I have been gone for a while; I was busy trying to figure out why Janet chose to tour looking like she just stepped off the set of Poetic Justice with a masculine twist. But that's neither here nor there. And with the tour going on, there hasn't been much to discuss, well other than the tour, and the new space Janet will be in after the tour.
Nearly two years ago Janet released her second greatest hits compilation, Number Ones. From the beginning, the entire Number Ones Era was going to be a strategic operation to return Janet to her former glory. The hits compilation served as a promotional product to resonate Janet's name back into the general public. The American Music Awards performance and the X-Factor performance were complimentary assignments that corroborated with the objective of the era. As the winter of 2010 came, Janet used the fashion shows in Europe as an excuse to go eat. Gil has gone off the record stating that he's had to make calls to several restaurants. Not to make sure Janet could be accommodated, but to warn the chef that Janet was coming. But we won't get in to that. Two films, Why Did I Get Married Too and For Colored Girls, and the Essence Music Festival were all tools in aiding the resurgence of Janet's image and popularity. The two films together added another near $100 million to Janet's total box office gross. Essence Music Festival gave Janet her second largest concert audience following the 72,000 Rodeo Houston show. 2009 and 2010 were very productive years, and executed very well. Following the Essence Music Festival, Janet announced she was going on tour, and several of you acted like you did when you learned Janet had separated from Papa Smurf.
So it's been a few months since the start of tour. Tour started out in Asia, moved to the US, and now Janet is in Europe. Obviously this is the world tour we were supposed to get in 2008. Unfortunately the last tour got cut short by Janet's desire to take advantage of the $4.99 Grand Slam at Denny's. That "vertigo" was caused by Janet using too much hot sauce on her eggs. In any event, the tour continues to be a success. Date after date, Janet continues to sell out all while blessing each city with her gospel. Despite alienating her fan base overseas, Janet has still managed to sell out dates internationally, thus remaining a testament that Janet still does have fans across the globe. It was just Janet's willingness to reach out to them. The tour acts as a tool to rebuild Janet's name in places she has alienated over the years, namely Europe. Although Janet is performing at banquet halls and closets, she continues to sell out in the midst of three unnoticed albums, no sizable hits, or any major promotion other than the hits compilation, a true testament of her star power and impact in Europe. There is obviously still demand for her wherever she goes. She shows up, and shows out, just like Christians say Jesus does (coincidence? I think not), and gets rave reviews. I'm sure we all still get a giggle when concert critics claim she singing live. But we won't get in to that. We'll just stay committed to their words and defend to the death that Janet IS singing live because we were there, and we could hear her breath when she breathed into the mic. But we won't elaborate on that anymore. Janet is singing live......
So what does this mean for the future of Janet? This new space isn't the drive thru at Dairy Queen. It isn't the space below Wissam's navel. It's a good space. Well for Janet, the space below Wissam's navel is a good space. Just recently Janet appeared on a UK show hosted by Julius Caesar's second cousin:
Janet announced the tour is supposedly going to last until 2012, and that she was going back to the States, Australia, Africa, and possibly South America. Surely everyone was excited that Janet was finally touring the world again, but was then pissed when they realized that we wouldn't be getting an album until sometime next year, if that. But, once again, it's all strategy. Rebuild the fan base, and that will set Janet up for a successful album with her next release. It seems like Janet is ready to become "Janet Jackson" once again, and not "Escalade with the '92 Sentra". The question becomes whether or not tour success will translate into album success. As Janet says, "It's in God's hands."
The other day I was in Target and came across People magazine’s Top 100 Celebrities Who Define Our Time. Just out of curiosity, with little to no faith, I wanted to see if Janet was listed. Lo and behold, she was not. For some reason, it did not come as a surprise. I have become accustomed to Janet get shafted as if what she has done to and for this industry is dismissible. And it reminded me of the recent stir of publications that had excluded Janet. I'll start off with the most recent, Rolling Stone's "Readers Poll: The Queen of Pop" list. For some odd reason, they left off Janet. Now, other than Madonna, the only other person the media has called the "Queen of Pop" and used it to symbolize status, rather than a punch line for other female artists, is Janet. Then there was also VH1's 100 Greatest Arists of All Time, where somehow Janet was placed on the waiting list, while other more transcendent artists such as Alicia Keys, Sade, Justin Timberlake, and LL Cool J ranked on the list. I actually saw the "Bubbling Under" list. Janet was 5th, behind Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Olivia Newton-John, and the guy that does the voice over on movie promos. Apparently VH1 only chose the best of the best. Rolling Stone did another poll asking who the best dancer of all time is. That title would go to Mariah Carey, obviously, but I took a stroll over to view the votes. Out of the 300 votes I saw, I only saw TWO votes for Janet. Did I vote? No. Why? Because I don't have a Facebook. Why don't I have Facebook? Because I'm still trying to make MySpace happen. Do not judge me. There is something about using HTML formats to express myself that gives me a sense of individualism. Rolling Stone's "Queen of Pop" was a poll for votes. So what's going on here? Is Janet secretly trying to be shunned from our memories as if she didn't happen? Can 30 years of influence been erased? Could it be that we, as fans, are not doing our job in supporting Janet? The last time Janet ranked on a respectable publication's list was 2008 on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, where Janet placed 7th, above the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, and Aretha Franklin. Although there's the notion that lists don't validate Janet's impact and influence, but these lists illustrate the support Janet has from her fans. These lists indicate that Janet's impact and influence is recognized by industry insiders. These lists indicate how Janet has resonated within the industry. What's a great song if its only recognized by the public? We can't trust the buying public. The buying public "elected' Bush into office, TWICE. The icing on the cake is making a great song, and it being recognized by critics as being one of the greatest pieces of work in musical history. There's nothing worse than creating a great body of work, and it goes unnoticed. Every artist wants to be recognized for their work. It's no different from a prostitute's job on the corner. If she, or he (this is 2011 after all, can't put anything past anyone), is giving the best hand jobs, they want to be recognized for it by the pimps, or industry insiders. So I say this to you all, there needs to be a bit more mobilization and activeness within the fan community. Continuing to be dormant and not supporting Janet the way we SHOULD be, and then turning around and complaining about her failing to rank on different lists, countdowns, etc is only a direct result of dormancy. It follows the old quote, "If you don't vote, then you don't get to complain."
"Ask not what Janet can do for you, but what you can do for Janet."
- Rhythmless Nation
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