Janet Jackson made an appearance last night on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" to promote her new movie Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married, Too? Janet was shy and well-spoken and she looked great! It is good to see her out in the spotlight again. I thought the bit where she thanked ?uestlove for the Jackson 5 tee-shirt was too cute!
While it has been reported big stars like Beyonce, Jay-Z, Lady Ga Ga, and Prince either turned their noses up at the project or failed to show for the recording session, it was fantastic to see such huge stars as Tony Bennett, Gladys Knight, Carlos Santana, Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige, and Barbara Streisand take the time out of their busy schedules to participate. Michael Jackson, co-writer of the original song, appears twice in the video at 2:22, singing alongside his sister Janet, and again at 3:41 looking like the King that he is.
Please donate to the Haiti relief efforts by downloading this video and song from iTunes and going to world25.org
Almost six years after the career-changing incident, Justin Timberlake apparently has regrets over the way he treated Janet Jackson in the wake of their 2004 Super Bowl scandal. The two were performing what was sure to be a showstopping routine during half time of the game when at the end of a song,Timberlake ripped open Jackson's shirt to reveal her naked breast covered by a pastie. Viewers had to be keen of eye to catch the momentary flash, but the fallout lasted for years.
Both Jackson and Timberlake apologized, with Jackson calling it a "wardrobe malfunction", however only Jackson's career seemed to suffer in its wake. Timberlake, for his part, denied knowing Jackson was topless, and distanced himself from her allowing the media and the public to draw conclusions she alone was responsible for the flash. Janet was left alone to deal with the fallout as she watched her album sales fall and her endorsements dry up. She retreated from the public eye, becoming a recluse and gaining quite a bit of weight. "Nipplegate" on CBS was seen by an estimated 140 million viewers and brought unprecidented complaints to the FCC and a huge fine for the network. Now, Timberlake says he's sorry. He told Entertainment Weekly he regrets his handling of the situation. “I wish I had supported Janet more. I am not sorry I apologized, but I wish I had been there more for Janet,” he said.
Personally, I used to be a JT fan. I loved his music and his style of dancing, but the way he treated Janet...really left a bad taste in my mouth. He came out of it with his career intact, but in my opinion he abandoned her like a coward. He was the one who actually ripped her shirt, not her. He humiliated and exposed a Black woman on international television. Why wasn't it considered assault? How can you blame someone for someone else ripping their clothes off? I never understood that. Even if they had planned it, they should have stood together to take the heat. Instead, he took the easy way out. I never forgave him for it and never bought anything else he did. He lost a fan in me back in 2004. How did you feel about it? Do you think he's being sincere now?
Janet and actor Colin Farrell were on couple watch after they were spotted at an “intimate lunch” a couple of weeks ago. They were seen sitting side by side in a booth at the renowned Polo Lounge located in the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to "Entertainment Tonight". Although Farrell just had a child with his girlfriend,Alicja Bachleda (i can't say it either) eight weeks ago , is Janet trying to get JD jealous and get back with him?
I don't mean to bring negativity, but you all should know Beyonce has said several negative things about the Jackson family in the past. One of them is: "I grew up upper-class. Private school. My dad had a Jaguar. We’re African-American, and we work together as a family, so people assume we’re like the Jacksons... I didn’t have parents using me to get out of a bad situation" Beyonce said this during an interview with Elle magazine. I think the statement was incredibly disrespectful and caused a lot of fallout for her. Rightfully so. The statement was directly aimed at Janet. Janet is said to have responded with, 'Beyonce has a lot of growing up to do.' Because of the fallout, Beyonce has been careful to smile and pretend like she is a huge Jackson fan and even wanted to do a tribute a the BET awards this year. (Supposedly the Jackson family nixed that idea because of her previous statements.) If you have a hard time believing Bey would say something mean one minute then nice the next or vice versa, remember the Taylor Swift incident? People were hailing her as a saint for giving Taylor her time to speak at the VMA's. Beyonce later came out several weeks later and admitted she knew Kanye was going to do it ahead of time and that 'he was just standing up for true art' or something to that effect. When this started to generate a tiny buzz on the blogs, the story was buried. Just like the Taylor incident, I'm sure she did this to generate good press for herself more than to honor Michael. My point in all this is to say, I think it is perfectly fine to appreciate her performance of the tribute, but please consider the source. It may or may not be sincere, so be careful who you praise and venerate. I am not a Beyonce hater. I enjoy a lot of her songs and loved her last tour before Sasha Fierce. I just don't like a lot of the things she says and does. She was one of the people responsible for putting down Michael so she gets the side eye.
I stayed up live chatting the AMA's with a group of folks from around the world. You would be surprised at how many international fans were trying to see this show. Some of my online friends in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Greece, the UK, and Scandanavia could not see the broadcast on television, so I kept up a stream of consciousness commentary on the show. I'm going to be honest with you: I haven't watched the AMA's in years and can't remember ever voting. That all changed this year with Michael Jackson's five nominations. I really wanted to see if he would be properly honored, so I tuned in. Spoiler alert: Michael won 4 of the 5 categories in which he was nominated.
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Favorite Pop/Rock Album Favorite Soul/R&B Artist Favorite Soul/R&B Album
He lost out to Taylor Swift for Artist of the Year. Even those who didn't really listen to Michael's music know he is artist of the millennium, let alone artist of the year. Where was Kanye when you need him?
Overall, the show was pretty dull and the producers seemed to be stalling on the good stuff and incorporating as much filler as possible. Half the show was devoted to country music and the other half seemed to be teen pop. At one point I threatened to scream if I saw one more Disney "star" come up to present an award. Shouldn't they have been doing homework or something?
Anyway, here is some of what I wrote.
I would give it an 8. I didn't like Janet's pants and she seemed to be just going through the motions in places. I also don't think she put any live vocals into it. Her makeup was flawless. She looked good and it was nice to see her honored as the opener, but I have seen her do much better. She had more fire in her eyes at the VMA's.
Some things never change. I thought it was totally inappropriate for him to bring his various children up onto the stage, plus the youngsters looked totally uninterested. He omitted Randy and I don't think he mentioned MICHAEL's kids either! What an ass!
Black Eyed Peas! Love them! I was hoping for pump it up and I've Got A Feeling. Why is Fergie in lingerie? She doesn't have to shake her pum pum to get attention. I like her darker hair. will.i.am is so far out there. Great club music. Love Apl's mohawk. Oooh, Taboo's wearing a sparkly glove like Michael! Did you see it? His already high sexy factor just increased exponentially! I have to admit I squealed with delight when they incorporated Nirvana. Yes, folks, I am a Nirvana fan. We like all kinds of (good) music over here on Planet Jackson.
Whitney's vocals are back! Last night's performance was miles better than her Central Park performance last month. Whitney has also thickened up! I really thought it would never happen, but she had a bit of a tummy and hips in that fitted white dress. I wonder why she wore it? Her makeup was flawless, but the wig needed a brushing. I could have done without that bit of hollering towards the end. When Samuel L. Jackson came out to introduce her, I half expected him to just say "she's a bad mother fcuker". He looked quite distinguished with his salt and pepper hair and pewter dress shirt.
Timbaland is back! I really missed his beats in hip hop. It's like he has some sort of embargo against working with the genre that made him. Ooooh, his autotune doesn't seem to be working, he doesn't sound good. That lady in the black dress looks scary. I like Nelly Furtado's hair. Okay, they incorporated some of Thriller at the end! Did you catch it?
Rihanna's set was weird and spectacular. I thought it had shades of S & M and I ain't mad at that. It made me sit up and pay attention. I did NOT like the costume.at.all. Her vocals were...she should have left out the guns as well. Do I sense a subconscious death wish here? Russian Roulette, her gun tatts, and this set? That tat on her neck and throat=epic FAIL!!!!! So tacky! This girl is having a slow public breakdown. She, Lauryn Hill, and Cassie just need to go away to some island to recuperate. Oh, scratch that. Islands are what got Lauryn in trouble in the first place.
Lady GaGa
I didn't like the costumes at all and I didn't care for her legs cocked open at the piano either. Is she wearing some sort of modified jockstrap? That whole set looks so dangerous! Broken glass, fire, and smoke everywhere. How is anyone else going to perform? I hope she doesn't get glass in her eye. I'm totally confused. I love her voice. She is singing live and she is fantastic. I really don't understand why she does all the gimmicks. She doesn't have to be Marilyn Manson. She's Lady Ga Ga and that should be enough. I felt like I was watching one of those crazy late-night specials on HBO (some of y'all know what I mean), so FAIL.
Let's see if she lives up to the hype. (She didn't.) She's been on the mommy track for a minute now. She never was much of a live singer. She is going to get pilloried for her mommy thighs. Twins in your late thirties will do that, LOL. Well, I liked the second pair of shoes and I loved the walking up the dancers' backs, but my favorite part was when gravity took over and brought that mighty ass down! At least she had plenty of cushioning! That was mean, wasn't it?
I was also a bit taken aback when Jermaine thanked Allah. That would have been fine if that were his award but it was Michael's. Michael learned about Islam but he wasn't Muslim. I bet Katherine had a fit when she heard that, too. She's a devout Jehovah's Witness. I wonder how they managed to keep Joe from attending and accepting? You know he probably wanted to. He was probably outside with the bouncers tombout 'don't you know who I am?' Jermaine was exceptionally self-centered tonight. You would have thought it was his award. At least he mentioned Michael's message: "Start with love and let's love each other."
50 Cent and Eminem kind of phoned in their performance. It wasn't anything spectacular. Eminem has squandered his potential on senseless beefs, anger, and drugs. 50 was always just hype. By the way, when you have to bleep out a good solid 4 seconds of your performance at a time then your song is too profane. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys could have just cued up a video of their VMA performance for that New York song. I felt like I was watching the exact same thing. Alicia did a decent job on her solo. I liked the spinning piano in the air.
TAYLOR EMINEFFING SWIFT??? At least she is acknowledging the Jacksons. She does NOT deserve this award. There is no way. What happened to the other awards? I know I'm not crazy. They have only presented three of the five in which Michael was nominated. WTF???
Why are they having Adam Lambert hump that woman's face (I later realized that was a man)and feel up the crotch of that woman on the pole? He knows he did not like it one.bit. What's with the man-kiss? He knows good and well he wanted to wear some spangled Liberace suit. All the screaming! Freddie Mercury he is not. He sounds like I did when they announced TS as the winner over MJ. I'm still screaming.
Ryan Seacrest, this show sucked. I'm never watching again. I feel so let down. This is B.S. Taylor did NOT deserve to win that award and she knows it. I never thought I would say this, but where is Kanye? I'm pissed because 1. there was no tribute 2. Michael didn't win artist of the year. I refuse to believe his fans did not vote for him in droves. this is a conspiracy! Even if, by some glaring omission Michael were not nominated, Taylor Swift still should not have won. She just doesn't have the chops. What she apparently does have is an army of 2-year-old fans who texted and voted on-line ad nauseum. 3. the show was extremely boring 4. 2 of Michael's awards were presented off-air and they didn't even bother to tell us that during the show. People were left wondering what happened. 5. Adam Lambert's closing number was disgusting and vulgar. I have seen him in person and he has no personality or stage presence; I guess he went for the shock value so we wouldn't notice his stumbling (he tripped during his set) and screeching and general lack of real showmanship. I am officially through with him and the whole American Idol fakery machine.
Janet Jackson's prime time interview with ABC's Robin Williams was a big hit. In the interview, Janet quashes rumors she and long-time beau Jermaine Dupri have patched things up saying they are still very close friends but are not dating. Janet credits Jermaine with helping her to learn to accept her body the way it is and to love herself.
Janet will be discussing her brother Michael's death, her new album, and her relationship with Jermaine Dupri on television next Wednesday evening. From what I've heard, she blames Dr. Conrad Murray for Michael's death. It will be interesting to see what else she has to add. I just hope she doesn't capitalize off the situation like some others who shall remain nameless...
Janet Jackson made an appearance in Los Angeles at The Grove for a Tribute Dance event. She looks fantastic, doesn't she? She and long-time beau Jermaine Dupri are supposed to be an item again. It's a shame they couldn't work out their differences in the immediate aftermath of Michael's death. It's good to see her smiling again.
Janet Jackson was the epitome of grown and classy at the Giorgio Armani fashion show in Milan. Excuse me while I look up information on where to buy those trousers and that argyle sweater.
Please tell me why it was okay for Pink to wear a pasty during her entire MTV VMA performance on Sunday and for Lady Gaga to freaking bleed out onstage but somehow Janet's pasty was so offensive they had to kill her career (but not Justin's)?
Kanye posted an apology for his heckling during the VMA's:
"I'M SOOOOO SORRY TO TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS AND HER MOM," Kanye wrote on his site, AP reported. "I SPOKE TO HER MOTHER RIGHT AFTER AND SHE SAID THE SAME THING MY MOTHER WOULD'VE SAID. SHE IS VERY TALENTED!"
Others aren't really buying his apology:
Pink tweeted about her annoyance with Kanye. "Kanye West is the biggest piece of sh-t on earth. Quote me," she wrote. "My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl, and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her." She later said on the Today Show that the incident never would have happened if she had won because she had a cute Alexander McQueen purse with brass knuckles on it.
Now, I'm going to be honest here. I had heard Taylor Swift's name before but couldn't pick her out of a lineup before last night (and maybe still this morning). When I saw Kanye run up next to her on stage I thought it was part of the night's skits. After listening to what he had to say, I felt sorry for the girl. That was her first VMA and she is only 19. To her credit, Beyonce looked shocked and embarassed (though some are saying she and Kanye orchestrated the event). Maybe this was another Eminem-Sascha Baron Cohen type scam. If so, it was in poor taste just like so much of the awards show (Russell Brand's jokes, Lady Ga Ga's 'performance', etc.).
As far as Bey goes, it was just good PR for her to 'graciously' give up her award acceptance time to Taylor. If she hadn't, the backlash would have extended to her. Her PR team was just earning their keep. The same applies to her pre-show statement that Janet Jackson was one of her inspirations. This after her quote earlier this year: “I grew up upper class. Private school..My dad had a Jaguar. We’re African-American and we work together as a family, so people assume we’re like the Jacksons, but I didn’t have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.” Um, yeah. It doesn't sound much like she idolized her. More like just swaggerjacked her style and kept it moving.
Janet Jackson cried all night at the MTV VMA Awards last night because Kanye's thoughtless antics on stage took the spotlight off her brother Michael's tribute. The whole night was supposed to be an evening in honor of Michael Jackson.
This coming Sunday, September 13 at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.
The tribute will include and all-star lineup of 20 backup dancers 'which is being put together by some of the best choreographers in the world, including Frank Gatson and Travis Payne.'One of the dancers Kryiss Grant, said 'some of the rehearsals have lasted up to 15 hours and there won't be a dry eye in the house.'
Planet Jackson Worldwide is a blog dedicated to news about Michael Jackson and the Jackson family. It is written with love and the utmost respect to honor the memory of Michael.
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