Janet Jackson



After a seven-year hiatus, international recording superstar Janet Jackson kicked off the Rock Witchu tour in Vancouver to celebrate the release of her newest album Discipline. After an emotional experience stemming from a touching display from fans, she was convinced of one thing- she has been away for far too long.

In preparation for her highly anticipated visit to Detroit on Sept. 27 to perform at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Michigan FrontPage took the opportunity to find out what kind of “discipline” Jackson has in store for her fans.

FP: After all of the amazing things that you’ve done, how do you feel about your music at this stage in your career?

JJ: From the point where I started, it was just me singing because I was told to as opposed to me really putting my voice down: what I needed to say, things that concerned me, things that were going on in my life. And that was the difference from then, even till this day. And the music has changed a great deal. I still enjoy the music that I make and I still enjoy making music.

FP: You’re in your 40s now and you haven’t toured for seven years. Is there anything that you do differently to prepare yourself physically and mentally than you did before?

JJ: Not really. I still go about it the same way actually. I just get up there and do what I’m expected to do and know what I can do and what I want to do. Age has always been just a number to my family and I think if you let your head play those games with you, then you’ll go there. When you hit the age of 42, even when you’re 20-something, it seems I’m a lot older but it’s still fairly young. And it’s really no different but if you want to make it feel like its 90-something, then you can. It’s just a number.

FP: One of the reviews of the Vancouver show noted that there was too much reliance on recorded vocals and that you weren’t singing enough. Is that an accurate comment and is it unrealistic to expect you to be singing all the way through?

JJ: I think if you ask any artist, no one does a show where their vocals are all the way there. But they’re definitely there. And then there are also other things like background vocals and other stuff that they hear and those voices they hear are mine. I do all my backgrounds. But there’s no artist that does a whole show where everything is all the way live. No artist does.

FP: What were you going for with the title Discipline?

JJ: It’s a dance album, it’s a fun album. It came from a really long time and it’s a great deal of discipline to have done for so long and to accomplish all that I have accomplished in this industry. And it’s not easy by any means.

FP: How would you compare this tour to previous tours that you’ve done?

JJ: It’s a harder show, it’s a tougher show. From the set list, I think we have 37 songs that we do. When you have such a huge body of work and trying to keep that within two hours, that’s tough. And to give the people what they want without them feeling like they didn’t get enough of this song or that song, but yet giving them as much music as you possibly can…it’s a tough show. Even for the kids who are – I’m twice their age for the most part – it’s a touch show. The way I structured it, it’s dance, all dance except for a very little piece of it.

FP: What do you want people to walk away with when they leave your show?

JJ: I just want people to feel like they got their money’s worth. The economic climate today is so tough for people that I appreciate them coming out and seeing the show. I want to give them what they want and then some. I want them to walk away forgetting about if there’s any drama in their life and just have a good time for two hours.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the Rock Witchu tour visit www.ticketmaster.com.