janet. by Janet Jackson

janet., Janet Jackson's fifth studio album, dropped on May 18, 1993, her first for Virgin after a bidding war that pitted the label against A&M, Atlantic and Capitol. A sit-down with Richard Branson sealed it, and the deal, reckoned at around $40 million, made her the best-paid act in music at the time. The title, just her first name and a full stop, reads like a declaration of independence from the family name.

With Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis producing, she swaps the hard, clanking, industrial beats of her last records for something warmer and looser, an R&B record that wanders through hip-hop, funk, house, jazz, rock and even opera. The subject is sex, frank and sensual, a sharp turn from her buttoned-up image. "That's the Way Love Goes" purrs, "If" struts and "Any Time, Any Place" smolders. It became her first album to debut at number one.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.