Janet Jackson is an indeniable cultural icon, so it was solely pure that the 10-time Billboard Scorching 100-topping artist was honored with the ICON Award on the 2025 American Music Awards on Monday (Might 26).
However it appears that evidently the Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Corridor of Famer isn’t fully offered on this complete “icon” enterprise.
“No disrespect in any means, I don’t take into account myself an icon,” Jackson mentioned whereas holding an award that acknowledged in any other case on the Fontainebleau Las Vegas stage. “My household, myself, our dream wasn’t ever to be well-known. We weren’t raised like that. We at all times had a particular love for music and dancing and singing, and fame got here with the results of onerous work and dedication.
“My story, my household’s story, it’s actually an American story,” she added earnestly. “This is able to have solely occurred in America. The one factor I hope for is that I’ve been an inspiration to others, to artists, to comply with their goals and succeed.”
If anybody wanted some inspiration, they needn’t look additional than her pre-speech efficiency on the 2025 AMAs. Because the spoken phrase intro to “Management” performed over the audio system, Janet and her dancers hit the stage and kicked off her efficiency with “Somebody to Name My Lover,” her sweetly come-hither 2001 single from All For You; after that, she segued into the attractive, slammin’ title monitor (and Scorching 100 No. 1) from that album, executing some assured choreography whereas her dancers, sporting tank tops or little apart from their tats, supported her ably.
With glitzy fountains erupting behind her, the Vegas vibes had been in full impact – no shock, contemplating that Jackson is within the midst of a residency on the Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas.
After thanking her workers, her administration, her dancers, producers, musicians, followers and lots of extra people who’ve helped her decades-long profession, Jackson left the viewers with these phrases: “Preserve God in each a part of your life, as a result of that’s the place He needs to be.”