Will Jackson's 'Discipline' Be Her Breakthrough?
Janet Jackson hopes her "Discipline" will reignite her career.
Feb. 24, 2008 — -- Mimi had her "Emancipation." Mary J. had her "Breakthrough," and now Janet Jackson has to determine if she has enough "Discipline" to woo fans and resuscitate her once-thriving career.
Though the singer has worldwide sales totaling more than 100 million, neither of her last two albums reached 1 million in sales.
A galactic-inspired music video — complete with her signature heavily choreographed dance moves and a synth beat — ushered in the Discipline's" first single, "Feedback," which was released to drum up heat for the album's Feb. 26 release.
Hope exists that her Island Def Jam label debut will ebb her sliding sales, which dipped drastically in the aftermath of her infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
"Feedback" already has become her best-selling digital tune ever.
"The first single from 'Discipline,' has gotten a lot of buzz behind it just through YouTube and online. I think people are really excited about it," said Rolling Stone senior editor Melissa Maerz.
If the melody breaks into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it would be the first time since 2001 that Jackson has had a hit single. That year, "Someone to Call My Lover" peaked at No. 3.
But, don't call it a comeback.
"I think a comeback is when you leave and then you ... come back," Jackson said with a laugh during a recent interview. "People are always quick to use that word 'comeback,' but I never went anywhere, really," Jackson told Billboard magazine in January.
Already critics have given this album a more positive review than her previous album.
"Janet Jackson has abandoned the plastic R&B of 2006's '20 Y.O.' for a sexier brand of digitized megapop. On her Def Jam debut, the beats are as crass and processed as Jackson's heavy breathing, so she sounds more like a sex droid than a blow-up doll, which is way hotter — for starters, sex droids show more initiative," a Rolling Stone review said.
Related Stories
ABC News Live