What has Janet Jackson done for us lately?
It's been three studio albums and 14 years since she's had a Top 10 single.
Well, her intimate Orpheum Theatre show in 2011 in Minneapolis was pretty special. It was billed as her Number Ones: Up Close and Personal Tour, and Jackson, never known to be too talkative onstage or in interviews, was overflowing with emotion.
"Minneapolis played such an important, such a major role in my life," she gushed. "Except for two songs … every song you heard tonight was created here."
Even though it was sort of Janet Unplugged, the show was still about choreography, cooing and keeping the dance floor moving.
Now Jackson is hitting the road again with a big-time arena extravaganza that comes to Target Center in Minneapolis on Nov. 1. And if there's anyone who knows how to stage a dazzling dance-happy spectacle, it's Miss Jackson.
She's also dropping a new album, "Unbreakable," her first since 2008's "Discipline" and a reunion of sorts with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the Minneapolis guys who helped her gain control of her art and make her famous.
In June, she released a new single, "No Sleeep," a soulful medium-tempo groove with her signature breathy vocals. One version features a rap by young hitmaker J. Cole, who has sent three albums to No. 1. But the song is unmistakably Janet — and Jam and Lewis, for that matter. The Flyte Tyme team was not involved with "Discipline" and was among a cast of producers contributing to her 2006 album "20 Y.O."