What's Happening With Ms. Jackson?

"It was dead on arrival," Cohen said.

Then, last month, she announced she was parting ways with the album's label, Island Def Jam Records, after only 14 months. In a video blog for rap-up.com, Jackson's longtime collaborator Rodney Jerkins said, "We didn't get the support from the record company. [Janet] felt like it wasn't pushed. I felt like it wasn't pushed correctly. She just didn't get her just due as an artist of that magnitude."

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And now the "Rock Witchu" tour, Jackson's first North American tour in seven years, appears to be in peril. While Jackson has not completely filled the arenas where she has performed, with six shows reporting earnings so far, she had drawn 53,000 fans and grossed nearly $6 million in ticket sales, according to Billboard.

What's less clear is how the show will go on with Jackson's undisclosed illness.

Last Monday, Jackson became "suddenly ill" and was hospitalized in Montreal shortly after she arrived for a show. She cancelled concerts in Boston and Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday.

Then, over the weekend, her publicist said in an e-mail that after Jackson arrived in Greensboro, N.C., hoping to perform on Saturday, a local doctor advised her not to go on stage after it became "evident" she had not fully recovered. Jackson postponed Saturday's show, one on Sunday in Atlanta and a third scheduled for today in Fort Lauderdale.

Jackson's reps have not disclosed the illness she's "recuperating" from, leaving the celebrity media to speculate.

But Ian Drew, a senior editor at US Weekly, believes it may be nothing more than exhaustion. "She hasn't toured for a while," he said. "People are putting a negative spin on things. I think it's very undeserved. This last record was one of her better records ever. But it's always hard with these kind of legendary pop stars. They become trapped in their persona and it's really hard to get new fans. It's about keeping the core group. She risks abandoning them if she changes too much."

Jackson has also taken a few shots lately for her weight and personal life. Some stories have hinted that her weight is creeping up again. Jackson infamously dropped 60 pounds in 2006 and posed for US Weekly covers, flashing her famous abs again.