Idolator
Hey, remember that Janet Jackson album that came out a few months ago? Debuted at No. 1, swiftly dropped off the charts afterward? No? Well, apparently Island Def Jam, Janet's label, is trying to put it out of its collective mind, too. During a conference call about her upcoming tour, she told reporters that there probably wouldn't be another single from the album: "We started off with 'Feedback' and the label and myself haven't quite seen eye to eye since the 'Feedback' single so they've kind of basically stopped all promotion. I'm trying to figure out a way to say this, but just to say it and to be quite honest, they just stopped all promotion whatsoever on the album so I don't think you're going to hear another single off this album." I guess Island Def Jam has figured that 392,000 copies sold is as good as it's going to get. (For its part, a label rep told Billboard that while IDJ hasn't "experienced the results [it] would have liked with this new album," the people over there "respect and support Janet.") What happened, Janet?
Well, there was the dubious decision to dress up in drag as her brother, the last-minute SNL cancellation that was given over to Mariah Carey, a.k.a. her chief rival within the label's roster, the neverending sex talk that was only briefly broken up by diet advice, and, of course, the still-renowned lyric "I'm heavy like a first day period."
Ah, right. I forgot about the Ed Wood-style video for "Feedback." Well, in case any of you aspiring moguls out there want to know how not to market a record, at least you now have a model to not follow! And as a palate-cleanser, here's the clip for "The Pleasure Principle":
Come back, Janet!
Janet Jackson Exposes Label Drama, "They've Stopped All Promotion On The Album" [SOHH]
Janet Jackson Dissatisfied With New Album Promo [Billboard]
Janet Jackson - The Pleasure Principle [YouTube]
Comments
I would say the whole project seemed doomed as soon as they released the godawful "Feedback," but the biggest mistake they made as far as maintaining momentum after the chart debut was sticking with "Rock With U" as the 2nd single/video instead of throwing weight behind "Luv," which was way better and seemed to have a lot more traction at radio.
She needs to attend an Artists Anonymous meeting to:
1. Admit that her career is over and unmanageable.
4. Humbly ask God to prevent her from ever recording again.
5. Ask Mike Rapino at Live Nation to give her lifetime deal like he has other aging artists whose sales declined.
Feedback seemed to be a pretty solid club hit in my neck of the woods. I was never a huge fan of the song, but I'm surprised that the whole thing got written off like that.
Lemme ask you this -- what in hell does a record label do if they aren't promoting singles and albums? I'm not a big Janet fan, but it seems clear that the label is beyond useless, they're actually a destructive force, with their lack of effort (resources?) to do their job, and their eagerness to trash their own artist to Billboard and others (it ain't the first time Damita Jo's good name has been dragged through the mud).
"Rock With You" is kinda amazing, but other than that the album is filler city. So, I'm not that surprised.
They are saying that Janet really wanted "Luv" and the label really wanted "Rock With U" and LA Reid killed the project when Janet wouldn't acceede- which sounds plausible to me. I think either song would have done okay had there been any real push behind it. They definitely screwed her over in favor of Mimi.
@Nunya B: I know how to spell accede, by the way. I blame the heat.
You know, remember back in the day when selling ~400K copies of an album was considered a smash success?
Records used to bow big in 2002/03, including "Get Rich or Die Trying" at 801K; Shania Twain's Up at 861K; and Norah Jones at 661k. Now, those numbers are just a twinkling of an eye.
@rekoil: a disingenuous comparison, no? it's not like janet is a new artist or anything. i mean, 20 y.o. was considered a flop -- because it didn't break the seven-figure mark and sold about 750,000 copies.
@Maura Johnston: 'scuse me for butting in, but was that first week sales? If so, wow. I kinda liked 20 y.o. In fact, I liked it much better than this one. I have all of her CDs, including her latest, which I forgot to put on the list of purchases last week. I just don't think she's movin' units like an industry veteran and it has to do with her, not the label. She sang the same song when she was at EMI. I'm just a weary fan.
@cosmiclove: that was total sales. first-week sales were 296,000.
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