Janet (stylized as janet.) is the fifth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. It was released on May 18, 1993, by Virgin Records America. Prior to its release, Jackson was at the center of a high-profile bidding war over her recording contract. In 1991, her original label A&M sought to renew her contract, while others, such as Atlantic, Capitol, and Virgin all vied to sign her. After meeting with Virgin owner Richard Branson, she signed with the label. The contract was worth an estimated $40 million, making her the world's then-highest paid musical act. Janet marks Jackson's second eponymous record after her debut studio album, Janet Jackson (1982).
Its title, consisting of just her first name followed by a period, suggests a separation of her public image from the Jackson family and presents her as an independent artist. A R&B record, Janet incorporated pop, hip-hop, soul, funk, rock, house, jazz, and opera and moved away from the rigid, industrial sound of her previous records. Lyrically, the theme of Janet is sexual intimacy—an abrupt departure from her conservative image.
In the United States, Janet became the singer's third consecutive album to top the Billboard 200 and her first to debut at number one. Selling 350,000 copies in its first week, it set a record for the highest first-week sales for a female artist at that time. Certified sixfold platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it has sold over seven million copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. Internationally, Janet topped the record charts in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and has sold an estimated 14 million copies worldwide.
Janet produced six top-ten hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, including the number-one singles "That's the Way Love Goes" and "Again". The MTV-sponsored Janet World Tour, which supported the album, received critical acclaim for Jackson's elaborate stage performances, reinforcing her reputation as one of the preeminent artists of the MTV generation. Janet cemented her as an international icon and sex symbol, and is listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 200 Definitive Albums of All Time. Academics have argued that the erotic imagery in her music videos has contributed to a higher degree of sexual freedom among women in popular music.
Background Rumors of a multimillion-dollar bidding war over Jackson's recording contract began to circulate in spring 1991. Jet magazine reported: "A recording company has offered in excess of $50 million to sign superstar Janet Jackson to a recording contract, making the 24-year-old singer/songwriter/dancer/actress the key player in one of the hottest bidding wars among today's major record companies." Reports indicated that Capitol, Virgin, and Atlantic were all bidding for Jackson's contract, as her ties to A&M would soon expire; by March, she had signed with Virgin. The New York Times declared "Janet Jackson has signed what is believed to be the most lucrative contract in the history of recording. The 24-year-old singer, songwriter and actress signed an exclusive contract with Virgin Records it was announced yesterday." Her new contract guaranteed a 22 percent royalty payment, in addition to her then-historic signing bonus. Chuck Philips of the Los Angeles Times reported that it had been the largest bidding war in recent memory and that "[o]ne reason the bidding was so heavy, various industry observers have noted, was that Jackson-at just 24-is still a relatively fresh face on the pop scene and that her dance-pop style is ideal for today's pop/video climate." In addition, her potential as an international superstar proved to be the primary motivation for the label's investment. Jeff Ayeroff, co-managing director of Virgin in the U.S., stated: "Janet is a world-class artist and we expect her growth to be enormous." Chairman Richard Branson spoke with Jackson privately to seal the deal. He commented: "A Rembrandt rarely becomes available... When it does, there are many people who are determined to get it. I was determined."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times criticized the contract amount, considering it a gamble for Virgin. He stated that Jackson "is a producer-dependent artist—i.e., someone who relies on others to make her sound interesting and trendy. She also lacks a sharply defined personality, both as an artist and celebrity. Where singers like Ms. Houston and Mariah Carey have commanding vocal power, Ms. Jackson's is a relatively indistinguishable studio voice." Branson rebutted this argument, stating, "Ms. Jackson has met with great success working with the production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, just as her brother Michael Jackson has experienced his greatest successes with the producer Quincy Jones. It is interesting that Mr. Holden doesn't mention this similar 'liability' when discussing Michael Jackson. To say that Ms. Jackson is 'dependent' on her producer is a shortsighted observation. She is a formidable talent who stands on her own." Michael would break his sister's record only days later, when he signed a $60 million contract with Sony Music Entertainment. Both siblings' contracts garnered considerable criticism. Los Angeles Times reported that "A&M Records President Al Cafaro, whose company lost the fierce bidding battle over Janet Jackson to Virgin Records, said record companies may be vesting too much importance in individual performers" as the funds used as advances to the Jacksons could have launched recording careers for numerous unknown talents. Cliff Burnstein of Q-Prime management commented that recording artists' demands for advances upon signing would begin to escalate from that point forward.
Prior to her first release with Virgin, Jackson was asked by Jam and Lewis to record a song for the soundtrack to the feature film Mo' Money, released in 1992 by their label Perspective Records. Jon Bream of the Star Tribune reported: "For most movie soundtracks, producers negotiate with record companies, managers and lawyers for the services of big-name singers. Like the Hollywood outsiders that they are, Edina-based Jam and Lewis went directly to such stars as Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, Bell Biv DeVoe, Color Me Badd and Johnny Gill." Jackson and Vandross recorded the duet "The Best Things in Life Are Free" featuring Bell Biv DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B Singles chart. Shortly afterward, Jackson began filming for her first feature-length role in John Singleton's Poetic Justice. Although she was encouraged by a major studio executive to take on a film in which she could portray a singer, she insisted on finding a different role. She explained: "About that same time John Singleton asked me to read his new script. John and I became buddies—I loved Boyz n the Hood—so I thought he was just asking my advice. I was shocked and honored to learn the screenplay had been written with me in mind. 'Would you play Justice?' he wanted to know. Yes! I'd finally found a role—a dramatic nonsinging role—that was right." Released in July 1993, Poetic Justice debuted at number one at the box office, grossing $11,728,455; it eventually grossed $27,515,786.
Conception and titling
After writing songs with themes of independence for Control and social injustice for Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson desired to devote her new album to love and relationships, describing the theme of her new album as "intimacy" and that "[s]exual communication is the name of the game." She stated in an interview with David Wild for Rolling Stone that "[w]hile I was doing Rhythm Nation, I was thinking about how things were so hard, so regimented and so black and white ... I thought I'd do something on the sexy side—which is hard for me since I grew up as a tomboy and don't really think of myself that way. But I think this album is more on the feminine tip." She also commented on how her experience acting in Poetic Justice played a role in taking a new direction with her music. Speaking with biographer David Ritz, she stated that "Rhythm Nation was a heavy record, and Poetic Justice was a heavy movie. I wanted to do something lighter but also daring ... When I wrote the album, I was still in a poetic frame of mind, inspired by Maya's beautiful language. You can hear that inspiration in the interludes and especially on the song 'New Agenda'. This time I felt much freer expressing myself."
Despite the critical and commercial success of her two previous albums, Jackson continued to receive numerous comparisons to her brother Michael, often with doubts that she held staying power in the music industry. When Edna Gundersen of USA Today questioned her about the subject, she responded: "Certain people feel I'm just riding on my last name ... That's why I just put my first name on janet. and why I never asked my brothers to write or produce music for me." Virgin Records expressed the album title "punctuates the declaration of strength the singer, songwriter and producer boldly expresses on this moving collection of songs which explore love, sensuality, the power of sisterhood and her own evolving self-identity." Thomas Harrison, author of Music of the 1990s (2011) wrote that "[t]he conscious decision was made, by the company and/or Jackson, to put her into the same league as other one-named artists, such as Madonna, Bono, Beyoncé and Prince, or at least to put her on the same standing as others in the industry who are often called by one name, such as Whitney, Mariah, Britney, Diana, Dolly, and Garth among others. Jackson could now, in a sense, stand on her own and not be seen as a product of the family entertainment machine." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the album title ultimately "announced the singer as completely independent of her male-dominated family [and] it positioned her as the person in charge of her sound."
Production The album was recorded at Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota, from September 1992 to February 1993. Songs on the album, except "What'll I Do", were written by Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and mixed by Steve Hodge and Dave Rideau; "What'll I Do" was written and produced by Jackson and Jellybean Johnson. Jackson took a larger role in songwriting and production than she had on her previous albums. She explained that "[a]ll my records are personal, and janet, is the most personal of them all. That's why this time around it was important for me to write all the lyrics and half of the melodies." Jam described the record as being "a more mature album musically." David Ritz noted that Jackson and her producers took risks by experimenting with musical influences that had not appeared in their previous work. He explained: "She asked Kathleen Battle and Public Enemy's Chuck D to contribute—an opera diva and a hardcore rapper, two artists one would not associate with Janet—and somehow pulled it off. Beyond Jam and Lewis, there's now a recognizable Janet Jackson production style that's gutsy and, in some cases, even eccentric."
"That's The Way Love Goes" contains a sample loop of "Papa Don't Take No Mess" written by James Brown, Fred Wesley, Charles Bobbit, and John Starks. The song "Again", was originally just an experimental sound the production duo was considering. While Jackson found its melody compelling, the trio did not seriously consider the song until the film producers from Poetic Justice requested a ballad for the film's soundtrack. Jackson subsequently wrote the lyrics for "Again" and adapted them to Jam's melody. The song was arranged by Lee Blaskey and accompanied by members of the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.