Experimental Trend Set, Trash and No Star

Former superstar Janet Jackson has been on the outer-rim for more than a decade. Ask different generations of listeners, and you'll come across 3 accounts of Janet Jackson.

Inquire a 35-year-old and they'll recall the groundbreaking and legendary Janet Jackson who gave us Control and Rhythm Nation. Ask a 25-year-old and you'll have someone who remembers the classic hits "That's the Way Love Goes," "Runaway," and "Together Again."

Ask a 15-year-old and you'll get a blank stare.

After her severe depression in the mid-90's, Janet escaped the shadows with the release of The Velvet Rope. An unprecedentedly raw, poetic, and urban odyssey of relatiosnhips, the album Miss Jackson created explored all aspects of sex, loss, emptiness, and moments of bliss.

Fastforward 3 years and you have a Janet that took a page from Mariah Carey and jumped the bubblegum pop bandwagon to keep her career going. Both artists had released their most intimate and critically-acclaimed masterpieces in 1997, but by the end of the millenium, had to compete with a new generation of young singers. Jackson and Carey both racked up 2 more #1 hits with the albums All For You and Rainbow, but as well immidiately entered a career parallel of flops and disasters.

While Carey climbed out of the hole with a reinvention of past success and 10 Grammy nods for The Emancipation of Mimi, Janet has been unable to capture anything other than bad sales and critical pans. To make matters worse, again, both singers are set against each other this Spring. Three Janet songs have leaked, and the lead single, "Feedback," has already flopped, peaking just outside the Top 50. Mariah's material is still unreleased at the moment and proclaimed by Billboard to be the most elusive and anticipated album of 2008.

The thing is that Janet Jackson, once an unpredictable trend-setter, video icon, and fashionista, is now reduced to a clone of the pathetic singers she single-handedly inspired. Jackson has run to Mariah Carey's songwriters and producers for a second time. Who would have thought that Mariah would be the pallet for Janet Jackson? It's pathetic really. Now she's rehashed Ciara's entire last record, The Evolution. (which wasn't a very good album anyway,) and the whole futuristic scene of the past 2 years.

I guess Janet's career really is over because she's come full circle, now mimicing the girls who's entire career is a play off of what Janet created 20 years ago. RIP babygirl.

MIA: Mariah Carey

Where is she already? Who would have thought that Mariah Carey of all people would be missing in action for almost 2 years since the winding down of her last album. It seems like forever! She's wise though because this new record is being watched like a HAWK with anticipation from radio programmers, Grammy execs, and the fans alike.

It's all playing out and setting up JUST like The Emancipation of Mimi, which so far, is a good thing. Around Christmas, you don't even need a new Mariah Carey album because you have PLENTY of her songs on the radio, particularly "All I Want For Christmas is You" which blares in my ear morning, noon, and night. All of this is actually more for Mariah's benefit that she DIDN'T bum-rush the record like Mary J. Blige did. And may I just say, Mary is getting her ass SPANKED by Alicia Keys.

So, as of today, there is no album title, no leaked song, no single selected, and no video shot. Harkening back to 2001, we all know why Mariah has to keep a lid on this shit. Do we really need another Glitter fiasco: stolen songs, Tommy Motolla, angry diva's, and flopped albums. *cringe* no thank you!