MarcusUdeh

Damita Jo

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Shawn_Sm

No, the public misconception that Janet has no talent caused Damita Jo's "lackluster" sales. Although I find it funny that she sold more records in the first week than say, Beyonce, but the media called Damita Jo a flop and Dangerously In Love a hit based only on that. It was still Janet's second best opening sales week ever behind All For You (which had a #1 single at release vs. very little radio support at all for Damita Jo's singles, but of course that part was convieniently left out of all the media stories). And no, it wasn't the single choices, both Just A Little While and I Want You would no doubt have been hit songs at a different time. JALW is currently #2 on the Dance/Club play charts and I Want You is definitely a sleeper hit both on R&B radio and the few pop stations that will play it. People also think she has changed too much, they expect her to record Rhythm Nation over and over again every time she makes an album. Of course if she did that, people would just say she is copying herself, so she can't win. And for some reason people think that because Janet doesn't scream at the top of her lungs that she can't sing. In my opinion, her voice is pleasant to listen to and she can control it well. All in all, Damita Jo is a great addition to her catalogue that will go largely unappreciated because they believe ignorant reviews and articles that say the album is too sexual. This album is about love and it shows, but of course we Americans with our high morals will only notice her nipple and the 3 songs about sex.

MarcusUdeh

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Carl Miller

I think Janet's career is just running its natural course given the way the industry operates today. She is following Mariah into irrelevence..not because she isn't talented, but because she's not as young, not as sexy and not as current as others like Britney and Beyonce.

It's classic post-MTV stuff...Female artist makes it big. Female artist raises the sex quotient. Female artist gets bigger. Female artist waits too long in between albums. Younger female artist comes up. Older female artist becomes old news. Younger artist raises the sex quotient. Younger artist gets bigger. Older artist fades into irrelevence..rinse, repeat and so on.

No different with Janet than what already happened to Mariah, what is happening to Christina and what will happen to Beyonce and Britney.

Janet rode a system to huge heights, and now that same system has replaced her. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

The good news for her is that she has a core of dedicated fans who recognize her talent and ability. The bad news is that this core isn't ever going to be large enough to give her the huge sales she once had.

The spending dollars needed to give artists huge sales like that in large part come from teens...And to them, Britney and Beyonce are in, and Janet is just old.

Carl

MarcusUdeh

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Gary->dee

I agree with Carl 100%. Great post, bro. It's just the way of things. Not necessarily with the industry, because lord knows they infuse plenty of marketing money to sell her album, but also with public perception.

Personally, I think after the Super Bowl incident people were just sick of hearing about her(I know I was) so if sales suffered it might be because people tuned her out. In which case the controversy hurt sales not helped. Over-saturation in the media, etc.

Incidentally, I don't the album's title or the artwork helped.

MarcusUdeh

Well I like the title; I do agree that the cover art and overall sexually explicit nature of the project might have proved boring. I truly enjoy this album myself. However lyrically it has no real substance. To be fair remember; she's not Joni Mitchell she just sampled her for a song. I hope this project does ship a million for platinum certification. Btw Telepopmusik helped produce the album's opening interlude.

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MarcusUdeh

Forget that question she already has a dedicated gay fan-base. The Japanese seem to not be able to let go of anything she releases. She'll be fine just not what nostalgia dictates in the loyalist minds.

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Shawn_Sm

Shawn_Sm

Gary->dee