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  • The Janet Interview: What Did You Think?

    I have a love/hate relationship with Janet Jackson. While I’ve nursed a huge crush on her since she was Penny on “Good Times”, and I famously shouted down a relative who insisted Pebbles was hotter than Janet back in the Eighties, she’s not really been on my radar lately. First there was the whole Super Bowl fiasco, which I thought was tasteless. Then there was the way she refused to talk about it, as though she wasn’t responsible for it happening in the first place. THEN there’s the fact that her last couple of albums have been less than memorable. Truth be told, the last worthwhile Janet album was 1997’s “Velvet Rope”.

    Anyway, JJ has been largely silent since the death of her big brother Michael in June. She emerged from her cocoon to sit for an interview with Robin Roberts on ABC last night. I must admit, the interview didn’t do much to change my recent ambivalence.

    It rubbed me the wrong way that she decided to wait until she had an album to promote before talking about her brother’s death. Those kind of tactics wouldn’t have surprised me had it been ANY Jackson other than Janet. However, it does seem like Janet is taking advantage of the added glare of the limelight to say “hey…remember I still have a career!??!!?”

    Aside from that, she was as charming as ever. She certainly deserves her reputation as the most grounded Jackson, answering her questions openly and honestly (despite protesting a couple of questions, she did go ahead and answer them). The pain she feels from her brother’s death (and the fact that she participated in several interventions, to no avail) is quite evident. There’s also a lot to be said for someone who will go on record as noting that they have issues, and Janet was quite real in that regard, talking about her issues with weight as well as her infamously abusive dad (although in regards to that, she kinda seemed to be taking a passive-aggressive approach, allowing that he was abusive, but “that’s Joseph”).

    She is working on new music, and writing her own lyrics again, which is a good thing. I sincerely hope that she can go back to writing about her life and the struggles she goes through, since her last 4 or 5 albums have been more or less fixated on sex. If she can put out a work befitting her status as a mature 43-year old woman who has seen a lot in her lifetime, I think she’ll gain back a lot of the fans she’s lost over the years. I also hope she finally decides to sit down and write an autobiography-I’d be the first in line to read that.

    Here’s a preview of her new video for “Make Me”, a song that’s grown on me quite a bit. It actually sounds like some of her work with Jam & Lewis, which is definitely a good thing.

  • Lady GaGa Ineligible for Best New Artist Grammy

    It’s not too early to start thinking about Grammy Award nominees, as they will be announced next month, but one story making the rounds is sure to add a layer of controversy to next year’s ceremony. Lady GaGa, widely considered to be the front-runner for the coveted Best New Artist trophy, is not eligible to be nominated for it. How come, you ask? Well, GaGa was nominated last year for Best Dance Recording for “Just Dance”. Once you are nominated for a Grammy in any other category, you are ineligible to be nominated for Best New Artist.

    So, the question then becomes: who the hell is gonna win it this year? With Lady GaGa out of the picture, it becomes a pretty wide open field. The front-runners appear to be the Zac Brown Band and Keri Hilson. ZBB don’t have much in the way of name recognition, but they *do* have a platinum album as well as huge country hits with “Chicken Fried” and “Toes”. The Nashville folk will come out in droves to support these guys. Meanwhile, Hilson’s album has sold well (going Gold recently) and her many collaborations (as both a songwriter and a singer) give her some juice in the industry. This all despite the fact that her album sucks eagle balls.

    Other possibilities include alt-rockers Cage the Elephant, collegiate rapper Asher Roth, and “American Idol” finishers David Cook and David Archuleta. Let’s look over at Soundscan and see what the top selling albums are this year by eligible debut artists (I’d also be curious to see whether the Grammy committee considers Miley Cyrus to be a new artist):

    1) Zac Brown Band “Foundation” 1m scanned
    2) Darius Rucker “Learn to Live” (yes, he’s eligible even though he already has a Best New Artist Grammy as a member of Hootie & the Blowfish) 677K
    3) Keri Hilson (477K)
    4) David Cook (440K)
    5) Hollywood Undead (406K)
    6) Jamey Johnson (391K)
    7) Chickenfoot (356K…I assume supergroups are eligible)
    8) 3OH!3 (295K)
    9) Owl City (271K…and a #1 single)
    10) The Lonely Island (262K…hey, if Justin Timberlake can win an Emmy, Andy Samberg can win a Grammy…besides, there’s a precedent here. Robin Williams was nominated for Best New Artist in 1980).

    As you can see-not a choice group of artists here. This should be interested.

  • Chart Chat 11/18/09: Bon Jovi Rules, Britney Sinks

    Since Billboard is going to start using the Comprehensive Album chart in a couple of weeks, let’s just get a jump and start using it from now going forward.

    In a hotly contested week for new releases, Bon Jovi lands at the top of the heap this week. 26 years into a successful career, the band scores yet another number one album with “The Circle” (if my calculations are correct, it’s their fourth, and second straight #1 debut). Jon and Co. start with a not-bad 163,000 sold. Not gangbusters, but then again Bon Jovi have never had particularly mind-blowing first weeks, at least not in the Soundscan era.

    Rock bands take the next three debuts, as Flyleaf enters at #8, Switchfoot’s new one comes in at #15, and Dashboard Confessional starts at #21. D.C. rapper Wale opens at #23, and there’s a good chance that number would have been higher if Wale’s record company had moved more units into stores. I rarely have trouble finding anything in Boston, and there were two different stores in Boston that didn’t have product on Tuesday.

    The most disappointing debut of the week has to be Britney Spears’ “Singles Collection”. Although it features the #1 single “3”, “Singles” debuts at a comparatively anemic #25, with 27,000 copies sold.

    A bigger story than this week’s debuts would be the effect of the Country Music Awards on sales this week. Artist of the year Taylor Swift gets a 30% bump to jump back up to #5, Lady Antebellum jumps 130% in sales to land at #13, and best new artist winner Darius Rucker sees his solo debut jump 80% in sales to jump to #30.

    Next week, there should be a very tight battle for the #1 spot. The front-runners are Norah Jones and 50 Cent, who both have had albums score first weeks of a million-plus. But there’s also John Mayer as well as dark horse Kris Allen. We could be looking at a completely new Top 10 at this time next week! Stay tuned.

    Meanwhile, here’s this week’s Top 20

    1) Bon Jovi “The Circle”
    2) Andrea Bocelli “My Christmas”
    3) Carrie Underwood “Play On”
    4) Michael Jackson “This is It”
    5) Taylor Swift “Fearless”
    6) Various Artists “Now That’s What I Call Music 32”
    7) Michael Buble “Crazy Love”
    8) Flyleaf “Memento Mori”
    9) Soundtrack “Glee”
    10) Soundtrack “Twilight: New Moon”
    11) Casting Crowns “Peace on Earth”
    12) Taylor Swift “The Holiday Collection”
    13) Lady Antebellum “Lady Antebellum”
    14) Sting “If On a Winter’s Night”
    15) Switchfoot “Hello Hurricane”
    16) Tim McGraw “Southern Voice”
    17) Zac Brown Band “Foundation”
    18) Jay-Z “Blueprint 3”
    19) Miley Cyrus “Time of Our Lives EP”
    20) Owl City “Ocean Eyes”