POP MUSIC REVIEW : Janet Jackson: See Her Roar : Forum Show Throbs in Pomp and Circumstance

Janet sings.

Janet dances.

Janet cries.

Cries?

Actually, sobs was more like it at the Forum on Thursday night, the start of a three-night engagement postponed from last month because of illness.

We’ve all seen singers who can shed a tear or two during a particularly tender number--and it sometimes touches you even if you suspect that it is really just crocodile tears, employed at precisely the same time on every other night of the tour.

But Janet Jackson cried a virtual river while singing her own particularly tender number, the Oscar-nominated song “Again.”

There’s a chance it was a moment of genuine revelation--but the odds of that were slim in a show that was so carefully staged in every detail that you were even tempted to think the steamy routine with the male “volunteer” from the audience was choreographed ahead of time.

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In the video-age, spectacle tradition of her brother Michael and Madonna, Jackson spares no expense nor theatrical imagination in putting together a lavish production that clearly delighted Thursday’s audience: dancers, musicians, exploding fireworks, costumes, video screens, loving portraits of the star high above the stage.

While Jackson continues to gain authority as a singer and fluidity as a dancer, the constant emphasis on gala production and role-playing (from steamy seductress to social-conscience monitor) undercuts her individuality as an artist.

We sense in the polished show what Jackson can do as a performer, but little about who she is .

Ironically, one of the most affecting moments was when Jackson returned for the encore in just a flannel shirt and jeans to sing “That’s the Way Love Goes,” one of the most endearing pieces of romantic pop confection of the ‘90s.

The song is a highlight of Jackson’s latest and best album, “janet.,” a silky collection of contemporary R&B;/pop that explores questions of sexual awakening and desire with a classy sense of pop craft and convincing passion.

The album was a major advance, creatively, over Jackson’s earlier work--and some of the material, especially the sensual synthesizer pulse of “Throb,” was performed with equal energy and style.

But other numbers of merit from the album were turned into side shows. The intimacy of “Again” seemed violated by the parade of tears; the legitimate social message of “This Time,” a song about domestic abuse, was smothered by elaborate staging that was more ludicrous than affecting.

By emerging from the shadow of brother Michael and the early public skepticism that her record success was based simply on the family name and the skills of her record producers, Jackson is one of the most surprising pop stories of recent years.

But she needs to choose now between the grand statement (the safest route to commercial success) and the intimate revelation (the primary path to artistry).

Mint Condition, the opening act, performed contemporary R&B; ballads and bounced with confidence and energy but with little distinctiveness in either its music or manner.

* Janet Jackson and Mint Condition play at sold-out shows tonight at 8 and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood. (310) 419-3100.