The 90's Billboard #1s Rate: 1990-1994 - AND WE ARE DONE

Both of these are works of pure evil.

 

So you're not looking forward to her (potentially) representing Denmark at Eurovision this year I take it?

 

This has to happen. Is it real?

 

She's in the running!

 

I like Rob Thomas vocals, like, very much!

And I'm team Whigfield for Denmark on Eurovision 2018 too! Bring a pop sis, pls!

 

Fine with her. Sexy Eyes and Think of You were bops. I just hate Saturday Night. And also Another Day.

 

I can't fathom why anyone, whether they've never seen an episode of Friends or are watching for the 817th time courtesy of Netflix, would want to listen to that song in 2018. I'm in the midst of a full rewatch myself and have to hit fast forward every time.

 

Because it works as a minute long theme song? It doesn't work as a three-and-a-half-minute song, but it's fun as a theme song.

 

Oh I meant the full song, should probably have been clearer. And as a theme song it's mostly fine, but I've burned through something like 160 episodes since it arrived on Netflix. Everything has its limits.

 

I am team @Ray with Macarena. Wouldn't have gotten a 10 from me at the time but after the other insufferable novelty songs we have had over the years (Lou Bega, Crazy Frog, Bob The Builder) I have realised it is Art!

 

I'm not really sold on the idea that there's wide clear space between Macarena and Mambo No 5.

I do, however, have to give Lou Bega props for having the brass neck to release I Got A Girl as the follow up single. An even more shameless rehash than Rednex's Old Pop In An Oak, and that's saying something.

 

Glad to see discussion remains lively... but don't get too excited, you don't get to 11 "Tubthumping" yet! We've got eliminations to get on with!









































...Oh God, not this again... or indeed, this...

29. Again - Janet Jackson



Average: 7.517
Highest score: 6 x 10 (@playboy69 , @berserkboi , @GimmeWork , @soratami , @Petty Mayonnaise , @Conan )
Lowest score: 1 x 2 (@Jeffo )
Weeks at #1: 2 consecutive Hot 100, 4 consecutive airplay
Year-End Hot 100: #74 (1993), #12 (1994)

Well, it seems as if PopJustice went full WHERE THE BOPS THO when it came to Ms. Jackson, because her second song to go is also a ballad! Which is a shame, because “Again” is another fine bit of proof that Janet could do more than just the dance jams for which she's best remembered. (And since it's the 90's, of course it was attached to a soundtrack! Never seen Poetic Justice – apparently, it's not very good, but Janet's performance was not bad. Anyone here seen it?) For one thing, “Again” is proof positive, especially when it's positioned against the overheated power ballads that were the standards of this era, that sometimes less can be more. Just a beautifully airy and expansive piano melody, gorgeous sweeping orchestration, and pure emotion from Janet. Even in the moments where the big cinematic strings swell and threaten to swamp the song, Jam and Lewis manage to pull things back such that it never feels too bombastic or “too much”, as the arrangements are done with care and delicacy. This is exemplified by the little tinges of flute in the background of the song add a lovely, almost pastoral touch to the song, and the occasional entrance of the horns, just there to add a little extra lift and then go rather than take things over entirely. Sure, perhaps the lyrics are a little syrupy and sentimental, but what might have been bothersome in another situation isn't here, thanks to another finely tuned vocal performance from Janet. She's my prime example of an artist who may not have the most powerful of voices, but knows exactly how to use it properly, with a particularly lovely light, sweet tone here. She also knows how to imbue it with every bit of emotion that she can muster, the last, almost desperate “Cause I've fallen in love with you again” being a case in point. Hell, I'll take that over any number of technically perfect voices any day.

Mina (8.5) - Definitely my favorite of the Janet Jackson songs in the rate. (...Sorry!)

DJHazey (6) - At least it's better than the other songs I've heard from her so far in this rate. (It is a dangerous game that you play here, my friend.)

KingBruno (5.5) - This is for single-use. (Per day.)

Empty Shoebox (3) - There's a moment in this song where it almost lifts itself out of mediocrity (after second verse / chorus. Does this song have a chorus? I don't think it does. You might. Answers on a postcard to Live and Kicking, PO Box 8181, London W12 6LA), but that's quickly banished and replaced with the usual. Shame. (It definitely has a chorus! Wait, this isn't a postcard, shit.)

Rooneyboy (6.5) - A watered down Let’s Wait Awhile (Part 2). (Don't really see it myself. Eh.)

londonrain (5) - Oh, for the days when a song this uncomplicated could make it to #1. It’s not my favourite Janet ballad (that would be Everytime) but it still sounds great all these years later. The vulnerability in her voice towards the end of the song is really something special. (That's the thing, it sounds simple, but there's all these subtleties going on in the background with the orchestration... I love that kind of thing.)

GimmeWork (10) - Probably my favorite Janet ballad of all time.

ohnoitsnathan (8) - Nice.

dancingwithmyself (7.5) - The French version is too lovely. (Ooh, I'm gonna have to check that out!)

WowWowWowWow (8) - For whatever reason this one doesn't stick with me as much as some of the others. Maybe if I had ever seen Poetic Justice I would feel differently! (I dunno, that 31% on Rotten Tomatoes ain't convincing me...)

berserkboi (10) - This rate is making me realise how much I actually love Janet Jackson’s music! What an understated beautiful song, instrumental and soft vocals go so fantastically together! It is so close to making me re-think my 11! (Let me just say, I'm glad you didn't re-think your 11.)

mung_bean (8) - This is so different from what I was expecting from her based on my limited experience. Better vocals than I was led to believe she was capable of too. (Who misled you like that?! I want names!)

Filippa (8) - I love this song. Her voice is so sweet, only Janet has this sweetness in her voice. I can lose myself in the melody. But I really don’t like the lyrics. Go send him to hell, girl! He made you cry and most certainly he will again … (Uh oh, she broke the new rules! That's a paddlin'!)



Yeah, Janet is not impressed with this one. But take heart, PopJustice. The next elimination won't be from one of our Big Five (now down to a Big Four with Paula's departure). What will it be? Stay tuned...​

 

Haha, Bev's "breathy" vocal style is probably an acquired taste anyway...I suppose as a #straightladofpopjustice, a lovely lady gasping in my ear is not a wholly unpleasant sensation, but she did rather overdo it sometimes.

 

Leave it to the Paula stan to tank the other girls

 

Again is very meh. But then more meh from Janet would follow as the decade wore on. Rhythm Nation suddenly felt like a long long time ago.

 

@Ironheade - I am hoping your comment about my 11 means I was somehow responsible for it trouncing the Bison at the final hurdle in the top 2!!

 

What about this version of Another Day? In some countries like mine, that was the lead edit instead of the Saturday Night 2.0.

Again is ok-ish, I can take it or leave it. Never was that keen on Janet Jackson's balladry repertoir.

 

Still think at least two Janet songs will make the top 10, but I expected this to do better. At the very least I thought Black Cat would go first.

Interested to know if anyone has seen Poetic Justice - consensus at the time seemed to be that her performance was good but the film wasn't.

 

How could you fail me so, @Jeffo.

I didn't write anything about 'Again'? Well. I can actually believe I didn't. It's kind of... well. Bland. My least favourite among 49 singles from janet.

 

That was the actual 'Live and Kicking' address at one point by the way. I checked.