[NOTE: The Week Ahead will run on Wednesday this week.]
A glitzy-hatted disk jockey remixed Janet Jackson’s 2001 hit “Someone To Call My Lover” with recent rap like Fetty Wap’s “My Way” as the audience dwindled in. Though the speakers blared, only a few boisterous Jan Fans bobbled to the beat until the DJ mandated everyone stand up and dance.
The late king of pop’s younger sister needed no openers to set the tone for her “Unbreakable” world tour. Janet Jackson commanded the AmericanAirlines Arena for a two-hour concert that linked one throwback to the next.
Perhaps the torrential rain was reason for the arena’s emptiness when it was time for Jackson to take the stage, but she embraced the inclement weather as gray clouds rolled across the oversized vertical screens behind her. A startling boom that would send your dog running for the hills preceded footage of Missy Elliott rapping her verse of their new collaboration “Burnitup!”
Jackson’s style took a page from Bieber’s book—sheathed in low-hanging harem pants that left her unrestricted in her movement. The 49-year-old showed off her sensual side while dancing on a chair during “When I Think Of You” and sporadically shifted focus onto her backup dancers while she caught a much-needed breath. Among the self-proclaimed JTribe of booty poppers were Kyndall Harris and YouTube sensation Taylor Hatala, both 12. What the tweens lacked in age they made up for with energy in their featured moments during “Escapade” and “The Best Things In Life Are Free.”
By this time, the stands were full, and the DJ returned for a quick intermission of beat drops and fluorescent light beams that resembled Miami nightclubs. Audience members danced along, their flamboyance finally becoming evident. A voiceover of the pop princess beckoned to “keep the conversation going” as she returned to sing slower sounds while perched on a barstool.
After a six-song tempo change, J.Cole infiltrated the screens during “No Sleeep,” the lead single off Jackson’s not-yet-released “Unbreakable” album. The set list then reverted to her timeless, spirited classics before she closed out the show with another newbie, “Unbreakable.”
Jackson came full circle in Miami, from the first stop on her Rhythm Nation tour 25 years ago to her unbreakable performance last night, and it’s clear that she’s ready for another round.
Janet Jackson will bring her Unbreakable World Tour to South Florida again at the BB&T Center on March 9, 2016.
Set List:
Burnitup!
Nasty (remix with Big Sean’s IDFWU)
Feedback
Miss You Much
Alright
(You Want This)
Control
What Have You Done For Me Lately
The Pleasure Principle
Escapade
When I Think Of You
All For You
All Nite
Love Will Never Do
DJ Intermission
After You Fall
Again
Come Back To Me
Let’s Wait Awhile
I Get Lonely (remix with Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic Justice”)
Any Time, Any Place
No Sleeep
Got ‘Til It’s Gone
That’s The Way Love Goes
Together Again
Throb
The Best Things In Life Are Free
Black Cat
If
Scream
Rhythm Nation
Should Have Known Better
Unbreakable
Photos by: Ron Elkman (ronelkman.com)
