20 Y.O.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 20 Y.O. | |||||
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| Studio album by Janet | |||||
| Released | September 22, 2006 (see release history) |
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| Recorded | 2005–2006 | ||||
| Genre | R&B, pop, dance-pop | ||||
| Length | 49:59 (standard version) 58:40 (Japanese edition) |
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| Label | Virgin | ||||
| Producer | Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jermaine Dupri, LRoc, Manuel Seal, Jr., The Avila Brothers | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Janet chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
Deluxe edition cover
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| Singles from 20 Y.O. | |||||
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20 Y.O. is the ninth studio album (twelfth overall) by American R&B/pop singer Janet Jackson released by Virgin Records on September 20, 2006 (see 2006 in music) in Japan, September 22 internationally, and September 26 in Canada and the United States. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 297,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Jackson's eighth consecutive top three debut and second consecutive number two album debut. It is also Jackson's eighth consecutive platinum album. On December 7, 2006 the album earned Jackson a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album.
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[edit] Album information
In 2004 Jackson released her anticipated new album, Damita Jo. The added media exposure led to a high chart debut, but no hit singles, due to lack of radio support. Jackson, deciding to step away from the spotlight, announced in late 2004 that she intended to start work on a new album project in the coming year. It would involve her boyfriend—record producer Jermaine Dupri, who was commissioned to executive produce the project—in addition to a roster of other hit producers. Jackson wanted to create a modern record, while returning to the music and sound that made her famous: dance, in the vein of Jackson's 1986 hit album, Control. Jackson was keen to get back to both R&B and dance, but with an emphasis on dance.[1]
While much of the album was recorded in Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta recording studio in order to fully capture the Control sound and vibe, Jackson again invited producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to also work on the project in Los Angeles. Jackson also entered the recording studio with Dr. Dre, Kwame, Kanye West, and Track Starz, but none of the songs written with them made the final track listing.
Executive produced by Jackson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Jermaine Dupri, the concept of 20 Y.O., whose title makes reference to her 1986 hit and landmark album, Control (since 2006 will be the twentieth anniversary of Control's release), is largely taking the sound of the past and mixing it with the modern-day present. The addition of producer Jermaine Dupri, quotes Jackson as saying, "It's an edge, an attitude, an exciting vibe that's assertive. It's about taking charge. It says, 'Here I am. I'm coming on. Musically, I have it. You want it. And I'm giving it to you.'"[2][3]
20 Y.O. completed Jackson's multi-album deal with Virgin Records. Jackson subsequently departed the label after the run of its promotion.
[edit] Critical reception
USA Today gave the album three out of five stars, saying "Janet still has the bounce—and the abs—to go at it with other singers barely as old as her career. It comes down to whether people still care now that the angst is gone." The New York Times gave a positive review: "On 20 Years Old, Janet is as crafty and poised as ever. Her flirtations are still a pleasure, but an overly familiar one. She’s done these same slinky moves too often to surprise listeners now." Newsday gave the album a grade of A-, and has said of the album: "Jackson may not want to dwell in that past, either. After all, 20 Y.O. shows that her future could be even better."
Rolling Stone gave the album two stars, saying: "The title of Janet Jackson's latest album refers to the two decades since she released her breakthrough, Control, with hits like "Nasty" and "What Have You Done for Me Lately." If we were her, we wouldn't make the comparison." Rolling Stone also compares the song "Call on Me" (a duet with Nelly) to Nelly's 2002 single "Dilemma" (a duet between him and Kelly Rowland).
On December 7, 2006 the album earned Jackson a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album.
[edit] Promotion
[edit] Online
On May 1, 2006, a web-only song called "Weekend" was made available to fans to download via Jackson's official website. The song is a remake of "Lookout Weekend", a 1984 single by Debbie Deb.
A contest for fans to create an album cover image for 20 Y.O. was announced on July 18 through Yahoo!.[4] Fans were able to create and submit their own album cover design, with four winners being chosen by Jackson herself. The first million copies of the album are published with these fan-created covers. The concept of the contest was to create an image that best celebrates Jackson's past twenty years. Images that span over twenty years of Jackson's career were made available for download for use in creating the design.[5] The winners were featured in an October issue of Us Weekly. In addition to their art making the cover of the album, each winner received a trip to New York City to join Jackson in promotion.
The album was made available for pre-order on iTunes beginning August 28. The single "So Excited" was available for immediate download with the pre-order purchase.
Producer Jermaine Dupri began updating fans personally via Jackson's official site's message board. A MySpace account for Jackson was set up with new music and videos, and Jackson responded to fans personally. On September 14, Jackson premiered her MySpace reality show. The videos document Jackson behind the scenes working on the album and music videos, and contain a personal message from Jackson herself. Jackson updates the site with a new video periodically, giving fans exclusive insight into what she is working on. There have been nine episodes so far.
[edit] Print and radio
In the lead up to the album's release, Jackson shot covers for Us, VIBE, Giant, W, FHM, Jezebel, OK!, Ebony, King, Sophisticates Black Hair, Movieline/Hollywood Life, Hype Hair, Men's Fitness, Vanity Fair Italy, Unleashed, Upscale, 944, Out, and In Touch. Early cover stories focused on Jackson's recent weight loss, her relationship with producer Jermaine Dupri, the album, and turning forty. Her Us Magazine cover became the biggest selling issue in the magazine's history. Jackson's VIBE issue also grabbed headlines with her bikini-clad August cover. The album itself includes a song called "This Body", which is about a man buying a magazine with an attractive woman on the cover and taking "her" home.
Tracks from 20 Y.O. were premiered on XM Satellite Radio's "XM Hit List" in September, and exclusive interviews with Jackson were aired. She also did a series of interviews for Sirius Satellite Radio, which aired in September.
[edit] Television
The entertainment news shows Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood were granted exclusive access to shoot behind the scenes footage of Jackson as she made preparations for the album.
The videos for "Call on Me" and "So Excited" were not seen on MTV initially, but on VH1 and BET. This is because Virgin did not initially sign a promotional contract for MTV. Jackson consequently spent considerable time promoting the album on BET, filming behind-the-scenes specials of the making of her music videos and making guest appearances on various shows on the network, including 106 & Park. A small promotional contract for MTV has since been signed.
Jackson gave and filmed a sit-down interview and a live performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in early September; the interview aired on September 25. Following Jackson's appearance, her performance of "Nasty" became the number-one most viewed music-related video on YouTube, attracting almost 25,000 views in twenty-four hours.
From September 23 to September 26, VH1 Soul aired Jackson's music video collection, beginning with the Dream Street (1984) singles and concluding with "So Excited". Although the videos were not aired in chronological order, they appeared in order of the album from which they were released. Jackson was also interviewed and asked questions.
Jackson performed live on the Today show—as part of their Concert Series—on September 29. In November, Jackson returned to the U.S. and appeared and performed on numerous television shows (The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tyra Banks Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!) to promote the album.
[edit] Other
In July, Jackson did some early press in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., most notably speaking at an XM Satellite Radio conference. Jackson next embarked on a European press junket—which included stops in London and Berlin—to talk about the album, answer questions from the press, and meet fans. Jackson performed "Nasty" and premiered "So Excited" to the public in France at the NRJ Back to School Concerts.
Jackson held an album signing in Times Square at the Virgin Megastore on September 26, the album's release date. On September 27, Jermaine Dupri, Usher, Rev. Al Sharpton, Nina Sky, Ludacris, Eric West, Beth Ostrosky, Johnta Austin, Finesse Mitchell and Gibril Wilson were among those who showed up for the album's release party in New York City. [2] [3] [4]
Several retail outlets in the United States are giving away various free items with the purchase of 20 Y.O.. The stores and items are listed below and come with both the regular version and the deluxe version.[5]
- Target was to offer a tour edition of the album, which would have given customers access to preferred seating (up to four concert tickets) at Jackson's then-upcoming 2007 World Tour.
- At Best Buy, the purchase of the album comes with a code to download four exclusive remixes of "Call on Me".
- At Wal-Mart, the purchase of album comes with a code to download one exclusive track. According to Wal-Mart's website, the store was to offer a special edition that would include a remix of "Call on Me" and an exclusive bonus video.
- At Circuit City, the purchase of the album comes with a code to download the Full Phat Mix of "Call on Me".
- At FYE, the purchase of the album comes with a free lithograph of the album cover photo. There are limited quantities available.
In October, Jackson traveled to Japan in late October to promote the album. On December 4, Jackson opened the 2006 Billboard Music Awards with a medley of "The Pleasure Principle" and the remix of "So Excited".
[edit] Packaging and editions
The Deluxe Edition of the album contains the CD, special packaging, a bonus DVD—Janet: 20 Y.O.: The Project, which features behind-the-scenes footage of photoshoots, Jackson rehearsing and recording the album, dancer auditions, and making of the "Call on Me" music video—and a forty-eight-page full-color booklet.
The normal CD version in the U.S. has the four different "Design Me" covers featuring cover artwork designed by fans. The Japanese edition of the CD contains two bonus tracks: "Roll Witchu" and "Days Go By". The deluxe Japanese edition features the aforementioned bonus tracks, special packaging, the bonus DVD Janet: 20 Y.O.: The Project, a forty-eight-page full-color booklet and a fold out insert with Japanese translation of the lyrics and a review.
[edit] Chart performances, sales and singles
The album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 297,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Jackson's eighth consecutive top three debut and second consecutive number-two album debut. In November 2006, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments to U.S. retailers of more than one million copies.[6] It is Jackson's eighth consecutive platinum album. In March 2007, Virgin's parent company EMI reported that the album had sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.[7]
The album's first single, "Call on Me", was released to U.S. radio on June 19, 2006. The song peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number one on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in mid-September, following the limited release of a commercial single.
The second single, "So Excited"—which contains samples from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" and features rapper Khia—, premiered on So So Def Radio on Atlanta radio station V-103 on August 19, and was made available via MySpace on August 21. The song peaked at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was most successful on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart, on which it became Jackson's seventeenth number-one and thirtieth top ten single.
The third single in North America was "With U", which was released to radio on December 11 and December 12, 2006, peaking at number sixty-five on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was released as a twelve-inch vinyl single in the U.S. only. The third single, which was scheduled to be released in non-U.S. markets, was "Enjoy"; it was released only as a promotional single and received no commercial release.
[edit] Track listing
- "(Intro) 20" (Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis) – 0:52
- "So Excited" 1 (featuring Khia) (Jackson, Dupri, James Phillips, Johnta Austin, Harris, Lewis, Khia Chambers, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Michael Beinhorn) – 3:16
- "Show Me" (Jackson, Dupri, Manuel Seal, Jr., Austin, Harris, Lewis) – 3:38
- "Get It Out Me" (Jackson, Dupri, Seal, Austin, Harris, Lewis) – 3:04
- "Do It 2 Me" 2 (Jackson, Dupri, Seal, Brenda Russell) – 4:06
- "This Body" (Jackson, Dupri, Phillips, Austin, Harris, Lewis) – 4:10
- "20 Part 2 (Interlude)" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis) – 0:27
- "With U" (Jackson, Dupri, Seal, Austin, Harris, Lewis) – 5:08
- "Call on Me" 3 (with Nelly) (Dupri, Austin, Phillips, Cornell Haynes, Jr., Harris, Lewis) – 3:30
- "20 Part 3 (Interlude)" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis) – 0:28
- "Daybreak" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis, Austin) – 4:21
- "Enjoy" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis, Bobby Ross Avila, Issiah J. Avila) – 4:54
- "20 Part 4 (Interlude)" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis) – 0:43
- "Take Care" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis) – 5:46
- "Love 2 Love" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis, Austin) – 5:03
- "(Outro) 20 Part 5" (Jackson, Harris, Lewis) – 1:03
1 Contains a sample of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" written by Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, and Michael Beinhorn.
2 Contains elements of "If Only for One Night" performed and written by Brenda Russell.
3 Contains elements of The SOS Band's "Tell Me If You Still Care" written by James Harris III and Terry Lewis.
[edit] Deluxe edition bonus DVD
- Janet: 20 Y.O.: The Project
- Making of "Call on Me" (Video)
[edit] iTunes edition
- "Call on Me" (Video) – 4:00
- Interactive Booklet - 20 Y.O.
[edit] Japanese edition
- "Roll Witchu" – 4:30
- "Days Go By" – 4:16
[edit] Unreleased tracks
- "Weekend" (web release)
- "Stuck Inside the Groove"
- "You Crossed the Line"
- "Clap Your Hands"
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Position | Sales[8] |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 1 | |
| United World Chart | 2 | 1,200,000 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 2 | 750,000 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 | 750,000 |
| Canada | 4 | |
| Japan | 7 | 96,000 |
| Taiwanese International Albums Chart[9] | 9 | |
| Italy | 21 | |
| Belgium (Wallonie) | 22 | |
| France | 32 | 8,000 |
| Holland | 34 | |
| Switzerland | 35 | |
| European TOP 100 | 43 | |
| Germany | 46 | |
| Australia | 55 | |
| Sweden | 57 | |
| UK | 63 | |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 67 | |
| Poland | 72 | |
| Ireland | 87 |
[edit] Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| Europe | September 22, 2006 |
| United Kingdom | September 25, 2006 |
| United States | September 26, 2006 |
[edit] References
- ^ Billboard. "Janet Jackson Ready To Dance On New Album". September 1, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- ^ MARKET WIRE. "Press Release". Retrieved June 21, 2006. June 12, 2006.
- ^ New York Times online
- ^ Janet Jackson Wants Fans To Design New Album Cover. July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2006.
- ^ [1]
- ^ RIAA News Room - 'Tis the Season for Precious Metals - Dec 11, 2006
- ^ EMI Annual Report 2007
- ^ MJJ charts retrieved November 6, 2007
- ^ ICRT
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