0:00:02 > 0:00:04- What's your name?- Janet.
0:00:04 > 0:00:09We had no idea that this woman would become Janet Jackson.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12She had a very domineering and dictatorial father.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17I felt, "I can't be the only young adult in this world
0:00:17 > 0:00:20"that is experiencing these feelings."
0:00:20 > 0:00:22She was just like, "Enough. I'm going to be who I am
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and I'm going to speak loudly for myself."
0:00:25 > 0:00:27# I thought it would be easy... #
0:00:27 > 0:00:30If you ever want to know anything about Janet,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33just listen to her albums, listen to the lyrics.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36# I want to make my own decisions Wait a minute... #
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I was writing what was going on in my life.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41That's the way I've always written.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43That's the only way I know how to write.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44# Things are getting worse... #
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Janet was someone the music industry at large knew they were going to have to respect.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51# Anytime... #
0:00:51 > 0:00:53With each subsequent record, she gets more provocative,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56to the point where you're like, "Janet... You know... Man!"
0:00:56 > 0:00:59# With such confusion Don't it make you wanna scream... #
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Michael needed Janet much more at the moment that he does Scream
0:01:04 > 0:01:06than Janet ever needed Michael.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14We have so few examples of pop stars who can continue to build a career
0:01:14 > 0:01:17and be able to do it consistently on their own terms.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21This is a story about control.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22My control.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Fighting for her share of the limelight
0:01:29 > 0:01:33was never going to be easy for Janet Damita Jo Jackson -
0:01:33 > 0:01:35the little sister of the musical phenomenon
0:01:35 > 0:01:37that was the Jackson family.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Janet was born in the rust-belt industrial town
0:01:41 > 0:01:43of Gary, Indiana, near Chicago
0:01:43 > 0:01:45on May 16th 1966.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49The youngest of nine children, all raised as Jehovah's Witnesses.
0:01:52 > 0:01:53Their father Joseph,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55a crane operator at the local steel mill,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58had big plans for his children.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00# When I had you to myself
0:02:00 > 0:02:03# I didn't want you around
0:02:03 > 0:02:05# Those pretty faces always make you
0:02:05 > 0:02:08# Stand out in a crowd... #
0:02:08 > 0:02:12The Jacksons go from being this small family-knit group from Gary
0:02:12 > 0:02:16to all of a sudden becoming this huge nationwide phenomenon.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18# A, B, C Easy as one, two, three... #
0:02:18 > 0:02:20By the time Janet was five,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22her brothers had signed to Motown,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26had four number ones on the American Billboard 100,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29were touring extensively, and even had their own TV series.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31When she first saw us in our cartoon,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34she was like, so happy for us to see that, you know?
0:02:34 > 0:02:36And she watched it every Saturday morning,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39she would get up early in the morning,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43eating her cereal, watching the Jackson 5 cartoon.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Janet was like a tomboy.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48She was always running around, playing football, climbing trees.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50She was something else.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Following their early success, father Joe moved the whole family
0:02:55 > 0:02:56from the Midwest to California.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58He wanted the brothers
0:02:58 > 0:03:01to be right at the heart of the entertainment industry.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03When I used to go out to interview the Jacksons,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07we didn't really want to be bothered with Janet.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10We'd see her around, playing or something like that,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15and we had no idea that this woman would become Janet Jackson.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20But in the Jackson household, even playtime was show time.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22My brother Mike and I,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25he was Fred Astaire, I was Ginger Rogers
0:03:25 > 0:03:27and we'd learn every routine.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Our mirror was our...
0:03:33 > 0:03:35The reflection of the window.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38We had this huge sliding door off the pool,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41leading to the pool from the house,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and we used to use that as our mirror
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and we'd be outside learning routines all day long.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49You sing with the group?
0:03:49 > 0:03:53In the Jackson 5 family everybody works.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Not surprisingly, Janet was soon roped into the family business.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59By the age of ten, she was appearing with her brother Randy
0:03:59 > 0:04:02on the Jacksons' very own variety Show.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04# And the beat goes on... #
0:04:04 > 0:04:09It's not easy to be the only female person in that very male space,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and also to be the youngest of such a famous group.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15# And the beat goes on And the beat goes on....
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Very early on,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20we saw that she had a very clear idea
0:04:20 > 0:04:23about doing something different for herself.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28# Yes, the beat goes on
0:04:28 > 0:04:29# Yeah! #
0:04:31 > 0:04:34I was doing the Jacksons' television summer specials
0:04:34 > 0:04:39and it just so happens that Norman Lear, who did Sanford and Son,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41All In The family, Jeffersons...
0:04:41 > 0:04:45I mean so many - Good Times - so many different shows - Maude...
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Happened to see me and they needed to cast a young girl.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Janet was auditioned for the role of little Penny
0:04:51 > 0:04:53in US sitcom Good Times.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58They called me in for an interview
0:04:58 > 0:05:01and we did this improv
0:05:01 > 0:05:03and he loved the way that it went.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04It got very emotional.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06I didn't know what I was doing,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I was just going with what I felt, I guess, in my gut.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12And as I was walking out of the building, he said,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15"If you want to have the part, you can. It's yours."
0:05:15 > 0:05:17So that's how... I was just ten years old.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21She's pretty much grown up as pop royalty
0:05:21 > 0:05:23from the day she was born,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and so I think people don't always understand
0:05:25 > 0:05:27how much credit she has to be given
0:05:27 > 0:05:32for her real acting jobs at a very young age.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34# Now the world don't move
0:05:34 > 0:05:36# To the beat of just one drum... #
0:05:36 > 0:05:37Her success as Penny
0:05:37 > 0:05:40led to a part in the even more popular series Diff'rent Strokes,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44which told the story of two adopted African-American Harlem kids -
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Arnold and Willis.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50It became a big success with black people and white people
0:05:50 > 0:05:54because the concept was universal. Cos it really was just about love.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56I want you to meet my sister, Kimberley...
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Playing Charlene, Willis's girlfriend,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Janet was a big hit with audience and cast alike.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Mm-hm!
0:06:03 > 0:06:07No wonder he's willing to risk the best years of his life.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10From what I'm hearing, Todd had a crush on me
0:06:10 > 0:06:11and that's how I got the job.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15When I got her on the show, the plan was for me to start dating her.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16That was my plan.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19He wanted me to be his girlfriend in the show,
0:06:19 > 0:06:20so I was his girlfriend in the show.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Well, we definitely had a natural attraction towards one another.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26# Do the hustle... #
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I was shocked to see my little sister growing up so fast.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32She did a little love scene where she had a little kissing role
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and that was hard for me to see that!
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Janet was my first love,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40and I still love Janet. I always will.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43She has a special place in my heart.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Whilst Janet was breaking hearts on the small screen,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50brother Michael had established his ground-breaking collaboration
0:06:50 > 0:06:52with renowned producer Quincy Jones
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and parted ways with his father as his manager.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58It was clear that he was losing Michael,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00but he did have Janet.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03So that was the one that he concentrated on.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06A reluctant 16-year-old Janet
0:07:06 > 0:07:09was soon recording her first album
0:07:09 > 0:07:11under the watchful eye of her father.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15# It's your body chemistry Your history, your smile
0:07:15 > 0:07:18# I like it, I like your style... #
0:07:18 > 0:07:21With no direct artistic input in the writing or production,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Janet looked to be going through the motions.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26We can sell the Jackson name to sell records,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31but, you know, who really knows if she's really talented, you know?
0:07:31 > 0:07:33What does she really have to say?
0:07:33 > 0:07:36In contrast to brother Michael's solo albums,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39the Janet Jackson album made little impact.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Big name disco producer Giorgio Moroder,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44who had scored hits for Donna Summer,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48was called in to produce Janet's second album, 1984's Dream Street.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51# Dream Street
0:07:51 > 0:07:54# Dream Street
0:07:54 > 0:07:57# Will it all come true Or will it all just fade away... #
0:07:57 > 0:08:00It didn't feel like anything significant
0:08:00 > 0:08:02was happening in her early music.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04She was one of the Jacksons, she was an actress,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06oh, here's a record.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08And I don't think that anybody would have anticipated
0:08:08 > 0:08:10a particularly important career
0:08:10 > 0:08:13for the girl who was singing those records.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16In an attempt to raise her profile, Dad and manager Joe
0:08:16 > 0:08:19pushed Janet into taking the role of Cleo Hewitt
0:08:19 > 0:08:21in the hit TV series Fame.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26That particular role made the least impression to me
0:08:26 > 0:08:28and I'm not sure why.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31She doesn't resonate with me
0:08:31 > 0:08:34in the same way that other cast members did.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37# Baby, look at me
0:08:37 > 0:08:40# And tell me what you see... #
0:08:40 > 0:08:43She was adorable and she was very talented as an actress,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45but when she came on Fame,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47she was very pulled back and shy
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and I was surprised,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52because it was different than how I had met her as a child.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56But I understood it, because she was part of the Jackson clan
0:08:56 > 0:09:01and so it meant that fame was upon her already,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03whether she wanted it or not.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Her father had plans for his daughter, but Janet had other ideas.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12In a fit of teen rebellion,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14she eloped with pop heart-throb James DeBarge,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18who delivered a series of hits for Motown in the mid-'80s
0:09:18 > 0:09:20# Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night
0:09:20 > 0:09:24# Oh-oh, the rhythm of the night... #
0:09:24 > 0:09:26I knew James DeBarge very well.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28I travelled with his family
0:09:28 > 0:09:32when I was at Motown during the All This Love album
0:09:32 > 0:09:35in February of '83.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39And in every city, Janet was calling James.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41They were very much in love.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46We know now she had a very domineering and dictatorial father
0:09:46 > 0:09:47in Joe Jackson,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49but that marriage,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52she saw as the way out,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54as emancipation.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Unfortunately, the reality of marriage
0:09:58 > 0:10:00didn't turn out as 18-year-old Janet hoped.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05She had obviously impulsively and quickly gone off and eloped
0:10:05 > 0:10:08and found herself in a hairy situation
0:10:08 > 0:10:11with a husband who was struggling with drugs.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15She would have to get called out to pick him, or find him.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18What she found herself in with the marriage to James DeBarge
0:10:18 > 0:10:21was something very different than she'd signed up for.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- # Remember my name - Fame!- #
0:10:24 > 0:10:26In an attempt to sort out her life,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Janet left the cast of Fame, quit acting,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and the marriage was annulled after little more than a year.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I think that's the reason
0:10:34 > 0:10:40that we see the kind of very strong, willful, self-possessed decisions
0:10:40 > 0:10:42that we see for her later.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Like, she really has this process of defining herself
0:10:45 > 0:10:48not just as an artist, but as a woman in her own space.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55While Janet was struggling to find her way,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58her brother Michael's seemingly unstoppable rise had hit an obstacle.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02The launch of the 24-hour music television channel MTV in 1981,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04had revolutionised the record industry.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Round-the-clock exposure of a song's promotional video
0:11:08 > 0:11:10was now key to any record's success.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13But MTV was primarily a white rock music channel
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and it was uncertain whether they would show the Billie Jean video
0:11:17 > 0:11:19from Michael's 1982 album Thriller.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23# Billie Jean is not my lover
0:11:23 > 0:11:25# She's just a girl... #
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Well, after the video of Billie Jean was made,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31you know, we gave it to our promotion department,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33but they came back, you know,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35saying that MTV refused to play it.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38That they weren't playing any videos by any black artists.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40There was nothing racist about MTV.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46Their logic was that the largest format were white rock acts
0:11:46 > 0:11:50because on radio, white rock acts and black rock acts
0:11:50 > 0:11:52did not mix really well,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55according to the audiences who listen to those formats.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59That's crazy to me that they wouldn't even play a Billie Jean, or a...
0:11:59 > 0:12:03You know, considering how much the music has influenced white music,
0:12:03 > 0:12:08you know, or pop music. It's just... It's like, "Really?!"
0:12:08 > 0:12:12MUSIC: "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits
0:12:12 > 0:12:15MTV is a product of the very apartheid that we're starting to see
0:12:15 > 0:12:17on the radio airwaves in the 1980s.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21I don't think they even thought twice about programming black acts.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22This was about white kids.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27- # I want my MTV - Get your money for nothing... #
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Thank God for Walter Yetnikoff
0:12:30 > 0:12:32the chairman of Columbia,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35who said to MTV in no uncertain terms,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38if you don't play Michael Jackson's videos,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41you're not going to have any of our videos,
0:12:41 > 0:12:42we're pulling in them all.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45# Cos this is thriller
0:12:45 > 0:12:47# Thriller night... #
0:12:47 > 0:12:49The screening of Michael's landmark video for Thriller
0:12:49 > 0:12:53earned MTV the highest viewing figures in the channel's history.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56# So let me hold you tight and share a thriller... #
0:12:56 > 0:13:00MTV realised that their audience was much bigger
0:13:00 > 0:13:05if they were inclusive of a wide variety of kinds of music.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09Then all the other acts - Lionel Richie, Prince, Janet Jackson -
0:13:09 > 0:13:11that represented the wide spectrum,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15not of rock music, but of pop music,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17became MTV staple.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20# What have you done for me lately... #
0:13:21 > 0:13:24In 1986, Janet took full advantage of this opportunity
0:13:24 > 0:13:27to showcase the lead single from her new album.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Not only was the music a huge leap forward from her previous work,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32she was now writing her own lyrics,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35which, like the work of her contemporary, Madonna,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38reflected the changing attitudes of female audiences in the '80s.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41# Until I thought I'd lose my breath... #
0:13:41 > 0:13:43# What have you done for me lately? #
0:13:43 > 0:13:46That's crazy. I loved it!
0:13:46 > 0:13:49# What have you done for me lately... #
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Do you remember the shoulders? Like that.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53# Ooh-ooh-ooh, yeah... #
0:13:53 > 0:13:55What have you done for me lately?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Demanding something from her guy, and still being cute and sweet,
0:13:58 > 0:14:04but with that look in her eye that was like, "Mm-mm. Not having it. Not having it." You know?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09# I never asked for more than I deserve... #
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Like, "Back up, honey. Back up."
0:14:12 > 0:14:16# You seem to think you're God's gift to this Earth... #
0:14:16 > 0:14:17Back up and back off.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20# You know it's the truth... #
0:14:20 > 0:14:22And she was just like, "Enough.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25"I'm going to be who I am and I want to speak loudly for myself,"
0:14:25 > 0:14:28which was at the same time speaking loudly for women.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34So she really became an icon of that whole kind of feminist movement.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39With her album Control, Janet came of age.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42# What have you done for me lately... #
0:14:42 > 0:14:45And in an era when women were fighting for equality,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Janet was fighting for her own independence.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52This is a story about control.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55My control.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Control of what I say
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and control of what I do.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03She'd distanced herself from her father,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06moving to Minneapolis to work with the relatively unknown,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10but cutting-edge Prince proteges Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Together they started working on a completely new sound for Janet.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22It's all about control.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25The first two albums didn't really work.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28It was just a bunch of different producers
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and everybody was writing songs and putting words in her mouth.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36They didn't have the emotional investment in the project.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37Are you ready?
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I am, cos it's all about control.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47It did take control. It wasn't just the gimmick for the album,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51it wasn't just a song title, that's what she was going through.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53# When I was 17
0:15:53 > 0:15:56# I did what people told me... #
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Control was her destiny.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04I mean, it was the most fitting title for her life at that time.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06She was under the control of her father,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09she had issues with her marriage.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11So there was a lot of drama
0:16:11 > 0:16:15and she was depending on other people.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17# Control
0:16:17 > 0:16:19# Don't have a lot... #
0:16:19 > 0:16:23She was in her mid-teens, taking direction from your father.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28So her father had primary creative control.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32Craving that control herself,
0:16:32 > 0:16:3619-year-old Janet sacked her father Joseph.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38She made a business decision.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40I felt it was a good move at the time.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Sometimes my dad can't understand that.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44# By the time I fell in love
0:16:44 > 0:16:47# I didn't know what hit me... #
0:16:50 > 0:16:52I had gone through so much at that age
0:16:52 > 0:16:54when I began working with Jimmy and Terry.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57I felt that I can't be the only young adult in this world
0:16:57 > 0:16:59that is experiencing these feelings,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01having these issues.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04So I put them down.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06# When I was 17
0:17:06 > 0:17:09# I did what people told me
0:17:12 > 0:17:14# Did what my father said
0:17:14 > 0:17:17# And let my mother mould me
0:17:17 > 0:17:19# But that was long ago
0:17:19 > 0:17:21# I'm in control... #
0:17:21 > 0:17:23I was writing what was going on in my life,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25which is...
0:17:25 > 0:17:27That's the way I've always written.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29That's the only way I know how to write.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34These were her moments of absolute self-definition
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and not only was she defining who she was as a woman,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41she was deciding that she was not only go to be a recording artist,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43but she was going to be a star.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14The album redefined Janet.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Not only was it a hit on the black R&B chart,
0:18:17 > 0:18:18it produced five top-ten hits
0:18:18 > 0:18:21on America's mainstream billboard chart,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25including her first number one, When I Think Of You.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28# Ooh, baby
0:18:28 > 0:18:32# Any time my world gets crazy
0:18:32 > 0:18:34# All I have to do... #
0:18:34 > 0:18:39The record had hit song after hit song after hit song after hit song.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42# Cos when I think of you... #
0:18:42 > 0:18:45It transcended black and white.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47It became universal.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56As well as making Janet a star,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58the album's innovative production,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01the result of her collaboration with Jam and Lewis,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05would have a huge impact on the future sound of black music.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09# Sitting in the movie show Thinking nasty thoughts... #
0:19:12 > 0:19:14If you watch how she sings,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18her vocal almost becomes part of the instrumentation
0:19:18 > 0:19:21because of the way she attacks the words.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23# Oh, you nasty boys
0:19:23 > 0:19:25# Nasty, nasty boys
0:19:25 > 0:19:27# Don't ever change
0:19:27 > 0:19:30She's singing "nasty." It can't be "nasty", It's got to be "NASTY!"
0:19:30 > 0:19:32# Nasty! #
0:19:32 > 0:19:34As a producer, it made it so great,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36because a lot of times if you had a funky track
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and you put a singer with it
0:19:39 > 0:19:43and the singer couldn't keep up with the funk and the attitude of the track,
0:19:43 > 0:19:44it would be like, it didn't work.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46She would help propel the track along
0:19:46 > 0:19:48because of her little, "Ah, ah, ah."
0:19:48 > 0:19:51She would always kind of do that as she was singing
0:19:51 > 0:19:55and it would become another funky element.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58# Who's jamming to my nasty groove... #
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Embraced by producer Teddy Riley,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04this slick new sound would form the basis of a whole new genre, New Jack Swing,
0:20:04 > 0:20:09a fusion of R&B, rap, funk, disco and synthesised percussion.
0:20:10 > 0:20:16Teddy Riley is much more conscious of bringing in hip-hop elements into his mix, right?
0:20:16 > 0:20:20But he's doing so firmly aware of the kind of success Jam and Lewis had.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21No, my first name ain't baby
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It's Janet Miss Jackson if you're nasty
0:20:24 > 0:20:28# Nasty, nasty boys It don't mean a thing
0:20:31 > 0:20:33# Oh, you nasty boys... #
0:20:33 > 0:20:39Nasty was probably the first kind of swing-beat song that was popular,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and I think the effect the album had was it got people thinking
0:20:43 > 0:20:47outside the box a little bit as to what R&B is.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54The release of Control in 1986 not only created a blueprint for the future direction of R&B,
0:20:54 > 0:20:59it firmly established Janet as an independent and assertive artist in her own right.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Control could have been a fluke.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10It was so personal that maybe that was all she had in her.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16Maybe that was the big statement and then it was sort of going to be copying that the rest of the way.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
0:21:18 > 0:21:20# Yeah, yeah, yeah
0:21:20 > 0:21:22# Bass, bass... #
0:21:22 > 0:21:25For her next album, record company A&M wanted Janet
0:21:25 > 0:21:29to deliver more love songs, but Janet had other priorities.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36I was more...interested in what was going on in our world.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41I started seeing all these stories and drugs, racism, homelessness.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43It really concerned me.
0:21:43 > 0:21:51In the '80s, America's inner cities had been hit hard by a combination of recession and severe budget cuts.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53We're in control here.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56There's nothing wrong with America that together we can't fix.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59NEWS REPORT: 'Industry is reeling from the recession.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03'In affluent America, the soup kitchen has been revived by public authorities.'
0:22:09 > 0:22:15You couldn't turn on CNN without being blown away by the tragedy in the news.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21Something started burning creatively with us
0:22:21 > 0:22:25as to what the album should be...
0:22:25 > 0:22:31and the blueprint - not really the blueprint for the album - but the inspiration for the album
0:22:31 > 0:22:34then became Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? album.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37# It makes me wanna holler And throw up both my hands
0:22:37 > 0:22:42# Yeah, it make me wanna holler And throw up both my hands... #
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Ow!
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Soul singer Marvin Gaye's album What's Going On
0:22:47 > 0:22:51had taken a critical look at racism and inequality in late '60s America.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Janet now looked to the urban black community of the '80s
0:22:55 > 0:23:00and the emerging hip-hop scene for her lyrical and musical inspiration.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07What Janet was doing was picking up on what was happening during that time.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10There was a lot of changes.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12People were starting to
0:23:12 > 0:23:16get comfortable with having a voice, and the voice was coming through
0:23:16 > 0:23:18at that time through music and dance.
0:23:18 > 0:23:25It was like the modern day Blues for African Americans, for ethnic people in general.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29The thing about Janet is...
0:23:30 > 0:23:35..she would go out and just hang in regular places.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39She would come to the teen nightclubs.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I mean, she hung out and she loved it.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50She would talk about things that would really hurt her, you know.
0:23:50 > 0:23:57Poverty and racism, you know, those things that really, really struck
0:23:57 > 0:23:59at the core of her.
0:23:59 > 0:24:05And I think Rhythm Nation was really important, a really important vehicle for her to share that side of her.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14On the Rhythm Nation 1814 album, Janet, Jimmy and Terry would adopt hip-hop production techniques
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and sample classic old school songs.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21For the album's title track, they used a sample of a Sly And The Family Stone funk anthem.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27# Thank you for letting me be myself again... #
0:24:28 > 0:24:33And all of a sudden, it went to the break of the song, and the break of the song is this guitar riff.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And I just said,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44"That's it! That it!" I knew that was the riff
0:24:44 > 0:24:48and I went straight to the studio, looped that guitar riff
0:24:48 > 0:24:51and then started building it from there. Put in the drums,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53the keyboards and all that stuff over it.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55They weren't imitating hip hop,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59but they were certainly taking a different kind of energy
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and a different kind of, you know, more aggressive rhythm.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Whoo, that's funky!
0:25:04 > 0:25:09'They painted in broader strokes. They used bigger sounds'
0:25:09 > 0:25:12and more sounds. They used that amazing Sly Stone sample.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16That's what drives the Rhythm Nation song.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20Technology was changing. All of these things were happening
0:25:20 > 0:25:24and she wasn't chasing those trends, she was very much a leader at that time.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29# Join voices in protest To social injustice
0:25:29 > 0:25:32# A generation full of courage... #
0:25:32 > 0:25:36MTV, the channel that had once refused to put black artists on their play list,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40now embraced Janet, not only as a recording artist,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43but also as a producer of innovative videos.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Keen to give emerging street dance talent a platform,
0:25:49 > 0:25:55Janet enlisted unknown 21-year-old locker and popper Anthony Thomas to devise the choreography.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58'The craziest thing about it was...
0:26:00 > 0:26:05'..she had never really told me that I was the lead choreographer, that I was the guy.'
0:26:05 > 0:26:09They kept giving me stuff to do and I'm like,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11"Man, am I really THE choreographer for this?"
0:26:14 > 0:26:17I'd never stirred up a gumbo like that before, you know?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20It was either locking over here or popping over here.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23No-one had ever gone,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27"Ooh, that's kind of cool." No-one had ever mixed it up like that.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Five, four, three, two, one.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Pow, pow, pow, pow, you know?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43That strength from the word go.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47You have to see that this Janet Jackson funk army was here to stay.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49We weren't playing around.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52# It's time to give a damn Let's work together
0:26:52 > 0:26:54# Come on now... #
0:26:54 > 0:27:00In 1990, the Rhythm Nation video won a Grammy and the MTV vanguard award for its groundbreaking choreography.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02# Everybody sing
0:27:02 > 0:27:05# We want a better way of life
0:27:05 > 0:27:06# Sing it people
0:27:06 > 0:27:09# Sing it real good
0:27:09 > 0:27:13# Sing it if you want a better way of life... #
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Rhythm Nation was a huge commercial success,
0:27:16 > 0:27:21but a young Janet hoped the song could also serve a real purpose.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25I know an album or song can't change the world, but for those who are on the borderline,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29hopefully it will make a difference in that person's life by listening to what we have to say.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33# Let's work together to improve our way of life
0:27:33 > 0:27:36# Join voices in protest
0:27:36 > 0:27:38# To social injustice
0:27:38 > 0:27:42# A generation full of courage come forth with me... #
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Maybe I could create something
0:27:44 > 0:27:48that was thought-provoking for someone that was on drugs
0:27:48 > 0:27:50and make them realise.
0:27:50 > 0:27:51Listen to the music,
0:27:51 > 0:27:56then understand, well, OK, there's a message in there.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00So just hopefully to help one person, that would be an accomplishment.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02# This is the test
0:28:02 > 0:28:05# No struggle, no progress... #
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Actor Michael K Williams, who plays Omar in cult TV series The Wire,
0:28:09 > 0:28:14was one of the very people Janet was trying to reach.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16# It's time to give a damn... #
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I was lost in my low self-esteem.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21I was low in my lack of awareness.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24I was low in drug addiction, you know.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27I just, you know, I was lost in a lot of different ways,
0:28:27 > 0:28:32and when I saw Rhythm Nation I was just like, I felt like she was talking to me.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37I'm just so grateful that I know that
0:28:37 > 0:28:38she touched me through her music.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45Rhythm Nation definitely changed my life on a personal level and a professional level.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49We are a part of Rhythm Nation, you know.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54That blew my mind.
0:29:03 > 0:29:08The Rhythm Nation album proved even more popular than its predecessor Control.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13With seven top five hit singles, including four number ones on the Billboard chart,
0:29:13 > 0:29:18Janet smashed the record previously held by big brother Michael with his album Thriller.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
0:29:21 > 0:29:24# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
0:29:26 > 0:29:28# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
0:29:28 > 0:29:33Michael was very close to his little sister.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37The language did change when she started getting hits.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41When she did Control, it was like, "OK, this is cute.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44"Let's see what happens here."
0:29:44 > 0:29:46First number one record. "Oh, my God.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48"My sister's got a number one record."
0:29:48 > 0:29:54That third number one, "Yeah, Janet's got another number one record."
0:29:54 > 0:29:57That fourth number one, "OK, the gloves are off.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00"You're competition now!"
0:30:00 > 0:30:07In just five years, Janet had sold 14 million albums in the US alone, and scored hit 15 singles.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09She is a star.
0:30:09 > 0:30:15She is, not only does she have the talent to make important records,
0:30:15 > 0:30:20she now has an aesthetic that, is not only competing with her brother,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23but she is now giving Madonna some pause.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27# Still we manage to stay together
0:30:28 > 0:30:31# There's no easy explanation... #
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Now one of the most successful women in pop,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36and with her record contract with A&M coming to an end,
0:30:36 > 0:30:41Janet was free to pick and choose from the major record labels.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Everybody and their mother was trying to get Janet.
0:30:45 > 0:30:51I mean, everyone from CBS, to Motown, tried to get into the fight, Warner Bros, I mean,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54everyone was after this woman, because she was the hottest thing.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57# Never do without you... #
0:30:57 > 0:31:02She had something over all the other artists that she competed with,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04and that is, her brother was Michael.
0:31:04 > 0:31:11She had the opportunity to learn at the loafers of this guy.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15I think the economic deals that Janet Jackson does in the 1990s
0:31:15 > 0:31:19was the record industry responding to the fact that things had changed.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21That you could, in fact,
0:31:21 > 0:31:26carry the success of the industry on the crossover success
0:31:26 > 0:31:28of an African-American artist.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32# Never do without you and they said it wouldn't last... #
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Richard Branson literally opened up the bank and just said,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40"Listen, whatever we can do to make this deal happen, let's do it."
0:31:42 > 0:31:47In 1991, Branson signed Janet to his Virgin record label for 40 million.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50At the time, it was the biggest deal in music industry history.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Did it shock me? No. It was just my 9 to 5, it was my work.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06I got this, I mean, I hate to make it sound like this, it was like,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09OK, you get a promotion, but what a huge promotion it was,
0:32:09 > 0:32:14but, I'm doing my job, and I try to do it to the best of my ability,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18give my all, at what I do, and I work very, very hard.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Still, to this day. So, it was my job, my life, you know?
0:32:24 > 0:32:26With that record deal under her belt,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Janet was now firmly established and able to wield
0:32:29 > 0:32:32considerable creative and commercial control over her career.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36In the same year that she signed to Virgin, she also secretly married
0:32:36 > 0:32:41long-term friend, former dancer and video director, Rene Elizondo.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Her new found personal and creative confidence was reflected on her next album.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50Simply titled "Janet", her first album for Virgin delivered
0:32:50 > 0:32:52the love songs her former record company had craved.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54# Oh, baby, don't you worry
0:32:54 > 0:32:57# I'm gonna make you crazy
0:32:57 > 0:33:00# I'll give you the time of your life
0:33:02 > 0:33:05# I'm gonna take you places
0:33:05 > 0:33:07# You've never been before... #
0:33:07 > 0:33:09The debut single, That's The Way Love Goes,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11went straight to number one in the US charts
0:33:11 > 0:33:14and stayed there for eight weeks.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17# I'm gonna take you there... #
0:33:17 > 0:33:22If Rhythm Nation was a sort of version of What's Goin' On?,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24then Janet was our version of Let's Get It On.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28# That's the way love is... #
0:33:28 > 0:33:32The title is so incredibly telling, that it's simply "Janet",
0:33:32 > 0:33:35it's not "Janet Jackson".
0:33:35 > 0:33:40It's simply, "Janet", and I think that her sensuality,
0:33:40 > 0:33:43more than her sexuality, is completely intact.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46I think she's very happy with her body, and she feels
0:33:46 > 0:33:50like she's earned the right, on a different level, to express herself.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53# I don't wanna stop, just because
0:33:53 > 0:33:57# You feel so good inside of my love
0:33:57 > 0:34:01# I'm not gonna stop, no, no, no
0:34:01 > 0:34:03# I want you... #
0:34:03 > 0:34:07And with each subsequent record, she gets more and more provocative,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10to the point where you're like, "Janet, you know, man!"
0:34:11 > 0:34:17# Any place I don't care who's around
0:34:17 > 0:34:21# No, no, no, no, no... #
0:34:21 > 0:34:24It wasn't only the lyrics that became more provocative.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Janet arranged a photo-shoot with fashion photographer
0:34:26 > 0:34:31Patrick Demarchelier to create a unique cover for her new album.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Everybody wants to know, whose is this hand?
0:34:46 > 0:34:49# My mind is starting to burn
0:34:49 > 0:34:51# With forbidden thoughts... #
0:34:51 > 0:34:54The hands belonged to husband, Rene,
0:34:54 > 0:34:58but the risque picture proved too much for her record label.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01That was actually supposed to be the album cover.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04They didn't want to use it for the album cover.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07So I said, "OK"... I thought, coming up with the idea,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09I thought it would make a great album cover,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12so I said, "OK, don't use it for the album cover".
0:35:12 > 0:35:14So, they used it for a magazine cover, instead.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17So that's when we went to Rolling Stone, and they fell in love with it.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24She has this banging body, and she's ready to show it.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28With the Rolling Stone cover, that, you know,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33became one of the most iconic images of pop star, ever.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38Ah! I had a lot of friends talking about,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42"Ah, man, what could I do to meet her, where is she at? Who is she?"
0:35:42 > 0:35:46Man, come on, I know she look like that - I didn't know she looked like that, from Good Times.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49You hear all different stuff, I'm like, "Look, man, this is my aunt".
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Janet worked closely with her new husband, Rene,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57forming a formidable creative partnership.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59And there's no doubt her album, Janet,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02reflected a woman at ease, both in her life, and her work.
0:36:02 > 0:36:08# Never fall again... #
0:36:11 > 0:36:16I love the Again video. It was a very, very intimate
0:36:16 > 0:36:20part of Janet that she was letting people see.
0:36:20 > 0:36:25And I think that that video was directed by Rene, and they were
0:36:25 > 0:36:29together at the time, and he knew how to find her vulnerability,
0:36:29 > 0:36:34knew how to comfort her, in allowing that to come out, and how to shoot it.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37# Falling in love again
0:36:40 > 0:36:43# And we can do... #
0:36:43 > 0:36:47She had moved to a different place in her career and in her life,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50and this album was about a different relationship to herself.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53The fact that she could be successful,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56showing this most feminine side of herself
0:36:56 > 0:37:01just demonstrated the range of what was possible for her.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04# Say it just one time
0:37:06 > 0:37:09# Say you love me
0:37:10 > 0:37:17# God knows I do love you again... #
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Michael Jackson records weren't really personal records,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23and I think, with Janet,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26her records were deeply personal in ways that Michael's weren't.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30With the exception of Leave Me Alone, he didn't talk about himself.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32Whereas Janet's records were basically open books.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Whilst Janet was now firmly established
0:37:41 > 0:37:43as one of the biggest pop stars of the '90s,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46brother Michael's career was in crisis.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Michael needed Janet much more
0:37:48 > 0:37:52at the moment that he does Scream, than Janet ever needed Michael.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59After a year battling allegations of child sexual abuse,
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Michael was acquitted of all charges in 1994.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05But, five years since his last album, Dangerous,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09he struggled to re-establish himself as "the King of Pop".
0:38:10 > 0:38:16Michael turned to his little sister Janet, to co-write his comeback single, Scream.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Janet encouraged Michael to adopt
0:38:22 > 0:38:25a more direct and personal approach to his lyrics.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Together, they vented their anger at the tabloid press
0:38:35 > 0:38:38who had hounded Michael long before his trial.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43# Tired of injustice
0:38:43 > 0:38:46# Tired of the schemes These lies are disgustin'
0:38:46 > 0:38:49# So what does it mean, Daddy... #
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Michael and Janet are very different artists, and I think that
0:38:54 > 0:38:58when you watch Scream, you see that, yes, they were angry.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59They had a reason to be angry.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03A lot of the dance came out very forceful and very strong.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05# Peek in the shadow... #
0:39:05 > 0:39:08It spoke volumes when you watched their movement.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10# Tell me I'm wrong
0:39:10 > 0:39:13# Then you better prove you're right
0:39:13 > 0:39:14# You're selling out souls
0:39:14 > 0:39:16# I care about mine... #
0:39:16 > 0:39:19This is what Black Power looks like.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21It could take the form of an Oprah Winfrey,
0:39:21 > 0:39:24it could take the form of Will Smith, it could also
0:39:24 > 0:39:27take the form of a brother and sister who are highly competitive,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30but, by being competitive, have been able
0:39:30 > 0:39:35to push their artistic sensibilities further than anyone would've ever expected.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39# Somebody please have mercy Cos I just can't take it... #
0:39:39 > 0:39:45I remember going into the studio, and Michael just blew it away.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50First take. Just killed it, with all the anger and the rage.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54# With such confusion Don't it make you wanna scream?
0:39:54 > 0:39:55# Make you wanna scream... #
0:39:55 > 0:39:59I was like, "I'm not following that! Nobody follows Michael Jackson after that!"
0:39:59 > 0:40:03# You find your pleasure Scandalisin' every lie... #
0:40:03 > 0:40:06Feeling the pressure, Janet recorded in a different studio on a different day
0:40:06 > 0:40:11and laid down a vocal that more than matched her brother's performance.
0:40:11 > 0:40:12# Keep playin' the game
0:40:12 > 0:40:15# Can't take it much longer
0:40:15 > 0:40:17# I think I might go insane... #
0:40:17 > 0:40:22Michael goes "I want to come to Minneapolis, to redo my vocal."
0:40:22 > 0:40:25I was like, "Michael, your vocal's perfect, man!"
0:40:25 > 0:40:27He was like, "No, no, Janet sounds really good,
0:40:27 > 0:40:29"I have to redo my vocal."
0:40:29 > 0:40:30I was like, "OK, fine."
0:40:30 > 0:40:34So, that's competition. I don't know if it's healthy competition.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38# Just stop pressurin' me, Make me wanna scream
0:40:38 > 0:40:39# Stop your pressure. #
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I think she's absolutely being competitive with her brother,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51but in the way that women should be competitive.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56I think that Janet is the prototype of the girl who's raised
0:40:56 > 0:41:01to be a nice girl, and could've had a reasonably successful career,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06as a nice girl, but, when she was allowed to be a woman,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09and embrace the side of her, that is competitive,
0:41:09 > 0:41:11and competitive didn't mean, like,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13she wanted to stab her brother in the back,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17or that she didn't love her brother, or she wasn't very much a Jackson,
0:41:17 > 0:41:22it meant that, "I want to be the best that I can be."
0:41:22 > 0:41:24The competition certainly paid off.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Michael and Janet's Scream, still one of the most expensive videos
0:41:28 > 0:41:32of all time, won both a Grammy and the MTV Award for Best Dance Video.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40Janet was a major, major player in pop music history.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Not only was she now just a recording artist, she was someone
0:41:43 > 0:41:48the music industry at large knew they were going to have to respect.
0:41:50 > 0:41:55In 1996, Janet negotiated a second record-breaking contract with Virgin,
0:41:55 > 0:41:59worth 80 million, and appeared to have the world at her feet.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02So the mood of the songs on her next album, Velvet Rope,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04surprised many of her fans.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08If you ever want to know anything about Janet, just listen to her albums.
0:42:08 > 0:42:09It's all there on the album.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12You don't have to go by the book, read an article -
0:42:12 > 0:42:16it's all right there on the records. Listen to the lyrics.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18# I get so lonely
0:42:18 > 0:42:22# Can't let just anybody hold me
0:42:22 > 0:42:24# You are the one... #
0:42:26 > 0:42:30There are murmurs about her marriage with Rene Elizondo.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Is it still going on? Are they still married?
0:42:33 > 0:42:38There's all this speculation that, if it's still happening,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40that it may be on the rocks.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42# All alone with my fears
0:42:42 > 0:42:47# I'm wonderin' if I have to do withoutcha
0:42:47 > 0:42:51# But there's no reason why... #
0:42:52 > 0:42:53When you look around,
0:42:53 > 0:42:56and you have everything, and you're still not happy,
0:42:56 > 0:42:57that's a weird feeling.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01One that you'd think a lot of people wouldn't relate to it,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04because you feel like, well, what's her problem? She's got everything.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14The Velvet Rope album was a masterpiece.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18Janet was going through a lot at that time. There was an inner struggle going on with her.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21Some people might want to say that it was dark,
0:43:21 > 0:43:24and I just think it was Janet evolving into another Janet,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26another place in her life.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Thank God I made a decision to deal with it,
0:43:30 > 0:43:35as opposed to run away from it, or dive into drugs or drinking.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37And that's where Velvet Rope came from.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40# Believin' that you were the one
0:43:40 > 0:43:42# I was meant to be with
0:43:42 > 0:43:46# Oh, how I'm wishin'
0:43:46 > 0:43:49# Thinkin', dreamin' of you
0:43:49 > 0:43:53# And the love, How'd I let you get away? #
0:43:53 > 0:43:55Returning to hip-hop for inspiration,
0:43:55 > 0:43:59Janet enlisted the talents of rapper, Q-Tip.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02# Don't it seem to go, that you don't know what you got... #
0:44:02 > 0:44:07Using a sample of Joni's Mitchell's 1970 hit, Big Yellow Taxi...
0:44:07 > 0:44:09# Don't know what you've got... #
0:44:09 > 0:44:14..the single, Got Till It's Gone, redefined Janet again as a cutting-edge artist.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20# That you could ever, love me again
0:44:20 > 0:44:26# So would you give me One more chance, to love
0:44:26 > 0:44:31# To love you, the right way again? #
0:44:36 > 0:44:40The process of self-examination whilst writing Velvet Rope
0:44:40 > 0:44:44also saw Janet return to more socially conscious lyrics.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48# That you don't know what you got till it's gone... #
0:44:48 > 0:44:53She was looking for a way to make a contribution, to be more than just a pop icon.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55# Don't it always seem to go
0:44:55 > 0:44:58# That you don't know what you got till it's gone... #
0:44:58 > 0:45:01A lot of my friends had passed away from AIDS
0:45:01 > 0:45:05and I wanted to write a song that would celebrate them
0:45:05 > 0:45:07and not something that was sombre,
0:45:07 > 0:45:11but something that was up and celebratory and that reminded me
0:45:11 > 0:45:14of their personalities, their energy.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16And Together Again come out of me.
0:45:16 > 0:45:23# There are times when I look above
0:45:23 > 0:45:25# And beyond
0:45:25 > 0:45:30# There are times when I feel your love
0:45:30 > 0:45:35# Around me, baby
0:45:36 > 0:45:44# I'll never forget my baby... #
0:45:44 > 0:45:47There were a few people that thought I should not do it.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51That thought I should go in and at least redo the lyrics.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53They didn't want it to be about
0:45:53 > 0:45:56my friends passing away from AIDS.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00And I disagreed with that and just went with it.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01Some people at the label...
0:46:01 > 0:46:04And I'm glad I didn't back down from what I was feeling.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09Together Again went on to be Janet's biggest international hit -
0:46:09 > 0:46:12proceeds going to AMFAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.
0:46:12 > 0:46:18# From the words when you said Hey, it's about you, baby
0:46:18 > 0:46:21# Look deeper inside you, baby... #
0:46:21 > 0:46:28When an artist puts their reputation and their career on the line
0:46:28 > 0:46:31in the way Janet does for causes which may not be popular with everyone...
0:46:31 > 0:46:36Janet does that in a tradition, I think, of people willing to put
0:46:36 > 0:46:39their name on the line for a cause that they care deeply about.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41# I know you are there
0:46:41 > 0:46:44# Smiling back at me... #
0:46:44 > 0:46:48But I think it was also reflective of someone who was searching for a bigger voice.
0:46:48 > 0:46:49And I think she found it.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51# Shining down on me... #
0:46:51 > 0:46:55Key to Janet's continued global appeal was her ability to connect with audiences everywhere,
0:46:55 > 0:46:59regardless of age, sexuality or race.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03# Together again, ooh Good times we'll share again... #
0:47:03 > 0:47:07So, it's African-Americans, it's Latino, it' s Filipino-Americans.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12I mean, if you wanted the best face of what America would look like, just look at a Janet Jackson video.
0:47:12 > 0:47:18And they're all beautiful and pretty, right. It's like a Benetton ad.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22As the new millennium rolled in, Janet was single again.
0:47:22 > 0:47:29Now divorced from second husband, Rene, the album All For You celebrated her new found freedom.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33- # It's all for you... # - The title track went to number one in the US charts,
0:47:33 > 0:47:36stayed there for seven weeks and made radio airplay history.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40# It's all for you
0:47:40 > 0:47:41# If you make a move... #
0:47:41 > 0:47:45Despite the album being knocked from the top of the charts by Destiny's Child,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48the queen of radio wasn't ready to give up her throne.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51# Want to approach me Throw me a line
0:47:51 > 0:47:53# But there's something inside you... #
0:47:53 > 0:47:57At the top of the pop game for over 17 years, Janet - America's sweetheart -
0:47:57 > 0:48:02was invited to sing with Justin Timberlake at the 2004 Superbowl Final
0:48:02 > 0:48:07to a worldwide television audience of a 145 million.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Oh!
0:48:11 > 0:48:16'Justin Timberlake made the most of his opportunity as he tried his best to rock Janet's body.'
0:48:16 > 0:48:19# Talk to me, boy... #
0:48:19 > 0:48:23'But the prince of pop got a little too enthusiastic -
0:48:23 > 0:48:25'Janet was left blushing.'
0:48:28 > 0:48:33Janet's breast was exposed for less than a second, leading to a media frenzy.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36We've received 200,000 complaints on the Superbowl incident.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40We have a striptease in front of billions of people.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45..and unfortunately the whole thing went wrong in the end.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50'Janet apologised, but some critics insisted it was simply a publicity stunt.'
0:48:50 > 0:48:53It's been taken apart and re-analysed frame by frame.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56It's like the Kennedy assassination.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59I think it sort of spiralled her into a place
0:48:59 > 0:49:02that clearly her career's never really fully come back from.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05# This is so good.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10# This rhythm than just makes me... #
0:49:10 > 0:49:12Released just a couple of months after the Superbowl, her next album,
0:49:12 > 0:49:172004's Damita Jo, suggested an artist already off her game.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22I remember the first day she said to Terry,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25"You know what, Terry, you write the lyrics."
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Terry looked at her like, "What?"
0:49:28 > 0:49:30"No, Terry, you can write the lyrics.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33"I don't really feel I have anything to talk about."
0:49:33 > 0:49:36"Well, you know what, then we shouldn't be making an album.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39"If you really don't feel that way."
0:49:39 > 0:49:44With over 30 hit singles since the 1986 album Control,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46Janet, Jimmy and Terry had forged
0:49:46 > 0:49:49one of the most successful production teams of all time.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52I have to say that those are bombs were all -
0:49:52 > 0:49:57Control, Rhythm Nation, Janet, Velvet Rope, and All For You -
0:49:57 > 0:50:03those five albums, to me, are really a great cohesive
0:50:03 > 0:50:09journey in time. A journey of the evolution of a girl to a woman.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14# Can we take this body higher?
0:50:14 > 0:50:17# Come on. Yeah. #
0:50:17 > 0:50:20The Damita Jo album received mixed reviews
0:50:20 > 0:50:23and failed to make an impact in the charts.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26# Can we takes this party higher?
0:50:27 > 0:50:29# I could dance all night
0:50:29 > 0:50:31# Work it like you're working a pole
0:50:31 > 0:50:34# Shake it 'til you're shaking the floor
0:50:34 > 0:50:37# Pop it like you're poppin' a cork Don't stop, don't stop. #
0:50:37 > 0:50:41Janet's musical evolution that began almost 20 years earlier
0:50:41 > 0:50:44when she took control of her life and sacked her father,
0:50:44 > 0:50:46seemed to have come to an end.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56In her personal life, Janet had settled
0:50:56 > 0:51:00into a long-term relationship with producer Jermaine Dupri
0:51:00 > 0:51:02and attempted to shun the limelight.
0:51:04 > 0:51:05But to no avail.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09Since her years as a teen pop star, Janet's fluctuating weight
0:51:09 > 0:51:12had remained a source of tabloid fascination.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16There were pictures that were coming out on the internet,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19you know, "Does she have that body, does she not have that body?"
0:51:21 > 0:51:25I was always so self-conscious of this body image.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27And that can swing you in the wrong direction.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30Either you can overeat because of it, nerves.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33Or undereat and become anorexic.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37Janet's issues with her physical appearance had first started
0:51:37 > 0:51:39as a child actress in Good Times.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42They bound my chest.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46When I was on the show, they never told me they were going to do it.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49When I got dressed for the first episode, that's when
0:51:49 > 0:51:51the wardrobe lady told me that she was going to,
0:51:51 > 0:51:54and I was developing at a young age. I was just ten.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58So that was telling me immediately that I'm not good enough as I was.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01And then the following season they said,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03"OK, she's getting too fat, she needs to lose weight."
0:52:03 > 0:52:07When I look back, I was not a heavy kid.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11But there have been times when I've been too thin, and I know that.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15And I've had to have my friends say to me and I would say to them,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17"Tell me when to stop because I don't know.
0:52:17 > 0:52:18"I will find fault."
0:52:20 > 0:52:23In 2009, Janet returned to the big screen
0:52:23 > 0:52:27when she was cast in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?
0:52:27 > 0:52:28You son of a bitch!
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Who gave you money for this architect firm, huh?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34As an actress, she cast vanity aside.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38Her critically acclaimed portrayal of curvy lawyer Patricia
0:52:38 > 0:52:40was both convincing and compelling.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Get out of my house.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Get out of my house!
0:52:45 > 0:52:46I'm interested in the director
0:52:46 > 0:52:50that's going to push her out of that particular
0:52:50 > 0:52:53angry, pained and closed roles.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56I'm interested in the director that can do for her
0:52:56 > 0:53:00what Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis did for her musically.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09It was while she was on the set of Why Did I Get Married Too?
0:53:09 > 0:53:12that Janet received some shocking news.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16It's like the world stopped.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18Everybody stopped. The world stopped.
0:53:18 > 0:53:23'There was no indication of any external trauma.'
0:53:23 > 0:53:28'The big question is whether or not the doctor who was by his side...'
0:53:28 > 0:53:31'Since before it was confirmed that Michael Jackson died...'
0:53:37 > 0:53:40It was Janet who found the strength to speak to the world
0:53:40 > 0:53:42on behalf of the Jackson family.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48To you, Michael is an icon.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52To us, Michael is family.
0:53:52 > 0:53:58And he will forever live in all of our hearts.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02She's a very private person, right, but in some ways
0:54:02 > 0:54:07allowed her fans and Michael's fans into her private space in order for
0:54:07 > 0:54:10her to grieve, so that everyone else could grieve at the same time.
0:54:10 > 0:54:15When my uncle passed,
0:54:15 > 0:54:17Janet did help bring everyone together.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20She was right there.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24It's actually hard to see my uncles
0:54:24 > 0:54:28and my aunts go through this because they are such different individuals.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31It didn't pull them apart, it pulled them closer.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40She really helped us.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42She keeps us together.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45To have to have endured
0:54:45 > 0:54:47such a difficult loss,
0:54:47 > 0:54:54I think it either hardens some people or it kind of adds another
0:54:54 > 0:54:58"I'm going to live my life on my own terms"
0:54:58 > 0:55:00sense of resolve for others.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03And Janet definitely falls into that latter category.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Summer 2011. 25 years since her first hit single,
0:55:25 > 0:55:29Janet is back, staging her biggest world tour to date.
0:55:31 > 0:55:32# First time I fell in love
0:55:32 > 0:55:36# I didn't know what hit me. #
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Janet Jackson will be remembered as an artist
0:55:38 > 0:55:40that was pushing the envelope
0:55:40 > 0:55:44and that empowered herself by being this young girl that
0:55:44 > 0:55:46was able to say, "Hey, this is who I am.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48"Take me or leave me."
0:55:51 > 0:55:54We have so few examples of pop stars, whether or not we're talking
0:55:54 > 0:56:00about black pop stars or anybody, who can continue to build a career
0:56:00 > 0:56:02now 30 years in the running,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05and be able to do it consistently on their own terms.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09The music business is not what it used to be.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12The real players are going to be the ones
0:56:12 > 0:56:16who have to get out there on-stage and show what they can do.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18# Take a bow... #
0:56:18 > 0:56:20That's really what her legacy is.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22It's really more being a performer,
0:56:22 > 0:56:26whether it's Britney, whether it's Rihanna, everybody that wants to
0:56:26 > 0:56:31kind of do a bit of the acting, have a coquettish sexual stage presence
0:56:31 > 0:56:35and make records that talk about issues of control
0:56:35 > 0:56:38and issues of trying to be an icon and a woman and a sexual being
0:56:38 > 0:56:41at the same time, Janet was the first to really do all that.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45# Hey, what have you done for me lately? #
0:56:45 > 0:56:49People underestimate what she's contributed as a Jackson.
0:56:49 > 0:56:50And she's contributed a lot.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52She's brilliant!
0:56:52 > 0:56:54I really honestly look up to her.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57She's got a long, long legacy and a lot of women will never touch her.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59# Oooh! Yeah! #
0:57:02 > 0:57:05I just feel there's so much more I have to do.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08When I was with Jermaine Dupri, I remember coming to London
0:57:08 > 0:57:10and I remember calling him and I said,
0:57:10 > 0:57:14"Jermaine, they introduced me on the show today as 'legendary'."
0:57:14 > 0:57:16And he said, "Well, you are."
0:57:16 > 0:57:19You know, I don't see myself like that.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22There's so much more that I want to do, to accomplish,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26that I don't think I...can hold that title.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Hopefully in the future I'll be able to.
0:57:30 > 0:57:31# When you walk into the room
0:57:33 > 0:57:35# You knew just what to do... #
0:57:35 > 0:57:41No longer signed to a major record label, Janet is a free agent.
0:57:41 > 0:57:43Although it's been some years
0:57:43 > 0:57:46since she's enjoyed significant chart success,
0:57:46 > 0:57:49there's no doubting her legacy and no doubting who's in control.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57She has probably at least 150 million.
0:57:57 > 0:57:58She's completely independent.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00She's making movies.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05I think if she makes records, she'll make them on her own terms.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06# Let's put on a show. #
0:58:09 > 0:58:13Being free is the best thing that could possibly happen to her now.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17She's doing the right thing by making the movies...
0:58:17 > 0:58:19by touring.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21And really embracing and enduring
0:58:21 > 0:58:25the incredible legacy of music that she has.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27I am free.
0:58:27 > 0:58:31I have the freedom of doing whatever it is that that I want to do.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Which feels absolutely wonderful.
0:58:34 > 0:58:39And I love that. I'm not tied to any contract or anyone.
0:58:39 > 0:58:40I absolutely love it.
0:58:43 > 0:58:46# Free at last
0:58:49 > 0:58:51# Out here on my own... #
0:58:53 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:56 > 0:58:59E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk