Janet Jackson, Feedback | Midnight Heat

In the 90^th edition of Midnight Heat (2023), we explore the naughty, sexy vibes behind “Feedback” by Janet Jackson. 

“Light skin, dark skin, my Asian persuasion / I got ‘em all, that’s why these girls out here hatin’.” Ah, bring on Midnight Heat ! Wait – it is not usually hot at midnight! Well, it is steaming hot at midnight when it comes to this naughty, innuendo and sex-laden column featuring songs intended for nighttime. Yeah, we are talking about that after dark, bedroom boom $hi†, ya dig? These unapologetic records often raises both eyebrows and temperature alike. Woo! In the 90^th edition of Midnight Heat (2023), we explore the naughty, sexy vibes behind, “Feedback” by Janet Jackson.

Janet Jackson is a master of delivering sexy pop/R&B songs. Following the infamous Superbowl wardrobe malfunction, the Grammy-winning musician’s career took a hit.  Regardless, Jackson has  experienced some success since then, including a platinum-certified single in “Feedback”.  “Feedback” serves as the main attraction on Jackson’s 2008 studio album, Discipline, peaking at no. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.  While Discipline debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200, it only spent 16 weeks on the chart.  Focusing on the “Feedback,” it is a prime example of Jackson being sexy without dare overreaching. “Do you like my style? / Yeah, that’s sexy, sexy, sexy.”

The key is that Janet Jackson still keeps it sexy throughout “Feedback.” She asserts in the first verse, “So here’s my demonstration – a peep show / Tonight, my body’s an exhibition, baby.” Damn! In the second verse, she asks her lover, “Feed my fetish please / Satisfy me babe.” Again, Janet is being sexy, but it’s far less explicit than, say, her Damita Jo phase a la 2004. Still, that chorus is not that innocent.  Is she really referencing a guitar and amplifier? To quote Sister Aloysius ( Meryl Streep) from the 2008 film, Doubt: “I have doubts”. The chorus plays out a little something like this:

“Strum me like a guitar , blow out my amplifier

When you hear some feedback, keep going, take it higher

Crank it up, give it to me, come on

Crank it up, give it to me, come on

I’m gonna feedback, feedback, oh

Feedback, feedback, oh.”

Ooh, snap ! “Feedback” is a gem from the Janet Jackson collection, even if it painfully underrated.  Rodney Jerkins and D’Mile put their foot into the production, which incites body movement the minute you hear the track.  The beat! The keys and synths! And of course, those sexy vocals by Janet! WOO!  

Janet Jackson • Discipline • The Island Def Jam Music Group • 2008

Janet Jackson, Feedback: Midnight Heat No. 90 (2023) [: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; The Island Def Jam Music Group; Ash via Pexels; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Dorothe, Stefan Schweihofer via Pixabay]