fan base Janet Jackson

[Oktober Knight]

4 hours ago, Pop Life said:

Am I the only one that liked the change in her voice on 20 Y.O.? Not defending the album, but there's been a warmth and a bit of richness to her voice that's very intriguing on her later albums and it started with 20 Y.O.

I love it too! 

[Devin]

20 Y.O. is underrated fr. I really love Take Care, Daybreak, and Enjoy. 

[allforyou]

4 hours ago, Pop Life said:

Am I the only one that liked the change in her voice on 20 Y.O.? Not defending the album, but there's been a warmth and a bit of richness to her voice that's very intriguing on her later albums and it started with 20 Y.O.

I like her deeper voice, especially on Unbreakable but Discipline too (the harmonies on Rollercoster are next level) but her voice sounded kind of rough to me in certain 20 Y.O. songs

[HereInMyHead]

14 hours ago, allforyou said:

There's no lower low than Love 2 Love and I stand by that 

An interesting opinion to have on an album with songs like This Gurney and Torpedo Me.

 

[blown away]

21 hours ago, monologueNacafe said:

And On And On should’ve been an official single. It was already getting radio play at the time. 

Both And On And On and Where Are You Now should've been singles instead of Because Of Love.

 

[blown away]

Also, am I really seeing praise for 200 YO and Disc-error?

 

Both projects were horrible. The good songs on those albums combined aren't even enough to fill an EP.

[kishi]

Y'all can hate on Thotnet all you want, but she was talking her sh*t and she rightfully gave 20 Y Ho love on this recent tour. 🔥

[eli's_rhythm]

On 7/8/2023 at 9:39 AM, Devin said:

20 Y.O. is underrated fr. I really love Take Care, Daybreak, and Enjoy. 

Daybreak especially is soo underrated along with Love 2 Love. Some of her best ‘00s album tracks and the Prince/Minneapolis influence is all over them.

[PopThatCorn]

The way everyone just accepts Janet's run from Control to Velvet Rope is immaculate so all we have left to argue (since Janet refuses to release literally anything) is:

 

Allah For You vs Damita Jesus

20 H.O.E vs Dissociated 

 

[TheGreatestX]

1. Damita Jo

2. All For You

3. Discipline

4. 20 Y.O.

5. Unbreakable

[SinnerCity]

1. All For You

2. Damita Jo

3. Discipline

4. Unbreakable

5. 20 Y.O.

[blown away]

1. Damita Jo

2. All For You

 

3. Unbreakable 

 

4. Discipline

 

5. 20 YO

[Nippy'sReceipts]

I wonder  if Janet worked with Timbaland in 2006 for 20 YO. He was poppin that year. 

[Galaxy]

On one hand Discipline is definitely basic and beneath her, but on the other hand I can't make the music not bop

[Take Me Apart]

I think Damita Jo is becoming my fav album of hers

 

 

[kishi]

Unbreakable

Damita Jo

20 Y.O. 

All For You

Discipline

[allforyou]

1. All for You (close to perfection and to me is in the level of the previous albums)

2. Damita Jo (THE perfect summer album)

3. Unbreakable 

4. Discipline

5. 20 Y.O. (the album that ended her streak of perfection )

[Sabandija]

1. Damita Jo

 

2. All For You (because of the incredible singles)

 

3. Unbreakable

 

4. Discipline

 

5. 20 Y.O.

 

I really love Janet as a performer and her singles never disappoint. The Velvet Rope is her only album I enjoy from start to finish though.

[Cbreezy]

IMO, her best recent efforts in loose order are:

 

20 Y.O: From a "00s Janet" onwards perspective, it's that girl! Sorry not sorry!

 

Following music, eras, and campaigns of so many artists closely, this was one of those times when it truly hit me how much context, climate, and concept (in this case, a lack thereof) can totally shape mass opinion about a project. With both fans and the GP. Regardless of the music itself.

 

Yes, it was somewhat faceless and somewhat lacking in a theme (by Janet's imperial phase standards), but it's perfectly serviceable Pop-R&B that would have worked for any other TOP artist at the time. Some have (and continue to) use this as a slight, but IMO it simply proves that the chaos around Janet's name, fan's personal disapproval for a lack of Jimmy and Terry, the disdain for JD, and the disarray of the era itself (e.g. no tour, lacking promo, the effects of the blacklist that few listened to us about at the time in the absence of social media) all marred the music. But in reality (IMO) it's the collective calamity of the ERA that has been misconstrued as somehow equalling "bad" music. Which isn't fair IMO.

 

Madonna was allowed to ride the wave of "in" sounds over her entire career? Why shouldn't Janet? IMO, she already was doing this. Had she not, she'd have been banging pots and pans trying to give the industrial feel of Rhythm Nation through the 90s and 00s. And we all know she didn't do that.

 

My measure of a "good" album is the sum of tracks that a) bang and b) I still play years later and still sound fresh. With 2O Y.O, it's easy: So Excited, Enjoy, RollWitchu, With U, Do It 2 Me, Get It Out Me, Show Me, Take Care. That's most of the album. Even Call On Me, basic as it is, was a smart play given it was only a few years after Dilemma and Nelly was red hot commercially at the time. 

 

If she released a slightly refreshed template of this very album now with the "story" of being "grown and being free after tackling so many serious topics over her career", the girls would go up. So, IMO, it really is about...context and climate. 

 

**********

 

Damita Jo: home to some career-highs, real gems, and trademark sex jams (All Nite, R&B Junkie, I Want You, Island Life, Warmth).

 

Slightly too long and I feel there's a tighter 10-12-track album she could have made with the exact same set of songs, but it's also the last album that she made a purposeful attempt at exploring a variety of sounds within the scope of Pop...and pulling it off.

 

**********

 

Discipline: for Feedback alone (one of her best songs ever and a comeback track if I've ever heard one), this whole album/era deserved so much more. Add the genius of the Euro smash that got away in Rock With U, Luv, and the seduction of the title track. There were some triple-A gems on this.  

 

As a body of work, it's cohesive and a good total listen, but arguably slightly more faceless than 2O Y.O. There aren't many other high points that tower as tall as the trio of tracks mentioned. Instead, there's a flood of "ok" songs and a few duds (like the horrible Neva Letchu Go and Greatest X). I enjoyed corners of 2Nite, but my oh my does it sound SO dated now. Hell, it sounded dated then, so not sure why I'm even surprised.

 

**********

 

Unbreakable: as I said before, context and climate are everything. IMO, this album - while "good" - is actually the weakest and my least re-visited of her 00s onwards efforts.

 

BUT such was the hype for her comeback and such was the cleverness of her rebranding as "mature, mysterious" that the marketing of this as a "critically acclaimed...return to form" stuck. And as a stan, I was/am here for that. But in terms of true-tea and legit enjoyment, there's not much for me here than (BurnItUp and Damn Baby, both of which are still big-time bops but now sound slightly dated. Slightly).

 

No Sleep was cute and in many ways is the template of what she should be building on now (with the same format of moody midtempo with a commercially hot yet mature and well-matched rapper/collaborator in the mix).

 

Other than that, meh. Like others have said, her singing diction needs improvement and to go back to the CLARITY of I Get Lonely.  

Some of the songs here had promise like the title track and The Great Forever, but I still...eight years on...don't understand a damn thing she's singing on them LOL.

[KKKIMO92]

Damita Jo

All for you

Unbreakable

Discipline

20Y
 

Up until DJ, she is still a mega star with high production and a great team back her up. You can tell the record label and the whole industry suddenly stopped giving Janet the top stuff in 20 YO. 
 

I also think most people would agree her run from Control to All For You is immaculate.

 

 

[eli's_rhythm]

Damita Jo

All for You

Unbreakable

20 Y.O.

Disgusting

[monologueNacafe]

I honestly don't listen to anything after AFY in FULL but:

 

1. All For You

2. Damita Jo

3. Unbreakable

4. Discipline = 20 YO

[kishi]

These names for Discipline 

 

I liked it when it first came out and don't dislike it now, but there are some lyrical and vocal moments that are questionable. Janet barely contributing creatively was concerning. 

 

Still love Feedback, Luv, Can't B Good is SO UNDERRATED (heard that more on the radio than the album's other singles), 2Nite, So Much Betta, the title track and What's Ur Name. Also...will defend Never Letchu Go till the end! The 1 and Let Me Know are cute. Everything else I don't listen to at all. 

 

Really wish she got to be on If I Never See Your Face Again. Love that track! 

 

I just don't think IDJ was that invested in Janet. The album roll out should have started earlier, I really wish the tour last longer. I think all of the mishaps of that era also put a stain on the album for a lot of fans. 

[makeme]

1. All for you

2. Damita Jo

3. Unbreakable

4. Discipline 

5. 20

[ALΞX]

Are we ever getting new music? 🤦🏼‍♂️