Or so it seemed.īut in what would recur throughout the evening, things shifted gears in a jarring, dissonant way. Launching into "The Knowledge" and "State of the World", tracks from her socially conscious concept album Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson was on mission. When a screen lifted to reveal Miss Jackson in a commanding, floor-length black coat carrying a cane, the screams were there.
Because who really wants to be caught applauding facist symbols or white supremacy references? Janet Jackson at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on September 26 Craig Takeuchi
Topical as those subjects are, for an introductory buildup, it hit too hard with its density of weighty material, stunning and shocking the audience into submission rather than riling them up into anticipatory cheers. The latter was made more than abundantly clear in her kick-off: an in-your-face visual and aural montage of headlines and news anchor snippets about everything from greenhouse gases and terrorism to the names of black men killed in fatal shootings, all set against graphic visual representations of dripping blood. And some of her politics, as indicated by the State of the World Tour name, are back too. Her unique key-on-a-hoop earring is back. Her eruption of curly locks (sleekly tied back in a pony tail that she worked with Tyra-level fierceness) is back. The shoulder pads (which have also been showing up in some of her latest videos) and blazer-style outfits from her tomboyish years are back. Janet Jackson at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on September 26 Craig Takeuchi Her once-solid commercial and chart performance has been permanently uneven, and on the wane, ever since.īut her latest tour shows signs that Jackson's getting back in form (not to mention doing so after giving birth only earlier this year in January), and drawing upon her formative years of success for direction.
THROB JANET JACKSON UNBREAKABLE TOUR FREE
That didn't necessarily hurt her commercial success-until things went askew with her 2004 Superbowl scandal that disproportionately derailed her career (while her duet partner Justin Timberlake somehow escaped free of criticism, even despite his abandonment of her). Which unfortunately wasn't necessarily all that much different from what others were offering in a post- Erotica material world. The visual resistance to the male gaze that she conveyed by covering herself up head-to-toe (even wearing gloves) in a masculine-influence wardrobe she relinquished with her body-baring video for her 1990 single "Love Will Never Do Without You" as she thrust herself headlong into pushing the sexual envelope within the mainstream. While brother Michael rose to superstardom with his unique dance and vocal style, what set Janet Jackson apart from her competition was how she used fashion, moves, and music (not to mention a disciplined work ethic) to tackle identity politics, namely gender (such as with her 1986 album Control) and racial issues (1989's Rhythm Nation 1814). Way back in the Dark Ages-the era before the Internet, cellphones, and the Kardashians-a young woman burst on to the scene. Like her brother, she harnessed the power of the burgeoning music video format and helped establish the group-dance presentation that became a template for numerous stars to employ, ranging from Paula Abdul to Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez.
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