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Watch Janet perform at MTV EMAs

Janet performed at the MTV European Music Awards tonight in Bilbao.

Performing a medley of songs, she also sang some of her song Made For Now in Spanish.

She also mixed the song with the breakdown from All For You and a rather funky Rhythm Nation remix.

Janet then went on to accept her Global Icon award in which she used her speak to talk about equality and the fight for justice and women.

“Tonight I feel moved to speak for women whose voices have been stifled,” she said. “I am one of those women. Women who have been gagged, both literally and emotionally. Women who have been abused, women who have been intimidated, women who have lived in fear, I stand with you. You are my sisters.”

“Tonight I carry the hope that a new world is emerging. A world in which caring people – male as well as female – will no longer tolerate gender inequality.”

Janet Jackson at MTV EMAs 2018 in Bilbao

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News State Of The World Tour

Janet confirms she’ll take her tour global

In an interview in London with LBC, Janet Jackson confirmed that her State Of The World Tour will be global and will see international dates.

“I’ve not finished with the State Of The World Tour. I’ve always said it was a world tour,” she said. “There’s still lots of places that I have to go to and I’m looking forward to being there.”

Whilst she didn’t confirm any other specifics, Janet also spoke a lot about religion and spirituality. When asked what was “up there”, she said it wasn’t a person but it was “nothing but love”.

She was also asked her thoughts on Donald Trump but said she “didn’t want to dive into politics”.

Asked about her fans she said, “I love the fact that we have a great relationship and it’s a beautiful thing.”

“I see the same group of people in the first few rows, even from Europe. And when they realise that I recognise them I can see that it warms them.”

Listen below:

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Janet performs Made For Now on Jimmy Fallon

Janet has performed her new single Made For Now for the first time on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Alongside Daddy Yankee, Janet led a troupe of international dancers to show the world why she’s still iconic in her fourth decade of music.

Including a dance break, watch Janet’s performance now.

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British producer Harmony Samuels: “This EP is going to be exciting”

British producer Harmony Samuels has confirmed that Janet Jackson will be releasing a new EP later this year. He also features as a cameo in her new music video Made For Now.

In an interview with Billboard magazine, he said that “this EP is going to be exciting”. He stated that the vibe is extremely international and the project is anchored in themes around love whilst harking back to Janet’s Velvet Rope and Control eras.

“Like I said, she’s not bound to any genre of music. She does have some classic R&B, but some other stuff that’s grungy where you’ll be like, woo! What vibe is that? Kind of George Michael-esque. I can’t say more than that.. But it’s very impressive and people that have listened before me, it feels like she’s gone back to Velvet Rope and Control but it’s new, it’s a different vibe and you can hear that. For me, that’s more than I can ask, that people feel that same connection from where she was 30 years ago. That’s amazing. This EP is going to be exciting. It’s young and fresh but it’s not young trying to be young. It’s open for everyone to receive.”

Janet Jackson producer Harmony Samuels

When asked how he got involved in Janet’s new project and the single Made For Now, Samuels said:

“I have good friends in high places. Janet’s A&R, his name is JQ, he’s from London. We’re both from London. So we met each other about 10 years ago. On my way to Clive Davis’ yearly Grammy party, he saw me in the plane like, “We need to talk about Janet.” I was like, please. I said, OK cool! Let’s talk about Janet. Three months later, never heard from him. Then he called me out of the blue. He said, Janet wants to start recording. This was just before she went on tour. We go to meet with Janet for the first time and I’m shaking in my boots. because oh my goodness, it’s Janet Jackson. This isn’t just any artist. This is an icon, a legend! So many different things. She walks in the room so beautifully, gracefully, just like, “Hi!” She asked, “Whose birthday is May 16?” and I said mine. She said, “Oh, we share the same birthday!” I was like, yes! I’m in. Then she was so amazing, talking to us about what she really wanted to talk about on this record. She said she wanted it to be about love and the world coming together. She wanted it to be about unity. She felt like, where in the world was that? She was a place where she felt like she could help bring it together culturally, spiritually, mentally, by love. I was like, wow, no pressure!

I go to the studio and I created this writing camp, me and JQ, we’re in the studio writing song after song for 10 days. I kept saying to myself, I need Janet to have something different and new that sparks everyone to be like, we never heard her this way before, but she still sounds amazing. I was scratching my head and pacing around the studio, like, what is it? One morning, it just hit me. I quickly did research on her and she’s never done an Afrocentric cultural record before. I said, perfect. That’s exactly what I’m going to do: cultural, Afrocentric, with a little bit of Latino [inspiration] and we’re gonna write a great record to it. I’m in the shower and the first guitar line you hear in the song, I literally hear it in my head. I jump out the shower and scream, yes yes! I sing into my phone, I get in my clothes and run to the studio, speeding down the freeway like, this is going to be the record. I’m making the track and going crazy. We end up making the song, the team of us: Al Sherrod [Lambert], Shawn Butler, Verren Wade, Edgar “JV” Etienne and myself. We’re all just working together like, this is actually going to be perfect for Janet.

She comes in and hears it and loves the record, her and her brother Randy love the record. She makes the changes and does all the things that make it her, fit her. She’s very unique and has her own vibe and sound. We go to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to cut the record. They were another set of icons. Legendary people. All of them in one room? That’s all too much. Then we cut the record, she loved it and she’d been preparing to put it out for a while. It’s been an experience. I’m excited about her EP too that’s coming out, because we’ve got other records that are just as good.”

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Janet confirms new album this year

In an interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra, Janet today confirmed that she will be releasing a new album later this year.

She also spoke about her love of London and its weather, saying that she liked rainy and overcast days.

Listen to the full interview below.

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Janet premieres Made For Now song and video with Daddy Yankee

Janet has today premiered her first new track in several years as well as releasing a big budget video to accompany.

Made For Now, with Latin superstar Daddy Yankee, is her first to be released since the Unbreakable album in 2015.

Janet will appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this evening to perform the track with Daddy Yankee.

She has also recorded an appearance with MTV’s TRL which airs on Friday in the USA.

You can stream the video and song below:

 

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News State Of The World Tour

Janet appears on cover of Essence magazine ahead of festival performance

Ahead of her upcoming performance at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, Janet Jackson has shared her own essay entitled “Letter From My Heart”.

  • In Her Childhood: “I was happy when my brothers came home from performing on the road. I was happy when my mother lavished me with love. But I wasn’t happy with the way I looked…”
  • In Her Teens: “Happiness came when people asked me to perform…but I was happiest when I was pleasing others and not myself. An older and wiser Janet might have said, ‘True happiness is knowing you’re doing the best you can…'”
  • In Her Thirties: “These were difficult years, when I struggled with depression. The struggle was intense. I could analyze the source of my depression forever. Low self-esteem might be rooted in childhood feelings of inferiority. It could relate to failing to meet impossibly high standards. And of course there are always the societal issues of racism and sexism. Put it all together and depression is a tenacious and scary condition. Thankfully, I found my way way through it…”
  • Today, at 52: “Now the height of happiness is holding my baby son in my arms and hearing him coo, or when I look into his smiling eyes and watch him respond to my tenderness. When I kiss him. When I sing him softly to sleep. During those sacred times, happiness is everywhere. Happiness is in gratitude to God…”


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Janet announces State Of The World tour

In an announcement on her official website, Janet has revealed that she’ll be going back on tour with the launch of her new State Of The World Tour.

The new dates, starting September 7th, will start to go on sale on Friday. They include visits across the United States.

In the video, recorded in London, Janet confirms that she has separated from her husband and that the matter is in court and “the rest is in God’s hands”.

The video then says the tour will be renamed the State Of The World Tour, but that it’s “not about politics, it’s about people”.

She continues that it’s also about “the world, relationships and just love.”

Janet also talks about baby Eissa saying: “I thank God for him. He is so healthy, so beautiful, so sweet, so loving, such a happy baby”.

Janet also jokes that she’s “put on a few” since having her baby. Her brother Randy can be heard in the background joking “more than a few”.

There is no word yet of any UK dates.

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Janet shows off baby Eissa for the first time

In a photo posted today to her Twitter profile, Janet Jackson has shown off her new baby Eissa for the first time.

Janet Jackson with her baby Eissa

The photo was simply captioned “My baby and me after nap time.”

Janet is presently living in London.

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Janet gives birth to baby boy Eissa

Janet has given birth to her first son, Eissa.

In a short statement her publicist confirmed the baby’s name and said both her and her husband Wissam Al Mana were “thrilled” to welcome their first child, Eissa Al Mana.

“Janet had a stress-free healthy delivery and is resting comfortably,” the publicist added.

Congratulations Janet and Wissam!