Janet Jackson Wants You 'Damita Jo' album

How best do you define an icon? Is it someone who not only creates trends but also survives and surpasses them? A legend that has depth and who is willing to push the boundaries way beyond 'flavor-of-the-month' into a unique approach? In the case of JANET JACKSON, it is all of the above and more.

With all the awards and accolades, sold-out tours, top-rated television specials
and CD sales that exceed 50 million worldwide, it would be a challenge to state
what Janet's greatest accomplishment has been. But maybe the highest praise is
to recognize that it's hard to recall a time when she didn't matter - when her
songs didn't blast from the radio and instantly settle into our heads, hearts and
hips, or her videos didn't break new visual ground. Now with the hotly
anticipated DAMITA JO, her 4th Virgin release (and 8th studio album overall),
Janet takes her incredible musical journey a step further. If 2001's All For You
was, as Janet described it, an album that "helped me move from one emotional
level to another", then DAMITA JO is proof that Janet is still moving; making
music that continues to aim higher and dig deeper.

On DAMITA JO (that's Janet's middle name), she once again joins forces with
longtime friends and creative allies Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who have
worked with Janet since 1986's Control. "I love Jimmy and Terry," Janet
declares. "What we do together even amazes me. We've grown up together in
the studio. There are no egos. We love each other; we love the process of
working together."

Along with Jam and Lewis, Janet also partners on the new record with innovators
like Dallas Austin (TLC, Madonna), Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (Aretha Franklin,
Toni Braxton), Swedish team Murlyn Music (Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin), and
hot hip-hop newcomer Kanye West (Jay-Z, Alicia Keys). The result is an album
that finds Janet focused and more in control creatively than she has ever been.
Brimming with pulsing, up-tempo songs as well as sexy, introspective looks at
life, love and the ups and downs of relationships, DAMITA JO is the soulful
sound of someone in their prime - as an artist and as a woman. Two initial
album tracks - the rock-ish "Just A Little While" (produced by Austin) and the
more R&B-leaning "I Want You" (produced by West) - give only a brief indication
of Janet's diversity on this exciting new album.

The youngest of nine children in the talented Jackson family, Janet's older
brothers had already made their historic mark as the Jackson 5 by the time she
was born. Not surprisingly, the performing bug bit Janet at an early age, making
her first stage appearance with her brothers at the age of seven. She launched
her acting career three years later when she joined the cast of the popular
sitcom "Good Times" in 1977. Janet stayed on the show for two years and then
appeared on "Diff'rent Strokes", "A New Kind of Family" and "Fame."

In 1982, Janet began to spread her wings and decided to try her hand at
singing. She enjoyed moderate success with her two teenage albums - 1982's
Janet Jackson and 1984's Dream Street - but it was with 1986's Control that
Janet secured her place in the pop/R&B lexicon. Anchored by Jam and Lewis's
production and showcasing Janet's confident vocals and take-charge attitude,
Control was more than just a hit album; it was a mission statement that
resonated with her growing fan base and launched several hits, including "What
Have You Done For Me Lately?;" "When I Think Of You;" "The Pleasure Principle"
and "Let's Wait Awhile."

Janet continued making strong musical statements with 1989's Rhythm Nation
1814, a record that she offers "reflected my real life and my real concerns". The
album spent 4 weeks at #1 and led to the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990,
which was seen by more than 2 million fans and remains the most successful
debut tour in history. Along with ushering in Janet's bold new sound and stance,
Rhythm Nation's success gave Janet a platform to speak out on the humanitarian
and children's issues that have always concerned her, particularly education and
AIDS awareness.

In 1991, Janet inked a much-talked-about, lucrative new deal with Virgin
Records. Later that same year came janet. Brimming with infectious grooves
such as "That's The Way Love Goes" (#1 for 8 weeks), 'If", "Again", and the
steamy ballad "Any Time, Any Place" (which spent 10 weeks on top of Billboard's
R&B singles chart), janet. showcased a sexy, more mature Janet and would go
on to sell nearly 7 million copies worldwide. Two years later she jumpstarted her
film career with the female lead in John Singleton's acclaimed "Poetic Justice,"
which also featured the late Tupac Shakur.

1995 saw Janet teaming up with brother Michael on the worldwide smash single
"Scream", which featured an eye-popping, futuristic video directed by Mark
Romanek. The next year Janet released 1986-1996: Design of a Decade. This
popular greatest hits collection included "Runaway," the sixteenth of her 23 gold-
certified singles. Janet followed up that success with 1997's The Velvet Rope, the
most starkly intimate album of her career. The Velvet Rope sold over 3 million
copies worldwide and offered up an emotional portrait of a woman in transition.
Speaking about the album's personal themes Janet said, "Velvet Rope took me
inside my fears and frustrations."

In contrast, 2001's All For You signaled a sea change in Janet's musical moods.
Debuting at #1 and selling over 3 million copies worldwide, All For You was laced
with a knowing and upbeat sensuality typified by the buoyant title track and the
infectious "Someone To Call My Lover." "All For You brought me outside," she
explains. "Happy, on a natural high, convinced that I could really express joy in
the face of pain." While recording All For You, Janet returned to the big screen
as co-star in the hit film "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps," playing Eddie Murphy's
love interest.

2001 was also the year that MTV inaugurated their top rated MTV ICON tribute
concerts by naming Janet their first recipient. The televised show paid homage to
Janet's stellar career and her continuing influence both on the industry and other
artists by featuring performances by Outkast, Pink, Mya, N'Sync and Destiny's
Child. "I craft my art according to my own heart, " Janet explains. "I feel free
and there is nothing more wonderful or inspiring than freedom."

Janet's quest for that freedom has infused her remarkable music and is at the
core of her theatrical live shows, which have become the stuff of industry
legend. So great is the demand to witness Janet live that in 2002 HBO asked her
to join an elite group of artists by televising her All For You show live from
Honolulu, Hawaii. The special marked Janet's second concert for the cable
network and generated huge ratings.

And now comes DAMITA JO. Once again Janet is creating the songs that not
only define the word artist but also define our lives. Asked if she ever feels any
pressure to reinvent herself from album to album, Janet is typically forthright.
"It's not that I set out to reinvent myself. It's just about where I am at that
moment in my life. It's just the space I'm in at that moment. That's what you see
and hear with each album." With DAMITA JO, Janet takes her creativity to new
heights, sharing her personal and musical triumphs with an ever-growing mass
of fans around the world.

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Janet Jackson Wants You - Damita Jo