Janet Jackson’s 1997 album, The Velvet Rope saw the megastar go in a diferent direction, one that not everyone loved because of a deinite pro-gay stance. Its second single, the stadium-sized queer anthem, ‘Together Again’, about friends who died from Aids-related illnesses, would go on to become one of her biggest hits.

Words by Conor Behan.

By 1997 Janet Jackson was one of pop’s biggest megastars. In the mid ’80s she’d broken out of the shadow of her brother Michael and transformed her safe child-star image into one of a woman handling her own destiny. Blockbuster albums like Control and Rhythm Nation put her in the realm of Madonna, Prince and George Michael. Like them she was a star who used innovative music videos, sleek live choreography and brilliantlycrafted songs to cement her legacy.

Jackson wasn’t just a pop superstar; she was big business investment too. In 1992 she signed a then-unprecedented $40million deal with Virgin Records. In 1996 she signed a new deal with Virgin for a four-album deal worth $80 million.

The first album from that deal, The Velvet Rope was a gamble, with Jackson pushing the boundaries, and opening up about everything from queer sexuality and depression, to themes of S&M and domestic abuse. It didn’t go down well with some.

The album’s lead single ‘Got ‘Til It’s Gone’ was a sophisitcated hip-hop track featuring Q-Tip and a clever reworking of a sample from Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. It failed to meet the high-charting standards of previous lead singles, and while the album debuted well, it sold significantly less than 1993’s blockbuster Janet.

Then, toward the end of 1997, the album’s second single, ‘Together Again’, hit the airwaves.

At first listen it’s a frothy dance-pop number, more accessible than the moody interviews during the intial press onslaught for the album. But a close read of the lyrics show a song filled with melancholy, written it in tribute to friends of hers who had died of Aids-related ilnesses.

She told MTV’s John Norris: “I wanted to do a song that was uplifting, rejoiceful – that would reflect their personalities. I do believe that it doesn’t just end here. That they’ve gone into another life. And that I will see them again.”

Jackson was inspired by disco hits of yesteryear, telling the New York Daily News: “I wanted something that sounded like Donna Summer, that had the melody that makes you feel good inside and that had the character of my friends who passed away from Aids.”

The song struck an instant chord. It’s beautifully realised mix of clear, house-inspired beats and Jackson’s pleading and earnest vocal made it a song both easy to dance to and one laced with sadness. It reflected both the joy queer people find on the dancefloor and the reasons they go there, to escape trauma and rejection.

It wasn’t just on this single that Jackson was tackling queer themes, however. The Velvet Rope unapolagetically discussed issues affecting the LGBT+ community. On ‘Free Xone’ Jackson challenged homophobia in daily life and praised gay relationships with the declaration “One rule: no rules”.

“I’m singing about how homophobia, or any form of intolerance, injures the soul,” Jackson said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I’m singing about accepting yourself and living in a world – a free zone – where the world accepts you.”

Elsewhere on the album, Jackson included an interlude where she has phone sex with a female friend and a cover of Rod Stewart’s ‘Tonight’s the Night’, in which she didn’t swap out the female pronouns. It raised eyebrows, but Jackson was unapolgetic, telling MTV: “A lot of people have been asking, am I gay? What does it matter? Is it gonna change the way you view me? Which is a very sad thing. I’m still the same person. No different. What difference does it make?”

And while the album tackled Jackson’s interest in S&M and elsewhere included a raw and unflinching look at abusive relationships, it was the support for LGBT+ topics that was met with resistance.

In a 2008 interview with LGBT+ website NewNowNext Jackson confessed that ‘Together Again’ had been a controversial song to record for some executives. “I lost a lot of friends and people that I worked with to this disease,” she said. “I caught drama for that too. Before I wrote the song, I told some of the people at the label the concept for the song, and they didn’t think it was a good idea.”

Jackson however, remained undeterred. “You know religious groups have been upset with me for certain songs on the album, but it’s not going to stop me from writing what I feel inside.”

In Jackson’s back catalogue, ‘Together Again’ still stands out. An anthem for LGBT+ people, a dance-pop classic that still sounds fresh and forward thinking, and one that still has resnonance for Jackson herself.

In 2011, during her first tour since the death of her brother Michael, Jackson paid tribute, closing the show with ‘Together Again’. It was a reminder of how the song is both fiercely personal to Janet and a universal anthem at the same time, one that acknowledges that even those we’ve lost never truly leave us. 20 years on, the dancefloor appeal and the melancholic undertow of ‘Together Again’ feel as vital as ever.

“You know religious groups have been upset with me for certain songs on the album, but it’s not going to stop me from writing what I feel inside.

The Verdict

Fith Harmony’s Four-piece Return

Usually losing a band-member is a sign a pop group is in serious trouble. But somehow for Fifth Harmony, despite being a member short (and still keeping their original name as a four-piece) seem to be doing okay. The group’s selftitled third album hews to a similar template to previous releases: a lean run-time with a grab bag of R’n’B and pop infleunces and vocal acrobatics.

What’s changed this time is a sense of unity and maturity missing from previous work. ‘He Like That’ is a slow-burn lazy pop groove that feels effortless and fun, while tracks like ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’ and ‘Bridges’ offer emotive pop hooks done with aplomb. While Fifth Harmony still feel like a group waiting for that undeniable all killer, no filler album, this may just be their finest work yet.

Conor Behan