Janet Jackson Announces First New Album Since 2015

Janet Jackson announced that she will release a new album in 2022, and that a new single will arrive by the end of this year via her label, Rhythm Nation Records.

Jackson offered no additional details about the forthcoming single, although she did reveal production credits for the album, which will be her first since 2015’s Unbreakable. The album will find her reuniting with production/songwriting duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, as well as collaborating with Darrel Randle, Ralph Johnson (a founding member of Earth, Wind & Fire), Siedah Garret, and Marcel East.

The news comes in advance of the release of Janet, a four-hour documentary that chronicles her personal life and career that arrives in January via Lifetime and A&E. She executive-produced the documentary alongside Randy Jackson.

The Ben Hirsch-directed two-part film will include archival footage, never-before-seen home videos, and celebrity interviews, including chats with Missy Elliott, Paula Abdul and Mariah Carey. It follows Jackson and her family following the death of her father Joseph, the patriarch of the Jackson dynasty who died in 2018. Jackson also discusses her 2004 Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake, the death of her brother Michael Jackson, and becoming a mother.

Jackson was originally slated to release her 12th studio album Black Diamond along with an accompanying tour in 2020, but both were postponed due to the pandemic.

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