Will Janet Jackson ever bounce back?

Since 2004, when Janet Jackson made the ill-fated decision to spice up her appearance at the Super Bowl Half-time show with the infamous Justin-ripping-away-her-blouse routine, Jackson's once-hot career has been in free-fall, a decline that seems to have no end in sight. Just last week, Jackson announced that she had left her label, Island Def Jam, insisting that it was her request to be released from her contract. The parting of ways between artist and label comes only months after the release of Jackson's first and only album with IDJ, Discipline, which failed to match the buzz and sales of her past monster hits such as Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet, and even 1997's Velvet Rope. Jackson was obviously dissatisfied with the label's lack of promotion of the album, but Jackson herself has not had a hit album since 2001's All for You. Her previous two albums, Damita Jo and 20 Y.O., both bombed, and Discipline appears to have run its course.

Jackson sought to boost album sales by going out on tour. Rockwitchu, her first tour in seven years since 2001's All for You tour, opened recently in Vancouver, but the tour has been plagued by soft ticket sales, and recent health problems for Jackson herself. She has postponed shows in Montreal, Boston, and is now postponing shows in Atlanta, North Carolina and Fort Lauderdale due to an undisclosed illness. Whatever the case may be, this recent development in Jackson's tour is simply another case of bad luck for Jackson, whose career hasn't recovered from the infamous "wardrobe malfunction".

Without a label and a failure to generate buzz or ticket sales for her latest tour (like Madonna who is yet again breaking box office records with her Sticky and Sweet Tour), Jackson finds her career at an impasse. It's obvious Jackson needs new management and new advice. She has exhausted the sex kitten role, a persona she seems reluctant to drop even at the age of 42, and despite the fact that the public has grown tired of the sex act as well, judging by the harsh reaction to her Super Bowl performance and tepid response to Jackson's last three problems. Perhaps Jackson should take a page out of her rival Madonna's book. Following the negative reaction to her 1992 Sex book, the Material Girl regrouped and softened her image to the public, releasing a compilation of ballads, starring in the film adaptation of the musical Evita and releasing the spiritually inspired, Grammy-winning Ray of Light album, all of which helped put Madonna back in the good graces of the public.

Since 2004, aside from starring in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, Jackson has not done much to evolve her image or soften it. Her albums continue to feature silly interludes about sex, and her songs themselves are erotically charged. Essentially, she has made the same album for the past decade.

There was a time when Jackson seemed unstoppable. Control, Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet and Velvet Roper were strong albums that were also commercially successful, back in her heyday of 1986 to 1997. But back then, Jackson was more than a sex kitten; she wrote and sang songs about racial harmony (Rhythm Nation); AIDS (Together Again) and domestic violence (What About). But now she appears to be a one-trick pony, trying to compete with the Rihannas and Beyonces with sexed-up image that no longer comes across as sexy or genuine. Perhaps being without a record label will inspire Jackson to take some new risks, but it's evidently clear that her sex kitten days are over. It's time for some new tricks, Miss Jackson.