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Janet Jackson on Rihanna, Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift
MARSHALL HEYMAN MEETS JANET JACKSON IN NEW YORK FOR A WONDERLAND WORLD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, FINDING HER ON FIGHTING FORM FULLY FOCUSED AND EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE
Photographer AITKEN JOLLY | Fashion Editor ANTHONY UNWIN
It’s hard to imagine what 2009 was like for Janet Jackson. The youngest of nine children, Janet, experienced the death of her older brother and idol, Michael Jackson, and ended her seven-year relationship with the music producer and rapper, Jermaine Dupri.
But 2010 promises to be a massive year for her. A second greatest hits compilation, Number Ones, was released late last fall, including such iconic songs as “What Have You Done For Me Lately?” and “Nasty” from Control, and “Miss You Much” and “Escapade” from Rhythm Nation 1814. This year, Jackson promises a new album of all new material, a sequel to Tyler Perry’s hit “Why Did I Get Married”, titled “Why Did I Get Married Too”, and even a book.
Despite the fact that all of what’s come before 2010 for Jackson (the aforementioned songs, the film Poetic Justice, that sick – in a good way – “Scream” video with her brother, directed by Mark Romanek) is pretty damn fierce, when she meets me in a conference room in her Upper West Side apartment building, she is unexpectedly unassuming, quiet and shy. She speaks at a decibel below ours, perhaps to preserve her energy and voice. Her wardrobe? She’s wearing a sweater and jeans, and a pair of super high Fendi ankle boots. We start with a little chitchat, mostly about what she’s doing in New York, which leads us to the topic of the photo shoot she did for Wonderland.
Wonderland: you’ve been doing photo shoots for a long time. do you still have fun with them?
Janet Jackson: A long time. Yeah, I do, because you work with different people, and you don’t know what’s to come. And sometimes the shoots are just OK, and sometimes they’re wonderful shoots. I don’t normally like pictures of myself, but [in the Wonderland shoot] I really enjoyed myself. It’s like forties with an edge, a stud here, a spike there, a little latex here.
I’ve never seen a bad picture of you. I loved those W photos of you in that gold bodysuit. You like those W pictures?
I thought I looked like a bad tranny, not even a cute one. If you’re going to make me look like a tranny, at least make me look like a cute tranny.
You’re always so cute, like a chipmunk.
It’s these cheeks, right? People still try to pinch my cheeks once in a while.
So you like being styled?
It hasn’t gotten old for me, I still enjoy it.
Do you think about recalibrating your image when you come out with a new album?
Not really. It comes from boredom. When that happens, I change my hair colour. It’s funny that you said that because at the American Music Awards, I thought: I’m getting kinda bored. I can feel a change coming about. What direction I’m headed into or what it’s going to be, I don’t know. You have really pretty eyes.
Oh, thank you. If you’re a little bored now, where do you want to go?
Like I said, I really don’t know until I get to that point. It’ll start to show itself to me.
Do you feel that with Lady gaga being so popular that your fashion now has to shock people?
I think a lot of [what Lady Gaga wears] is really cool. I’m not knocking Gaga in any way, because I’m actually a fan of hers. I don’t know because we’ve never spoken, but when I look at her, I get the vision of Leigh Bowery. I mean, everybody’s inspired by something. Do I think it’s over the top at all? I enjoy it because it’s something kind of different. It’s something new to look at. It’s going to be hard [for her] to keep up with that, but who knows?
How about Rihanna? does what she’s doing with bandages remind you of any of your previous incarnations?
Have I done that before? Yes. I’m not saying she’s copying me. Everything is cyclical. They come back around at some point.
Do you have any anxieties about keeping up with Rihanna and Lady gaga?
To me, it’s just a matter of being you. And like I said, I don’t know what direction it’ll be, but I can tell there’s a change going on in me. Some•thing good. A lot has happened in my life this year, a lot of changes; I think I’m kind of headed in a different direction for sure, and it’ll show itself to me. As far as keeping up, I don’t look at it like that. It’s really about being who you are and doing what you want to do. I think when you try to keep up with something, it’s not a good thing. You have to express yourself and be the true you.
How often in your life would you say you’ve had these periods of boredom?
A lot. Quite a few, with a lot of different projects; that’s why I dyed my hair red at some point. That’s why I let my hair grow natural at some point; I had my hair like a honey auburn kind of thing. “Love Will Never Do” – that was a whole period. Rhythm Nation – I was covered up from here to here in black. I love black and I’m trying to get out of it.
Do you get bored with your work too, or is it just an aesthetic thing?
I don’t get bored with what I’m doing. I get bored with a sound. I’ve never gotten bored with my work. It’s always a new adventure each time you’re in the studio or you’re writing or working with someone new.
Who do you want to work with these days?
I adore Alicia Keys. She’s one person I met from the very beginning and she hasn’t changed, and you don’t find that. She’s incredibly talented but her soul is such an amazing soul, such an amazing spirit, and you feel that immediately when you’re with her, and she hasn’t changed a bit and that’s what I love about her. I enjoy her.
Are there other people you’re liking?
I like Taylor Swift. I’m not sure why.
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Speak, Janet.
