By Clover Hope
NEW YORK (Billboard) - After failing to crack the million mark with her last two albums, Janet Jackson is wary of using the “c” word to describe her upcoming release, “Discipline,” which hits stores on February 26.
“I think a comeback is when you leave and then you … come back,” Jackson said with a laugh during a recent interview. “People are always quick to use that word ‘comeback,’ but I never went anywhere, really.” Discipline marks her 10th studio disc, and her debut release for Island Def Jam after more than a decade at Virgin Records. Her last album, 2006’s “20 Y.O.,” stalled at 648,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while 2004’s “Damita Jo” moved 999,000.
After a round of underwhelming singles from those albums, the lead single Feedback has been gaining momentum at urban and pop radio formats, thanks to its robotic bassline and voice-modulated effect tailor-made for the clubs. It jumped 32 places to No. 52 on the latest Billboard Hot 100.
“This song is definitely one of those feel-good, make-you-get-up-out-your-seat, maybe dance-on-the-table-a-little-bit type songs,” said Deon Cole, music director of urban WPEG Charlotte, N.C. If “Feedback” keeps rising, it could become Jackson’s first top-10 hit since 2001’s “Someone to Call My Lover,” which peaked at No. 3.
Tags: album, billboard, discipline, feedback, janet jackson, music, musician
