Janet
Jackson
will
kick
off
her
long-awaited
“Rock
Witchu
Tour”
Sept.
10
in
Vancouver,
her
first
tour
in
more
than
seven
years.
Jackson
talked
to
the
Blade
today
about
what
fans
can
expect.
“This
show
is
for
the
fans,”
she
said,
adding
that
she
will
perform
about
30
tracks
during
the
two-hour
show.
“It’s
a
nice
mix
from
‘Discipline’
and
all
the
other
albums.”
She
noted
that
the
show
is
focused
on
dance
tracks
and
that
she
hopes
to
give
concertgoers
an
escape
from
their
problems,
citing
the
current
state
of
the
economy.
“It’s
a
big
show,”
she
said,
“a
completely
different
show.
It’s
very
much
upbeat.
The
kids
say
it
shouldn’t
be
called
the
‘Rock
Witchu
Tour,’
it
should
be
called
the
‘History
of
Janet
Tour.’”
As
for
the
vibe
and
style
of
the
set,
Jackson
said
she’s
intrigued
by
the
future
so
the
set
design
will
incorporate
futuristic
elements.
Her
costumes
will
be
more
elaborate
than
in
the
past.
So
far,
24
North
American
dates
have
been
announced,
but
Jackson
said
that
more
U.S.
dates
will
be
announced
soon
and
that
she’s
in
talks
to
take
the
tour
all
over
the
world,
including
possibly
Europe,
Asia,
Australia,
Russia
and
the
Middle
East.
The
show
will
be
recorded,
she
said,
possibly
for
a
television
broadcast,
then
later
packaged
with
older
tours
and
material
for
sale.
Specifically,
she
mentioned
that
her
1990
“Rhythm
Nation
Tour”
was
recorded
in
High
Definition,
but
never
released
to
the
public.
“When
I
did
‘Rhythm
Nation’
in
Japan,
I
recorded
the
show
in
HD
back
then
and
they
were
trying
to
explain
to
me
what
HD
was
—
that
was
1990,”
she
said.
“I’m
assuming
I
was
the
first
person
to
do
this
in
concert.
It
trips
me
out
to
see
HD
catch
on
so
many
years
later.
We’re
trying
to
put
a
nice
package
together
for
the
fans.”
Jackson
urged
fans
not
to
believe
online
rumors
about
her
set
list.
One
purported
list
leaked
by
blogger
Perez
Hilton
was
a
very
early
version
and
“not
the
final
list,”
she
said.
LL
Cool
J
will
open
the
show
in
select
cities
and
Jackson
praised
him
as
an
“icon
in
his
own
right.”
“He’s
legendary
when
it
comes
to
what
he
does,”
she
said.
“He
has
a
great
body
of
work
and
I
love
his
new
single;
he’s
an
entertainer.
I
wanted
someone
else
who
could
really
entertain
the
people
and
he’s
a
sweet
guy.”
Her
last
album
“Discipline”
opened
at
No.
1
and
generated
two
singles,
“Feedback”
and
“Rock
With
You,”
but
a
reported
dispute
with
record
label
Island
Def
Jam
brought
a
halt
to
promotions
for
the
project.
Jackson
said
she
wasn’t
sure
if
she
would
work
with
IDJ
again,
but
confirmed
there
will
be
no
further
singles
released
from
the
album.
But
that
doesn’t
mean
there
won’t
be
a
new
Janet
single
in
the
near
future.
“I
may
just
cut
something
new
and
throw
it
out
there
while
I’m
on
the
road,”
she
said.
And
which
acts
does
Janet
like
to
see
perform
live?
She
cites
Prince,
The
Time
and
Jill
Scott
as
her
favorites,
as
well
as
her
brothers.
“Jill
Scott
puts
on
such
a
beautiful
show
and
it
was
very
inspirational
to
me,”
she
said.
The
“Rock
Witchu
Tour”
marks
a
long-stalled
return
to
touring.
Jackson
said
she
was
in
rehearsals
for
a
tour
two
years
ago
in
Atlanta
while
filming
Tyler
Perry’s
“Why
Did
I
Get
Married,”
but
that
IDJ
asked
her
to
postpone
it
and
record
a
new
album,
which
she
did.
“We
were
so
excited
to
go
out
last
time,”
she
said.
“The
kids
were
so
excited,
it
was
sad
—
we
had
our
crying
session.”
This
time
around,
however,
everything
fell
into
place
and
Jackson
said
she’s
developed
a
close-knit
relationship
with
the
“kids”
(her
dancers)
and
the
rest
of
the
team
responsible
for
the
show.
“I’m
very
family-oriented
so
there’s
that
connection
that
has
to
be
there
first,”
Jackson
said.
“There’s
such
a
wonderful
group
of
people.
Every
tour
I’ve
done
the
group
has
gotten
better
and
better.
This
is
the
closest
group
I’ve
ever
had.”
Announced
dates
for
the
“Rock
Witchu
Tour”
Sept.
10
—
Vancouver,
BC
(General
Motors
Place)
Sept.
13
—
Oakland,
CA
(Oracle
Arena)
Sept.
17
—
Los
Angeles,
CA
(Staples
Center)
Sept.
19
—
Las
Vegas,
NV
(Mandalay
Bay
Events
Center)
Sept.
20
—
San
Diego,
CA
(San
Diego
Sports
Arena)
Sept.
25
—
Chicago,
IL
(Allstate
Arena)
Sept.
27
—
Detroit,
MI
(Palace
Of
Auburn
Hills)
Sept.
28
—
Toronto,
ON
(Air
Canada
Centre)
Sept.
29
—
Montreal,
QC
(Bell
Centre)
Oct.
1
—
Boston,
MA
(TD
Banknorth
Garden)
Oct.
2
—
Philadelphia,
PA
(Wachovia
Center)
Oct.
4
—
Greensboro,
NC
(Greensboro
Coliseum
Complex)
Oct.
5
—
Atlanta,
GA
(Philips
Arena)
Oct.
7
—
Fort
Lauderdale,
FL
(BankAtlantic
Center)
Oct.
11
—
Uncasville,
CT
(Mohegan
Sun
Arena)
Oct.
13
—
Verona,
NY
(Turning
Stone
Resort
&
Casino)
Oct.
15
—
Washington,
DC
(Verizon
Center)
Oct.
16
—
New
York,
NY
(Madison
Square
Garden)
Oct.
17
—
East
Rutherford,
NJ
(Izod
Center)
Oct.
21
—
Houston,
TX
(Toyota
Center)
Oct.
22
—
Dallas,
TX
(American
Airlines
Center)
Oct.
24
—
Kansas
City,
MO
(Sprint
Center)
Oct.
25
—
Memphis,
TN
(Fed-Ex
Forum)
Oct.
26
—
Tulsa,
OK
(BOK
Center)
