Reviewer: Is Janet the New Britney?
Janet Jackson’s “Discipline” is the country’s number one CD. And I have to admit that about half of it is percolatingly good background music for a gym workout. A lot of people, however, aren’t so impressed with Miss Janet’s effort. One critic writes: ‘Those writhing lyrics, those distorted, androgynous vocals, that megapop production; listening to Janet Jackson swivel about on latest single ‘Feedback,’ (in which the lines “Do you like my style? Yeah, sexy sexy sexy” actually feature), can’t help but make you think of Britney Spears. In other words, it sounds desperate. Why is this one-time primo mistress of dance-pop reduced to chanting about her body being a peep show and insisting she’s still got it? Because sexual aggression, in this case marked out by a pulsating beat and unrelentingly lascivious lyrics, remains the first port of call for any popstar trying to assert the image of an “empowered woman”. It’s both depressing and boring to hear someone with the professional longevity of Jackson boast: “Light Skin, Dark Skin, My Asian Persuasion, I Got them all, that’s why these girls out here hatin’?” Please, Janet, it’s not a competition. Watch the video, if you must.’
