November 25, 20231 yr Author A reminder of what's left from each era: Janet Jackson – 0/3 Dream Street – 0/3 Control – 4/7 Rhythm Nation – 5/8 Janet – 3/9 The Velvet Rope – 3/6 All For You –3/4 Damita Jo – 0/3 20 Y.O. – 0/2 Discipline – 0/2 Unbreakable – 0/4 Greatest Hits –1/4 Collaborations/Other – 1/7 'Damita Jo' becomes the latest era to lose all of its singles, falling short of a top 20 placement. However, we still 5 studio albums & 2 others represented in the top 20. 'Rhythm Nation' has the most with 5, then 'Control' with 4 & finally 'Janet', 'The Velvet Rope' & 'All For You' each have 3 singles.
November 25, 20231 yr Author {Stop pressuring me, just stop pressuring me} 0P4A1K4lXDo 20. Scream (ft Michael Jackson) | 7.966 Highest Scores: 10: (popchartfreak, Sour Candy), Lowest Scores: 6: (Pandamic Tension, blacksquare) Kicking off the top 20 in almighty fashion is Scream, a duet between Michael & Janet Jackson. Released in May 1995 as the lead single from Michael's 9th studio album HIStory: Past, Present and Future and was released as a double A-side with "Childhood", a solo track by Michael. The single would later feature on Janet's greatest hits album Design of a Decade: 1986-1996. The song is an aggressive, retaliatory song directed at the tabloid media and their coverage of the allegations made against Michael in 1993. It was written, composed and produced by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Michael, and Janet Jackson; Michael played many of the instruments. The song generated a lot of media hype and was leaked to radio stations early, despite Epic Records' attempt to keep it off air until the release date & prompted legal action against the LA radio station. Upon release it received a generally good critical reception and would become the first single in the 37-year history of Billboard to debut at number #5 on the US Billboard charts, where it peaked. Elsewhere it became a worldwide smash hit by topping the charts in Italy, Spain and New Zealand, while reaching top 5 peaks in Australia, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK. The corresponding music video remains one of his most critically acclaimed; it won 3 MTV Music video awards and a Grammy for 'Best Music Video'. At a cost of $7 Million, it was listed in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive music video ever made. This fared a lot better on my 'Michael Jackson - Rate' back in 2021 where it ranked at 9th with an 8.8 average. This is very much an integral part of Janet Jackson's musical journey (Michael's too) on this almighty event of a song by combining the titans of pop to create a fantastic song that incorporates elements of pop, R&B, hip-hop, funk and rock to create a ferocious groove thanks to the crisp production that effectively holds everything together. The choppy electronic rhythms, aggressive vocals and infectious beats gives the track plenty of energy and dramatic bite. Shame that this was the only collaboration we got between the siblings, but what we did get was something special at the very least.
November 27, 20231 yr Author Do you judge me by my cover? 79SNvZi3ltE 19. The Best Things In Life Are Free (ft Luther Vandross) | 8.0 Highest Scores: 10: (Nina West, Simon. Pandamic Tension), Lowest Scores: 6/6.5: (Davidson, blacksquare, Math) #19 is the last of the non-album singles now with The Best Things In Life Are Free, a duet between Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross, recorded for movie soundtrack to the 1992 movie Mo' Money and was released as the lead single in May 1992. The song was composed by Jam, Lewis, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch. Prior to her first release with Virgin records, Janet was asked by Jam and Lewis to record a song for the soundtrack and also went directly to other singers Luther Vandross, Bell Biv DeVoe, Color Me Badd and Johnny Gill." It was the first all-new song Jackson recorded at the new location of Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota. For the American version the song had added rap verses from Bell Biv DeVoe and Tresvant. Upon release the duet became a major worldwide hit with top 5 peaks in Australia & UK, top 10 peaks in Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Germany & USA. In 1995 the song was remixed by David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and CJ Mackintosh for Janet's greatest hits album and was re-released in the UK and peaked at #7, making this the 2nd time it hit the top 20. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. This was actually the first ever Janet song I ever heard & its what got me into discovering her music in the first place, becoming a life long fan ever since. When I first saw the music video as a kid I honestly thought Stacey Dash was Janet Jackson, fun times, thankfully I quickly saw Janet's other iconic videos and became educated. Love this song an exhilarating blast of pop meets new jack swing, just a shimmering, catchy and fantastically well-crafted track with Luther and Janet's distinct voices perfectly weave around each other and creating that perfect chemistry together. So glad this got Janet back into the UK top 10 after such a long drought of 5 years.
November 28, 20231 yr I'm only really familiar with the dancey version of it (which is a classic), the other version just sounds weird to me.
November 28, 20231 yr Author Nutty, nutty, nutty, my love for you ZGo4WebNIjM 18. Doesn't Really Matter | 8.1 Highest Scores: 9: (Nina West, Sour Candy, Simon, Math), Lowest Scores: 6.5: (dandy) At #18 is the highest ranking song not to gain any 10's or 11's - Doesn't Really Matter, released in May 2000 from the soundtrack to the film Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and would later feature on her 7th studio album All For You. It was written and produced by Janet, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The track received early attention a week ahead of its US release, after an unmastered version leaked to several radio stations. The song's lyrics were based on a poem Janet found which she previously wrote and disposed of. Initially conceived as a ballad, Jimmy Jam chose to increase its tempo and two different choruses were written by Janet & Jam; Jam wrote the 'nutty, nutty' line, while Janet wrote the song's title, the label decided to use Janet's chorus & Jam's chorus towards the end. Upon release the song became Janet's 9th chart topper on the US Billboard charts & was her 19th single to be certified Gold, making her only the third singer, after Madonna and Whitney Houston, to achieve this feat. Elsewhere it was also successful worldwide by reaching top 10 peaks in Canada, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Spain & the UK where it became her 15th top 10 hit. A really good song that not only continued Janet's decade and a half hot streak, but kicks off the 2000's (Janet's 3rd decade) with grace and elegance with this upbeat synthetic, neon-colored bop with its catchy melodies, vibrant production, and one hell of a earworm chorus with an uplifting message and a fun sense of empowerment throughout. There's a lot going on production wise with the ever changing tempos, and Janet manages to ride the beats effectively with her breathy vocals and sings softly enough that it becomes apart of the beat instead of getting lost which is a detriment to how great of a vocalist she is. A solid offering all round nothing more, nothing less.
November 28, 20231 yr I was a bit harsh on that one, it's the one I would mark up a bit if I were to do my votes again. I listened to the version on the All For You album and it didn't sound as good as I'd remembered it being, I've since realised it's because it's not the same! It's grown on me since I made the playlist, although I'm still not keen on the final key change as it makes it sound a little tacky... that's the one part that I do prefer on the album version, she had the good sense to keep that bit very short on there.
November 28, 20231 yr I loved it at the time, I even remember it being performed on TOTP and everything. It hasn't quite stuck with me throughout the years in the same way its follow-up single has though.
November 29, 20231 yr Author Call René and Boo, gotta meet them soon sO2-iFjjht4 17. Go Deep | 8.133 Highest Scores: 11: (vibe), 10: (Davidson), Lowest Scores: 4: (Bjork) #17 is Go Deep, released in June 1998 as the 4th single from Janet's 6th studio album The Velvet Rope and was written and produced by Janet, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Janet's husband René Elizondo Jr collaborating on the lyrics. Official remixes for the song were released, featuring Missy Elliott, Teddy Riley and Timbaland. Upon release the track was promoted as the album's 4th international single and wasn't given a physical release in the USA, due to the label focusing more on driving album sales and thus not charting on the Billboard Top 100 due to chart rules. But still managed to get strong airplay and performed well on the dance, radio & R&B charts. Elsewhere it performed well by peaking at #2 in Canada & hit top 20 peaks in Iceland, New Zealand and UK, along with top 40 peaks in France, Netherlands & Australia. Now this is an unexpected surprise as I didn't think this would have ranked so high on here given how it feels very much forgotten and criminally underrated, probably due to its lack of a US release and often gets overshadowed by the album's other big hits. However, I'm glad that this did so well on here and managed to a get a decent average of 8.1. A firm highlight on the incredible 'The Velvet Rope' album with its thick bass lines, funky grooves, and gentle synths which results in a killer R&B number. Janet's vocals sound fantastic as ever as they dance lightly over the smooth production and helps lift the track as well. Even the broken down ending adds a nice touch and captures that party vibe perfectly.
November 29, 20231 yr Pleased to see Doesn’t Really Matter get this much love. One of my favourite songs from her.
November 29, 20231 yr This wasn't one I knew at the time, but discovered years later. LOVE it, so groovy and that production!
November 29, 20231 yr Nutty, nutty, nutty, my love for you ZGo4WebNIjM 18. Doesn't Really Matter | 8.1 Highest Scores: 9: (Nina West, Sour Candy, Simon, Math), Lowest Scores: 6.5: (dandy) At #18 is the highest ranking song not to gain any 10's or 11's - Doesn't Really Matter, released in May 2000 from the soundtrack to the film Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and would later feature on her 7th studio album All For You. It was written and produced by Janet, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The track received early attention a week ahead of its US release, after an unmastered version leaked to several radio stations. The song's lyrics were based on a poem Janet found which she previously wrote and disposed of. Initially conceived as a ballad, Jimmy Jam chose to increase its tempo and two different choruses were written by Janet & Jam; Jam wrote the 'nutty, nutty' line, while Janet wrote the song's title, the label decided to use Janet's chorus & Jam's chorus towards the end. Upon release the song became Janet's 9th chart topper on the US Billboard charts & was her 19th single to be certified Gold, making her only the third singer, after Madonna and Whitney Houston, to achieve this feat. Elsewhere it was also successful worldwide by reaching top 10 peaks in Canada, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Spain & the UK where it became her 15th top 10 hit. A really good song that not only continued Janet's decade and a half hot streak, but kicks off the 2000's (Janet's 3rd decade) with grace and elegance with this upbeat synthetic, neon-colored bop with its catchy melodies, vibrant production, and one hell of a earworm chorus with an uplifting message and a fun sense of empowerment throughout. There's a lot going on production wise with the ever changing tempos, and Janet manages to ride the beats effectively with her breathy vocals and sings softly enough that it becomes apart of the beat instead of getting lost which is a detriment to how great of a vocalist she is. A solid offering all round nothing more, nothing less. My fave song of hers :wub:
November 29, 20231 yr Author "How can I be strong?" I've asked myself qUHtwV8wkOU 16. Again | 8.266 Highest Scores: 11: (Pandamic Tension), 10: (Nina West, popchartfreak, Sour Candy, Simon), Lowest Scores: 5: (blacksquare) #16 is Again, released in October 1993 as the 3rd single from Janet Jackson's 5th studio album Janet and was written and produced by Janet, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The song was also included as the closing song to the 1993 film 'Poetic Justice', which Janet also starred in. Originally it was an experimental sound Jam and Lewis was considering for the album, and wasn't given any serious thought until the film's producers requested a ballad for the soundtrack. Upon its release music critics were divided on the track, but nonetheless it became a massive commercial success by topping the US Billboard charts, while also hitting top 10 peaks in Canada, Sweden and the UK, as well as top 20 peaks in Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, Australia, Netherlands and Switzerland. The song would also receive Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for 'Best Original Song' in 1993 & 1994 respectively. The track was covered by How To Dress Well in 2012 for his 2nd album 'Total Loss' and sampled by Iyaz on his 2010 single 'Solo'. Probably the most potent ballad on the album with its heartfelt lyrics and radiant yet melancholy melody that goes beautifully with the fragility of her vocals. The simmering orchestral strings and gorgeous piano lines adds a sense of elegance to this stunning ballad. I love the emotional depth Janet injects into this delicate little number and if this fell into the hands of a lesser artist, then it could have easily become a basic lightweight bore, but thankfully Janet's engaging presence never lets that happen and to date this stand as one of her finest ballads Janet's ever recorded.
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