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Janet Jackson Announces Her Return To A Potentially Unrhythmic Nation

This article is more than 8 years old.

The last time Janet Jackson put out an album of all new material, George W. Bush was still president, Adele’s debut set had just come out, and, perhaps most importantly, her brother Michael was still alive.

But today, at the stroke of midnight—on her 49th birthday— Jackson, via a video on Vimeo, announced that she was back.

“I promised you’d hear it from my lips, and now you will,” Jackson said in a voiceover, while an image of her voice waves registered on a studio equalizer. “This year, new music, new world tour, a new movement. I’ve been listening. Let’s keep the conversation going.”

That “conversation” raises more questions than it answers. What does “new movement” mean? What has she been listening to? Her fans' desire for new music? How soon will a world tour start? When, exactly, will new music arrive? (SwaggerNewYork.com reported that Spotify lists a July 28 concert date for Jackson at Comerica Theater in Phoenix. If that's accurate, she needs to announce the tour by Memorial Day).

Jackson’s last album, 2008’s dance-oriented Discipline was a commercial disappointment, despite debuting at No. 1. First single, “Feedback,” was the set’s only modest hit.

So what kind of an environment awaits Jackson? Commercially, she faces a very tough row to hoe. Pop music doesn’t treat women over 30 well. Since Jackson’s last album, her contemporaries Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and Madonna have all released albums to only have them fall flat (though JLo had a brief resurgence around 2011-2012 and Madonna’s latest set still has some legs left).

Bluntly, pop radio has little interest in any female artists—no matter how catchy their singles— unless they are names Swift, Trainor, or Grande.Jackson’s smartest bet will be to expose the songs through smart licensing placements in commercials and TV shows.

Both Lopez and Carey have gone the Las Vegas residency route— playing smaller theaters than the arenas they have previously filled and letting the audiences come to them. Madonna starts a worldwide arena tour in August and, despite the fact that there’s no stigma attached to headlining Sin City these days,  it’s nearly impossible to imagine Madge making that shift. However, it sounds like a smart move for Jackson and, perhaps, after this next global go round, that’s the next best move.

None of this is to suggest that Jackson doesn't still have great music to make or that commercial success is out of her reach, just that today's climate can be very unforgiving for veteran artists. But  maybe radio will welcome her back just as it has welcoming R&B group Jodeci. The group just scored a No. 1 with "Every Moment" on Billboard's Adult R&B chart 22 years after its first appearance on the chart. The song is from the act's first album in 20 years.