page_title: Janet (album)
section_title: Accolades
hierarchical_section_title: Janet (album) / Critical reception / Accolades
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of Janet Jackson on Number Ones, Up Close and Personal tour.
context_page_description: Janet is the fifth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released on May 18, 1993, by Virgin Records America. Prior to its release, Jackson was at the center of a high-profile bidding war over her recording contract. In 1991, her original label A&M sought to renew her contract, while others, such as Atlantic, Capitol, and Virgin all vied to sign her. After meeting with Virgin owner Richard Branson, she signed with the label. The contract was worth an estimated $40 million, making her the world's then-highest paid musical act.
  Criticism that her success in the music industry was attributed to being a member of the Jackson family and a producer-dependent artist led her to write all lyrics for the album, in addition to co-producing every song and co-writing each of their arrangements with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Its title, read "Janet, period.", is meant to disassociate her public image from her family, dropping her surname. A pop and R&B record, Janet incorporated hip hop, opera, house and jazz, eliminating the rigid, industrial sound of her previous records. Lyrically, the theme of Janet is sexual intimacy—an abrupt departure from her conservative image.
context_section_description: Jackson received five nominations for the 1994 American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album for Janet, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "That's the Way Love Goes". The same year she received two Grammy Award nominations—Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female and Best R&B Song for "That's The Way Love Goes"—winning Best R&B Song. Several critics asserted she was unjustly overlooked in the Grammy's three major categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune stated, "Jackson again was denied a nomination for album of the year, even though 'janet' (Virgin) has remained in the Top 10 since its release last summer and has been critically acclaimed." He adds that "the oversight is doubly vexing, because [Jackson]—in a songwriting and production partnership with Jimmy Jam (aka James Harris III) and Terry Lewis—is not just a multiplatinum pop act but an artist who has reshaped the sound and image of rhythm and blues over the last decade." Kot laid blame to the oversight on the fact that many believed her to be a producer-dependent artist—an opinion he found to be in error. Similarly, producer Jimmy Jam stated: "It's easy to say that the two albums she did before she met us weren't successful and when she got with us she became successful ... 'Control' was the first album she actually had input. I think that's just as significant as the fact we (Jam and Lewis) did the record."
caption: Jackson performing the album's third single, "Again", during her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal tour (2011).
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