UB Celebrates: Janet Jackson’s ‘The Velvet Rope’ on 23rd Anniversary

Janet Jackson began suffering from severe depression and anxiety, leading her to chronicle the experience with her sixth album, “The Velvet Rope,” released 23 years ago today on October 7th 1997. Janet returned with a dramatic change in image, boasting vibrant red hair, nasal piercings and tattoos. The album was arranged, written and produced by Janet along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

The Velvet Rope took her audience closer to Janet than ever before, as she bared her soul on the most intimate record of her career.

The album is primarily centered on the idea that everyone has an intrinsic need to belong. Aside from encom passing lyrics relating to social issues such as same-sex relationships, homophobia and domestic violence, it also contains themes of sadomasochism and is considered far more sexually explicit in nature than her previous release, “janet.”

The record was hailed as “her most daring, elaborate and accomplished album” by The New York Times, and Billboard ranked it as “the best American album of the year and the most empowering of her last five.” The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum, selling over ten million worldwide.

The lead single “Got ’til It’s Gone” was released in August 1997, featuring guest vocals from folk singer Joni Mitchell and rapper Q-Tip. The song’s music video, depicting a pre-Apartheid celebration, won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.

“Together Again” became Janet’s eighth #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, placing her on par with Elton John,
Diana Ross, and The Rolling Stones. It spent a record forty-six weeks on the Hot 100 and nineteen weeks on the United Kingdom’s singles chart. It sold six million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. “I Get Lonely” peaked at #3 on the Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

As Jackson’s eighteenth consecutive top 10 hit, it made her the only female artist to garner that achievement, surpassed only by Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Several other singles were released, including “Go Deep” and ballad “Everytime”, which was controversial for the nudity displayed in its music video.

The album fully established Jackson as a gay icon for its themes regarding homosexuality and protesting homophobia. “Together Again”, a “post-Aids pop song”, and “Free Xone”, considered “a paean to homosexuality” and an “anti-homophobia track”, were praised for their lyrical
context, in addition to Janet’s reinterpretation of Rod Stewart‘s “Tonight’s the Night,” in which she didn’t change the lyrics to fit a heterosexual relationship.

The Velvet Rope received an award for “Outstanding Music Album” at the 9th Annual GLAAD Media Awards and was honored by the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum. A portion of the proceeds from “Together Again” were donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

Janet Jackson embarked on The Velvet Rope World Tour, traveling to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. The tour received praise for its theatrics, choreography, and Jackson’s vocal performance. It was likened to “the ambition and glamour of a Broadway musical”, and exclaimed as “only fitting that the concert program credits her as the show’s ‘creator and director’.”

The tour’s HBO special, The Velvet Rope: Live in Madison Square Garden, garnered more than fifteen million viewers. It surpassed the ratings
of all four major networks among viewers subscribed to the channel. The concert won an Emmy Award from a total of four nominations. Janet donated a portion of the tour’s sales to America’s Promise, an organization founded by Colin Powell to assist disenfranchised youth.

As the tour concluded, Janet Jackson lent guest vocals to several collaborations, including Shaggy’s “Luv Me, Luv Me”, used for the film How Stella Got Her Groove Back, as well as “Girlfriend/Boyfriend” with Teddy Riley‘s group Blackstreet, and “What’s It Gonna Be?!” with Busta Rhymes. The latter two music videos are both among the most expensive music videos ever produced, with “What’s It Gonna Be?!” becoming a #1 hit on the Billboard Hip-Hop Singles and Hot Rap Tracks charts, reaching the top three of the Hot 100. Janet also contributed the ballad “God’s Stepchild” to the Down in the Delta soundtrack. Jackson recorded a duet with Elton John titled “I Know the Truth,” included on the soundtrack to Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. At the 1999 World Music Awards, she received the Legend Award for “outstanding contribution to the pop industry”.

The success of “The Velvet Rope” took her world-wide career sales total close to 60 million. Billboard ranked Janet Jackson as the second most successful artist of the decade, only behind Mariah Carey.

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane on The Anniversary of “The Velvet Rope!”