J.
Jul 15th, 2001, 03:18 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WorldBeat/07/13/janet.jackson/story.janet.split.jpg
For several years singer Janet Jackson's star has outshone those of her successful siblings. This year alone has seen lavish MTV and VH1 tributes under the title "diva" and "icon."
"All For You," her latest album, continues her domination of both the album and singles charts.
After battling depression during the making of "Velvet Rope," Jackson says she's now at a stage where she's completely happy with her work and her life.
"It's just a wonderful place to be in," she said.
Baring her soul with personal lyrics and her midriff with raunchy dance routines, Jackson is now taking her talents around the globe once more with the start of a worldwide tour.
World Beat recently sat down with the superstar to talk about her album, touring and her passion for making music.
World Beat: You are very private about what goes on in your life. And yet on this album it's almost as if you're laying your life open for yourself and for all of the audience as well. You're very vulnerable on this album.
Jackson: Well, I don't think I was as vulnerable as I was on "Velvet Rope" though -- I mean, that was a really vulnerable space to me. And it's like showing everyone your insides, cutting yourself open and saying "here, this is me." I think a lot of people feel like they get a little closer to me because of the sensual side. Everyone says ("All for You") is very sensual in different ways, and I think that's what makes them feel that way, even though I've done this in previous albums. I think it's this space my life is in right now, accompanied with that that makes it more vulnerable and sensual with people.
World Beat: And you mix it up a lot. The tracks are very different -- there's a variety here. Did you go in with a specific mind-set, with a specific sort of philosophy that you want to share?
Jackson: Um, no. I always write about what's going on with my life. So, that was really the mind-set, once again. If I didn't have the life experiences, than I really wouldn't have anything to write about because that's the way I write. I never kept a journal, and I realized my albums are my diaries and my journals.
Umm... I've gotta sneeze......
World Beat: Go ahead.
Jackson: (long pause). Now that I'm waiting for it it's going away. (laughs)
World Beat: You've often talked about listening to a wide variety of musicians, of artists, of styles, of music. What were you listening to in terms of any potential influences when you were going thru the process of making this?
Jackson: There wasn't anything particular that I was listening to. But I mean there were several different things. That's the way I've always been, all of my albums have been pretty diverse. It's just the way I grew up, with so many kids in the house, from country to blues, from classical to jazz, and R&B and pop and folk. All that stuff was going throughout the house. So I'm so happy that I was the ninth child to be bombarded with all of this in such a great way and it has filtered into my songwriting.
World Beat: Tell me a little bit about the collaboration with you and (producers) Jimmy (Jam) and Terry (Lewis). You've been together forever. What is it that each of you bring to the table, for example, on this project?
Jackson: I love the way we work together. There are no egos involved. We have the best time in the studio. We understand each other, we allow each other that freedom to express ourselves. They help me to express myself. There's a true collaboration there and that's what's really important to me. That's one of the things I love about working with them because they truly believe in letting the artist put themselves into it, and that's what an album should be.
I've always loved listening to an album where I feel like I'm getting to know the person I'm listening to. That's what I hope my album does for other people and that's what Jimmy and Terry allow you to do as opposed to "I'm the producer. I'm gonna take hold of this, and it's going to go my way," without the artist having any sort of input whatsoever, but to sing the songs.
World Beat: You talk about people getting to know you through your music. Your work is very intimate, but there has to be a fine line between that and still keeping a private life and keeping what is near and dear to you away from the media. How do you find that balance? How do you walk that line?
Jackson: There is a very fine line. I tell, but I don't tell everything. You're very right. Keeping something for one's privacy is really important. I don't know how I've managed to do it. I just feel everyone's been good to me really. Well, (what) probably plays a big part is having so many brothers and sisters -- and there's always something going on with them, so it takes the focus off of me. But I've always been fortunate, because I am a very private person and the media have seemed to respect that, so to speak -- to a certain degree.
World Beat: Music videos seem to be very important in your work. How do you like doing music videos?
Jackson: I love it... I really enjoy it. I enjoy dancing. I enjoy being on the set. I'm lucky because a lot of the dancers are my friend. So it's like you're hanging out with family, so I'm having a good time, I'm not alone.
World Beat: How do you feel about performing live in front of an audience?
Jackson: I love it. I love it. And there comes a point where you miss it. You get very tired. It's grueling, traveling, going from city to city. Sometimes you leave the show around midnight, say, and you're in the next city, and sometimes you have to get up at five o'clock in the morning to get off the bus, get in the hotel, do the same thing over again. Do the show that night. It is grueling, but I really do love it. I really wouldn't change it for anything.
I enjoy performing live. I enjoy the energy. It's such a natural high... and you begin to miss it after the whole tour is over... A few weeks go by, a month or so, and you're ready to go back on tour again. It's just like that. It really is a drug. You become addicted.
World Beat: Do you find playing to audiences in other countries different than performing in the states?
Jackson: Yeah, definitely. They're a little bit more conservative in Japan. And they love to applaud... It's very different. It'll be very quiet and then you'll hear the kids call you. They call me "janet-a." Whereas, in the States, (there) is constant screaming. And in Australia, they're louder than they are in the States. They get pretty loud and wild over in Europe, too. I really love it. I really do.
One of the things I love the most is I get to meet a lot of the fans that I may see in the chat rooms when I go in and say hello. Or, in letters or part of the fan club, I get to meet them. I try to at least. So that makes it a lot of fun.
World Beat: Is that important for you to have that sort of personal connection with fans?
Jackson: I think so. It is. And not everybody does it. And it's just something that I like to do, and it's also my way of saying 'thank you,' because I do appreciate them. And it is because of them I am where I am.
World Beat: You've been performing your entire life. You sound as if you are just as passionate today as you ever have been.
Jackson: I am. There's a great deal of hunger still and, once it's gone, I think I'll be out, too. I couldn't possibly dream of doing this and not feeling that passion and not having that love. I have to enjoy what I do.
World Beat: Is that easy to keep that passion fresh and to keep that hunger there?
Jackson: For myself, yeah. I've been fortunate enough that it's been there, that there are so many things I want to do. And I hope it never dies and if it does, then that means that I'm done with this part of my life and I go on to another career doing something else. And that's what God's plan is for me, truly. That's the way I feel about it.
World Beat: It doesn't sound like there is time to settle down any time soon.
Jackson: No, don't say that!... No, there won't be any settling down. No marriage. No. Just work and fun... That's all we have time for.
[Edited by NikDC on July 15th, 2001 at 03:51 PM]
For several years singer Janet Jackson's star has outshone those of her successful siblings. This year alone has seen lavish MTV and VH1 tributes under the title "diva" and "icon."
"All For You," her latest album, continues her domination of both the album and singles charts.
After battling depression during the making of "Velvet Rope," Jackson says she's now at a stage where she's completely happy with her work and her life.
"It's just a wonderful place to be in," she said.
Baring her soul with personal lyrics and her midriff with raunchy dance routines, Jackson is now taking her talents around the globe once more with the start of a worldwide tour.
World Beat recently sat down with the superstar to talk about her album, touring and her passion for making music.
World Beat: You are very private about what goes on in your life. And yet on this album it's almost as if you're laying your life open for yourself and for all of the audience as well. You're very vulnerable on this album.
Jackson: Well, I don't think I was as vulnerable as I was on "Velvet Rope" though -- I mean, that was a really vulnerable space to me. And it's like showing everyone your insides, cutting yourself open and saying "here, this is me." I think a lot of people feel like they get a little closer to me because of the sensual side. Everyone says ("All for You") is very sensual in different ways, and I think that's what makes them feel that way, even though I've done this in previous albums. I think it's this space my life is in right now, accompanied with that that makes it more vulnerable and sensual with people.
World Beat: And you mix it up a lot. The tracks are very different -- there's a variety here. Did you go in with a specific mind-set, with a specific sort of philosophy that you want to share?
Jackson: Um, no. I always write about what's going on with my life. So, that was really the mind-set, once again. If I didn't have the life experiences, than I really wouldn't have anything to write about because that's the way I write. I never kept a journal, and I realized my albums are my diaries and my journals.
Umm... I've gotta sneeze......
World Beat: Go ahead.
Jackson: (long pause). Now that I'm waiting for it it's going away. (laughs)
World Beat: You've often talked about listening to a wide variety of musicians, of artists, of styles, of music. What were you listening to in terms of any potential influences when you were going thru the process of making this?
Jackson: There wasn't anything particular that I was listening to. But I mean there were several different things. That's the way I've always been, all of my albums have been pretty diverse. It's just the way I grew up, with so many kids in the house, from country to blues, from classical to jazz, and R&B and pop and folk. All that stuff was going throughout the house. So I'm so happy that I was the ninth child to be bombarded with all of this in such a great way and it has filtered into my songwriting.
World Beat: Tell me a little bit about the collaboration with you and (producers) Jimmy (Jam) and Terry (Lewis). You've been together forever. What is it that each of you bring to the table, for example, on this project?
Jackson: I love the way we work together. There are no egos involved. We have the best time in the studio. We understand each other, we allow each other that freedom to express ourselves. They help me to express myself. There's a true collaboration there and that's what's really important to me. That's one of the things I love about working with them because they truly believe in letting the artist put themselves into it, and that's what an album should be.
I've always loved listening to an album where I feel like I'm getting to know the person I'm listening to. That's what I hope my album does for other people and that's what Jimmy and Terry allow you to do as opposed to "I'm the producer. I'm gonna take hold of this, and it's going to go my way," without the artist having any sort of input whatsoever, but to sing the songs.
World Beat: You talk about people getting to know you through your music. Your work is very intimate, but there has to be a fine line between that and still keeping a private life and keeping what is near and dear to you away from the media. How do you find that balance? How do you walk that line?
Jackson: There is a very fine line. I tell, but I don't tell everything. You're very right. Keeping something for one's privacy is really important. I don't know how I've managed to do it. I just feel everyone's been good to me really. Well, (what) probably plays a big part is having so many brothers and sisters -- and there's always something going on with them, so it takes the focus off of me. But I've always been fortunate, because I am a very private person and the media have seemed to respect that, so to speak -- to a certain degree.
World Beat: Music videos seem to be very important in your work. How do you like doing music videos?
Jackson: I love it... I really enjoy it. I enjoy dancing. I enjoy being on the set. I'm lucky because a lot of the dancers are my friend. So it's like you're hanging out with family, so I'm having a good time, I'm not alone.
World Beat: How do you feel about performing live in front of an audience?
Jackson: I love it. I love it. And there comes a point where you miss it. You get very tired. It's grueling, traveling, going from city to city. Sometimes you leave the show around midnight, say, and you're in the next city, and sometimes you have to get up at five o'clock in the morning to get off the bus, get in the hotel, do the same thing over again. Do the show that night. It is grueling, but I really do love it. I really wouldn't change it for anything.
I enjoy performing live. I enjoy the energy. It's such a natural high... and you begin to miss it after the whole tour is over... A few weeks go by, a month or so, and you're ready to go back on tour again. It's just like that. It really is a drug. You become addicted.
World Beat: Do you find playing to audiences in other countries different than performing in the states?
Jackson: Yeah, definitely. They're a little bit more conservative in Japan. And they love to applaud... It's very different. It'll be very quiet and then you'll hear the kids call you. They call me "janet-a." Whereas, in the States, (there) is constant screaming. And in Australia, they're louder than they are in the States. They get pretty loud and wild over in Europe, too. I really love it. I really do.
One of the things I love the most is I get to meet a lot of the fans that I may see in the chat rooms when I go in and say hello. Or, in letters or part of the fan club, I get to meet them. I try to at least. So that makes it a lot of fun.
World Beat: Is that important for you to have that sort of personal connection with fans?
Jackson: I think so. It is. And not everybody does it. And it's just something that I like to do, and it's also my way of saying 'thank you,' because I do appreciate them. And it is because of them I am where I am.
World Beat: You've been performing your entire life. You sound as if you are just as passionate today as you ever have been.
Jackson: I am. There's a great deal of hunger still and, once it's gone, I think I'll be out, too. I couldn't possibly dream of doing this and not feeling that passion and not having that love. I have to enjoy what I do.
World Beat: Is that easy to keep that passion fresh and to keep that hunger there?
Jackson: For myself, yeah. I've been fortunate enough that it's been there, that there are so many things I want to do. And I hope it never dies and if it does, then that means that I'm done with this part of my life and I go on to another career doing something else. And that's what God's plan is for me, truly. That's the way I feel about it.
World Beat: It doesn't sound like there is time to settle down any time soon.
Jackson: No, don't say that!... No, there won't be any settling down. No marriage. No. Just work and fun... That's all we have time for.
[Edited by NikDC on July 15th, 2001 at 03:51 PM]