The cultural impact of the Jackson family is undeniable. From the Motown hits of the Jackson 5 to the iconic status of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, the reach of the Jackson family spreads across the entire globe and several different generations of fans.
Besides Michael, the other catalyst to the success of the Jackson name throughout the '80s, '90s and 2000s is the baby of the family, Janet.
Though she is the youngest, she's far from the least of the pack in the scope of her accomplishments.
Ms. Jackson is not only a talented songstress that has sold over 100 million albums worldwide with dozens of Top 40 hits, but she's an actress, and now an author with the release of her book "True You."
Though Madonna may be the Queen of Pop music, when the legacy Jackson has created throughout her career is considered, it's hard to not also put her at that level. Legions of young women have cited Jackson as being their influence and even those who haven't done so showcase the different aspects that Jackson brought to the table and perfected.
Just like her older brother Michael, she has always been an extremely private and family-oriented person who even found a way or two to create her own brand of controversy throughout the years. But it's that private family-based nature, her soft-spoken voice, her gracious humility and her everlasting beauty that has made her so loved for several decades now. Men could see her as that hot girl next door just as easily as a girl could look at her as being the cooler older sister.
Though she's incredibly private, on her new tour Number Ones: Up Close And Personal, she's using that desire for intimacy to her advantage and to the advantage of her fans.
Instead of going the stadium or large-venue route for her latest world tour, Jackson has scaled back on the size of the facilities she's bringing her show to, hoping to make the experience more personal and targeted to those who have been on the ride with her throughout her whole career.
Last night she brought her intimate tour to the Milwaukee Theatre and provided her fans with a whirlwind show that gave you all of her very best hits, the dancing she's known for and stage theatrics full of dancers and vignettes that covered the scope of both her musical and personal life, in addition to highlighting her most prolific roles as an actress.
The show kicked off at approximately 8:20 p.m. to a packed house of different ages and races, and was even fairly well balanced in regards to the men to women ratio – however, the ladies did indeed own the night.
The video of the song that was dedicated to Milwaukee, "You Want This," began playing on a large screen in the background which was soon followed by the entrance of her band, dancers and then Janet herself.
For this tour, Jackson decided to perform her greatest hits in medley form, kicking off the concert with a number of high-energy hits before slowing things down, only again to return the energy to a fevered pitch.
During the up-tempo tracks the crowd danced and moved with the rhythms, and no matter the tempo of the track, everybody who could sing along did so with passion and joy.
Jackson herself seemed to be having a great time on stage as she broke out into laughter several times in reaction to her dancers' impromptu moves, and she also flashed her trademark warm smile to the crowd quite often. But, don't worry those of you who still haven't let go of the Super Bowl Halftime Show from a few years back – nothing else was flashed.
During the breaks between medleys, more footage would play and at two different points her stellar band took the time to have a controlled jam session. At one point they even worked in a round of solos before she launched into the most aggressive part of her set, which consisted of "Black Cat," "If," "Scream" and "Rhythm Nation."
The show ended slightly before 10:00 p.m., but before it did she made sure to give a nice tribute to her late brother during the performing of "Together Again." She also took the time to introduce her band and dancers before telling the crowd:
"I want to thank you guys for all of your love and all of your support throughout all the years, not just for me you guys, but for my entire family. I love you guys."
Though she's now in her mid-40s and is focusing more on her acting career at the moment, her voice is still as crisp as it was in the 1980s and '90s, and her love for performing to her fans is still very much there and sincere.
The set list of what she performed, minus tracks the band played during the breaks, is below.
The Pleasure Principle
Control
What Have You Done for Me Lately
Feedback
You Want This
Alright
Miss You Much
Nasty
Nothing
Come Back to Me
Let's Wait Awhile
Again
Doesn't Really Matter
Escapade
Love Will Never Do (Without You)
When I Think of You
All for You
That's the Way Love Goes
Black Cat
If
Scream
Rhythm Nation
ENCORE:
Diamonds
The Best Things in Life Are Free
Born in Milwaukee and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Concordia University Wisconsin alumnus Poppe has spent the majority of his life in or around the city and county of Milwaukee.
As an advocate of Milwaukee's hip-hop community Poppe began popular local music blog Milwaukee UP in March 2010. Check out the archived entries here.
Though heavy on the hip-hop, Poppe writes about other genres of music and occasionally about food, culture or sports, and is always ready to show his pride in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.