Happy 10th Anniversary to Janet Jackson’s eleventh studio album Unbreakable, originally released October 2, 2015.
When Janet Jackson released Unbreakable in October of 2015, many anticipated the album to be a “comeback” effort, an attempt to reclaim her place in music history. For in the nearly eight years since the release of her last studio effort, Discipline (2008), Jackson’s place in the musical landscape seemed to have been rewritten by others. Industry ageism and sexism wanted to relegate her as someone whose time had passed.
Rather than being a desperate attempt to chase trends, Unbreakable unfolds like a quiet storm delivered with a sense of assurance. It’s not playing catch up but evolving Jackson’s signature sound that so many had tried to emulate in her absence. Reuniting with production partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the trio set about continuing the musical conversation; one that was deeply personal, defiantly independent, and completely on her terms.
From the outset, Unbreakable feels like a homecoming. The gospel-tinged title track is a warm embrace to her fans thanking them for the love that has endured through highs and lows. It's both tender and triumphant, setting the tone for a record that speaks as much to resilience as it does to intimacy.
That intimacy deepens with “No Sleeep,” a slow burn late night groove that quickly became a fan favorite when it was released as the project's lead single. With its hushed vocals and central atmosphere, it’s Jackson at her most seductive, reminding us all why she has long held the crown as pop's poet of passion. “After You Fall,” however, strips everything away leaving just Jackson and a piano, no embellishments, no gloss. It's a moment of stark vulnerability and one of the most emotionally naked performances of her career.
But Unbreakable isn't solely a record of quiet reflection. Jackson still commands the dance floor with ease. “BURNITUP!” reunites her with Missy Elliott and together they create an explosion of hype, energy and attraction, designed for sweaty movement and release. “Dammn Baby” slides with Jam and Lewis' signature bounce, reminding us of the confidence they always underscored her most infectious jams with. And then there's “Night,” a euphoric dance track shimmering with trance-like production that evokes all of the liberating joy and sanctuary Jackson's always found in the music made for bodies in motion.
Extending beyond the personal and into the political as Jackson has often done at crucial moments in her career, “Should Have Known Better” looks back at the optimism of Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) and questions where the hope went. It's not cynical but a sobering admission that change is far slower than she had hoped for. “Black Eagle” hovers between mysticism and activism with its atmospheric layers underscoring its contemplations of injustice and resilience. Even lessons learned carry the weight of reflection, turning scars into lessons with grace that only comes from lived experience.
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Of course one of the questions the album posed was if, and how, Jackson would pay homage to her late brother Michael who had died in the period between her last album and this new effort. And although there are echoes of Michael in songs like “BURNITUP!” and “The Great Forever,” that question is answered with “Broken Hearts Heel,” a moving and inspiring track that resists the pull of melancholy and offers instead a light groove that celebrates his memory with reflections of better times spent and a connection that can never die.
The album never fails to surprise or delight with each new twist. “Take Me Away” bursts with urgency as if Jackson herself is reconnecting with the wide-eyed spirit of her Control (1986) era of freedom. “Dream Maker/Euphoria” is an ambitious two-part suite moving from soulful hope into jazz inflected grooves, while “Well Traveled” takes a detour into folk-rock textures with its road worn but triumphant spirit.
The album closes with “Gon’ B Alright” twirling with psychedelic funk rock that channels Sly and the Family Stone. It's unexpected, eccentric, and deeply fun, the perfect reminder that Jackson has always defied the boxes people try to place her in.
Unbreakable is steeped in a vibrant and living legacy. Not just in Jackson's own, but in the way in which music becomes a vessel for survival and solidarity, and most about connection. Connection to her fans, to her family, to her past and her future, to herself. Every whispered aside, every vocal layering, every shift in genre feels like an offering, a reassurance that no matter how much changes, the bond between Jackson and her audience remains intact.
So was it the comeback that fans and critics had hoped for? Commercially the album was an unquestionable triumph, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200, her seventh release to do so. An achievement that not only reaffirmed her status but also highlighted the loyalty she's cultivated over decades.
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Yet its true success lies less in the numbers and more in the statement it makes. This was not a comeback record, not an attempt to chase relevance. It was Jackson reclaiming the narrative, proving that her artistry is not defined by industry cycles or cultural dismissal by an unbreakable commitment to truth creativity and resilience.
Warm, confident, and reflective, Unbreakable is Janet Jackson reminding us that music has always been her truest way of connecting, whether through dance floor bangers, heartfelt ballads, or quiet messages of resilience. It's a record that balances the personal and the political, intimacy and commentary, all wrapped up in that unmistakable Janet Jackson alchemy.
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