After five decades in the public eye, three marriages and the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ that torpedoed her career, the pop megastar is back. She opens up about family, fame and her fears of mayhem after the US election
Janet Jackson has a cold. It is the hottest day of the year in London; outside, the tarmac is melting and the tube is operating as a sauna, but when I catch a first glimpse of her – buttoned up and cinched into black wool Thom Browne tuxedo pants and blazer over box-fresh platform sneakers – she looks perfectly serene, untouched by civilian inconveniences such as weather, the passing of time – or even a case of the sniffles.
I’m guided into a windowless room at the Peninsula hotel, and ask a member of the PR team about which of the two club chairs to take. I’m reassured that “the good thing about Janet is that she really doesn’t have a ‘side’. She honestly has no preference.” In superstar terms, this is meant to code Jackson as refreshingly low-key. But then, of course, she walks through the door, braids loose, posture taut. Hand sanitiser is swiftly pumped into her open palms by an assistant as Jackson apologises for being unwell. She turns to me to dispense a firm handshake and an undeniably dazzling smile. She is every bit as starry as I’d hoped: charming, expensive-smelling, comfortable being fussed over in a way only a lifetime of fame will do for you.
“This is just me, loving what I do,” she says softly, as we make small talk about her forthcoming live shows, her first full tour in Europe since 2011. So softly, in fact, that I move my recorder to rest on the arm of her chair. “Loving what I do and being grateful that God has allowed me to do what I enjoy and for people to still be interested. I’m very thankful.” (We’re speaking a few weeks before the sudden death of her brother Tito.) Jackson has a knack for drifting into grateful platitudes, partly, I think, because she’s determined to appear humble, but partly as a guardrail against any kind of controversy. After five decades in the public eye, it’s easier to be bland than to be burned; Jackson has plenty of experience of the latter.
In a parallel universe, one where she didn’t grow up in music’s first family, the youngest of the nine Jackson siblings, or one where her career hadn’t been torpedoed by “nipplegate” 20 years ago, Janet Jackson would be considered one of music’s greatest artists. For fans, her output and influence puts her in conversation with Prince, David Bowie, Beyoncé. Not just for her imperial run – from Control in 1986 to The Velvet Rope in 1997 – but for the record-breaking firsts she stacked up along the way: most top five singles from one album (seven for Rhythm Nation 1814); the most successful debut tour ever (in 1990); and, at the time, signing the most lucrative recording contract in music history ($80m in 1996), surpassing even her brother Michael.
Britney Spears and Janelle Monáe both claim Jackson as their biggest inspiration, and Charli xcx released a whole album (Crash, in 2022) in homage to her. Kendrick Lamar has paid direct tribute to her in his work, Kanye West has sampled and produced her. Pop’s beloved “good girl gone bad” trope – since mined by Rihanna and Miley Cyrus – was pretty much invented by Jackson. The moody, glitchy R&B of the last decade, perfected by everyone from Frank Ocean and Kelela, to Solange Knowles and Tinashe, has her at the root.
