After a seven year hiatus in the music scene, Janet Jackson made a low key comeback as she launches her new album Unbreakable on Friday.
This is just the right time where she made her vocal presence be felt after her infamous wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl, causing her music to be banned by some US radio stations. And of course, the death of her brother, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
The album Unbreakable is a reflection of how she had cope with all the drama that she was involved in. The 17 track album talks about grief and depression, but also about love, loyalty and compassion - stressing out that friends will be there for you during the hard times.
According to an article written by Mark Savage for BBC, Jackson reunited with her producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, "who rescued her from bargain bin ignominy in 1986, and masterminded all of her most successful albums, from Control to Janet and beyond."
Jackson's chief collaborator, Jimmy Jam, talks to BBC about the meaning behind some of the songs in the Unbreakable album.
Song: SHOULDA KNOWN BETTER (from Unbreakable, 2015)
"25 years after State of the World, Janet realises how little has changed. "Why, why, why?" she cries over a pounding house beat, before making a renewed call for social action. "We won't make excuses. We won't take no abuses."
The song echoes a hint of youth idealism that died down but was resurrected, this time calling other people into action as Jam explains, "When you're young, you feel like: "I can change the world! I'm going to lead the revolution!" And then you look 25 years later and you go: "OK, I should have known better. The same problems still exist but there's a different way to go about tackling it. It still involves mobilizing people, but I can't do it by myself."
Song: LESSONS LEARNED (from Unbreakable, 2015)
"Over a plucked guitar figure, Janet sings about an abusive relationship where the victim keeps circling back for more. "What makes her want to stay?" sighs the star.
Jam did the track in an airport on his laptop. He then played it for Janet, which comes back to him with her lyrics. The song is about abusive relationships sans pointing fingers to blame. As he describes it, "Just the kind of revolving door they become. You allow it to happen, and it takes two people for that to happen. It's a very resigned song."
Unbreakable is out in stores and also available on iTunes.
