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Janet's career

Do you think that Janet had a chance at a career due to Michael or the Jackson 5?

  • Yes

    Votes: 175 73.8%

  • no

    Votes: 62 26.2%
  • Total voters
    237

iboz75

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Good times, Fame , Diff'ernt Strokes. Do you think Janet broke out in her career because she was legitimately talented, or do you think favoritism played a part because of her famous brother(s) ?
 
janet is very talented but the fact that she comes from a famous family def played a big part in her career.
 
Roxanne said:
janet is very talented but the fact that she comes from a famous family def played a big part in her career.
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Agreed. Having a famous last name did open doors for her in the beginning of her career, but the success she had later on and longevity that she's been able to maintain is due to Janet's talent and perseverence. She hasn't lasted this long and had all this success because of her last name. She is talented, ambitious and has worked hard to get where she is.
 
Janet got the gig on Good Times because the director Norman Lear saw Janet performing in the family Vegas act. So in a way, she got discovered because of her brothers. But obviously Norman thought she was good enough to put on the show, which had already been on and was popular. It's doubtful that he would have just stuck anyone on and affect the show any further than had been done by firing John Amos.
 
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Agreed. Having a famous last name did open doors for her in the beginning of her career, but the success she had later on and longevity that she's been able to maintain is due to Janet's talent and perseverence. She hasn't lasted this long and had all this success because of her last name. She is talented, ambitious and has worked hard to get where she is.
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agree. the actual question is abit confusing
 
Her music is much unlike her family so no.

Also her first two albums flopped so obviously her music on Control made her a buge star not her name.
 
i guess ppl are talking about her tv career interms of the family name helping her into it more than the music which came later
 
Norman Lear discovered Janet because he thought the girl "had something" and hired her for "Good Times". Joseph did get her a recording contract to start the sisters' career. The first two albums were sold because of her popularity as a child actress. 1986's "Control" was because it was released during the beginnings of the new jack swing era and the Minneapolis funk sound, omnipresent on the album, was also popular. Plus, the songs were that good so no it didn't really ave all to do with her LAST NAME. Sure it got her in the door but her talent as an entertainer KEPT her in there for so long.
 
I'm gonna say her that her break in the music industry was definatley a result of her last name..not to say that she didn't get in on her own talents either..the last name just gave her the edge to get her started so early (and technically she was discovered on the Jacksons variety show so it was her family name that got her a break)

But her family name alone is not what has made her famous (maybe in the begining) but now Janet has earned her superstardom, she has worked hard and her success is due to that..
 
Her beginning was definitely thanks to her brother's fame. Otherwise who knows how she would have managed to break in and have the chance she was given. She did manage to come into her own but there is no doubt that it was thanks to her last name that she was able to break out. Because she actually has talent is why she managed to stay this long.
 
Well I'll just say it didn't hurt that her last name is Jackson and she has an uber talented older brother, lol. Janet's biggest talent is her charisma. It's her charisma that's allowed her to last as long a she has. I don't believe she would have made it on her own without The Jackson Five or Michael having first been famous.
 
Yeah i think it did help but her talent is that thing that helped her the most because Janet moved on to making fantastic music.

I love Janet!
 
I don't think the family name itself helped her. It didn't work for Rebbie, Jackie, Marlon, Randy, & LaToya. Although Randy didn't use the name Jackson, lol, and created a different group. Jermaine mostly had success on the R&B side, with little crossover. Tito recorded a solo album at Motown, that was never released. Janet started off with acting not music, which many people forgot or was too young to remember the TV shows she was in. When she went back to that and appeared in a few movies, her characters tended to be believable and not "Janet". She's just another person in the film. It's not like watching a Elvis Presley movie, where you're watching "Elvis" and not whatever he's supposed to be playing or the other people in the movie.
 
No one is trying to discredit Janet, but the Jackson name has helped her. Just look at the fact that Janet's first two albums on A&M flopped and yet she was still able to record another one and wasn't dropped from the label. You can bet if her name had been Janet Washington she would have been dropped from the label and not given another chance to record another album. Thankfully, she worked with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for "Control" and as they say "The rest is history", but it's crazy to deny that the last name helped her. No, it didn't help her maintain all the success she's had all these years, not at all. Janet has herself, producers and choreographers to thank for that, but yes the Jackson name without a doubt helped her when she was starting out and it opened doors for her.

I'm sure the other Jacksons could have had more success though if they were as smart (career wise) and as ambitious as Janet was. If you look at Janet in the beginning, she really was not remarkable. If you watch her early performances or listen to her early music, the stuff she was doing really wasn't that much better than say what Latoya was doing at the time. However, what ultimately made the difference is that Janet is smart and very ambitious. She made a wise decision in hooking up with new producers, hiring the best choreographers, hiring a new manager and ultimately changing her sound and that really changed her career and life forever. On top of that she had the talent to pull it all off as well, but if she hadn't made a drastic change in her sound and image, things would be a lot different for her.
 
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^^^^^^^But the original post said nothing about music, but whether she got "discovered" and put on TV because she was a Jackson. None of the brothers were known as actors, and being a musician has no pull as far as Hollywood goes. The brothers popularity had kinda faded around that period (and they were considered a teen idol act. Teen acts aren't taken seriously by the powers that be), so just being a Jackson wouldn't have helped her anyway as far as getting on Good Times. It was Joe's idea that she make a record later, not Janet's.
 
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Let me say this: if you were to judge Janet on her first two studio albums, she wouldn't have become famous. But if Control had been her first studio album, and she wasn't a Jackson, she still would have become incredibly popular. That album was one of the greatest pop albums ever released.
 
And she's also one of few stars to create a name for herself from an already popular superstar family. Like someone said here, she was more ambitious than the others I believe, which is why she's lasted as long as she did. Go on Miss Janet.
 
DuranDuran said:
^^^^^^^But the original post said nothing about music, but whether she got "discovered" and put on TV because she was a Jackson. None of the brothers were known as actors, and being a musician has no pull as far as Hollywood goes. The brothers popularity had kinda faded around that period (and they were considered a teen idol act. Teen acts aren't taken seriously by the powers that be), so just being a Jackson wouldn't have helped her anyway as far as getting on Good Times. It was Joe's idea that she make a record later, not Janet's.
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I thought she was discovered as an actor because of the 'Jacksons Variety show'...which she would not have appeared on had she not been a Jackson....the producer (or someone) from 'Good times' saw her skits with Randy and decided to audition her for 'Good Times' ....so techically it was her being a jackson and being able to participate in that variety show that got her discovered..
 
libsta81 said:
I thought she was discovered as an actor because of the 'Jacksons Variety show'...which she would not have appeared on had she not been a Jackson....the producer (or someone) from 'Good times' saw her skits with Randy and decided to audition her for 'Good Times' ....so techically it was her being a jackson and being able to participate in that variety show that got her discovered..
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It wan't the TV show, but Norman Lear saw the family act in Vegas as I mentioned earlier. The family had an engagement in Las Vegas in the mid 70s. Still being a musical act has no pull in Hollywood, so being a Jackson in itself didn't get her the job. She got seen because she was performing with her brothers. She could have been Marie Osmond, if Norman had went to see the Osmond show. Norman just happened to go to a Jackson show.
 
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DuranDuran said:
^^^^^^^But the original post said nothing about music, but whether she got "discovered" and put on TV because she was a Jackson. None of the brothers were known as actors, and being a musician has no pull as far as Hollywood goes. The brothers popularity had kinda faded around that period (and they were considered a teen idol act. Teen acts aren't taken seriously by the powers that be), so just being a Jackson wouldn't have helped her anyway as far as getting on Good Times. It was Joe's idea that she make a record later, not Janet's.
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It helped her in that she got public exposure, acting, in a varitey performance show in Vegas. Without her brothers, the likelyhood that she would have been in a variety show on Vegas to expose her to talent scouts wouldn't have been nearly as likely and Janet's talent on it's own, without that push, I don't think would have been enough to get her anywhere. Her acting talent isn't anything exceptional. It's more her charisma talent then acting.
 
^^ Well we can thank Joe for encouraging her to do it then. Janet wanted to be a horse jockey, remember? Joe told 7-year-old Janet to join her family's entertainment show and she obliged. The rest is history.
 
I don't think anybody can deny that being a Jackson got Janet that kickstart in her musical career, but it was her talent that gave her success and longevity.
 
troubleman84 said:
^^ Well we can thank Joe for encouraging her to do it then. Janet wanted to be a horse jockey, remember? Joe told 7-year-old Janet to join her family's entertainment show and she obliged. The rest is history.
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Well sure. I think Joe wanted all his kids to be superstars or somethin', lol. Like cinnamon also pointed out, Janet's intelligence and ambition, along with her charisma, also it what helped her attain and retain the status she did. You have to have the drive too.
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
It helped her in that she got public exposure, acting, in a varitey performance show in Vegas. Without her brothers, the likelyhood that she would have been in a variety show on Vegas to expose her to talent scouts wouldn't have been nearly as likely and Janet's talent on it's own, without that push, I don't think would have been enough to get her anywhere. Her acting talent isn't anything exceptional. It's more her charisma talent then acting.
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I understand your point. But the original post isn't worded clearly. It makes it sound like they went to TV producers and said, "We're the Jackson 5, and this is our sister Janet, so hire her", lol. That's what I meant by the name wouldn't have had any power with the TV or movie community.
 
I like Janet am in my 40's and I have followed the career's of the Jackson's since the 70's. My family and I love all of them.

I can remember very well how in interviews in the ealry 80's, janet aknowledged how her famous lastname alone got her foot in the door with director's or producers when she was interested or Joseph( her then MGR) was interested in her for a project. She has admitted to this in the early days more than once as I recall.

I agree, her longevity is due to her talent and ambitions.
 
DuranDuran said:
I understand your point. But the original post isn't worded clearly. It makes it sound like they went to TV producers and said, "We're the Jackson 5, and this is our sister Janet, so hire her", lol. That's what I meant by the name wouldn't have had any power with the TV or movie community.
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Oh, yeah, well that's true, lol.
 
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