A PRESTIGE HONG KONG EXCLUSIVE
BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
by Mariel Rittenhouse

Janet Jackson is poised to pounce back into the public eye with a new album, a book and an upcoming world tour. In an exclusive interview with Prestige Hong Kong in New York, the Divine Miss Janet opens up to Mariel Rittenhouse about growing up Jackson, life offstage with boyfriend Jermaine Dupri and what still makes her blush.

Janet Jackson sits in a cordoned-off section of bustling Rosa Mexicano restaurant in Manhattan, simultaneously texting and talking with an eager publicist sitting beside her – the consummate multitasker. Clad in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, the diminutive Jackson bundles herself up in an enormous beige puffer coat just as I take off my own. With zero make-up, a slapdash ponytail and skin glowing from a dance rehearsal just minutes before our meeting, she sits in stark contrast to the dolled-up diva the world is so used to seeing – or the fishnet-stockinged baby-doll vamp in the exclusive photo shoot on these pages. She’s breathtaking, with a wide-eyed, soft-spoken warmth that’s disarming given the magnitude of her celebrity. If it weren’t for the entourage and impromptu VIP room, you might mistake her for just another beautiful face. Yet as we all know, she’s anything but.

It could be argued that Janet Jackson sprung forth from the womb a star. Born in Gary, Indiana on May 16, 1966 to Katherine and Joseph Jackson, Janet Damita Jo Jackson took her place as the youngest of 10 children. But these children weren’t your average kids on the block. Her five eldest brothers were The Jackson 5, a 1970s musical phenomenon. In the mid-1970s, Janet joined her brothers onstage in Las Vegas, earning rave reviews performing comedy skits and singing impersonations. The family routine was picked up by CBS and turned into a TV variety hour called The Jacksons.

In the 1980s she pursued an acting career, finding success on TV shows Good Times, Diff’rent Strokes and Fame. But music was the family trade (and her destiny as a Jackson), so her father set up a meeting with A&M Records. Her selftitled debut album was released in 1982, achieving moderate success on the R&B charts. In 1984 Dream Street hit the radio but, like its precursor, it made few waves. Still, Jackson managed to rock the boat that year: 18 years old, she eloped with singer James DeBarge. Like many spur-of-the-moment celebrity unions, it didn’t last. Jackson had the marriage annulled less than a year later. After the tepid reception of her first two albums, Jackson teamed with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. From this collaboration, Jackson released Control, a groundbreaking 1986 album that churned out no fewer than six Hot 100 hits, five of them hitting the Top Five. Naturally, the Grammys came calling, as did the Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. With the release of Control, she morphed into more than a Jackson – she became Janet.