Janet Jackson’s Label Not-So-Subtly Hinting “Discipline” Was A Flop

noah | June 10, 2008 9:30 am
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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]