Music legend Janet Jackson returned to perform on TV for the first time in seven years at the 2025 American Music Awards on Monday.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who turned 59 earlier this month, sang and danced to her hits “Someone to Call My Lover” and “All For You” in front of the star-studded audience at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Memorial Day before she was honored with the show’s Icon Award.
“I’m so honored. I’m so grateful,” Jackson said as she accepted the award, previously given to Rihanna in 2013 and Lionel Richie in 2022.
“I mean no disrespect in any way but I don’t consider myself an icon. My family, myself, our dream was to, it wasn’t ever to be famous. We always had a special love for music, dancing and singing. Fame came as a result of hard work and dedication,” she said. “My story, my family story, is truly an American story. This would have only happened in America. The only thing that I hope for is that I’ve been an inspiration to other and artists to follow their dreams and succeed.”
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Jackson, an 11-time American Music Award winner and a five-time Grammy winner, has been topping the charts for decades. The youngest of the 10 Jackson children, which included the late Michael Jackson, she grew up performing with her sisters and brothers.
To date, “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814” is the only album to generate seven top five-charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Someone To Call My Lover,” part of the seventh studio album “All For You,” although originally released in 2001, recently climbed back on the Billboard 100 after the track gained popularity on TikTok.
With hit songs like “All For You,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Nasty,” “Together Again” and “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, with many seeing it as an overdue honor.
In December 2024, Jackson launched a Vegas residency at Resorts World Theatre, and she’s set to return to the same stage for three more performances later this week.
Despite being one of the top-selling artists of all time, her career suffered from the fallout of the infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime appearance with Justin Timberlake, when her bare breast was briefly exposed. For years, Timberlake has been panned for not initially defending Jackson, who was widely blamed for what was referred to as a “wardrobe malfunction.” He issued a public apology in 2021.
