Janet Jackson :: Essays Papers

Janet Jackson You know she's a Jackson. And you know she's a singer. Of course, you know the girl can dance. You know she's a leading lady in Hollywood. And maybe you still think of her as a cute little girl with a famous last name and big , bright eyes. Do you think she's what she was yesterday? Better think again. As many of her other fans and followers already know, the only label that fits her is†¦ Janet. Time flies when your having fun and that's the way she wants its. Since the grown Miss Jackson burst upon the music scene in 1986 with Control Selling eight million records and establishing her as a bold, sensual, independent woman, she's been breaking the molds and banishing the stereotypes the world would set for her. She's not just the cute, little girl- actress we loved on "Good Times" and "Different Strokes" or the earnest teen we followed of "Fame." She's not the Jackson family's baby-not any more. Clearly, the only thing you can safely say about her is that she's Janet. And that's saying a lot. Consider that she's already appeared in five television series, made seven albums, and starred in a major motion picture. She's sold over 24 million albums worldwide, achieved five Top Five hits from her 1986 record, Control and a record seven Top Five Hits from the 1989 Rhythm Nation 1814 album, four went to no.#1. She followed that up with a record breaking world tour, a movie and her self-titled album Janet. You might think that a woman with a pedigree and resume as impressive as this would have had a smooth ride all along. Not so. Says Janet, "I went through a great deal of pain from about sixteen to nineteen and a half†¦ Pain that I really wouldn't wish upon anyone." During those years, challenging years for anyone, Janet released two albums, Janet Jackson (1982) and Dream Street (1984). She spent a difficult and lonely year away from her family in New York while appearing in "Fame," and by the time she was nineteen, had been through a divorce after a short-lived marriage to James DeBarge of another somewhat less famous singing family, the DeBarge Family.