When I broke up with my first boyfriend while still in the closet, I can remember blaring “Come Back to Me” while driving around aimlessly in my car, so scared and afraid of the lonely deck I’d been dealt, convinced I’d never be happy again.
That album also brought her first tour and I went to the Philly show in 1990 with a close friend. We still reminisce about that show and saw Janet again, this time in Minneapolis, 25 years after first seeing her live.
“Rhythm Nation” stayed on the charts for a staggering three years. When the final single, “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” was released, I was a college junior, finally coming to terms with my sexual orientation and finding parallels in Janet’s own burgeoning sexuality. The video for LWNDWY introduced us to a sexy Janet in low-cut top and jeans, flirting outrageously with the camera and her video co-stars.
Then came “janet.” in 1993. I was 23, graduated and living on my own but unhappy with the crummy post-college job opportunities and stuck in the recession created by the first President Bush. But Janet’s new album brought a much-needed escapism — “If” being the pinnacle. No matter how bad a week I had, I could hit the club on Saturday night and know that “If” would have us all smiling and dancing, even if only for a few minutes. A new, overtly sexual Janet was refreshing and perfectly timed to my own coming out process. Many of us found confidence in her success and boldness.
On her “janet.” tour in 1994, I was seated in the first 15 rows at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. When the last song began (“Because of Love”), I rushed past a security guard to the stage. Janet looked down at me and smiled, then slowly danced her way to the other end of the stage. I followed below her. When she got to the opposite end of the stage, she looked down again and saw that I was still there. She laughed out loud and reached her hand down to me. We clasped hands and laughed. Then the security guards caught me and tossed me out. But as they were escorting me out, throngs of Janet fans who’d seen her grab my hand, reached out to touch me, just because I had touched Janet. It was totally worth getting thrown out.