Janet Jackson has confirmed that she'll be releasing her first new album since 2008 this fall, via BMG and her own newly-formed record label, Rhythm Nation. No other details, such as the release date for a first single, have been announced yet.
It's tough to compare what kind of reception a new album from Jackson might receive in 2015, considering the distance from her last release, but Discipline debuted on top during 2008, selling 181,000 copies. Jackson would be wise not to expect such high sales totals in terms of actual albums (as most performers have had to deal with lower LP sales as a result of the continued rise of streaming and downloads), but a good single should propel those latter figures as well. "Feedback," the first single released for that last album, was dropped about three months prior to the album itself. Therefore it'd be reasonable to look for a new single from Janet in the next few months.
According to the press release from Jackson's own site, "with Rhythm Nation Janet Jackson becomes arguably the first female African-American recording artist to form her own record label." We're not going to investigate the legitimacy of those claims at the moment, but the release went on to declare that following the new jackson album, Rhythm Nation will look to both sign new talent and connect with established performers looking for a new home.
Jackson has six no. 1 albums to her name, and she's looking to keep moving up in the history books with this year's release. Nothing's for sure for established female pop stars however. Many were shocked when the soundtrack from Empire managed to trump Madonna's Rebel Heart on the Billboard 200 this year when the pair debuted during the same week.
