uh! albums like control and rhythm nation helped her sell more than 100 million records worldwide. # we are a part of the rhythm nation... her career has had its ups and downs but she is currently in the middle of the most successful tour of her life. everybody jump! and we caught up with janet backstage in new york... i don't do a lot of interviews. ..to take an exclusive look at her life in the spotlight. five, four, three, two, one. janet jackson, how are you? i'm well, thank you. we're a little bit tired but we're well. because you've performed a lot this week — like, this is, i think — i counted this up — show 73. i have no idea. i just know that we just came off of three in a row but two of those three

in a rows, they were outdoor venues and it was very hot, very humid. # that's the way love goes... how do you stay cool? like, do you have somebody backstage with a wet towel... laughs. ice in a ziploc bag for my neck. and then, they put a fan backstage, right off the stage, where i normally stand. # 0h, sugar don't you hurry... when you've been on the road for that long, doing the same show, how do you keep it fresh and interesting for yourself? like, do you have little in—jokes with the dancers or moments in the show that you look forward to? of course — those are my favourite parts. i've really noticed that — the relationship you have with the dancers and the band. you've been posting videos online of you going bowling... i'm a voyeur. i like watching. ..and at cook—outs. yeah. that's quite... with the crew. yeah. that's a really important thing

for the show, i guess. how do you foster that relationship with people? i've never played it. oh, you never? ever in my life. i think it's important. i think that relationship, how you get along, it exudes — i mean, it shows itself onstage, the camaraderie, the closeness, the bond that you have, onstage. it — offstage, it shows onstage. and i'm thankful that with every tour that i've done, it's been a wonderful group and some of them have been with me for a really long time, very long time. so, it's nice. and i love being withjust the boys cos i feel really at home. growing up, i was always with my brothers way more than my sisters, so, ifeel very, very, very at home. but you're still the boss, right? that's what they say. # i miss you much. # i really miss you much.

throughout your career, you've always danced in flat shoes. you never dance in heels. why is that? i feel more in control of my body, my movement. i grew up a tomboy, so i'm used to having sneakers and flats and i was never the girl to wear heels. hi, janet! hey! did anyone teach you how to dance or did you learn yourself? no, i taught myself. you didn't have formal lessons? no, ididn�*t. why didn't i? yes! sighs. well, mother tried, when i was very little, putting me in ballet. and, i mean, i've got a booty. so, they would say — she would say that i'm not tucking my butt enough, and she hit me — i was young, i was little. and so, mother took me out. and then, years later, when i was — i think i was around 14 because i was doing diff�*rent strokes at the time — she put me into a private class. i tried it again. it was once again short—lived.

i was about to shoot an episode of diff�* rent strokes and i remember telling my instructor that, my teacher, and he got a little too close to me and i felt very, very uncomfortable. and i remember coming out of the class and telling my mother, telling mother, and she said, "that's it. "you're not going back." and i never — i never wanted to take...again after that. so, i never really studied. but it's great that she protected you, like, in both of those situations. yep. well, yeah, she's mother. she's my mother. she's a — i mean, ifeel she's supposed to, and she did — and, i mean, rightfully so. i didn't go back, i didn't feel comfortable. so, but we always danced at home. so, i pretty much watched a lot of different dancers�* work on television and films, and that's where i learned. ok, thanks very much for your question. - i know on monday, you were down at the disco mix championships i at the albert hall,

weren't you? - yes. who did you watch? what did you study? oh, it was musicals. cyd charisse i loved. well, you danced with cyd charisse in the alright video. yeah, idid. alright by janet jackson plays. i did the nicholas brothers, and i danced with them when i was eight years old as well. a lot of these people i met when i was a kid, too. and so, it was a — what a childhood, really. # that's when we get to it. # close our eyes, feel our way through it. # i can't wait to groove ya. # cos you sure know how to move it. # you've made love to my mind... but when you were a child, you didn't want to be a singer or a dancer or even an actress, i think — you wanted to be a horse racing jockey. where did that ambition come from? i fell in love with horses.

i started riding when i was five. man, and the horses were — my brothers took me horse riding. the horses were dirty and i rubbed my eyes and i came home, i had welts all over me. so, i thought i was allergic to horses but it never stopped me from going. do you still ride now? it's been so long since i've ridden and i keep telling myself i'm going to get back into it. i still have a love for it. # and why two plus makes four now, now, now... so, was there a moment, then, when you went, "i want to make music," or was itjust, kind of this is the family business and you're expected to? well, i don't — i started when i was seven. i don't ever remember being asked, i just remember doing it. and whoever thought it was a great idea, i can't imagine what made them think it was a great idea cos i was really, really shy as a kid. but i opened up when i got onstage.

as far as making music, we had a studio at home growing up and whatever time of night, day — couldn't sleep at night, you'd go in the studio and you'd just create music, put something down if you had an idea. i had written my first song when i was nine years old. it was called fantasy. oh, my god. yeah. oh, my god! do you still remember it? can you sing it? no, i don't. laughs. # dee—dee—da—dee—da, dee—dee—da—dee—da. # dee—dee—da—dee—da. # fantasy... something like that. that's good! something like that. that's all i remember of it. i laid down the drum track. i did the backgrounds, i played everything on it, and i sang on it. came home from school and i hear the song that i had just put down being played. i was so embarrassed. i was so embarrassed cos a few of my brothers were listening. mike was listening to it, i think randy was listening to it, my father was listening to it.

and then my father said, "you're going to sing." right. and i said, "no, no, no — idon�*t want to sing. "i want to go to the college and study business law." and he said no. and when your dad decided something, you couldn't deny him, right? it's kind of hard cos he — i mean, look at where he led my brothers, you know? so, isaid, "0k, i'llgive ita go." # dream street, dream street. # will it all come true? # will it alljust fade away? and you did two albums. i mean, they actually sold — like, by today's standards, they sold a couple of 100,000 copies, which people would be very covetous of now, right? but back then, i guess they weren't seen as heading in the right direction. and you essentially took control of your career. that's where the name of your third album comes from. yeah. i said, "ok, i'm going to give this thing one more chance. "if this doesn't work this time, i'm..." business law it is! yeah.

this is a story about control. my control. control of what i say and control of what i do. and this time, i'm going to do it my way. i hope you enjoy this as much as i do. are we ready? and that's when you went to minneapolis? yes. i said i was going to try this one more time. i went with a friend, and i had knownjimmy and terry from doing different award shows. this isjimmyjam and terry lewis, who you've co—written most of your hits with. jimmyjam and terry — yeah. and they were asked if they could work with anybody on the roster of a&m, who would it be? and they both said me. and quite honestly, i don't think anybody cared we were making a record. the good part of it was we were totally left alone. there was no, you know, people going, "oh, you should

"do this," or input. we just were kind of working in a nice little vacuum, which was great. # when i was 17, i did what people told me. # did what my father said and let my mother mould me. # but that was long ago. # i'm in... # control... is the story of that album that they kind of interrogated you on what was going on in your life and then helped you draw out the lyrics from those experiences? yeah, they did. i mean, they asked me about everything and i opened up to them. i enjoyed their company. # i've got my own mind. # want to make my own decisions. # when it has to do with my life. # i'm gonna be the one who's in control... didn't they get you drunk on ice cream? oh, yeah!

there was an ice cream called rum something, and i didn't know that — i didn't know that it had real rum in it cos i really didn't drink. so, did that ice cream help some of the lyrics come out? were you more forthcoming? in telling my story... yeah. ..with them, yes. and probably, ifelt a little woozy in the head. i wasn't like an idiot, i should say, tripping and stumbling over myself. but, yeah, it did. and i enjoyed their company — i mean, they made me feel very relaxed. and in those recording sessions, you've come up with a line that stuck with you through your whole career. no, my first name ain't baby. miss jackson if you're nasty. "my first name ain't baby. "it's janet. "miss jackson if. yeah. tell me about that moment, cos you must have known when that came out — this is gold.

what you doing after the movie? stop! what? gasping. give me a beat! obviously, you want to create something that would speak to the people but it was just about going in and doing something that was fun and that you loved and wanted to listen to yourself. that whole nasty that i had moved from one hotel to another hotel, ithink, downtown, and instead of driving there, cos it was a few blocks, we walked, and these guys started harassing my friend and i. and i was really, really bothered and really upset, so that's how the whole song nasty came about. # huh! will this one do? uh—huh, i know, sing. # nasty, nasty boys. # don't mean a thing... and that whole album is about being assertive and standing up for yourself. was that something you were experiencing, i guess, coming into your 205? the album, i think it came out

when i was 19 or 18? something, somewhere around there. coming into my own, becoming an adult, the challenges. just the difficulty it may have, it can be, at times. # what have you done for me lately? # ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah. i think it's a difficult thing in this industry, to be — particularly in the �*80s — an assertive woman. # ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah... what were the barriers you came up against? oh, god. in the industry, really, more so than anything. being told no — more than once. different times. saying why? because you're — you know, you're — "you're a girl — you can't do that. "girls don't do that." what sort of thing? you know, i can't even — honestly, i put it out of my head, i really did, but being told that you can't do that, you know,

"that's something that guys do. "girls don't do that." and it's like, "well, why not?" it's like, "well, somebody�*s gotta." well, what's wrong with trying it? let's just try it and see. see what happens. but, eventually, you stick in there long enough, you find a way to get your way. five. four. three. two. one. music starts. rhythm nation was the album that followed control and on that, lyrically, you take another kind of left—hand turn and you're talking about social injustice, about the education system, there's a song there that talks about school shootings and there's a hope within that record that things will improve. do you think, looking back now, are you discouraged that we're still talking about the same issues? it's crazy, isn't it? it's — it's sad. and evenjust thinking about a lyric in scream.

# oh, my god, can't believe what i saw. # as i turned on the tv this evening. # i was disgusted by all the injustice. and it's, it's — it's still today. isn't it? i mean, there are messages right away. can you tell me about that? uh, it's — we're — we're talking about drugs, homeless, about the children being the future and by them being the future, the kids of today are going to have to suffer tomorrow if we don't try to change. join together and try to change. a lot that we're — that we are going through. have we made some strides? yeah, i think we definitely have. but there's still so much further to go. cut! 0k. beeping. # m-i-s-s, m-i-s-s... you were the first woman to be nominated for producer of the year at the grammys with that album, which is another kind of big stride that you think should've happened

20, 30 years before. a long time ago, right? a long time ago. like i said, there's so much more we need to do in so many different areas but yet, you know, baby steps. we'll get there. you still have that hope? of course. you have to. # that's the way love goes. # like a moth to a flame burned by the fire. # that's the way, that's the way. # that's the way love goes. # my love is blind. # can't you see my desire? # that's the way, that's the way. # that's the way love goes. after rhythm nation, you go to the janet era, which is a much more sensual, softer side of you. was that something that you found difficult to express in public? because i guess you go from let's wait awhile, which is a chastity anthem... # let's take it slow.

# when we get to... i remember a journalist back then asking me, "well, what happened? "you said, �*let�*s wait awhile�*." and i said, "i'm 27. "how long do you want me to wait?" and i mean, that's — that's what i meant at the time. # 0oh... # that's the way love goes... and i was coming into my own in a different way and growing up, even more so, and always speaking about, writing about what was going on in my life at that moment, so that's what that album was about. and you know, really trying to work on myself, trying to get over some of these insecurities of — of, you know, being so self—conscious of how i look, my body and things like that. that's a whole �*nother story.

you said earlier that you did hear no a lot from the record industry and i wondered if those songs where you are being more sexually explicit, was one of those times when you got pushed back because prince and rickjames had done that in r&b, but not a female r&b artist. one of the songs that when you talk about them saying no to was together again. # there are times when i look above and beyond. # there are times when i feel your love around me, baby... i think it was because of the era of aids and all that was surrounding it. but, you know, i had lost a lot of friends and a lot of people that i knew to it and i — i wanted to — to write. it was heavily on my mind. i wrote — i actually wrote that here in new york! # everywhere i go, every smile i see. # i know you are there smiling back at me. # dancing in moonlight, i know you are free. # cos i can see your star

shining down on me... so, i used to sleep with a tape recorder next to my bed all the time, just to put melodies down that i might dream, or a riff of something, and then go back to sleep. at least i had it. but i think it was into a tape recorder for together again. and it has a real new york feel, that song. that house. yeah, that house club music. # dream about us together again. # what i want — us togetheragain, baby. # i know we'll be together again cos... let me just quickly ask you about your acting career because is it true that in your very first audition for good times, you had to cry on demand? yeah. and you've always chosen roles that are quite difficult. like, you're not doing light, fluffy stuff. penny in good times was a victim of domestic abuse, similar story for your

character in why did i get married too? what draws you to those roles? i don't know. there's something about it thatjust speaks to me — the depth of it and the — i mean, the sadness of this child and what she's going through, which no child — no child — should ever go through, should ever experience. you want me crazy?! wait, wait, wait... i'll show you crazy! wait, patricia! come on! i'll show you! i'll give you crazy! waita minute... what are you...? patricia, wait... and then with why did i get married?, and what she was dealing with in her relationship. god knows i've — how many times have i been married now? three times, i think? what would you say? experience in that area is as well for me with why did i get married? for sure. # look around. # we're made for now, not tomorrow. # made for now... even though if i were to do anotherfilm, i would love to do something a little bit more up.

honestly, an action film, to be quite honest. yeah. and i told my father i would — the next film that i would do would be an action film, i promised him that. have you been approached by any of the superhero franchises? oh, my god. when i was getting ready to do the janet tour, i was actually — we were already in. bryan singer came to me cos he wanted me to play storm but i couldn't, and that — that was the character that i used to collect flash cards, so i loved storm. unfortunately, i couldn't cos i had already committed to the janet tour. # i gotta get someone to call my lover. # yeah, baby, come on. # all right, baby, come and pass my way. # i've got to get someone to call my lover... tell me a bit about being a mum. youi’ son is seven 110w. how is that? the most beautiful thing. i'm so thankful god allowed me to — to have this experience,

this journey in my life, and i love every single minute of it. # b—bass, b—bass. # bass b—b—b—bass. .. # b—bass... so, the tour is coming to europe and you still do some of the dance routines from those old videos. do people in the audience do them back at you? are you kidding me? yes! i see them doing miss you much. i see them doing a lot of stuff, and also dressed like me. they'll have their own if outfit made up or scream or together again. yeah. i can only do the one, which is just the countdown. the rhythm nation? yeah. that one, too. shall we do it together? yeah. go on. five. four. three. two. 0ne. rhythm nation starts and you sing scream every night.

that must be very emotional, to celebrate your brother in that way. yeah, yeah. you know, it's listening to him every night sing and remembering us — once again, in new york. mike and i wrote that song in his apartment in new york. and then, we recorded it in the studio in minneapolis. but that whole journey and going back to that time and then, listening to him sing it and listening to him sing it when we were working on it and the emotion and what he was going through at that time and just me being his little sister, always being by his side and being that support system, you know what i mean? and that's — that's always been my role. # oh, oh, oh, oh... and last question. this set list spans five decades of music. what do you learn about your career and what you've given to music by putting a set

list like that together? what have i learned about my career? i'm just thankful. i'm thankful that god has allowed me to do this for as long as i have, that people are still interested in seeing me do this, that i'm still able to do this. i'm just very thankful. # it's all for you. # if you really want it. # it's all for you. # if you say you need it... thank you so much for all of your time. it's been really enlightening and fascinating to hear all of those stories. well, thank you. enjoy the show tonight. i hope you do. i'm going to. you have to let me know what you think. i will. will i see you after? if you'll have me. yeah, maybe we could take another picture. that'll be great. 0k. yeah.

hello there. the weekend started with some more showers around but those showers have moved away now and for the next few days at least, we can look forward to some dry weather and some sunshine. temperatures are going to be rising, particularly across england and wales. the reason for the change in the weather? well, high pressure that's building across the uk, giving us the clear skies overnight. it will be a little chilly first thing on sunday morning. it'll warm up quickly, though, in the sunshine. some cloud will affect the far north—west of scotland, otherwise it's just a bit of fair weather cloud bubbling up. not much of that, really. lots of sunshine to come and the winds will be quite light. a gentle southerly breeze developing. some sea breezes are possible but it's going to be a warmer

day on sunday than it was on saturday. two degrees warmer generally for scotland and northern ireland and for many parts of england and wales, temperatures will be four degrees higher than they were on saturday. the high pressure is still around as we move into monday, particularly across england and wales. there is this weather front now approaching the northwest. it does mean the sunnier skies will be for england and wales. the far north of england, more especially scotland and northern ireland, will see more cloud and breeze. that weather front bringing a little bit of rain. but many places will be dry, some sunshine coming through. temperatures in scotland and northern ireland aren't going to change too much — it's across england and wales that the heat will be building. we could be getting close to 30 degrees in the southeast on monday afternoon. and generally across western parts of europe, temperatures are on the rise. that heat is pushing up from iberia into paris for the olympics as well, and also across the uk. those temperatures rising quickly again for england and wales on tuesday. could be over 30 degrees across the southeast of england. now, temperatures aren't going to be as high for scotland

and northern ireland — 20—21 degrees quite widely. there will be a bit more cloud around here but still some sunshine. it looks like being dry. plenty of sunshine for england and wales. there is more cloud, though, threatening to move from northern france across the channel, maybe bringing one or two showers. and this is where things start to change, really, because the pressure is going to be falling as we head into wednesday. some heavy showers moving up from the south, heading northwards overnight. and then, this is when the weather changes. we've got showers and more cloud and slightly lower temperatures, i think, through thursday and friday but the start of the week is going to be very warm and hot in places.

live from washington, this is bbc news. dozens of projectiles are fired towards northern israel. at least 12 people are killed in a town in the israeli—occupied golan heights. donald trump says he will carry on holding outdoor rallies, despite advice not to from the us secret service. venezuelans are preparing for what could be the most consequential presidential election in more than a decade.

hello, i'm carl nasman. un officials in lebanon have urged restraint along the lebanese—israeli border after a rocket attack in the israeli—occupied golan heights. at least 12 people were killed and many others injured when a rocket hit a soccer field in the town of majdal shams. many of the casualties are thought to have been children who were playing at the time. the israeli military described the attack as the deadliest in the area since 7 october and blames hezbollah, a lebanese armed group. hezbollah has denied responsibility. israel's foreign affairs minister, israel katz, said the country is approaching a moment of all—out war with hezbollah. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is flying back early from his trip to the us and has warned that hezbollah will pay a heavy price. mark lowen sent this report. sirens early evening in the israeli—occupied golan heights, and the warning of an incoming threat about to become deadly and dangerous.