Then: When Jackson was sixteen, her father and manager Joseph Jackson arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson, was released in 1982. It peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard 200, and No. 6 on the publication’s R&B albums chart, receiving little promotion. The album appeared on the Billboard Top Black Albums of 1983, while Jackson herself was the highest-ranking female vocalist on the Billboard Year-End Black Album Artists. Jackson’s second album, Dream Street, was released two years later. Dream Street reached No. 147 on the Billboard 200, and No. 19 on the R&B albums chart. The lead single “Don’t Stand Another Chance” peaked at No. 9 on Billboard‘s R&B singles chart. Within six weeks, Jackson crafted her third studio album, Control, released in February 1986. The album shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was certified fivefold Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over ten million copies worldwide.
Now: A two-part documentary titled Janet Jackson for A&E and Lifetime premiered on January 28 and 29, 2022, respectively. Jackson was set to embark on the Black Diamond World Tour in 2020. Later that year, the tour was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also announced her upcoming twelfth studio album Black Diamond, which was scheduled for a 2020 release. On January 29, 2022, Jackson previewed a clip of a new song, “Luv I Luv”, during the end credits of the last episode of her documentary, Janet Jackson. On March 3, 2022, Jackson was announced as a headliner of the 2022 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.
