New Good Song: "No Sleeep," Janet Jackson 6.22.15

Here's a new good song: "No Sleeep" by Janet Jackson.

As a gay man in his mid-30s, I am contractually obligated to be excited about Janet Jackson's comeback, and I am. I like several of her songs, and very much respect her as an influential and multi-talented entertainer. I am among a rare group who thought her 2008 offering, "Feedback," was among her best songs ever. Now after seven years of near silence -- which has certainly fueled interest in her, at least among people my age -- Janet returns with "No Sleeep," co-written and -produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, her famously influential longtime collaborators.

Will "No Sleeep" be a big hit? I wouldn't dare to make such a prediction. At first listen, I would say no, because it's more mellow, sexy and retro than what's on the charts now. Also, R&B -- real R&B -- is generally unpopular in the '10s, and "No Sleeep" is heavily rooted in that genre. But the public's tastes often surprise me, for better or worse. Perhaps the fact that this single fills a void on mainstream radio will be the very factor that propels it to great success.

"No Sleeep" is a new good song. I'm impressed with the way it's catchy without being annoying and in your face, as so many modern songs are. Clearly this track is not the result of an attempt to mimic current production and songwriting trends. But that's the best thing about it. There's nothing sadder than a living legend trying to reintroduce herself by co-opting modern trends that are antithetical to her artistic identity. "No Sleeep" is a nice reintroduction. Its familiar aspects will please fans, and let younger audiences know what Janet stands for musically and lyrically. If those young people don't take an interest, "No Sleeep" will debut high on the iTunes chart and quickly tumble out of sight, like the recent releases of Madonna, Mariah Carey and other stars whose "comeback" offerings have on some level underwhelmed.

It's hard for a veteran singer to light up the charts, because people respond to what's fresh, new and different. When you're established, how do you walk that line between being unexpected while staying true to your signature sound? The most commonly cited comeback of this nature was Cher's worldwide No. 1 smash "Believe" in 1999. That was an organic sensation. There was no artificial marketing hype around Cher's "big comeback." She just released a great song that people responded to. Santana did the same thing around the same time with "Smooth," featuring Rob Thomas. So successful comebacks happen, but rarely.

But nobody really knows what will be successful, or why. Over the weekend, the top song on the iTunes chart was "Cheerleader" by Omi, a song I almost featured on this blog a few months ago but which I wasn't entirely sold on. I would never have imagined that this song would do so well; it's very out of sync with today's trends. But that's the way of the music-consuming public -- always surprising me. So I'm not going to call the fate of Janet's comeback yet, except to say that I have reasonably good feelings about it. "No Sleeep" is a cool song and it may just ignite new interest in Ms. Jackson. Enjoy!