The Velvet Rope is the sixth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. It was released on October 7, 1997, through Virgin Records. Prior to its release, Jackson renegotiated her contract with Virgin for US$80 million, marking this as the largest recording contract in history at that time.
Upon experiencing an emotional breakdown, Jackson began facing a long-term case of depression. She developed her new record as a concept album, using introspection as its theme. Its title is a metaphor for emotional boundaries as well as an allusion to an individual's need to feel special. Its lyrics address subject matter such as depression, self-worth, social networking, and domestic violence. It also encompasses themes of sexuality, including BDSM, sexual orientation, and same-sex relationships. Due to its sexually explicit content, the album reinforced Jackson's public image as a sex symbol and as one of the most erotic vocalists of the 1990s. Its incorporation of social issues regarding sexual orientation and combating homophobia also established her reputation as a gay icon, for which she received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music.
The record was written and produced by Jackson, alongside Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and co-written by René Elizondo Jr., her then-husband. The songs on the album also include British violinist Vanessa-Mae and American rapper Q-Tip as featured artists, along with samples from Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi". Its composition fuses various genres, including R&B, pop, trip hop, folk, jazz, rock, and techno music.
The Velvet Rope became Jackson's fourth consecutive album to top the US Billboard 200. It also reached the top of the charts in Denmark and the top five in major markets such as Australia, Canada, France, and Germany. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold an estimated eight million copies worldwide. Of the six singles released from the project, "Got 'til It's Gone" won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, "Together Again" became an international number-one hit, and "I Get Lonely" became Jackson's 18th consecutive top-ten single on the US Billboard Hot 100, making her the only female artist in history to achieve that feat. The Velvet Rope Tour, in support of the album, drew critical acclaim for its theatricality, as well as controversy for its depictions of domestic violence and bondage.
Background Jackson's first compilation album, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996, was released in 1995. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200. The lead single, "Runaway", became the first song by a female artist to debut within the top ten of the Hot 100, reaching number three. Design of a Decade 1986–1996 was certified double platinum by the RIAA and sold ten million copies worldwide. The release marked the fulfillment of Jackson's contractual obligations to Virgin Records. As a result, she became subject to an industry bidding war between various parties, including Virgin, Bertelsmann, DreamWorks, Sony Music, Time Warner, and The Walt Disney Company, who attempted to sign her jointly with PolyGram. She ultimately renewed her contract with Virgin for $80 million—the largest recording contract in history at that time and a breakthrough she achieved for the second time in her career. The contract surpassed the recording industry's then-unparalleled $60 million contracts earned by Michael Jackson and Madonna.They don't call it jackpot for nothing. After much speculation, Janet Jackson, 29, clinched a reported four-album, $80 million deal with Virgin Records, making her the music industry's highest-paid performer (over brother Michael and Madonna, who each got $60 million deals in the early '90s) Rock band R.E.M. later signed an $80 million recording contract with Warner Bros. Records in August 1996; sources compared the group's record deal with Jackson's contract, but quoted her earning $70 million
Writing and development
During her Janet World Tour, Jackson experienced an emotional breakdown, stemming from self-hatred, childhood humiliation, self-harm, and distorted body image. She stated, "I was very, very sad. Very down. I couldn't get up sometimes. There were times when I felt very hopeless and helpless, and I felt like walls were kind of closing in on me...like you can't escape". She questioned her career path, feeling pressured by the demands of the entertainment industry, saying, "People look at you differently, as if you're not human." Abbie Kearse of MTV responded, "You're creating a person who might not really be you, but you've created this fantasy woman, so when it's time to get back to business, it's like 'I've got to go back to that world'". Jackson expressed concern for how she could portray an object of fantasy, feeling as if she could no longer fulfill her own desires.
In self-analysis, Jackson uncovered vital details regarding her past, saying, "Certain things may happen, and you just dismiss them instead of stopping and saying, "Why am I feeling this way? Why am I acting out in this way?" She had suppressed various traumas throughout her adolescence and early adulthood, using evasion tactics to prevent thoughts from surfacing. She also recalled feeling unaccepted and ostracized for her skin color. She was persistently haunted by a memory of a school teacher intensely scolding her, causing her classmates to erupt in laughter. "Oh, God, it sounds so stupid. But being a kid you're just so frightened... I never talked about it, so it stayed with me all those years. I felt not deserving, not good enough... that's still the way I feel about myself sometimes", she declared. As a child, she managed discomfort by speaking to her animals, later turning to overeating as an anesthetic, causing fluctuations in weight. Jackson said, "I began to realize that whenever something really painful was going on, I would eat, and that's how I would run away from it. But I would just be creating another problem in another area instead of just dealing with that pain".
Jackson developed body dysmorphia as a response to ridicule, stating, "I'd look in the mirror and hate myself. I'd sit and cry. It was so hard for me to look at myself and find something that I liked. Not just physically, but something that was good in me". She also inflicted self-harm, banging her head against the wall when feeling unattractive. She traced her fragility to her abusive marriage to recording artist James DeBarge when she was 16 years old. Jackson recalled, "It all has to do with very low self esteem. Especially going into a relationship like that very young... someone telling you things like, 'no one is ever going to want you again, you should be happy here with me.'" Attempting to alter his behavior and drug addiction, she explained, "I learned the hard way that you can't change a person." Recalling her divorce, she revealed, "There came a point when I finally said, 'You know what? I just don't care what happens.' I had to do what I wanted to but had been too afraid to. And at that point I didn't care if I got my brains beat out. I just went ahead and did it. And I got my ass kicked for it. But I'm happy that I did it, or I don't think I would be here today".
Her self-hatred accelerated into raging cycles of bulimia and anorexia, repressing the issue until questioned. Jackson said, "people say to me: 'Okay, you've got to start eating more. You're too thin.' But when you look in the mirror, you see something totally different." She continued, "I had swung so far in one direction, I never thought I could swing so far in the other. You're losing weight and getting smaller, and I'd still say to myself I could afford to lose a little more". However, she refused professional guidance, reluctant to examination. She briefly saw a psychologist before an encounter with a spiritual guru, who aided her emotional recovery. Jackson recounted, "we went to this very spiritual place in the desert... That's where I met him, this cowboy. He's in his fifties, and he's full of wisdom. He's an older man who has experienced a great deal, and he used to be in the music industry, on a smaller scale. He even understood that side of my life". She also began using coffee enemas to remove "sad cells", leading to media scrutiny. The trauma lead to a brief duration of sexual questioning, saying "Am I curious? I think every girl has wondered". Jackson culminated the experiences into the album's subject matter, recording over two years.
Recording The album was produced by Jackson with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Its initial stages began following her Janet World Tour, recording intermittently over two years. The process stalled due to various issues facing Jackson, including depression, body dysmorphia, anorexia, and self-hatred. As a result, Jackson spontaneously canceled sessions, appearing constantly troubled, as Jam commented, "That was a tough album to make for her. There were times when she would not show up at the studio for five or six days in a row".
She returned to the studio in January 1997, embarking on a six-and-a-half month recording process. Its production was adjusted towards Jackson's lyrics and vocal suggestions, using an altered technique from prior sessions. Attempting to push pop music in an alternate direction, the record was described as "a triumph of the spirit, a declaration of joy and healing that comes from examining the past while energizing the present, [...] exploring the mysteries of sexuality even as it addresses the problems of prejudice". Explaining the concept and the writing of The Velvet Rope, she stated:
"Singing these songs has meant digging up pain that I buried a long time ago. It's been hard and sometimes confusing, but I've had to do it. I've been burying pain my whole life. It's like kicking dirt under the carpet. At some point there's so much dirt you start to choke. Well, I've been choking. My therapy came in writing these songs. Then I had to find the courage to sing them or else suffer the consequences — a permanent case of the blues."
Music and lyrics The Velvet Rope consists of sixteen songs and seven interludes; experimenting with various genres and darker themes. The album fused pop and R&B with various genres, including jazz, folk music, and techno. Jackson stated:
Jackson described the release as her most personal work, developed throughout her entire lifetime. She explained, "I never looked deeply at the pain from my past, never tried to understand that pain and work it through. It was a journey I had avoided. But one I now had to face." Robert Hilburn added, "Jackson found a universal symbol to use in exploring issues of insecurity and self-worth. At some point, everyone is on the wrong side of the velvet rope, excluded because of race, social status, age or some other division." Jackson regarded commercial success as a secondary consideration, commenting, "I needed to express who I was and what I'd learned. I found out who I really was... If that can inspire people who hear this album to do the same, I'd rather have that than the biggest selling album in the world."
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