Biography
With her innovative Jam and Lewis-produced urban pop sound, pioneering videos and ground-breaking choreography, Janet Jackson quickly outgrew her label as "Michael's little sister" to become one of the defining chart acts of the late 20th Century. Born into a performing family in Gary, IN in 1966, Janet Jackson made her on-stage debut with her older brothers, aka The Jackson 5, aged just seven and three years later landed the role of Penny in Norman Lear sitcom "Good Times" (CBS, 1974-79). In-between recurring parts on "Diff'rent Strokes" (NBC, 1978-1986) and "Fame" (Syndication, 1982-87), Jackson followed in her siblings' musical footsteps with 1982's eponymous debut album, but like 1984 sophomore Dream Street it made little impression on the charts. Her fortunes changed when she forged an enduring partnership with pioneering producers Jam and Lewis for 1986's Control, an emphatic blend of R&B, pop and funk which topped the Billboard 200, sold ten million copies worldwide and spawned the first of ten US Hot 100 number ones, "When I Think of You." Four of those came from 1989's Rhythm Nation 1814, a sampling-heavy, socially-conscious affair whose expertly choreographed videos cemented Jackson as an MTV star every bit as forward-thinking as her King of Pop brother. After making her cinematic debut with an acclaimed leading performance in John Singleton drama "Poetic Justice" (1993), the previously conservative Jackson fully embraced her sexuality on janet. , a slinkier and more soulful fifth LP, promoted by an iconic topless Rolling Stone cover, which produced the Grammy-winning eight-week chart-topper "That's The Way Love Goes." In 1995 Jackson released hits collection Design of a Decade and joined forces with Michael on his comeback single, "Scream," which came equipped with the costliest music promo in history. Two years later, she tackled themes of homophobia, domestic violence and AIDS, the latter most notably on number one hit "Together Again," on the hugely personal The Velvet Rope. A brief big screen return in "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" (2000) and the sexually-charged seventh studio effort All For You helped Jackson to kickstart the turn of the century in typically dominant fashion. But her career suffered a huge setback in 2004 when her right breast was accidentally exposed by Justin Timberlake during her half-time Super Bowl performance. This "wardrobe malfunction" caused a national outrage, and although subsequent LP Damita Jo posted her second-highest first-week US sales, it ultimately shifted less than a third of its predecessor, while lead single "Just a Little While" missed the Top 40 altogether. Jackson decided to shake things up for 2006's 20 Y.O, roping in then-boyfriend Jermaine Dupri to produce many of its tracks, before abandoning longterm collaborators Jam and Lewis entirely for 2008's Discipline. Around this time, she began to focus her efforts on her acting career, appearing in three Tyler Perry features including the "Why Did I Get Married?" films and "For Colored Girls" (2010). After returning to the studio for 2015's critically-acclaimed Unbreakable, Jackson embarked on two world tours and announced a Las Vegas residency.
