Janet Jackson: She gets emotional when she thinks of Michael

Janet Jackson (58) is one of the most successful singers in the world, having sold more than 160 million records, and can look back on a career spanning almost 50 years – a career that began in childhood. She first appeared in front of TV cameras at the age of seven, and two years later she recorded her first song. Jackson has now spoken about her beginnings and her life as a child star.

At the age of nine, Janet Jackson recorded her first song

While her five older brothers, including Michael Jackson (1958-2009), were already international megastars as the Jackson Five, Janet Jackson recorded her first song, “Fantasy,” out of boredom in her home music studio in 1975 at the age of nine. When her father, Joseph Jackson (1928-2018), heard the song, he said, “You’re going to sing.”

Now, almost 50 years later, Janet Jackson is touring the USA and Europe with her “Together Again” tour, which looks back on her entire career. She actually had other plans, she says: “I wanted to go to university and study business law.” Because her father was the kind of person you couldn’t say no to, she agreed. “I can’t remember ever being asked,” says the 58-year-old. “I just remember just doing it.”

Her ballet teacher hit her

Janet Jackson never had any real training – apart from a few dance lessons that ended unhappily. “When I was little, my mother tried to send me to ballet,” said the singer. “But I have a butt. So the teacher said I wasn’t pulling my butt in enough. Then she hit me.” She was four or five years old at the time.

A second attempt as a teenager also ended in disaster. “I remember my teacher getting a little too close to me and I felt very, very uncomfortable. I remember coming out of class and telling my mother and she said, ‘You’re never going back.'” She copied her famous dance moves from musicals and taught them herself.

After working as an actress for several years and acting as a background singer and duet partner for her brothers, Janet Jackson decided to record music herself in 1981 – at the age of 15. Her debut album “Janet Jackson” was released in the fall of 1982, followed by “Dream Street” in 1984.

In 1986, Janet Jackson finally released her third studio album “Control”, which became her first number one in the US charts. In the album, she processed her personal history – such as her annulled short-term marriage to James DeBarge (60), whom she married at the age of 18. She also celebrated her independence from her parents.

About her relationship with brother Michael Jackson

One of the most emotional moments during Janet Jackson’s current tour was the song “Scream,” which she recorded in 1994 with her brother Michael, who died in 2009, and which she performed at the concerts as a duet with old video recordings. She still gets sentimental “when I hear it every night, see it, and remember us,” the BBC quotes.

“Mike and I wrote this song in New York, in his apartment,” Jackson said. “So, listening to him sing, I’m reliving this whole journey and remembering what he went through. And as his little sister, who was always by his side, I was supporting him. That was always my role.”

Janet Jackson will play several concerts in the United States until the end of July, then she will head to Europe. There the pop icon will also play three concerts in Germany – on October 5th in Munich, on October 6th in Cologne and on October 8th in Berlin. The tour will end on October 13th in Glasgow, Scotland.