The tenth and youngest child of the Jackson family, she began her career with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes, and Fame. After signing a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982, she became a pop icon following the release of her third and fourth studio albums Control (1986) and Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover success in popular music.
In 1991, Jackson signed the first of two record-breaking multimillion-dollar contracts with Virgin Records, establishing her as one of the highest-paid artists in the industry. Prior to her first studio project with Virgin, she appeared in her first of several lead film roles in Poetic Justice (1993). Her two studio albums which followed, Janet (1993) and The Velvet Rope (1997), saw her develop a public image as a sex symbol. These records, along with their promotional music videos and live performances in concert tours, branded Jackson as one of the world's most erotic performers, garnering both criticism and praise. By the end of the 1990s, she was named by Billboard magazine as the second most successful recording artist of the decade after Mariah Carey. The release of her seventh studio album All for You in 2001 coincided with a celebration of her impact on the recording industry as the subject of the inaugural MTV Icon special.
The backlash from the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy resulted in an industry blacklisting under the direction of Les Moonves, then-CEO of CBS Corporation. Jackson subsequently experienced reduced radio airplay, televised promotion and sales figures from that point forward. After parting ways with Virgin Records, she released her tenth studio album Discipline (2008), her first and only album with Island Records. In 2015, she partnered with BMG Rights Management to launch her own record label, Rhythm Nation and released her eleventh studio album Unbreakable the same year. Since then she has continued to release music as an independent artist.
Having sold over 100 million records, Jackson is one of the world's best-selling music artists. She has amassed an extensive catalog, with singles such as "Nasty", "Rhythm Nation", "That's the Way Love Goes", "Together Again", and "All for You"; she holds the record for the most consecutive top-ten entries on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with 18. She is also the only artist in the history of the chart to have seven commercial singles from one album (Rhythm Nation 1814) peak within the top five positions. In 2008, Billboard placed her number seven on its list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, and in 2010 ranked her fifth among the "Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years". In December 2016, the magazine named her the second most successful dance club artist after Madonna. One of the world's most awarded artists, her accolades include five Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and eight Guinness World Records entries. In 2019, she was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jackson has been cited as an inspiration among numerous performers and credited with elevating a standard of sound, showmanship and sex appeal expected of pop stars.
I Know The Truth
Janet Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How did I slip and fall?
How did I throw half a lifetime away
Without any thought at all?
This should've been my time
It's over, it never began
Facing a world, for once not on my side
I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of shift in the stars
But I know the truth and it haunts me
It's flown just a little too far
I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
Oh, it's flown just a little too far, yes
People have faith in me
I think I once did too
I promise whoever has a hold on our lives
I'll see the bad times through
This should have been my time
It's over, it never began
Facing a world, for once not on my side
I simply turned and ran
I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of twist in my fate
I know the truth and it haunts me
I learned it a little too late
I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
I learned it a little too late
I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of twist in my fate
But I know the truth and it haunts me
I learned it a little (a little) too late
I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
Oh, oh, hey
I learned it a little too late
Yes I did (yeah)
In the song "I Know The Truth," Janet Jackson expresses regret about the choices she has made in life that led to a loss of time, opportunities, and personal growth. The opening lines suggest that she is bewildered by how she arrived at her current state, reflecting on how she "slipped and fell" and "threw half a lifetime away, without any thought at all." She had a chance to make something of herself, but she failed to take advantage of it, and now she finds herself alone.
Jackson recognizes that her time has passed, and she missed her moment to shine. She admits that she let her fear and self-doubt get the best of her, causing her to run away from her potential. She acknowledges that people had faith in her in the past, but she lost faith in herself.
Despite trying to shift the blame to external factors, Jackson ultimately takes responsibility for her failures, and this realization haunts and mocks her. She acknowledges that she learned the truth a little too late, accepting that she cannot go back in time to make up for the opportunities that she missed.
Overall, the song "I Know The Truth" is a reflection on the power of self-doubt and fear and the regret that comes from wasted potential and missed opportunities.
Line by Line Meaning
How have I come to this?
I'm wondering how I got to this point in my life.
How did I slip and fall?
I'm trying to figure out where I went wrong and how I ended up in this situation.
How did I throw half a lifetime away Without any thought at all?
I wasted so much of my life without even realizing it.
This should've been my time It's over, it never began Facing a world, for once not on my side I simply turned and ran
I had a chance to succeed, but I didn't take it. When things got tough, I gave up instead of facing the challenges head-on.
I try to blame it on fortune Some kind of twist in my fate But I know the truth and it haunts me I learned it a little too late
I want to believe that my failures were out of my control, but deep down I know that I made mistakes and that's what's haunting me now.
I know the truth and it mocks me I know the truth and it shocks me I learned it a little too late
I'm realizing that I knew the truth all along, but I didn't want to face it until it was too late.
People have faith in me I think I once did too I promise whoever has a hold on our lives I'll see the bad times through
I had people counting on me, and I believed in myself at one point, but I didn't follow through. Now, I want to make a promise to see things through, no matter how difficult they may be.
But I know the truth and it haunts me It's flown just a little too far
I'm struggling with the fact that I let things get away from me, and now it feels like it's too late to fix them.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Elton John, Tim Rice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ricky6935
She killed it!! You can pull up the footage of them recording it live in the studio! She is amazing ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@shawnjones4527
Vocally, Janet has never been better! For all those that doubt her singing abilities, take a listen!
@jamesrogala
I believe, at the time, Elton himself commented on how good a singer she'd become.
@Winnib7479
@Gordon Liddy she's always had a angelic voice , I recommend watching her sing live accompanied by just a pianist on The Rosie O'Donnell show, it was beautiful. It's on youtube.
@oscabote
@James Doe he did indeed. for ET.
@djohn515
I love her voice so bad she killed it on that song
@corinehenry6924
Lovely duet
The blend of their voices are just right
@veraluciapintorios5740
Maravilhoso!!!
@user-jy1ep5rs5s
The Queen of pop
Rien a dire
@LarsStJohn
Janet out sang Sir Elton John!