Just Warming Up

There is so much of the ambition and glamour of a Broadway musical in Janet Jackson’s new Velvet Rope tour that it’s only fitting that the concert program credits her as the show’s “creator and director.”

Those aren’t terms normally employed in the pop-rock world, but Jackson backed them up before a capacity crowd of 13,000 at the General Motors Place arena here with a dazzling package, complete with snappy choreography, a colorful array of costumes and often striking staging.

As she stood onstage after the final encore, Jackson, 32, lingered, clinging to the thunderous applause in a way that demonstrated a personal vulnerability and warmth that may be the real breakthrough of the tour.

In the past, the youngest daughter of one of America’s most celebrated--and controversial--show-biz families often became so caught up in the razzle-dazzle that she ended up somewhat anonymous. And that’s a problem that still arises at points in the Velvet Rope extravaganza, which reaches the Great Western Forum tonight and continues Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Yet there were several moments in the show when Jackson stepped beyond the production values and touched us in a way the best pop performers have done over the years.

From the playfulness of the fairy tale staging of “Escapade” to the artful musical stretch of “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” (the marvelous track she built around a sample of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”) to the intimacy of her soul-searching “Special,” Jackson has put a personal stamp on this show that humanizes not only the music but also the performer too.

Jackson believes that much of this radiance and warmth is the result of her own newfound self-esteem, a process that she says grew out of a frequently painful soul-searching look at some of the insecurities that have plagued her since childhood. It’s a condition she explores in several of the songs on her album “The Velvet Rope.”

Together, the tour and album should go a long way toward helping Jackson finally get the credit she deserves as an artist.

Though she has sold more than 40 million albums in the last decade, much of the pop world found it hard to take Jackson, the artist, seriously. It’s part of the price you pay being born into a show-biz family, in which it’s easy to think everything was handed to you.

But being a part of the feuding and often troubled Jackson clan was even more of a challenge. When Jackson’s new album got off to a slow start in the U.S. late last year, it was even tempting to think that she was caught up in the backlash that has undercut brother Michael’s commercial standing in this country.

Though fiercely loyal to her family, Jackson acknowledges that being associated with it has been a burden as well as a blessing.

On the personal front, however, things are looking up.

Sales of the album are now past the 2-million mark and Jackson’s manager, Roger Davies, says ticket demand on the tour is so strong that the number of dates has been expanded from 50 to 60.

Backstage before the concert here, Jackson spoke about the tour, her new self-esteem and her famous family.

Question: Why do you put together such a lavish show each time out?

Answer: To me, being on stage is about entertaining. I know there are people who just walk on stage and give you a show by just doing their music, but I always wanted something extra . . . the way P-Funk and those guys used to do it, back when their huge mother ship landed on stage. I’ve always loved that.

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Q: Do you understand it when people talk about the show in terms of Broadway?

A: I’m crazy about Broadway. I saw my first Broadway show when I was 10. We were on hiatus from “Good Times” and my mother asked what I’d like to do and I told her I wanted to go to New York to see [my brother] Michael. He was making the movie “The Wiz.” We were very close, and I missed him so much. While there, I saw Stephanie Mills in “The Wiz” on Broadway and I saw it over and over again. Then, I saw “Annie” and I wanted to be in it so badly.

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Q: Did you also like movie musicals?

A: Sure. That’s what I grew up on . . . those musicals . . . “Anchors Away,” “Singin’ in the Rain.” When we did the video for “Alright,” I wanted it to be like one of the old MGM musicals. Having Cyd Charisse and the Nicholas brothers in it just brought all that to life for me.

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Q: You never seem to stop moving in the show. How do you keep in shape during the tour?

A: I work out six days a week, about two or 2 1/2 hours. You need to take one day off just to let your body rest. I’ll do cardio for an hour or whatever it takes to get your heart up. I used to run four miles a day or cycle 25 miles a day on a machine, but now I love boxing.

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Q: What about the mental side of touring? When you are on the road for months at a time, there must be days when you just don’t feel like going on stage.

A: It’s very tough. There are days when you . . . just want to relax. But it all changes when you hit the stage. People talk about the love that you feel when you are on stage, and it’s so true. Friends and the people I surround myself with also help.

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Q: You literally grew up in show business. Do you ever ask yourself if it’s what you really want to do?

A: Yes and no. As a kid, you don’t know what you are getting into. But as an adult, I had the [chance to make a] decision. I could have said I am going to go back to school and support myself by acting, which is what I wanted to do. But I did “Fame” [the TV show in 1984] for my father. He wanted me to do it. That’s when I decided that I wanted to take control of my career and take a serious stab at it for myself. That was when I made my choice. It was my decision [at that point].

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Q: What about your personal life. Do you see yourself having children?

A: I don’t know if I will have kids. . . . That’s something I really have to work on. [Pause] I have this fear of not being a good enough parent.

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Q: Why’s that?

A: It’s something that I have to work on. [Longtime boyfriend Rene Elizondo Jr.] wants to have children and I love children, but I have this fear of not being a good enough parent. I have people I know who just pass [the children] right on to the nanny, and I don’t want to be that kind of parent. They were all gung-ho about having kids, and then they talk about how difficult it is to take care of them.

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Q: How do you think your parents did raising you?

A: I think that’s where the fear comes from. . . . I think it comes from certain mistakes that your parents made. I’m not saying my parents [messed up] in any way. I think they did a wonderful job. . . . First of all, it’s not easy having nine children because someone is going to get left out--someone isn’t going to get the attention they need at the moment [they most need it]. If I did have children, at the very most, I could see myself with three, but probably one. That’s a lot of love you need to spread out, and you have to give love to yourself as well. When do you have time?

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Q: I get the feeling there were times when you felt you didn’t get the attention?

A: I didn’t. My father wasn’t there. He was off working or doing whatever. I didn’t have the kind of father figure I wish I had. I couldn’t call him “Dad.” We had to call him Joseph from Day 1. I’m not close to my father. Do I miss that? Hell, yes. I’d go to school and see [children] sitting on their daddies’ laps. That’s something I’m working on now. . . . I realized that writing the album.

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Q: Do you sometimes feel the troubles of the family rub off on you?

A: With the last project, when it first came out, there was [an endorsement] deal, all the contracts were done, just needed signing. Then this whole thing came up with [Michael] . . . the whole allegations [about child molestation] and the people immediately said we didn’t want to do it. I don’t want to say who it was, but it was a huge company. Was I bitter or angry? No, I just felt hurt that they couldn’t see we were two different people. But I wasn’t angry at Mike or bitter that this thing had come up at that time.

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Q: How is your relationship with Michael these days? You mentioned in a Vibe interview earlier in the year that you haven’t spoken to him in two years.

A: Everyone thought we were fighting, but it was just that we were both so busy. We’ve spoken since then, but we haven’t had a solid, deep conversation. I spent an hour with him and the baby.

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Q: What about the tone of the new album? What led to that?

A: I was bummed out. The album is about looking inward and discovering who you are . . , finding out the person inside of you. Finding that we are special inside. Several things helped me do that.

That’s why I am so thankful that I got to that place. I wasn’t there before. I never liked myself before. I hated myself. I can honestly say that I like myself now.

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Q: What about the feel of the next album?

A: I haven’t given it a thought. Whatever happens with me and my life is what it is going to be on the next record--and so far things are great--so who knows? Maybe the music will be light and up.

BE THERE

Janet Jackson performs tonight at the Great Western Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, 8 p.m. $25-$75.50 (213) 419-3100; also Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 8 p.m. $25.25-$75.25. (714) 704-2500.