The meltdown of Janet Jackson’s tour continues…
– LL Cool J leaves the tour, due to “unnamed scheduling conflicts”. Now, this could work one of two ways. Either he wasn’t happy with the crowds that Janet HASN’T been bringing in (only 8,000 showed for the concert in Detroit last night), and didn’t feel like it was a constructive use of his time, or maybe Janet’s team didn’t see any add-on value in having LL on the tour, and gave him a way to bow out. After all, his current CD “Exit 13” is actually even more of a bomb than “Discipline”, having only sold 80,000 units since its release. The details get even more clouded when you consider that LL is leaving Island/Def Jam after this release, and Janet recently left IDJ. There could be a LOT of politics going on in the mix here.
– Speaking of the Detroit show, Janet removed a three-song portion of the show because of a Michigan law “prohibiting simulated sex acts in a public performing space”. From the concert team:
Jackson’s manager Kenneth Crear, who was on site, said that “Janet did not want to disappoint her Detroit-area fans again, so we adhered to Michigan’s state ordinance and trimmed the ‘Discipline’ segment of the show so it would not be canceled.”
Janet bringing men up on stage and having her way with them is nothing new…she did it during the “All For You” tour I saw back in 2001, and it’s been her shtick pretty much since “The Velvet Rope”. You don’t necessarily think of Michigan as being that type of place. but then again, this is the same state that Madonna had issues with in “Truth or Dare”, so I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Sorry…that was Toronto. My bad. (Thanks, Michael)
– In a small ray of good news, it is expected that Janet will add more dates to the schedule. Whether that will be in smaller venues, or that there actually is some demand in other parts of the country, she’s got to be happy with that. One more chance to pay for all that freaky hair and costume expense.
Stumble It!
Pop Music Notes 
Poor Janet. How I long for the glory days of the Control-RN1814-janet trifecta. I sort of lost interest after that, though many years after the fact I really did come to appreciate Velvet Rope…
It’s funny, while waiting for Madonna to start, my friend Jeff was saying that he would probably go to a Janet Jackson concert. I’m not sure I would, although I suppose it would come down to how much the tickets cost.
In “Truth or Dare,” Madonna has issues with the cops at the Toronto show, I believe…
Miss Jackson sure is having some probs on this tour. Wonder what the “real” reason LL left the tour? Not making enough $$ perhaps?
I’d probably go and see Janet too, but I’m not about to trek across the country to see her either. She ain’t Madonna now! 😛
Paul, not only is Velvet Rope a “grower”, but it’s on my all-time top 10 albums. From where I’m standing, there isn’t a misstep to be found on the disc.
Dan C, from the sound of some of these shows, they might pay you to fill a seat for them.
Michael, thank you so much for the catch. My late-night error has been corrected.
Yuri, I know you have your reason, but there’s something that has never sat well with me regarding Madonna’s concerts. At least Janet genuinely seems to like having an audience at her shows. The way Madonna accosts/looks down on her audiences at times has rubbed me the wrong way. Who’s paying who, anyway?