Janet: superstar at the crossroads

Ebony, Jan, 1995 by Lynn Norment

FROM child star to teen actress to superstar recording artist, Janet Jackson may not have done it all but she's well on her way. Last year, at age 28, she celebrated her 20th anniversary in the competitive world of show business, and now finds herself at the crossroads of a great career.

With beauty, talent, fame and wealth as assets, Janet's future is glowing with possibilities and she can go in any number of directions. And industry veterans are eagerly awaiting her next move.

In addition to singing and acting, she is songwriter and producer, choreographer and dancer. Repeatedly she has defied the critics who said she'd never have a hit record, that she'd never overcome her shyness and her pudginess, that she'd never escape the shadow of her famous brother or the grasp of her strong-willed, well-meaning parents.

Janet Jackson has proven them all dead wrong while tenaciously pursuing goals, gaining confidence, shedding pounds, developing a sexy persona, winning awards (including a Grammy), and releasing a string of hit recordings. Her most recent album, janet., is multiplatinum, while Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) and Control (1986) sold 8 million each.

Since she already has accomplished much more than most entertainers will during their entire careers, the question that looms on the horizon is What will Janet Jackson do next? Will there be another blockbuster album? Will she seek other acting roles, and if so, will she portray an earthy character such as she did in Poetic Justice, or will she opt for a musical next time? Will she and her longtime love, Rene Elizondo, whom she has known for 12 years, finally get married? And will she break more of Michael Jackson's music industry records?

She acknowledges "friendly competition" with her superstar brother, whose Thriller album is the biggest-selling album of all time and who has sold more than 110 million records altogether. But Janet is setting records herself. With Rhythm Nation, she became the first artist in music history ever to place seven Top Five singles (four of which rose to No. 1) from one album on the Billboard chart. Thus, she surpassed the record held by Michael for seven Top 10 singles from one album. In addition, she has 12 Top Five hits from two albums (Control and Rhythm Nation), whereas Michael has 10 Top Five hits from two albums (Thriller and Bad).

Another major question that looms ahead for Janet Jackson concerns image. Is she going to revert to the girl-next-door persona, or will she continue along the sex-kitten track? Many fans were shocked but pleased to discover the "new Janet" in the 1990 video, "Love Will Never Do (Without You)." Rather than the head-to-toe, body-hiding black pants ensembles that had become her trademark, Ms. Janet was seen erotically prancing about a beach in hip-hugging jeans and a cropped top that showcased her belly-button and whittled-down waistline. And that Janet, the sexually uninhibited siren, is the persona that flowed into the next album, janet., and dominated her videos. In particular, the video If portrayed sexual fantasy, lust and voyeurism. In all the album's videos, there was an abundance of skin and youthful sexuality.

She said she decided on a more sensual tone for the recording while filming John Singleton's Poetic Justice, an experience that she says changed her life. Not only did it liberate her sexually, she said making the movie, which was set in South Central Los Angeles and contained quite a bit of profanity, some even from Janet's lips, also liberated her from shyness.

The sensuality expressed on janet. simply reflects "my feelings, what's happened in my life," she said. As Janet shed her inhibitions, she seems to have started identifying more closely with Black women such as her Poetic Justice character, who was an inner-city hair stylist, and speaking out on racism and inequality. "Racism is an awful thing. It is horrible," she says.

Janet acknowledges that her privileged upbringing at the Jacksons' home in Encino, Calif., sheltered her from the realities of racism and discrimination. In the wake of the Jackson Five's enormous success in the 1960s, she practically grew up in the public eye. She was just two years old when the family moved from Gary, Ind., to Los Angeles. By the time she was seven, a shy, chubby-cheeked Janet was doing Mae West impersonations and joining brother Randy in a Sonny and Cher act in the family's Las Vegas show. At age 11, she made her acting debut on Good Times, followed by roles on Diff'rent Strokes when she was 15 and Fame after high school. Today, she admits that her teen years were a time of confusion, melancholy and pain. At age 18, Janet eloped with James DeBarge, but the marriage was annulled after only a few months.

During this period she also released her first two albums--Janet Jackson (1982) and Dream Street (1984)--to less than critical acclaim. "I went through a lot, from age 15 to about 19 years," she says. "I was very young. I used to hurt so badly that I'd ask God why, what have I done to deserve this?"