Janet Jackson

About Janet Jackson

R&B phenomenon Janet Jackson is Motown royalty but she's always been hesitant about letting her last name carry her to stardom. How do you rebel if you're the youngest daughter in a family famous for churning out chart-topping hits? You tell your manager/father that you want to ride horses for a living. But the famously ambitious Joseph Jackson was having none of it, and he convinced Janet to take the stage with her family for a Vegas variety show. The show was picked up for TV, and Janet's natural star power and stage presence shone through. Finally, she gave in to her destiny and recorded her self-titled debut. It was a modest R&B success but barely made a ripple on the pop charts. Her follow-up Dream Street didn't fare much better. At the mature age of 19, Janet realized their her father's production team weren't doing it for her and she broke out of the R&B ghetto with her new, amped up sound and style. The result was Control, and singles like "The Pleasure Principle," "What Have You Done For Me Lately" and he smooth ballad "Lets Wait Awhile" proved that she could cut it on the charts. She enlisted Paula Abdul to help choreograph her videos and her smoking dance moves quickly became a trademark. Janet's artistic leap was validated when Control sold over five million copies and won six Billboard Music Awards. She followed it up with the all-time classic Rhythm Nation, which featured new jack swing arrangements, socially conscious lyrics and an edgy new image-Janet appeared in public in an 80's update of a sci-fi fascist uniform. Janet Jackson went on to release the steamy janet and her take on hip hop, All For You.