New Janet Jackson Single Feedback
Latest Album Discipline Proves Jackson Back in Control of Comeback
Janet Jackson previews new album 'Discipline' with floor filler "Feedback". Will she rule the charts once more or has Miss Jackson become too nasty for her fans?
On new single, “Feedback”, a robotic Janet Jackson wants you to strum her “like a guitar,” and “blow out my amplifier”. Her new track, written and produced by Rodney Jerkins and Dernst Emile, marks a departure of sorts for Janet’s latest incarnation.
Taken from the forthcoming album Discipline, her first record for Island Def Jam (IDJ) since leaving Virgin, Janet has also left behind long-time collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the men behind her massively successful albums Control, Rhythm Nation and Janet.
Janet Makes a Comeback
Just like in 1993, when she adopted a sexier image with the release of her Janet album, Jackson is in desperate need of a reincarnation after the flops of her last 2 records, 2004's Damita Jo which sold 999,000 units in America, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and 2006's 20 Y.O. which only pushed 648,000 copies. In comparison 1993’s Janet sold more than 7 million copies.
With “Feedback”, Janet attempts a comeback from the dreadful hitless 20 Y.O. which was meant to celebrate the 20th year of the release of her breakout Control. (a better title for 20 Y.O. would have been “Out of Control”). With that and the unfortunate wardrobe malfunction scandle out of the way, Janet seems ready to move towards a more electronic dance sound such as "Feedback".
On this enjoyable yet danceable track, featuring a robotic bassline and voice-modulated effects that fit both the record and Janet’s singing style (and yes she actually sings on this track - a departure from her whisper / whimper of previous efforts), she offers a sleeker and more radio-friendly single than previous efforts. However, the muffled sexed-up lyrics still read like a schoolboy wish list.
Janet Feeds Her Fetish
“Feedback” suggests Janet likes to get kinky. “I got novelties so appeasing/ Feed my fetish please /Satisfy me babe,” she coos like a robotic kitten. However, she may have pushed the limits with the unsexy and tasteless line “Cause my swag is serious /Something heavy like a first day period”.
Times prove tough when Janet sings about menstruation. Has her creative well dried up that much? Luckily the lyrics are so muffled they get lost in the heavy beat of the track.
While not a bad single, "Feedback" does nothing to secure Janet a place in musical history books (besides this being her 40th single to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100). And considering it has yet to crack the top 40 in the US or the UK, it may not become one of her biggest hits.
She hasn’t had a top-10 record since the number 3 peak of "Someone to Call My Lover," back in 2001. Regardless, “Feedback” slips easily into the best dance play lists of late, somehwere between Rihanna and Britney Spears.
“Feedback” is available now on iTunes in its original single version and a 4-rack remix EP as well as on Janet’s 10th studio album, Discipline, available February 26, 2008.
