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Hear Janet Jackson's first single in six years

Hear Janet Jackson's first single in six years

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She's back with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

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With a new record label, full-length album, and world tour in the pipeline, Janet Jackson is readying one massive comeback — and she's got a new single to match. "No Sleeep" is Jackson's first piece of new music since 2009 single "Make Me," and it's her first collaboration with long-time producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in almost a decade. It's also the lead single from her as-yet-untitled new album, which should be out this fall; it'll be her first since 2008's Discipline.

Jackson balances mature sensuality and skilled songwriting

As far as typical comeback singles go, this one is pretty unassuming. It's slinky, stormy bedroom fare, with a vocal take from Janet that wouldn't sound out of place on her late brother's final album, 2001's underrated Invincible. The subtlety isn't surprising: Jackson's balance of mature, thought-provoking sensuality and skilled songwriting was the backbone of janet. and The Velvet Rope, the 1990s records that redefined her career and facilitated her escape from her family's shadow. "No Sleeep" also earns serious style points for managing to incorporate "fait accompli" into its chorus little more than a month after Mariah Carey tossed "Je ne comprends pas" into new single "Infinity." I'm enjoying your latest cyclical embrace of common French phrases, pop legends!

Jackson is releasing her upcoming album on Rhythm Nation, her new BMG subsidiary announced at the beginning of June. The label is named for her groundbreaking 1989 LP Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, which dominated charts and established a unique visual language for Jackson upon its release. She announced the North American dates of her upcoming Unbreakable World Tour, her first tour in four years, a few weeks later. 2015's already been a busy year for Jackson — here's hoping she can return to the form that made her a cultural icon.