Janet’s never been one to let the confines of genre hold her back, and she certainly isn’t starting now: Sonically, Unbreakable swerves in every direction - piano ballads, hip-hop, electric guitar riffs, trance pulsations and country twang - yet it still plays like a Janet classic.īut if you were expecting Miss Jackson to deliver a “Rope Burn,” a “Throb” or two, or perhaps even a little “Discipline,” get your hands out of your pants and recalibrate your smutty expectations: Miss Jackson-if-ya-nasty is nowhere to be found this time around. And despite the loud rumblings over the years suggesting otherwise, Janet’s return to music seemed entirely unlikely…until we heard it from her lips.Īs it turns out, Janet was putting in work at night in the studio while the rest of us were slee(e)ping. Much has changed since Jackson’s last studio outing seven years ago with the underrated Discipline: The untimely death of her brother (and, for many of us, the King of Pop) Michael Jackson, a greatest hits tour, a quiet marriage to a Qatari billionaire. We’re spoiled to still have them both, frankly.īut the method by which the two extended their musical legacies differs drastically: Whereas Madge kept her crown fastened with the help of today’s most in-demand, hashtag-friendly tastemakers on her unapologetic Rebel Heart - Diplo, Kanye West and Avicii among others - Janet’s kept it simple and plush in comparison, returning to her roots with the duo that started it all: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the prolific producers behind the boards through almost her entire career, from 1986’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately?” up to 20 Y.O.‘s “So Excited.” The partnership is a sacred one a continuously rewarding, ever-evolving collaboration that has endured for decades. It’s hard to find a pop star today who doesn’t count at least one of the two as their main sources of inspiration. Their contributions to pop are nothing short of iconic - in the actual, non-Internet abused sense of the word: The choreography, the tours, the outfits, the scandals, the music. There are nods to current dance-music trends like the frothy “Take Me Away,” which floats on a Calvin Harris–like cloud before culminating in a ripping guitar solo, and the splashy “Night.” There are also throwback ballads like the intimate “After You Fall” and the luscious “Dream Maker/Euphoria.” Unbreakable also maintains the social consciousness that made Rhythm Nation such a powerful statement 25-plus years ago: “Shoulda Known Better” takes on the present-day state of affairs, with Jackson echoing the Thriller track “Human Nature” of her late brother Michael.It’s rare to see a pop icon return, still thriving, thirty years deep into their career - let alone two in the same year.Īnd yet, here we are in 2015, with two records by both Madonna and Janet Jackson, inarguably two of the most culture-shaking, game-changing entertainers of the ’80s and beyond. Part of the joy of Unbreakable comes from the effortless way that it bridges the gap between new and old.
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It serves as notice that Jackson hasn’t yet given up her private booth at the club. The hyperactive “BURNITUP!” has hype assistance from Elliott and accompaniment that brings together the 2010s’ chanting crowds and the 1980s’ skittering 808 drum samples. If Unbreakable stayed in the laid-back grown-woman gear of its opener, it would still be completely satisfying the Jackson-Jam-Lewis crew has been crafting song-length sighs since Control’s sumptuous “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun).” But instead, the machine kicks into overdrive with the help of rapper Missy Elliott, another strong woman of yesterday’s pop charts who experienced a renaissance in 2015. As the song fades out, her voice comes back in, this time as tour guide: “Hello. Jackson’s voice, always notable for the emotion it could pack into even the simplest verse, is particularly suited to this type of laid-back R&B.
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The album opens with the title track, which could be read as a devotional of sorts to Jackson’s fans: “Never for a single moment/Did I ever go without your love,” she sings over a space-age synth, which blossoms into a sunny-day soul strut.
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JANET JACKSON UNBREAKABLE TOUR REVIEW FULL
In keeping with her best work, it’s full of bravado and soul-searching. As befits the title–and Jackson’s career– Unbreakable is a collection of songs about resilience and finding love both outwardly and from within.
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2, is a collaboration with Jam and Lewis that marks her first studio release since 2008’s Discipline. Jackson’s new album, Unbreakable, out Oct.