Well, at least one of the members of the Jackson clan is less concerned about making himself (well, actually, herself) look human and more concerned about making music. But given the choice between Janet Jackson releasing a song pretty much like the one you can listen to below, and Janet
having some sort of make-over or cosmetic surgery, I'm not sure I'd vote "new song". I mean, don't get me wrong, I think it's great Janet's back, that an estimate release date has been set for her new album (February next year) and that her first new track (called "Feedback") is out – but let's just say that I had quite different expectations.
I initially though that being under the Def Jam record label and having Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins sign up as producer would be equal to a "quality guaranteed" stamp applied to all of Janet's present and future work on this album. But I'm afraid that more and more good artists seem to be falling in what we could cal the "Brittney – Blackout" trap. Which basically means going the "over-produced" route, with icy synth effects and a whole lot of heavy processing that makes Janet's own vocal input barely recognizable. And we all know that's a pity, because Janet (unlike Brit Brit) can really belt it out and does have a strong voice. But since it's all covered up, we can't really enjoy it as much as we'd like.
The rhythm as such is catchy – not retro, not futuristic, a heavy club beat that will sure rock the dance floors on New Year's Eve. However, I'm not too crazy about such lyrics as "I'm heavy like first day period". Um, what is that, girl? Is that supposed to make the whole song more relatable? Because it doesn't work on me, really – and I'm not sure period talk belongs in a comeback track that's supposed to be "on fire", super sexy and classy. And speaking of sexy – I'm pretty sure the "sexy, sexy, sexy" chorus is repeated a little bit too often to actually work. On the whole, it's not a bad first effort – but I honestly hope the rest of the tracks on Janet's album are less 'processed' and more authentic. 'Cause we really do want the old Janet diva back. We've sure missed her!