Here are a selection of of videos from Friday’s Essence Music Festival taken from YouTube.

Thanks to scntr0l.

Janet cut a segment of her show in Detroit last night due to Michigan state law. The law, which prohibits simulated sex acts in a performance space, saw Janet remove the songs Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun), Any Time, Any Place and Discipline.

A photo of Janet performing Pleasure Principle at last night’s show can be seen below.

You can now view over 200 photos from Janet´s Los Angeles show in the Janet Love Gallery. The photos show all of Janet´s costume changes plus the moment when Janet picks a member of the audience to bring up on stage during her song Discipline.

Also, if you have any photos of any of Janet´s tour dates don´t forget you can add them on Janet Fans now – the rapidly growing online social networking community for Janet fans worldwide.

[Show as slideshow]

123►

See many more photos in the Janet Love Gallery.

In an interview with the Washington Blade, Janet has confirmed that no further singles will be released from the Discipline album. She also says that a rumoured setlist released on Perez Hilton’s website was a very early version and not the one that will be used in the show.

Janet Jackson to kick off world tour
Gay icon promises all the hits, lots of dance
By KEVIN NAFF, Washington Blade | Sep 4, 3:50 PM

Janet Jackson will kick off her long-awaited “Rock Witchu Tour” Sept. 10 in Vancouver, her first tour in more than seven years. Jackson talked to the Blade today about what fans can expect.

“This show is for the fans,” she said, adding that she will perform about 30 tracks during the two-hour show. “It’s a nice mix from ‘Discipline’ and all the other albums.”

She noted that the show is focused on dance tracks and that she hopes to give concertgoers an escape from their problems, citing the current state of the economy.

“It’s a big show,” she said, “a completely different show. It’s very much upbeat. The kids say it shouldn’t be called the ‘Rock Witchu Tour,’ it should be called the ‘History of Janet Tour.’”

As for the vibe and style of the set, Jackson said she’s intrigued by the future so the set design will incorporate futuristic elements. Her costumes will be more elaborate than in the past.

So far, 24 North American dates have been announced, but Jackson said that more U.S. dates will be announced soon and that she’s in talks to take the tour all over the world, including possibly Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia and the Middle East.

The show will be recorded, she said, possibly for a television broadcast, then later packaged with older tours and material for sale. Specifically, she mentioned that her 1990 “Rhythm Nation Tour” was recorded in High Definition, but never released to the public.

“When I did ‘Rhythm Nation’ in Japan, I recorded the show in HD back then and they were trying to explain to me what HD was – that was 1990,” she said. “I’m assuming I was the first person to do this in concert. It trips me out to see HD catch on so many years later. We’re trying to put a nice package together for the fans.”

Jackson urged fans not to believe online rumors about her set list. One purported list leaked by blogger Perez Hilton was a very early version and “not the final list,” she said.

LL Cool J will open the show in select cities and Jackson praised him as an “icon in his own right.”

“He’s legendary when it comes to what he does,” she said. “He has a great body of work and I love his new single; he’s an entertainer. I wanted someone else who could really entertain the people and he’s a sweet guy.”

Her last album “Discipline” opened at No. 1 and generated two singles, “Feedback” and “Rock With You,” but a reported dispute with record label Island Def Jam brought a halt to promotions for the project. Jackson said she wasn’t sure if she would work with IDJ again, but confirmed there will be no further singles released from the album. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a new Janet single in the near future.

“I may just cut something new and throw it out there while I’m on the road,” she said.

And which acts does Janet like to see perform live? She cites Prince, The Time and Jill Scott as her favorites, as well as her brothers.

“Jill Scott puts on such a beautiful show and it was very inspirational to me,” she said.

The “Rock Witchu Tour” marks a long-stalled return to touring. Jackson said she was in rehearsals for a tour two years ago in Atlanta while filming Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married,” but that IDJ asked her to postpone it and record a new album, which she did.

“We were so excited to go out last time,” she said. “The kids were so excited, it was sad – we had our crying session.”

This time around, however, everything fell into place and Jackson said she’s developed a close-knit relationship with the “kids” (her dancers) and the rest of the team responsible for the show.

“I’m very family-oriented so there’s that connection that has to be there first,” Jackson said. “There’s such a wonderful group of people. Every tour I’ve done the group has gotten better and better. This is the closest group I’ve ever had.”

Janet spoke to Billboard.com to promote her upcoming tour and also cited possible problems with her existing label Island Def Jam:

Label Deal In Doubt, Jackson Hits The Road
Janet Jackson Dissatisfied With New Album Promo

September 04, 2008, 3:50 PM ET
Gary Graff, Detroit

After the disappointing showing of her latest album, “Discipline,” Janet Jackson is again raising questions about her relationship with Island Def Jam.

“I can’t say if we’ll be working with them in the future,” Jackson said today (Sept. 4) during a conference call with reporters to promote her upcoming Rock Witchu Tour. “I don’t know what the future holds between the two of us.”

She did not elaborate on her comment, which echoes remarks she made to SOHH.com in June about the performance of the album.

“Discipline” was Jackson’s first for Island Def Jam after leaving Virgin Records; she says she even agreed to scratch a tour for 2006′s “20 Y.O.” at the label’s wishes in order to record it. Executive produced by Jackson and her boyfriend, Island Urban president Jermaine Dupri, the album debuted at No. 1 in March with 181,000 copies sold. It’s shiftedNielsen SoundScan, and spent just 14 weeks on The Billboard 200.

Jackson was upbeat about the tour, however, which kicks off Wednesday in Vancouver. She described it as a “two hours of dance” on a stage set that has “a taste of … the future.” The repertoire will span her career and, according to Jackson, was drawn from requests made on her call-in line for fans.

“This show is all for the fans,” Jackson told Billboard.com during the call. “They tell me what they’d like to hear, what they’d like to see, what they want. And this is what I’m trying to give them.”

Jackson said fans will also get their wish for some more visual product from her as well. “We’ve been talking about something for TV, also a DVD,” she confirmed, the latter of which may include “past stuff I’ve done that wasn’t previously released,” including possibly a Japanese TV performance that was filmed in High Definition during the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour in 1990. “Just a nice package for the fans,” Jackson explained. “They’ve been asking for it for so long, and they truly deserve it.”

Jackson said that she “definitely” intends to keep the Rock Witchu Tour going beyond its current Oct. 22 wrap in Dallas, with more U.S. dates and legs that are currently being discussed for Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia and “some parts of the Middle East. It hasn’t been etched in stone. It’s still being put together. People will hear about it in a little while.”

Janet’s latest lingerie line will be called Pleasure Principle and released in stores by the end of the year or early 2009. Co-designed with Australian lingerie designer Bruno Schiavi, they will come in a range of sizes: 32A to 44G.

The stores that will carry the line in the U.S. are yet to be revealed with plans for it to follow into European, Australian and Asian stores in the future.

There are also plans for Janet to expand into other clothing lines in the future.

Janet Jackson’s latest release isn’t from this year’s “Discipline” album — it’s her lingerie line, Pleasure Principle.

The legendary hip-hop and R&B diva teamed with Bruno Schiavi, the Australian lingerie designer behind Dr. Rey’s Shapewear line (named for “Dr. 90210” fixture Dr. Robert Rey), for her debut fashion duet. The 18-piece line is named after the hit single from Jackson’s 1986 multiplatinum album “Control,” is designed to be comfortable for a range of sizes — 32A to 44G, and is crafted of mostly satin and lace.

Items will be manufactured in China and will be in department stores by late this year or early 2009. Jackson and Schiavi are currently in negotiations with major chains to carry the line; U.S. stores will be revealed in coming months, with releases in Australia, Japan and Europe to follow.

Jackson said the combination of beauty and comfort was the primary driver for the designs, though affordability was also paramount. Price points for the bra and underwear pieces are all under $40.

“I hate when you’ve had on a bra all day long and you just can’t wait to take it off — every woman has experienced that,” she said. “A lot of lingerie tends to leave those marks and be uncomfortable. This line is about detail, fit and comfort as well as beauty and making women feel sexy.”

This is the first time in her long career that Jackson has undertaken an apparel line of any sort, though she is a fan of Alexander McQueen — she came out to help fete the opening of his Los Angeles store this spring — and Versace, whose show she attended in June. Her innerwear collection will be expanded in the future, plus Schiavi and Jackson are already at work on additional lines and collaborations, including plans to extend beyond lingerie in 2009.

“In order for me to do something I have to be very passionate about it or I won’t give it my all,” she said. “I had so much fun designing this.”

Jackson, who next month is embarking on her first North American concert tour in seven years, said the line developed quickly, though since she’s preparing for her tour, and Schiavi splits time between Los Angeles and Australia, the pair had to squeeze in design sessions whenever they could — even during dance rehearsals or over the phone in the middle of the night.

“It’s 3 a.m., Janet’s in Paris and I’m in Australia and we’re on the phone talking about the line,” said Schiavi.

“I eat lunch at the same time every day, so we’d do a lot of work during my lunch time when Bruno would come down to rehearsals,” Jackson added.

The singer first unveiled plans for the line in June at the Versace men’s wear show in Milan in June, right around the time Jackson and longtime boyfriend, record producer Jermaine Dupri, said they’re planning to start a family after the latest tour ends.

Jackson said the lingerie line is “definitely” a good jumping-off point for future fashion endeavors.

“It’s something for every woman, and I truly do mean that. It makes you feel sexy,” she said.

And presumably there will be no wardrobe malfunctions.

Courtesy of WWD

Island Def Jam have released a statement regarding the promotion of Discipline to Billboard magazine in response to Janet’s recent comments on the SOHH blog.

“Unfortunately we haven’t experienced the results we would have liked with this new album. But we respect and support Janet.”

The Billboard article does, however, confuse Janet’s comments about being unable to visit Europe on her promotional tour as her saying that she will not be bringing the Rock Witchu Tour to the continent. Island Def Jam responded saying that the label “has nothing to do with Janet’s tour”. Indeed Island Def Jam is in no way linked to the upcoming tour and Janet’s comments about not coming to Europe were not related to the Live Nation Rock Witchu Tour.

As we announced first last week, Janet made a very special announcement on today’s episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Janet told fans that she will be starting her tour in Vancouver on September 10th this year. In addition, she also announced that fans can help choose the songs they would like to see performed in the show by calling (323) 622-8139 with their suggestions.

Janet performed LUV and Rhythm Nation on the show as well and you can watch them both below:

Rhythm Nation

LUV

Interview

In a new interview with Gary Graff for the New York Times syndicate, Janet speaks about Discipline, her love of touring and much more. Read the article below:

Janet Jackson finds freedom in ‘Discipline’

According to Ticketmaster, Janet is scheduled to play Boston on October 1st this year. No further information has been released as to support acts or when the show will go on sale.

According to an article posted on JapanToday.com, Janet is set to visit Japan between April 9th and April 12th to promote her album Discipline. Janet, who last visited Japan in October 2006, said: “I love Japan so much because it never bores me. I want to visit KiddyLand, sushi restaurants and clubs with my friends.”

Janet was interviewed on the Buckhead and Bubba breakfast show on Pittsburgh’s B94FM today. You can watch a video that the station has put up a behind the scenes video of the interview.

A new promotional video has been posted on Janet’s official MySpace page to celebrate Discipline hitting the top of the charts in the United States. Watch it below.

Janet’s latest album, Discipline, has entered the UK album charts at number 63, according to Yahoo! Music. Coincidentally, this is the same chart position that 20 Y.O. entered at in 2006. It unfortunately makes it Janet’s joint lowest ever album chart debut.

Janet’s UK album chart positions (1st week)
Janet Jackson #45
Dream Street n/a
Control #8
Rhythm Nation #4
Janet. #1
The Velvet Rope #6
All For You #2
Damita Jo #32
20 Y.O. #63

“How do you define an icon”…

Janet Jackson herself appeared on stage tonight at her album launch party at the New World Stage in New York. After an introduction from Antonio ‘LA’ Reid inviting us to “Sit back, relax and enjoy”, he walked off stage and that is exactly what we did. A wall of vision and music enveloped us, immersing us in the gritty Electro, Soulful R&B sounds that make Discipline yet another seminal milestone in Janet’s inspiring musical career. The voice-over asks the question how do you define an icon: the next hour and a half provides us with the answer. Janet Jackson, superstar, singer, & actress: an icon. Whilst one of the songs teases us with the lyric “Give me something I won’t forget”…

If you had never met this lady you might be surprised at just how down to earth, beautiful and humble this international superstar is, she is truly awe-inspiring and was so genuinely taken aback by how much her fans, critics and industry peers adore her. The album is reminiscent of much of Janet’s old sounds but at the same time takes an entirely new and fresh approach to her music. A source at Universal, Janet’s record label, commented during an exclusive phone call with Janet Love over the weekend that this album is “pretty special and really quite simply exceptionally good”. He also noted how different it is from her previous work. From tonight’s launch party it is totally evident that he was completely correct. From the soaring and breathy Greatest X to the body thumping beats of Feedback, there is something for everyone in this album, it honours her previous incarnations whilst bringing something entirely new to the table.

After we hear the up-tempo Hip-hop tones of The 1, featuring Missy Elliott the lights on stage go up and out steps LA Reid with a very petite lady, a beautiful familiar face, the lady herself. Miss Janet Jackson. During the Q&A a Compare from a top US music magazine, Blender, steps in to ask Janet what her motivation is for such a diverse and sexually charged album, she looks down then straight back up, gives a wry cheeky smile and replies “I love life and I LOVE sex”. What she is in fact saying is a reference to the overtones of innate sexuality in us all which is reflected in the album. Janet never fails to push the boundaries in her art and performance, and tonight was no different. As we entered the very funky urban venue we were greeted by Janet-esque models dressed as dominatrix, clad in black PVC and leather whips. They much like the album were stunning, evoking excitement and intrigue about what the album promises. This is paralleled by the breathtaking album artwork and photography featuring a multitude of alluring black and white shots of Janet in provocative poses. Truly a sight to behold, keep checking back only at Janet Love as we post these in the next few days.

The Jackson family are infamous for their music reflecting their upbringing and personal experiences and Janet’s latest offering is no different. It is self evident from the lyrics on this album of just how much this lady has been through. The title track Discipline is in some ways reminiscent of her strict upbringing, Janet herself says “as a child I had to be disciplined and learn self control”. She goes on to state that “I love my tennis and I love dancing, it allows me to be playful but it also teaches me to be disciplined”. This has patently provided her with a great deal of motivation and inspiration to create some of these very raw and personal tracks the true emotion of which is laced behind a façade of lively electro-dance vibes. Other top songs from the new album include the repetitive and raunchy Can’t Be Good, which is an upbeat ballad and Never Letchu Go a powerful love song with an electro-guitar back beat, both fraught with the struggles that love brings.

Rock With U, penned by Jermaine Dupri, and was inspired by her more (in)famous brother. When prompted she states “Brother Mike inspired me”, joking that we might know him, “…he’s a very famous dancer”. Just a reminder of her playful, loving family oriented attitude. Before she walks off stage she jokes “I’ve had to leave the kids at home tonight, I love you all”.

What has Janet done for us lately?… As promised she gave us all something we won’t ever forget by producing an inspired album which is set to blow us away from February 25/26, when it goes on sale across the globe.
Remember to keep checking back in the next few days as we update Janet Love with more exclusive news, lyrics and photos from Discipline and the exciting NYC Launch Party!