Why has this cd not done well? Why have I listened to it 4 times when I listened to Control, Velvet Rope, etc. a thousand times? What happened? What happened Janet? :(

Yeah, so anyway, what do you think it is:

Negative publicity from Super Bowl halftime show.

Lack of MTV video airplay.

Bad choice of singles.

It's just not a good cd.

any of the first 3 reasons.

The Super Bowl halftime show came at the wrong time... the antics didn't turn anybody on. MTV/VH1 barely played I Want You and I never even saw Just A Little While or Don't Stop. And I thought I Want You and Just A Little While weren't the best choices for singles.

The whole Super Bowl nightmare. :cool:

well, the last few years have been disasterous for basically all the late 80's/early 90's divas. Mariah's last few albums have flopped, Madonna's last album bombed, Whitney's last album was a major bomb, Celine's last 2 albums didn't perform up to expectations, Gloria Estefan's last album was a huge disaster, Toni Braxton's career is all but finished after her last album, etc.. It was more than likely that Janet was going to follow in the same footsteps of her contemporaries.

I think that CD is still OK becuase of the Super Bowl halftime oops.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
any of the first 3 reasons.

The Super Bowl halftime show came at the wrong time... the antics didn't turn anybody on. MTV/VH1 barely played I Want You and I never even saw Just A Little While or Don't Stop. And I thought I Want You and Just A Little While weren't the best choices for singles.

I was listening to it today and wondered what was the sole main reason that we're not talking about Janet when we talk about cds that came out in 2004. Sometimes I completely forget that it came out just a few months ago, that's how little I've listened to it, how little it's been on my mind.

I think it's really all those factors. MTV got mad since they produced the halftime show and people are upset with them, so they took it out on Janet by not showing the videos. "Damita Jo" and "My Baby" would've made better singles. "All Nite (Don't Stop)" is nice but now no one really cares. Plus All For You was kind of weak, so back to back subpar cd's aren't helping her. I still think she can have that one big hit single-filled cd.

Because she's too old! :happyface :p

i dont have the cd but i know when she hosted snl and she did her 2 numbers from the cd i couldnt understand the words to ether song she usally sings so clearly i know if i was going to pay good money for a cd i would want to hear the words well maybe her next one will be better

The album sucked, plain and simple.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
well, the last few years have been disasterous for basically all the late 80's/early 90's divas. Mariah's last few albums have flopped, Madonna's last album bombed, Whitney's last album was a major bomb, Celine's last 2 albums didn't perform up to expectations, Gloria Estefan's last album was a huge disaster, Toni Braxton's career is all but finished after her last album, etc.. It was more than likely that Janet was going to follow in the same footsteps of her contemporaries.

I agree.

As much as the artisits you mentioned think every album they crank out will go multi platinum, the pop music world is hard to stay on top of, espscially for veteran singers.

Some of these gals would love to think they can still attract "the kids," but the fact is they've been upstaged by a new generation of pop stars.

How can it already have bombed? Didn't it come out on March 30, 2004? It hasn't even been six months yet. Doesn't it take a little longer for it to have bombed? I think the correct word is bombing. ;)

Originally posted by Janice Johnson
How can it already have bombed? Didn't it come out on March 30, 2004? It hasn't even been six months yet. Doesn't it take a little longer for it to have bombed? I think the correct word is bombing. ;)

if the albums already fallen off the Billboard chart, it's a bomb.

People already considered "Glitter" a bomb after three weeks.

Originally posted by Janice Johnson
How can it already have bombed? Didn't it come out on March 30, 2004? It hasn't even been six months yet. Doesn't it take a little longer for it to have bombed? I think the correct word is bombing. ;)

It's by Janet Jackson, so you would expect it to still be relatively high on the charts. Where is it? How many of its singles hit top 40, let alone top 10? Where's her presence on the video channels or MTV's video awards? What, you want to wait another three weeks before officially calling it a bomb, be my guest.

Janet's apparently back in the recording studio... which is a huge recird for her since she usually takes 3-4 years between albums.

Apparently the stain of Damita Jo was so bad she's rushing a new cd out to rebound.

I think the main problem is that Janet doesn't realize she's not the cute girl anymore. People were not as aroused by her nipple in 2004 as they would've been in 1994. I honestly think had Britney or Beyonce been the people who exposed her nipple, the "I don't believe how indecent she is, the morals of this country have gone to hell" would've been "oh baby, THAT WAS HOT. Why didn't I tape it?".

It's just like how it was with Madonna 11 years ago (let's hope Janet follows M's footsteps and distances herself from the era). People thought Body Of Evidence was sick, disgusting and "she's gone too far", but these same people were turned on by Basic Instinct, why? because Sharon Stone was sexier than Madonna, much like Beyonce and Britney are sexier than Janet today

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79


I think the main problem is that Janet doesn't realize she's not the cute girl anymore. People were not as aroused by her nipple in 2004 as they would've been in 1994. I honestly think had Britney or Beyonce been the people who exposed her nipple, the "I don't believe how indecent she is, the morals of this country have gone to hell" would've been "oh baby, THAT WAS HOT. Why didn't I tape it?".



It's hard to say whether one of the younger artists would have been given more slack if they pulled the "nipplegate" stunt. Folks might have chalked it up to a "youthful mistake," whereas a mature artist like Janet should have known better.

Let's not forget that Janet has a brother who is a bit on the strange side, and and was (and still is) involved in major legal problems over child molestation allegations.
Maybe the negative reaction to Janet's Superbowl stunt was the people's way of saying "enough with the Jacksons!"

Originally posted by TJL
It's hard to say whether one of the younger artists would have been given more slack if they pulled the "nipplegate" stunt. Folks might have chalked it up to a "youthful mistake," whereas a mature artist like Janet should have known better.

Let's not forget that Janet has a brother who is a bit on the strange side, and and was (and still is) involved in major legal problems over child molestation allegations.
Maybe the negative reaction to Janet's Superbowl stunt was the people's way of saying "enough with the Jacksons!"

well, I'd compare the Janet/Nipplegate stunt to Madonna/Sex book era in 92-93. The same people who thought Madonna had gone too far were the same people who thought Sharon Stone's no pantie scene in Basic Instinct was the hottest thing they ever saw, and also fawning over Janet's Rolling Stone cover with her boobs being covered. The difference? Madonna was getting up there in age (Sharon Stone's a little older, but she had just become a big star, Madonna had been there for 8-9 years by then) and the likes of Sharon and Janet had taken her place on the "babe-ometer".... and now people like Beyonce and Britney have done the same thing to Janet.

the Super Bowl incident

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
well, I'd compare the Janet/Nipplegate stunt to Madonna/Sex book era in 92-93. The same people who thought Madonna had gone too far were the same people who thought Sharon Stone's no pantie scene in Basic Instinct was the hottest thing they ever saw, and also fawning over Janet's Rolling Stone cover with her boobs being covered. The difference? Madonna was getting up there in age (Sharon Stone's a little older, but she had just become a big star, Madonna had been there for 8-9 years by then) and the likes of Sharon and Janet had taken her place on the "babe-ometer".... and now people like Beyonce and Britney have done the same thing to Janet.

Oh yeah, I agree. Janet should have known better.. You would think some wisdom comes with maturity, but anything still goes in the entetainment industry.

Dance divas shake their groove things a lot but rarely produce anything musical. The music is all synthesized noise that's an excuse to have a cool video or a live wardrobe "malfunction." :o So why are you/we even having this discussion about Damita Jo's musical quality? As the Super Bowl incident proved, the music obviously does not matter!

So - THERE! :p

Originally posted by Steve M.
So why are you/we even having this discussion about Damita Jo's musical quality? As the Super Bowl incident proved, the music obviously does not matter!

So - THERE! :p

Who?? I don't think anyone in this thread has said much about the quality (or lack thereof) of the music on this album anyway. The only thing the Super Bowl incident proved is that a partially exposed breast is enough to make members of the FCC crazy.

Originally posted by vashti1999
Who?? I don't think anyone in this thread has said much about the quality (or lack thereof) of the music on this album anyway.

See what I mean? :D

Originally posted by Steve M.
Dance divas shake their groove things a lot but rarely produce anything musical. The music is all synthesized noise that's an excuse to have a cool video or a live wardrobe "malfunction." :o So why are you/we even having this discussion about Damita Jo's musical quality? As the Super Bowl incident proved, the music obviously does not matter!

So - THERE! :p

but the "wardrobe malfunction" (yeah right) happened during one of Timberlake's songs.

I think Janet has the potential to be a great artist, but she (like Madonna in the early 90's) gets so caught up into the sex thing, that it's hurt a lot. Velvet Rope and Rhythm Nation were both excellent albums and got rave reviews from critics who don't normally like her style of music. The problem with All For You and Damita Jo (she did it too on "janet.", but she was still able to balance it with other types of songs) is that since Janet got divorced, she is so hellbent on pushing the envelope that it is no longer sexy like it used to be. Janet going all out and singing about being "moist" just isn't quite as sexy and provacative as something like That's The Way Love Goes or Any Time Any Place was. Why? because there used to be a wall, now it's all broken down and she's gone from a sexy r&b/pop star to a b-list porn actress (the same thing nearly derailed Madonna in the early 90's but she changed drastically)

I know I am in a minority for this, but I actually think Damita Jo is a rather good album. Not a 5 star effort, but maybe a 3 1/2 or 4. I definately prefer it to All For You.

The main problem (besides Nipplegate) is that DJ does not have any surefire hit singles on it... the way every album since Control has. It's basically an album only huge Janet fans can get into. Madonna's "American Life" was the same way, the album was excellent (I would rank it as my #3 Madonna album), there just weren't any "this song is going to be huge" numbers on it like the other albums.

I'll give my ratings to Janet's albums:

Janet Jackson (1982) *** 1/2 (the songs were generic for the most part, but I liked the production. It's a shame that Janet makes it out like Young Love and Come Give Your Love To Me don't exist... if they ever come out with a 2-disc comprehensive GH cd for her, I'd like to see those two)

Dream Street (1984) * (dull, lifeless. Not just the nadir of Janet's career but also the low point of Giorgio Moroder, he went from producing classics for Donna Summer to THIS?. You can tell the only person who believed in this recording was Joseph. Even a guest background vocal from Michael couldn't get people to wanna buy this)

Control (1986) ***** (total funk/r&b classic. Not a bad song in the bunch. Jam and Lewis saved Janet)

Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) ***** (another GREAT Janet album. Probably her best. Of her career, this was her shining moment. Control made her a star but I think Rhythm Nation is the album that pushed her to the next level and made her rival her brother as the true superstar of the Jackson clan)

janet. (1993) *** 1/2 (good, but definately not in the same league as her first two albums)

The Velvet Rope (1997) **** 1/2 (her artistic peak. This is the album that is most personal to her and you can tell. A great album for anybody who has suffered from depression or has ever felt like an outcast)

All For You (2001) ** 1/2 (probably my least favorite of her "real" albums. I do like the upbeat songs here, but the problem is, they are so few and far between. We're treated to an overextended orgy of sex ballads that range from titilating ("Love Scene") to just plain raunchy ("Would You Mind"). This album she stopped being a trendsetter and settled into being a follower. The songs on this album were catchy, but Destiny's Child were doing the same songs, but better, and they are 15 years younger than Janet)

Damita Jo (2004) *** 1/2 (tainted by the memory of Nipplegate, and basically a victim of bad timing and single choices. This is definately a good Janet album. The songs are thankfully a bit shorter this time around, but the problem was that there just wasn't a surefire single. Which there is nothing wrong with that, but the fact that there wasn't a "Together Again" or "All For You" definately kept the album from being heard by more people who aren't Janet fans who support every album.)

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
I know I am in a minority for this, but I actually think Damita Jo is a rather good album. Not a 5 star effort, but maybe a 3 1/2 or 4. I definately prefer it to All For You.

It's basically an album only huge Janet fans can get into.

Nope. I consider myself a huge Janet fan and I can't get into it. I've tried and I can't get into it. I'll gladly listen to Dream Street before Damita Jo, given the choice between the two. My ratings:

Janet Jackson - 3.5/5
Dream Street - 3/5
Control - 5/5
Rhythm Nation 1814 - 4.5/5
janet. - 4/5
Velvet Rope - 5/5
All For You - 3/5
Damita Jo - 3/5

Ever wonder why an artist with a string of hit albums that sell millions of copies sometimes puts out one that simply doesn't sell?
I'm assuming that Janet has a large fan base that has followed her career and bought all her albums; why didn't they buy the latest one?

Lenny Kravitz had a few big hit albums in a row, but his lastest record didn't do too well. Why is that?

Originally posted by TJL
Ever wonder why an artist with a string of hit albums that sell millions of copies sometimes puts out one that simply doesn't sell?
I'm assuming that Janet has a large fan base that has followed her career and bought all her albums; why didn't they buy the latest one?

no hit singles. The Velvet Rope was a flop when it came out and the album was plummetting down the chart after the first 2 or 3 weeks where all of Janet's hardcore fans were rushing to buy it (very similar to how Damita Jo was in the top 5 for the first 3 weeks, then it plummetted once all the fans owned it), but then when Together Again was released as the second single, and it became a #1 hit, the album picked up steam and stayed around for awhile.

With Damita Jo, there really isn't a song off the album that could be released and would really take the world by storm. Every album since "Control" had at least one of these. All Nite (Don't Stop) was a HUGE #1 hit in the clubs, but who buys the album version of a song after loving the dance remix? Whitney's last album had three #1 hits in the clubs, but yet those club fans still didn't buy Just Whitney.

Originally posted by TJL
Ever wonder why an artist with a string of hit albums that sell millions of copies sometimes puts out one that simply doesn't sell?
I'm assuming that Janet has a large fan base that has followed her career and bought all her albums; why didn't they buy the latest one?

Lenny Kravitz had a few big hit albums in a row, but his lastest record didn't do too well. Why is that?

I was wondering about that too, listening to his latest a couple of days ago. The new single from his greatest hits album "Again" did really well for him, and I thought he may continue to do well after that, but nothing has made a big impact since. His albums are sort of similar, you know what to expect when you buy a Lenny Kravitz cd. I guess people figure they've heard it before and would rather not hear it again.

I'm the type where I'll buy cds from artists I like regardless, for the most part. I have every Madonna cd except for American Life, but I originally planned on buying it sound unheard, simply because that's what I tend to do with certain artists. I'm not so sure I'll buy Janet's cd right away when it's released. Her last two are kind of lazy efforts compared to cds she's done in the past.

Originally posted by vashti1999
I was wondering about that too, listening to his latest a couple of days ago. The new single from his greatest hits album "Again" did really well for him, and I thought he may continue to do well after that, but nothing has made a big impact since. His albums are sort of similar, you know what to expect when you buy a Lenny Kravitz cd. I guess people figure they've heard it before and would rather not hear it again.

I think Lenny's success with his Greatest Hits cd is from the fact that he's had at least one hit off each album, so I think a lot of people decided to wait for a Greatest to get all the hits on one package. Same thing happened with Sheryl Crow's Greatest cd, she has had so many hits off so many albums that a lot of people were waiting for a package to get them all in one place.

I'm really unsure why Lenny and Baptism didn't sell so well though. I thought "Lenny" was going to be a surefire hit.