lived sitcom titled A New Kind of Family, which was cancelled in early 1980. In 1981, she landed a recurring role on another family sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes, playing Charlene Duprey, the love interest of Willis (played by Todd Bridges). Jackson had become the idol of black girls, a notable example being Moesha Mitchell, who was portrayed by Brandy Norwood in the 1990s sitcom Moesha. Norwood was a huge admirer of Jackson.

Related Topics:
1980 - 1981 - Todd Bridges - Brandy Norwood - 1990s - Moesha

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In 1984, Jackson reluctantly took the role of Cleo Hewitt in the musical series, Fame. She later told interviewers that her father told her to do the role. After a year, Jackson asked to be let go of her contract, and did not appear in another television series for nineteen years.

Related Topics:
1984 - Fame

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Early musical endeavors

Jackson always had an interest in music, writing her first song at the age of nine, but she never aspired to be a professional singer. Nonetheless, she agreed to participate in music just to help her family out. Her first ever recording was a duet with baby brother Randy on a song titled "A Love Song for Kids" in 1978. She would participate in her family's other recordings, particularly with sister LaToya and brother Michael.

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In 1981, Jackson and her two older sisters LaToya and Rebbie had wanted to start their own musical group, but disagreements between the older sisters forced the group to disband before ever making a record.

Related Topics:
1981 - LaToya - Rebbie

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Instead Janet featured on LaToya's 1981 album called "My Special Love" on the pop track titled "Camp Kuchi Kaiai".

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Beginning a professional music career

Although she was asked by her father Joseph to start a singing career, Jackson was uncomfortable with being in the recording studio, feeling she was not as talented vocally as her brothers, particularly brother Michael, who was becoming a pop superstar thanks to his albums, Off the Wall and Thriller.

Related Topics:
Joseph - Michael - Off the Wall - Thriller

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Nonetheless, at the age of sixteen, she released her debut album simply called Janet Jackson though the teenager protested that her last name should not have been on the cover. Produced by soul singers Angela Winbush, Rene Moore and Leon Sylvers of the famed Sylvers family music group, the album reached #6 on the Billboard R&B album charts, and spent 45 weeks in the Top 50 and reached #63 on the Billboard Pop albums chart.

Related Topics:
Janet Jackson - Soul - Angela Winbush - Rene Moore - Billboard - R&B

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The album featured 3 Top 20 Billboard R&B singles "Young Love" (#6), "Say You Do" (#15) and "Come Give Your Love To Me" (#17). Two of the singles, "Young Love" and "Come Give Your Love to Me", went as high as #64 and #58 on the Billboard pop charts respectively.

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The album sold over a quarter million copies in the US at the time of release. Billboard Magazine gave Jackson the rank of being the tenth biggest-selling R&B artist at the end of 1982, while the debut album was given the rank of being the tenth biggest-selling R&B album of 1983.

Related Topics:
1982 - 1983

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Despite the modest success, Jackson found that she had to compete with brother Michael for pop music prominence, after his success with his hit albums.

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In 1984, Jackson, now eighteen, released her second album, titled Dream Street. It marked a musical progression from her debut, with funkier, up-tempo production by brother Marlon and famed disco producer Giorgio Moroder, producer of songs for artists such as Donna Summer.

Related Topics:
1984 - Dream Street - Disco - Giorgio Moroder - Donna Summer

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The album only peaked at #147 on the Billboard pop album charts when it was released that July, though it reached #19 on the R&B chart, and the album overall only sold half of what her debut sold at the time of release. Critics soon began to demean Jackson's career as a pop star over.

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Around the same time, Jackson fell in love and eloped with James DeBarge, member of the Motown family group DeBarge. The marriage was annulled in March 1985, with DeBarge's drug habit often cited as the reason. After the marriage was annulled and after years of dealing with being a member of a world-famous family, Jackson began to search for independence.

Related Topics:
James DeBarge - Motown - DeBarge

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In Control and leading a Nation

After the limited success of her first two albums, A&M A&R John McClain recruited producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to enliven the music career of the 19-year-old. Before leaving for Minneapolis, however, the producers were given the blessing of Jackson's father, who later became her manager after they promised him that Jackson would not sound anything like Prince.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Jam - Terry Lewis - Minneapolis - Prince

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Within months, Jackson, Jam & Lewis crafted the record Control, in which Jackson told her life through a musical basis:

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:"When I was 17 I did what people told me,

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:Did what my father said and let my mother mold me,

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:First time I fell in love I didn't know what hit me,

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:So young and so naïve I thought it would be easy,

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:But now I know I got to take control..."

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The album was released in February 1986, and became a smash hit based on singles such as "What Have You Done For Me Lately", "Nasty" and "When I Think of You". Accompanying music videos featuring high-tech dance moves performed by Jackson received heavy rotation on MTV, BET, VH-1 and other music video channels. The album peaked at #1 that May and sold over five million copies in The United States according to the RIAA. It ranked as the fourth biggest-selling album of 1986, and the eighth biggest-selling album of 1987 according to Billboard magazine. At age 20, "When I Think Of You" made Janet the youngest artist to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, since Stevie Wonder. The Control album spun R&B #1 singles "What have you done for me lately", "Nasty", "Control", "Lets wait awhile", and "Pleasure Principle". During this time she also hit No.1 as lead vocalist on Herb Alberts single "Diamonds".

Related Topics:
1986 - Nasty - When I Think of You - MTV - BET - VH-1 - May - The United States - RIAA - Billboard Hot 100 - Stevie Wonder

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Jackson performed at both the American Music Awards (where she won two out of nine nominations) and Grammy Awards (where the album was up for Album of the Year). Despite the success of Control, some critics wrote Jackson off as a "studio project", and were still referring to her as "Michael's sister", whereas others disagreed "Control" was named as the 28th Best Album of the 80s by Rolling Stone magazine. "Control" was also Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century -" demands respect, draws her boundaries, and kicks some nasty butt....bringing a new wealth of range, power, and grace."

Related Topics:
American Music Awards - Grammy Awards

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Jackson went into production on her next record, and was under pressure to deliver the same messages and format as Control. However, affected by images of shootings, drug dealing, gang-related violence and poverty on television, Jackson wanted to sing about those issues. The result was Rhythm Nation 1814, which was released in October 1989. Tracks on the album contained messages of unity ("Rhythm Nation"), education ("The Knowledge"), poverty ("State of the World") and school shootings ("Living in a World We Didn't Make"), along with light-hearted songs such as "Escapade" and "Alright", while "Black Cat", the solo Jackson production, showcased a more rock side to the artist.

Related Topics:
Rhythm Nation 1814 - 1989 - Rhythm Nation - Escapade - Alright - Black Cat - Rock

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Around the time that the album peaked at #1 in the beginning of 1990, Jackson found even more success with a three-set of videos from her "Rhythm Nation" mini-movie, as well as the videos for the songs that did not contain social messages that filled up the mini-movie. Jackson had co-choreographed most of the dance moves in the videos. Seven songs from the album hit the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart between 1989 and 1991 making her the first artist to ever accomplish such a feat. Four of those ("Miss You Much", "Escapade", "Black Cat" & "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" were #1 records. The singles "Rhythm Nation" and "Come Back to Me" #2 charted hits. The single "Alright" peaked at #4. The album sold over 6 million in the U.S. according to the RIAA and became the top-selling album of 1990, solidifying Jackson's "hit-making" status. Rhythm Nation 1814 won the Billboard Award for the top-selling album of the year, along with multiple awards at the Billboard Music Awards. Jackson only won one of the eight Grammys she was nominated - for Best Long Form Music Video. Around the same time, Jackson embarked on a world tour that was praised by critics, and the it became the best-selling debut tour by an artist in rock history.

Related Topics:
1990 - Hot 100 - 1989 - 1991 - Miss You Much - Escapade - Black Cat - Rhythm Nation - Come Back to Me - RIAA - Grammys - Best Long Form Music Video

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New Agenda & New Attitude

After finding success as a singer, Jackson was given a chance to resume her acting career when director John Singleton allowed her to audition for his film Poetic Justice, as a tough, poetic hairdresser from South Central, Los Angeles. Jackson won the role in the romantic drama, starring opposite rapper Tupac Shakur. The film opened in 1993, and depicted a very different image of Jackson than what had been seen before; her character cursed and even threatened people who ever crossed her. This coincided with a change in Jackson's music as she entered the studio to record her fifth album (and third with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis), simply titled janet., whose music was brasher and more sexually charged than her previous work.

Related Topics:
John Singleton - Poetic Justice - Tupac Shakur - 1993 - Janet.

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Jackson released the album in May 1993, and the first song, "That's The Way Love Goes", became an unexpected hit; Jackson's new label Virgin had originally wanted the hard-edged "If" to be the album's lead single, but Jackson successfully protested the decision. "That's The Way Love Goes" becomes the first & only single in history to enter the Billboard Hot R&B Airplay]] chart at #1. "That's The Way Love Goes" hit the top spot on the Hot 100 Singles Chart for 8 weeks, and also toped the Hot R&B Singles Charts and Dance Singles Chart.

Related Topics:
1993 - That's The Way Love Goes - Virgin - If

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In September, 1993, Janet appeared topless on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. The magazine cover became one of the most celebrated photos ever taken of a rock artist.

Related Topics:
September - 1993 - Rolling Stone Magazine

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More hits from the album included "If", the Oscar-nominated "Again" (#1 pop) and the sultry and soulful "Any Time, Any Place" (which spent 10 weeks at #1 on Billboard's R&B Singles Chart), while "Because of Love" and "You Want This languished at the bottom of Billboard's Top Ten pop singles chart. The album became a huge success worldwide, reaching #1 in 22 countries, selling 17 million copies and helped give Janet a Grammy, MTV Video Music and several Soul Train Music Awards. The album was the fourth biggest selling album of the year in the US selling 4.3 million copies after just 7 months of release and spent 48 weeks in the Top 10 in 1993. The album was ranked the eighth biggest selling album of the next year making it a back-to-back top ten showing on the year end Billboard Top Albums chart.

Related Topics:
If - Oscar - Again - Any Time, Any Place - Because of Love - You Want This

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Inside Her Velvet Rope

In 1996, Jackson re-signed with Virgin for a reported $80 million, which made her the highest paid recording artist of all time. Around the same time, she was busy trying to create a concept around her seventh album. Yet she was faced with personal demons that almost downplayed the recordings. Jackson acknowledged later she went through clinical depression. The result was possibly her most painful album, "The Velvet Rope" which was her 4th album to reach No.1 on the Billboard 200. Despite the usual love song ("I Get Lonely"), sex song ("Rope Burn") and anti-racism anthem (the hidden track "Can't Be Stopped"), most of the album showcased pain, life lost, and spiritual growth. The album's almost avant-garde approach took most of the buying public off guard when it was released on October 7, 1997; though it ended up becoming another multi-platinum effort for the singer.

Related Topics:
1996 - Clinical depression - The Velvet Rope - Billboard 200 - I Get Lonely - October 7 - 1997

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And unlike her previous albums, only four songs ("Got Till It's Gone", the AIDS anthem "Together Again", "Go Deep" and the smoky R&B number "I Get Lonely") were released as singles (airplay or commercial) while several more ("You" and "Everytime" were charted overseas. The tour, however, became a bigger success. A televised show from New York helped Jackson and her crew get nominated for Emmy's. The album also showed signs that personal strain had been developing in one of Jackson's relationships with a former dancer.

Related Topics:
New York - Emmy

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The Marriage & Divorce of Rene Elizondo

When Janet suffered from the aftermath of her failed marriage to James DeBarge in 1985, former dancer Rene Elizondo was always by her side. They began an on-again, off-again courtship in 1986 that resulted in a secret marriage in March, 1991. Many speculated at the time of "The Velvet Rope", their marriage had begun to fall apart. According to both Jackson and Elizondo, the couple had become more business partners than a couple. Together, they helped cultivate the sounds that made Jackson's music popular. By 1999, however, their marriage was all but over. But it took a year into Jackson working on her second box-office flick, "The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" that their marriage would finally be told to the world as Rene revealed in 2000. Jackson explained in interviews that she chose not to tell fans about her marriage because since she had been in the public spotlight at a young age that if word ever got out about her marriage, then it would have made it worse and the marriage was to be over anyway. Elizondo later sued Jackson for spousal support as they went through a nasty court battle that finally ended in 2002 with the divorce finalized and Elizondo only receiving half the multi-million dollar pay-off he was hoping for. It's said the song, "Son of a Gun", was about Elizondo, Jackson has neither disputed or confirmed that rumor only saying "the song could be about anybody".

Related Topics:
James DeBarge - 1985 - 1986 - March - 1991 - 1999 - 2000 - 2002

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Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and "Doesn't Really Matter"

On July 28, 2000, the highly anitcipated sequel to Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor was released. Titled , alongside Eddie Murphy starred Janet Jackson as Denise Gaines replacing Jada Pinkett-Smith from the first movie. Filming had begun in October of 1999 after several months of specualtion that Jackson would take the part. A month before the release in June 2000, Jackson released a single for the movie titled "Doesn't Really Matter". The dance smash shot to #1 on the Billboard pop charts within a few weeks after the release. This single, the first release also from her upcoming "All For You" 2001 album featured later on the movie soundtrack and was given a funky video clip. The movie went on to raise $42.7 million and was released on VHS the same time in 2001.

Related Topics:
July 28 - 2000 - Nutty Professor - Jada Pinkett-Smith - All For You

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All For You and then some

Janet released her eighth album in 2001. Titled "All for You", Jackson made music history with the album's title track reaching every format of radio that day of its release. The song's success helped the album reach #1 on the pop singles chart staying there for seven weeks while reaching #1 on the R&B charts for two and the dance charts for three. The other big hit included was "Someone To Call My Lover", which reached #3 on the pop singles chart. Unlike "The Velvet Rope", "All For You" showcased a much happier Janet living the single life. The album debuted at No. 1 with more than 605,000 copies sold in the US its first week, according to Soundscan and would go on to sell more than 3 million copies in America (6 million overseas).

Related Topics:
2001 - All for You - Someone To Call My Lover - The Velvet Rope

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In 2002 she started her 3rd world tour, "All For You," at the same time another pop icon started a world tour, Madonna, critics and fans couldn't help but compare the two superstars, NBC news went as far as to call it 1,000 times better than Madonna's "Drowned World Tour", even if Jackson did any little lip syncing, The Washington Post said In the Dueling Diva Smackdown that has filled MCI Center for five of the past nine nights, Janet Jackson KO'd Madonna with a two-hour show that favored jubilant entertainment over somber art, and embraced the past instead of avoiding it. The Orange County Register: Janet Jackson dazzles her adoring audience, The Kansas City Star: Unlike audiences at most concerts, Saturday's crowd at Kemper was a cultural melting pot that cut across nearly every demographic: age, race, class and gender. That, makes Janet Jackson the queen of something more important than just pop music itself"

Related Topics:
Madonna - NBC - Drowned World Tour - Washington Post - Orange County Register - Kansas City Star

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Meanwhile, Jackson was on the mind of many a gossip column about her alleged rapports with everybody from actor Matthew McConaughey, singer Justin Timberlake, singer Johnny Gill and rapper Q-Tip. There were already innuendos (that were later denied) that Jackson engaged in lesbianism with her female back-up dancers. However, in reality by 2002, Jackson was accompanying herself with hip-hop producer and music mogul Jermaine Dupri.

Related Topics:
Lesbianism - 2002 - Hip-hop - Jermaine Dupri

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After scoring a modest Top 40 hit with "Son of a Gun" (#28 US) and performing her last concert for her tour in Hawaii, she would score another Top 40 hit with reggae singer Beenie Man assisting him on the song "Feel It Boy". Jackson began work on her next album the following year and when asked to join that following year's Super Bowl festivities, she happily signed saying it was a pleasure to be performing there.

Related Topics:
Hawaii - Reggae - Beenie Man

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Super Bowl XXXVIII

Main article: Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy

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During the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004, Janet Jackson performed with Justin Timberlake to an audience of more than 100 million people. During this live performance, in which Jackson sang along with Timberlake his song "Rock Your Body", when they got to the part of the song which goes '"gonna have you naked by the end of this song"', her top was torn open by Timberlake, exposing Jackson's right breast; the nipple was partially covered by a starburst-shaped decoration held in place by a barbell piercing. Timberlake called the incident a "wardrobe malfunction".

Related Topics:
Super Bowl XXXVIII - February 1 - 2004 - Justin Timberlake - Breast - Nipple - Piercing - Wardrobe malfunction

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Jackson apologized at first, calling it an accident and claiming that Timberlake was supposed to pull away the bustier and leave the red-lace bra intact, however, she later said to an interviewer for Genre magazine that she wishes she had not apologized at all.

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CBS, the NFL, and MTV, which produced the halftime show, disclaimed all responsibility under a hailstorm of controversy. Jackson and Timberlake confirmed those denials, but the FCC continued with its investigation. As a result, CBS conditioned its invitation for Jackson to appear at the 2004 Grammy Awards ceremony on another public apology. She declined, but Justin Timberlake apologized and appeared as both a performer and a presenter. This led to some people complaining about a so-called "double standard": although both Jackson and Timberlake were complicit in the "wardrobe malfunction" incident, people were seemingly placing more of the blame for it on Jackson.

Related Topics:
CBS - NFL - MTV - FCC - Grammy Award - Justin Timberlake

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Because of heightened FCC scrutiny of obscene content on television and radio, the entertainment industry suffered a major backlash. Broadcasters implemented video delays of several minutes in some cases where only audio delays had been used before. Programs that once pushed the envelope began eliminating even mildly coarse language from their broadcasts. Some performers were penalized for things that had been acceptable previously. Many people directly blamed Jackson for igniting this new wave of censorship while in fact the FCC was already moving in that direction (and Timberlake's complicity has been largely ignored or forgotten). Even greater responsibility for the crackdown rests with such groups as the Parents Television Council which was responsible for the vast majority of FCC complaints regarding the incident and since then.

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The incident also resulted in further professional setbacks for Jackson. Prior to the Super Bowl, she was set to play legendary entertainer Lena Horne in her bio-pic. But after the incident, Horne reportedly refused to return her contract for the film until Jackson was dropped from the project. The project, meanwhile, has been put on hold indefinitely.

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Life after Super Bowl

The Super Bowl controversy had yet to die down when in March, 2004, she released her eighth studio effort, Damita Jo. Despite a high debut at #2, the controversy and the domination of Usher possibly led to its modest debut and sales following afterwards. Jackson made the late-night rounds including one highly-rated interview with David Letterman to try to explain herself during the incident. To make the controversy seem less harming, Jackson managed to laugh at herself and the incident on Saturday Night Live. It was the highest rating episode in 16 months since Al Gore hosted the skit sitcom. Jackson impersonated Condoleeza Rice as she tried to divert attention from the Iraq war by flashing her breast. After more Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres Show appearances Jackson chose a lighter direction next. Jackson then appeared in the sitcom Will and Grace. The sitcom, which previosuly had cameo appearances from Cher, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez (among other pop stars) saw Jackson play herself as Jack trialed to be her back-up dancer. It was her first appearance in decades on the small screen.

Related Topics:
March - 2004 - Damita Jo - Usher - David Letterman - Saturday Night Live - Al Gore - Condoleeza Rice - Iraq - Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Ellen DeGeneres - Will and Grace - Cher - Madonna - Jennifer Lopez

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Damita Jo

A month after the Superbowl, Jackson released her eighth solo album "Damita Jo". The album recieved mixed praises from critics and performed modestly on the album charts eventually peaking at #2 and selling over 970,000-plus copies eventually going platinum. The songs released from the album, including the Prince-inspired "Just a Little While", the Motown/Supremes-inspired ballad "I Want You" and the danceable "All Nite (Don't Stop)" also performed modestly on the charts with "I Want You" becoming the biggest of the hits on the R&B side reaching #18 there while "Just a Little While" reached higher on the pop charts reaching #45. "All Nite" barely made the charts eventually peaking at #90 R&B and never reached the pop singles chart due to lack of airplay on the charts. Despite that, Jackson received nominations from the American Music Awards, Source Music Awards, BET Music Awards and Grammy Awards for her work on the album.

Related Topics:
Damita Jo - Platinum - Prince - Motown - Supremes - I Want You - American Music Award - BET - Grammy Award

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Janet and Jermaine

Starting in 2002, there were rumors about who was cavorting with Jackson. Lots of hopeful romantic links including singer Justin Timberlake, rapper Q-Tip and actor Matthew McConaughey showed up on gossip columns. But by the end of the year, many noticed Jackson walking hand-in-hand with successful rapper and hip-hop record producer and CEO of So-So Def Records, Jermaine Dupri. Although they denied it at the time, Jackson and Dupri had begun a secret courtship that only grew after Jackson's Super Bowl incident. By the time when the Grammys came the year of the incident, Dupri left his post in the Grammy committee after Jackson refused to apologize again for what happened that night. Since 2004, there have even been rumors that the couple married though they have constantly denied it. As of October, 2005, they're still together working on projects.

Related Topics:
2002 - Justin Timberlake - Q-Tip - Matthew McConaughey - Rapper - Hip-hop - Jermaine Dupri - 2004 - October - 2005

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A Janet Future?

As of 2005, there are plans to release a new album, which would feature production once again from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis with her boyfriend Jermaine Dupri as one of its executive producers. She appeared in the video for Dupri's single "Gotta Getcha" for his new album "The Young, Fly and the Flashy Vol.1". Jimmy Jam told an interviewer that the new album, expected to feature more dance numbers, will come out in 2006, 20 years after Janet began her successful and iconic journey.

Related Topics:
2005 - 2006

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