Janet Jackson: Eight Iconic Awards Show Moments

All week long, we’re celebrating Janet Jackson Week here at Billboard.com, as the youngest Jackson sibling turns 60 on Saturday (May 16).

We celebrate her talent, her versatility and, not least, her survival. Pop megastardom is not for the faint of heart. Not many artists achieved success on Jackson’s level in her peak era as a hitmaker that went from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, but a disheartening number of those who did died before their time, including Whitney Houston , George Michael , Prince and of course her brother Michael . Just making it to 60 in the unforgiving glare of the modern media spotlight is an accomplishment. And to assemble an impressive and richly varied body of work while doing it is even better.

In this piece, we look at Jackson’s history at awards ceremonies. Just last week, on Friday May 8, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. That album had been voted into the National Recording Registry, administered by the Library of Congress, in 2020.

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On that 1989 album , Jackson ventured into social commentary on such tracks as “Rhythm Nation” and “State of the World.” A&M executives were reportedly nervous about the change in direction and probably would have been happier with another album of dance tracks similar to her 1986 breakthrough collection, Control . But when Jackson sang on that album’s title track that she wanted to be the one in control of her life and her choices, it turns out she meant it.

Jackson’s career tally of just five Grammy Awards – and just one nomination (as a lead artist) in a so-called Big Four category (album, record and song of the year plus best new artist) is enough to make you want to scream. But digging deeper into those Grammy nods, they reflect her versatility and range of talents. She has been nominated in five distinct music genres – R&B, pop, dance music, rock and rap, and for work in five professional capacities – vocal performance, songwriting, producing, arranging and as a video artist.

Jackson, who wrote or co-wrote all but four of her 27 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, has yet to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. That honor will likely come her way, along with a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy and the Kennedy Center Honors.

Here are eight times Janet Jackson was in control at awards ceremonies.

_Originally reported by [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/lists/janet-jackson-awards-ceremonies-top-moments/)._