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One of the most commercially successful female pop stars in the 1980s and '90s, Janet Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Indiana to a well-known musical family. As the youngest of nine children, Janet grew up in the music business; her older brothers were the '70s pop group Jackson 5.
When she was four years old, the family moved to the Los Angeles area; three years later she made her performing debut in Las Vegas with her brothers.Janet began performing as a child, but became known to the public mostly through her appearances on such TV shows. At the age of nine, she joined them on a television special. She was cast in the US television programmes Good Times from 1977-79 and Diff'rent Strokes from 1981-82. She signed to A&M Records in 1982 and recorded her self-titled debut album, followed by Dream Street in 1984. Both albums sold only moderately. Jackson's breakthrough came in 1986 with Control, which reached number 1 and produced an astonishing five US Top 10 singles (including the chart-topping "When I Think Of You") and three UK Top 10 singles. The album was ultimately certified quadruple platinum for sales of over four million copies in the USA. Jackson followed up in 1989 with Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, another quadruple platinum album, which yielded the US chart-topping singles "Miss You Much", "Escapade", "Black Cat", and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)". Jackson undertook her first concert tour in 1990.
In 1985 Joseph Jackson brought in his friend John McClain, a record executive, to remake Janet's image. McClain brought in top pop producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to prepare new material, then led her into seclusion to lose weight and develop dance moves. Her 1986 single "What Have You Done For Me Lately" reached the Top 5, boosting sales of her new LP, Control, which reached No. 1 on the Pop and R&B charts and sold 10 million copies worldwide. Jackson began work on a follow-up which she wanted to call Work, but McClain, attempting to cultivate a "bad girl" image for Janet, wanted the record to be called Scandal. After more disagreements between artist and manager, in 1989 Jackson released Rhythm Nation 1814, another pop smash. The album spawned four No. 1 hits, such as "Miss You Much," and three more Top 5 hits, eventually selling 10 million copies reaching No. 1 in the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. A massive world tour followed, along with several charity events.
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Discontent with A&M, in 1991 Janet signed a $32 million, two album deal with VirginRecords, at the time the biggest recording contract in history. The following year her single "The Best Things In Life Are Free," a duet with Luther Vandross, reached No. 1; she also filmed scenes for the John Singleton film Poetic Justice (also featuring gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur). With a new, more sexual image, Jackson's 1993 Virgin debut, Janet., continued to expand the pop singer's fan base, spawning six Top 10 hits and selling over 15 million copies. Another elaborate world tour followed. After dueting with brother Michael on his Grammy-winning single "Scream," Janet released a 1996 greatest hits collection, Design of a Decade, which also featured two new singles. Later that year Jackson re-signed with Virgin for a reported $80 million, making her the highest paid recording artist of all time. To date she has sold 40 million albums, won three Grammy awards, and an Oscar nomination.
The Velvet Rope, released on Virgin in October 1997, was an intensely personal album that spawned the hits "Together Again" and "I Get Lonely", was a US number 3 ."
Four years later, "Doesn't Really Matter", a song featured in the soundtrack to Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, rose to the top of the US charts in August 2000. All For You was premiered the following April by the chart-topping title track.
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