Honestly, I’m not too keen on the cover photo because it looks like a photo she has taken many, many times before. Screaming — really, Janet? But the other preview photo that has been made available from this shoot is really cute. After the jump, check out the other photo and a short video clip that gives quick peeks of some of the other photos, too …

I understand that Janet and her new, as yet unidentified, man spent part of their day at the Decorative Arts Museum and part of their day shopping. No word when, where or how these two met but it looks like they have been getting to know one another very well. Is it serious? Only time will tell … but knowing Janet and her need for privacy, it may be a very long time before we learn more about this guy. And who knows, she might even be married to him long before we even find out about it.

[Photo credit: X17]

Yes, peeps were lookin’ purdy and stuff on the red carpet but let’s get to the awards. Taylor Swift, who has been cleaning up at awards shows all year long already, was the biggest winner of the night … she took home 5 awards including Artist of the Year! Michael Jackson also enjoyed a big night last night taking home a few posthumous awards of his own as did Whitney Houston, who became the 7th person ever to win the International Artist of the Year award from the AMAs:

Country crossover star Taylor Swift overshadowed the late Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning five prizes including artist of the year. Jackson, who had been expected to enjoy a clean sweep, ended up with four awards. He and Swift went head-to-head in the artist of the year race, the ceremony’s final prize. Other multiple winners included hip-hop acts Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas, with two each. Swift, 19, was also named favorite female artist in the pop/rock and country categories, and favorite adult-contemporary artist. Her 2008 album “Fearless,” the best-selling release in the United States this year, was named favorite country album. She accepted her awards live via satellite from backstage at London’s Wembley Arena, where she will perform a concert on Monday. “Music has never been ultimately about competition,” Swift said, after winning the artist of the year prize. She said it was an “unimaginable honor” to be cited in the same category as Jackson, and thanked the Jackson family. Jackson was named favorite male artist in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories, while his 2003 hits collection “Number Ones” was named favorite album in both those categories. The album is the No. 2 seller this year in the United States. His brother Jermaine, accompanied by sons Jeremy, Jaafar and Jermajesty, accepted on his behalf. At one point, he thanked Allah “for blessing my entire family.” Rapper Eminem, making a rare awards-show appearance in the wake of his four nominations, went home empty-handed. Glam-pop singer Lady Gaga, rock band Kings of Leon and jailed rapper T.I., who earned three nominations each, were also snubbed. The Black Eyed Peas were named favorite group in both the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories. Jay-Z won favorite male artist and favorite album in the rap/hip-hop categories. His wife Beyonce, who was performing a show in Dublin, was named favorite female artist in the soul/R&B category. Punk rock trio Green Day won the favorite alternative artist. Rascal Flatts won favorite country group for the fourth year in a row.

Crazy, right? Well, since the AMAs are handed out according to fan voting I guess it’s all Y’ALL’s fault that Taylor won so many awards. The girl must really be enjoying life right now … whether it’s deserved or not (many, many folks argue that it is not) she is really taking home some major awards this year. I say, congrats … I hope she really appreciates it all. After the jump, check out a few photos from the AMAs show itself and see what else went down on the Nokia Theater stage last night …

For me, Mary J. Blige’s performance was the best of the night … she sounded beautiful, looked amazing and was the epitome of class. She didn’t need flashing lights on her clothes, outrageous attention grabbing antics or auto-tuned lip syncing to turn in a stellar performance. She was awesome. Overall I found the AMAs not very exciting … once the censorship came into play, I turned off the show and went to the Internets to watch the unedited performances online. Congrats to all the winners but, meh, the show itself wasn’t all that. Did y’all enjoy the show? Did your fave artists take home Lucite trophies last night?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

This video is the PERFECT way to promote a disc of Janet’s biggest hits … it is such a throwback to the classic Janet Jackson that we all know and love. The dance routine is very Janet and does hearken back to her hey day as a superstar … the setting even feels like an anteroom to the setting featured in her Scream music video with her late brother Michael Jackson. After the jump, check out the music video for Make Me in full …

Ahhh Janet … you’ve been away for far too long. It’s good to have you back. The song is just OK but I’m really excited that she will be releasing a new album of new material next year. I’m hoping this music video will be fun … from the looks of this video, it appears it will be a fun, great video (and, to be honest, the song is growing on me every time I hear it). After the jump, check out this behind the scenes video in full …

Speaking out five months after Michael Jackson’s death, Janet Jackson placed blame on Dr. Conrad Murray, saying the doctor should no longer be allowed to practice medicine. “He was the one that was administering,” she told ABC’s Robin Roberts. “I think he is responsible.” Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, remains the focus of a manslaughter investigation into the pop star’s death. Murray has admitted to administering the anesthetic propofol, but has denied giving Michael anything that should have killed him. Jackson, who has walled herself in silence, fiercely guarding her private thoughts about the death of her beloved brother, Michael, opened up to Roberts in an exclusive interview that will air, Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m. ET. “It’s been a tough year,” she said. “You have your days where it’s just really — it’s hard to believe. And a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about him.” Jackson recounted the details of the morning of June 25, before she learned that Michael had collapsed, and her world turned upside down. “I was at my house in New York. You know, another day. Another morning. And I get a call … [my assistant] said, ‘Your brother’s been taken to the hospital. It’s on CNN right now,’” she told Roberts. “I called everyone’s. There’s a line busy or — someone wasn’t picking up. I spoke to mother. I spoke to Tito. I spoke to my nephew Austin. I spoke to my sister La Toya.” “I told them to call me when they got to the hospital. And I remember thinking nobody’s calling me back, so I tried calling again, and that’s how I found out that he was no longer … I couldn’t believe it,” she said. Jackson said the she and the entire family were in a state of disbelief. “It just didn’t ring true to me. It felt like a dream,” she said. “It’s still so difficult for me to believe. It’s, you know, you have to accept what is. But it’s hard. You have to move on with your life. You have to accept what is and I understand that.” For Jackson, Michael’s memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the late King of Pop was surrounded by love ones, helped her come to terms with her brother’s death. “My brother’s favorite song is ‘Smile.’ And I thought Jermaine sang it beautifully, beautifully. And that’s his favorite song as well. …There being some sort of a closure, I suppose, at that time,” she said, getting emotional. Janet, who has sold 100 million records and became a five-time Grammy award-winning artist, was the youngest of nine children in the brood. Growing up, she said that she was always closest to Michael. “We were incredibly close,” she said, “A lot of similarities, his love for children and me being a baby … We would practically do everything together from morning to night every day. Everyday.” She recalled how the two would play after school, feeding the animals together at the family’s Hayvenhurst compound in Encino, Calif. “We’d feed all the animals, took care of the babies. All the animals — giraffes, mouflon sheep, deer, they had fawned. All kinds of animals, all kinds of birds. And I remember I would come home from school with the hay like I’m going to a ranch,” she said. In later years, she famously wore the key to the animal cages in all her music videos — a memento from her youth. But Jackson does not look back on all of her childhood memories as fondly …

Janet’s chat with Robin Roberts continues from here. After the jump, read Janet’s not-so-fond memories of growing in the Jackson household and how her upbringing impacted her and her famous siblings …

Living in the shadow of the Jackson 5, then the most famous family act in America, her father Joe Jackson took the reins when it came to her career. Jackson, who once had dreams of going to college to study business law and pursuing an acting career, said her father changed her career path. “My father said, ‘I think you’ll make more money singing than as an actress… And that was it,” she said. “Obviously, he saw something. And it’s sad that it takes away your childhood. If I had to do it all over again, would I go about it the same way? I would really have to think about that.” Joe Jackson, the patriarch and the driving force behind his children’s success, has been accused by Michael and others of being an abusive stage father. When asked by Roberts if her father was “abusive” or “old school,” she said: “You have to keep in mind that I’m the baby…I think it’s old school. And that may extrapolate into — a — being a little abusive. Do you understand what I’m saying?” In a July 2009 interview with Chris Connelly, Joe Jackson addressed accusations that his children sacrificed a normal childhood for life on the stage. Joe Jackson denied allegations of beating Michael, but admitted to spanking as a form of physical discipline. He said he did not regret any part of Michael’s upbringing. “I was very young, very young. I can’t remember the exact age, but very young, younger than ten, younger than nine. … I remember when I had called him daddy, and he said, ‘No, you call me Joseph, I’m Joseph to you.’ Never said it again,” she told Roberts. “… We called mother — everybody called mother, mother. So I don’t know, I don’t know why. And I’ve never asked. I’ve never questioned it. It is what it is, and I just let it go. Joseph.” The Jackson children had a unique childhood. As devout Jehovah’s witnesses, they did not celebrate birthdays or Christmas because of their beliefs. “I would love to have experienced what it would be like to celebrate Christmas and birthdays. … I had my first birthday party when I was 23 years old. And I’d never celebrated my birthday before then,” she said. “You kind of feel like you missed something. But then again, you have to, to say to yourself, it’s like a catch-22 — well, how can you miss what you didn’t have? You know? I — we grew up pretty quickly.” Two days before her 43rd birthday was the last time Jackson saw Michael. “We had a lot of fun, laughing. … I was being silly, acting silly. And he was sitting in front of me and just cracking up, laughing at me,” she said. “I was being loud. And he thought it was so funny. I was just being stupid, acting silly.” Watch Robin Robert’s exclusive interview with Janet Jackson, “In the Spotlight,” Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m. ET.

I still do not understand why Janet will not come right out and admit to the abuse her family suffered at their father’s hands. Altho she was “the baby” and prolly didn’t get the brunt of the abuse (if she got any of it at all), she would absolutely be aware of what her older siblings went thru … and speaking out might help others in the same dangerous situation. In any event, I suppose it’s a good thing that Janet feels up to talking about the death of her brother … it cannot be easy for her. It remains to be seen what, if any, punishment will befall Dr. Murray in the wake of MJ’s death investigation … I just hope the person responsible for MJ’s death is held accountable and is made to pay.

[Source]

In other Janet news, it has been reported that she will open the 2009 American Music Awards at the end of this month with a performance medley of some of her biggest hits:

Janet Jackson is the latest singer who is confirmed to perform at the 37th Annual American Music Awards. She is set for the opening act of the event to be held on November 22 at NOKIA Theatre, singing a medley of her hit singles. Coincidently, she will release her greatest hits compilation “Number Ones” less than a week prior to the show. “We’re thrilled about having Janet Jackson open this year’s show,” said AMAs producer Larry Klein. “She is an incredibly dynamic performer and I think the audience will be excited to see what she has in store.” Other musical guests are Rihanna, Green Day, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Keith Urban, Lady GaGa, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, DAUGHTRY and Adam Lambert. To be handed with a special International Artist Award, meanwhile, is Whitney Houston who will also make a live performance. She is going to deliver one of the singles in her comeback album “I Look to You”, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”, which is written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster.

Wow … that is quite a line-up of musical acts! Altho I’ve not been too fond of Janet’s most recent work, she does have a huge catalog of great hit songs to draw from for this performance … so I’m anxious to see how she will open the AMAs this year. But, to be honest, considering the line-up of confirmed performers … Janet is not the only performer I’m looking forward to seeing. This sounds like it’s going to be a great show … and it will all start with Janet, Miss Jackson if you’re nasty.

[Photo credit: INFdaily; Source]

Zzzzzzz. I understand the photo used for this album cover art was taken back in 2001 … and appeared in the tour book for Janet’s All For You Tour. It’s like they aren’t even trying very hard to market this collection … I am not impressed. I am hearing that Miss Jackson will be releasing a new studio album of entirely new music in 2010, which is exciting, but this release just seems like a throw-away to me. If the folks behind this release don’t seem to care about promoting the disc, why should I care about buying it?

[Source]

What songs fans will get if they purchase Janet Jackson’s upcoming greatest hits album have been uncovered. Sixteen tracks are listed in the first CD, and there will be eighteen songs in the second package. Beside including smash hits from her previous releases, the double-disc album will also have a brand new song called “Make Me” which has come out since September this year. In addition, Janet’s duet track with her brother Michael Jackson, “Scream”, also appears on the list. The new compilation is titled “Number Ones” and becomes Janet Jackson’s first greatest hits set after 1995 release “Design of a Decade: 1986-1996″. It will be released across United States on November 17 with Nelly, Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell listed as featured guests.

HMMM … how very Madonna of you, Janet. Didn’t Madge first release The Immaculate Collection (1990) before releasing her new Celebration (2009) greatest hits collection? Tho, in Janet’s defense … it has been 13 years since her last singles collection and let’s not forget that Maddy released 2 other collections (Something to Remember in 1995 and GHV2 in 2001) in between Immaculate and Celebration. I was expecting her new song Make Me to appear on a new album but I guess we’ll have to wait until 2010 to hear any of that new stuff. After the jump, check out the tracklist for Janet’s new 2-disc singles collection Number Ones …

Disc One:

01. “If”
02. “Again”
03. “Because of Love”
04. “Any Time, Any Place”
05. “Scream” (Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson)
06. “Runaway”
07. “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” featuring Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell
08. “Together Again”
09. “I Get Lonely” featuring BLACKstreet
10. “Go Deep”
11. “What’s It Gonna Be?!” (Busta Rhymes featuring Janet Jackson)
12. “Doesn’t Really Matter”
13. “All for You” (Video Single Mix)
14. “Someone to Call My Lover”
15. “All Nite (Don’t Stop)”
16. “Call on Me” featuring Nelly
17. “Feedback”
18. “Make Me”

Ardent JJ fans are sure to scramble for this new collection … I’ll take a pass. I’ll deffo be gettin’ her new single Make Me when it becomes available on iTunes but I really don’t need to re-buy all of these songs again.

[Source]

US singer Janet Jackson lent her star power to a gala charity in Milan that raised more than a million dollars for AIDS research, organisers said. “This battle needs all of us to be brave warriors,” Jackson said during a brief appearance at the Monday evening dinner and dance organised by the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). The evening’s biggest sale was a Dsquared jacket signed by Janet Jackson and other celebrities, snapped up by Diesel designer Renzo Rossof for 36,000 euros (53,000 dollars). Earlier a pair of handmade boots decorated with some 3,000 stones, made for Michael Jackson but never worn by the late king of pop, went for 10,000 euros. He died June 25 aged 50.

Janet Jackson is a real trooper … it’s very commendable for her to lend her name to such an important cause. She’s had a difficult year and I’m sure her work has kept her grounded but it’s really amazing that she also is making time to do much needed charity work as well. Keep up the amazing work, Janet!!

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]