Friday Flashback

Janet cedes control

January 28, 2011 0 Comments

A week from today, Janet Jackson kicks off Number Ones: Up Close & Personal world tour in Asia, an intimate jaunt that visits North America next, designed as a tie-in with her 2009 hits compilation, Number Ones. Fans were asked to vote on which cities she’d visit on the 35-date tour (you’ll note the importance of that number in a minute).

Janet also turned over the setlist to her fans, with the final cut to be comprised solely of her songs that went to #1 on various charts, a tally that counts 35 mostly strong musical contenders (see?). Though we’ve yet to hear what’s in and what’s out, and whether Janet’s setlist will vary by stop, I can’t imagine that career smashes — especially hits from Control or Rhythm Nation 1814 — will be overlooked in favor of lesser singles like “What’s It Gonna Be?!,” her Busta Rhymes collab from 1999 (#1 R&B).

It would be fittingly ironic if Janet were to open her show with “Control,” since this time out, the singer-actress seems perfectly content to cede so much of it. Though “Control” topped out at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1987, the title song from her smash-packed breakthrough album remains in the running for the tour since it reached #1 on both the R&B and Dance charts.

Anyone remember the first three minutes of the “Control” video? Not me:

Purchase Janet Jackson – “Control” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.