It had previously been reported that Janet would be appearing on the Rush Hour 3 movie soundtrack. However, Jermaine Dupri has now said in a posting to his MySpace page that this will not be the case.

According to the Miami Herald, Janet attended a party at The Forge to celebrate the launch of the new Simpsons movie last Wednesday.

The Forge had a big party last night for the kick off of The Simpsons movie featuring drag diva Elaine Lancaster as Marge, of course. Almost as big as Lancaster’s hair was the presence of Janet Jackson, who sat in the restaurant’s corner table, with her back facing the dining room. Jackson’s table was surrounded by bodyguards, but when Lancaster made her way over, Jackson invited the drag queen to sit down in what began, according to spies, “a love fest.” When Lancaster got up to leave, Miss Jackson was overheard telling the restaurant’s GM, “I love her!” As for rumors that Jackson has put on weight, our source says “things couldn’t be further from the truth.” Jackson was sporting long, shoulder length, wavy hair, and “looks better than ever.” Not one to play it up for the paps, Jackson exited through the back door leaving about 25 snappers without their shots.

Janet was seen at Miami club Suite on Thursday night last week grooving to Rihanna‘s Umbrella. According to the Miami Herald, Janet was with a posse of girls with no men in sight. One onlooker told the Herald that Janet was looking “trim and fit”, and drinking bottled water all night while the rest of her group drank champagne.

In an interview with SOHH.com, Polow Da Don has talked about his role in Janet’s upcoming project. He has said he wants to “put Janet back in the clubs because that’s where kids register what’s a hit”. Watch the full interview now.

After much speculation, it’s been officially confirmed that Janet has signed with Island Def Jam Records. After more than a decade with Virgin Records, Janet’s boyfriend Jermaine Dupri confirmed the news in an interview with Billboard Magazine.

“She’s on Island, but it’s more or less [Def Jam CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid's] project. I let him deal with that on a day-to-day basis. He’s going to A&R that project, too. Janet’s record is one that he’s wanted to do for a long time. He’s very passionate about it.”

When asked about how the album is set to pan out, he replies:

“I don’t really know what he’s got in mind at this point. His past record isn’t shabby so I’m going to let him do what he’s going to do. I’m going to do [the new] Mariah [Carey album], and we’re going to make it seem like we’re in competition to see who’s going to have the biggest album of the year.”

Whilst no official release date for the album has been set, Billboard reports that rumours have said it may be ready before the end of the year.

According to Rap-Up TV and In Touch Weekly, Polow Da Don and Scott Storch are both working on tracks for Janet’s upcoming album. In an interview with Rap-Up TV, Polow Da Don said:

“We’re gonna put her back in the club. I sent her some tracks and she said off the top, she’s like, ‘I want the hard stuff. I want to dance, I want uptempo, I want club, I want hip.’”

In an interview with MTV.com, singer and songwriter Ne-Yo has confirmed he has written lyrics for Janet’s upcoming album. No further details have been released.

Apologies to those of you that experienced some down time with the site in the last 24 hours. This was due to an error with our domain name serving company.

In an interview with SOHH, Syience, dubbed as the hottest new producer on the block, has confirmed that he is working with Janet on her new album. No official announcements have been made about the new project or possible release dates.

According to VH1.com, Janet will appear in an upcoming episode of the Tyra Banks show on Wednesday July 11th.

Tyra invites a woman to her show who says that her love for Janet Jackson gave her the strength to live when she was on the brink of death. While performing her favorite Janet song for the audience, she becomes speechless when Janet herself surprises her on stage. (more…)