20 years of Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson puts forth a very revealing intro to the album 20 Y.O., a celebration of her two decades in the music business. "I’ve covered a lot in my 20 years and I’ve uncovered a lot in my 20 years." Now what did she cover up? I read something about an early marriage to another young singer and a son that she supposedly keeps secret. Don’t know if those are true or not. Of course being the youngest sister to the famous Jacksons, which includes a pop star named Michael, she must also be privy to whatever skeletons the family keeps in the closet.

Now, on the other hand, what did she uncover? A lot, I have to say. Talent-wise, Janet easily established herself as the leader of the girl pack in those early days in the ‘80s. I actually thought of her as a female Michael. Not of the same depth of course but she had sexy little girl tones, did great dancing and made videos that set new trends. I am sure a lot of you out there recall a time when every singer on local TV just had to do his version of Janet’s Control or Rhythm Nation, What Have You Done for Me Lately, Nasty or any of her other hits. 

Physically, she had a fantastic figure and also uncovered a lot. Remember that famous cover for Rolling Stone Magazine to promote her Janet album? Two male hands covered her naked breasts from behind. If you do not remember that, I am sure you will recall something that happened quite recently. This was another breast-baring incident in front of millions of people during half-time at the Superbowl with Justin Timberlake. To this day nobody knows if the baring was planned or merely an accident.

20 Y.O. is her first big project since the Superbowl scandal and people are wondering if she still has what it takes to hack the charts. Despite the title though, all the album has to show regarding the past 20 years are some old pictures inside the cover. Take a look and you will also think she looks even more beautiful than she did before. Several interludes in the song lineup have her reminiscing with friends about things that happened before. And that is all. It’s clear that while she does want to look back and bask in the memories, Janet also wants to show she is moving forward and this is the kind of music she wants to bring.

Steered by ace R ’n B producer Jermaine Dupri, songs in the album are also much lighter than her usual stuff. I hear no ground breakers here. But then as she also says in the intro, I just wanna have fun, and Janet went out and did just that. Emphasis is on infectious uptempo rhythms and it’s one cool dance tune after another. So just like her, fans who love to dance will also have lots of fun. Best tracks are the sweet ballad With U, the rousing Enjoy with its kiddie chorus, the make out relaxer, Take Care and Call on Me which brings in Nelly for some sexy interplay.

Other cuts in Janet’s 20 Y.O. are So Excited, Show Me, Get It Out of Me, Do It 2 Me, This Body, Call on Me, Day Break and Love 2 Love.

Top albums and singles

Meanwhile as 2006 nears its end, the big-selling albums as per the Billboard 200 list are: Press Play by Diddy; The Open Door by Evanescence; The High Road by Jojo; FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake; Long Trip Alone by Dierks Bentley; Still The Same – Great Rock Classics of Our Time by Rod Stewart; Extreme Behavior by Hinder; The Return by Ruben Studdard; Duets: An American Classic by Tony Bennett and Sam’s Town by The Killers.

The Top 10 singles in the Hot 100 are  Money Maker by Ludacris featuring Pharrell; Smack That by Akon featuring Eminem; Lips of an Angel by Hinder; SexyBack by Justin Timberlake; My Love also by Justin Timberlake; How to Save a Life by The Fray; Too Little Too Late by Jojo; Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol; Come to Me by Diddy featuring Nicole Scherzinger and Far Away by Nickelback.