Unbreakable World Tour (Janet Jackson Tour)
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The Unbreakable World Tour was the seventh
concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...
by American recording artist
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...
. It was in support of her eleventh studio album ''
Unbreakable Unbreakable may refer to: Books * ''Unbreakable'' (book), the 2017 autobiography of Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic * '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', the 2013 autobiography of singer Jenni Rivera Film and television * ''Unbreakable' ...
'' (2015). In addition to
Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...
and Rhythm Nation, the tour is also sponsored by Nederlander Concerts, Jam Productions, Another Planet Entertainment, Bamp and Tommy Meharey. When the tour was announced in June 2015, multiple legs were planned for North America, Asia and Europe. However, in December 2015, Jackson announced that tour dates beginning in 2016 would be postponed due to surgery and in April 2016 announced the summer dates would be rescheduled due to her pregnancy. In May 2017, she announced the tour would resume beginning in September, renamed as the State of the World Tour.


Background

In August 2014, producer and engineer Ian Cross, who worked on her last three studio albums, confirmed to Barefoot Sound that he was working on Jackson's new album, stating they worked in recording studios in Qatar, Paris and Middle East. After his declarations, Jackson herself responded to the rumor, neither confirming nor denying the works: "If there is a new project, you'll hear it from my lips", she tweeted. On April 22, 2015, she tweeted, "Letting go doesn't mean you stop", after a fan created a mock Missing Persons poster of Jackson, which had begun circulating the internet, prompting Jackson to retweet it herself, adding to further speculation of a new album. On May 15, 2015, Jackson announced a new album and world tour. She will release her forthcoming eleventh album in the fall of 2015 through her own record label, Rhythm Nation, distributed by
BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was formed in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its st ...
. Later in June 2015, the first 36 dates of the Unbreakable World Tour in North America were announced. Pre-sale tickets were made available exclusively to
American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
and
Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
cardholders prior to general admission tickets going on sale on June 22, 2015. Jackson's forthcoming album was also made available for pre-order, along with vinyl copies of the album's lead single " No Sleeep." Jackson enlisted designer
Giuseppe Zanotti Giuseppe Zanotti is an Italian luxury footwear and fashion designer known for his sculptural, jeweled heels, luxury sneakers, handbags, jewelry, and leather ready-to-wear. His wholly owned company, Vicini S.p.A., manufactures his eponymous label, ...
to create custom shoes for the tour. In an interview with ''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...
'' Zanotti stated that "Janet will be dancing a lot on stage as well as singing, so I wanted her to be very comfortable and able to move around easily ... The shoe has to be light but practical and provide support to her feet." Zanotti also noted Unbreakable will be the first tour in which he makes custom designs for the entire cast.


Commercial reception

According to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', Jackson's absence since her previous tour coupled with the social media campaign to have her return to recording music and performing generated high ticket prices, averaging $167.20 on the secondary market. The most expensive shows for the first leg of the tour include The Forum in
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...
and the
Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark Theater (structure), theater located on North State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop, Chicago, Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 19 ...
, while the
Delta Classic Chastain Park Amphitheater The Synovus Bank Amphitheater (originally known as North Fulton Park Amphitheatre; formerly the Cadence Bank Amphitheatre and the Chastain Park Amphitheater) is an outdoor amphitheatre within historic Chastain Park in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state) ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
will host the least expensive show on the tour. According to sales reports from Live Nation, "88 percent of the tickets on the trek's first leg (Aug. 31 to Nov. 15) were purchased two weeks after going on sale; nearly 80 percent of the tickets for the second leg (Jan. 12 to March 9) were gone in two days." Due to immediate sell-outs, additional concert dates were added to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
and at the
Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark Theater (structure), theater located on North State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop, Chicago, Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 19 ...
. The tour also set a record for the fastest sell-out in the history of Sands Bethlehem Event Center in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...
, selling 2,400 tickets within 30 minutes. According to
StubHub StubHub is an American ticket exchange and resale company. It provides services for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater, and other live entertainment events. By 2015, it was the world's largest ticket marketplace. While ...
, a ticket resale site, the Unbreakable World Tour ranked the tenth most popular concert tour of the fall of 2015. At the end of 2015, the tour placed at number 74 on
Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. ''Pollstar'' holds an annual award ce ...
's "2015 Year-End Top 200 North American Tours" list, grossing $15.0 million from 33 shows with a total attendance of 179,340.


Critical reception

Writing for '' E!'', Zach Johnson wrote that "Janet Jackson made a welcome return to the stage" for the tour's opening concert at the
Rogers Arena Rogers Arena, (formerly General Motors Place), is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, arena at 800 Griffiths Way in the Downtown Vancouver, downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General ...
in
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. She started the concert with a new song, "Burn It Up", featuring rapper
Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...
. The remainder of the setlist included new material from ''Unbreakable'' as well as numerous classic songs from her catalog.
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' observed that songs on the setlist were arranged by "persona and tempo. She was the woman taking charge (funk), the joyfully loyal lover (upbeat pop), the ballad singer, the woman left lonely (midtempo R&B), the party girl (dance-club beats), the rocker (with guitar up front) and, in the end, the idealist." He complimented her vocal technique, stating it was "never as delicate as she could make it sound. The rock songs included "Scream" as a duet with the voice of
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
; she belted it with a raw urgency." He noted that as the concert neared its end, Jackson focused the show on socially conscious messages, including "Rhythm Nation" and a new song from ''Unbreakable'', "a ballad that marched its way toward an anthem, part U2 and part trance music ... It was the virtuous Janet Jackson, the one that was always there." Fish Griwkowsky of the ''
Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...
'' said the show "was a dazzling concert, an energetic temple of love with few hits left unturned", adding that "Jackson is ready for the world again".


Postponement

In December 2015, Jackson announced that the upcoming second North American leg of the tour that was set to start in January 2016 would be postponed due to needing surgery. All dates were rescheduled except for one date in Lexington, Kentucky, as the venue would go through renovations. In March 2016, the European leg of the tour was postponed. On April 6, 2016, Jackson announced that due to
family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marit ...
, she is postponing all remaining dates of the tour. She stated: "Please, if you can try and understand that it's important that I do this now. I have to rest up, doctor's orders. But I have not forgotten about you. I will continue the tour as soon as I possibly can." According to concert promoter Live Nation, the tour will resume in 2017 and tickets will be honored with rescheduled dates; refunds will also be available.


State of the World Tour

On May 1, 2017, Jackson announced she would resume the tour, now known as the State of the World Tour; the tour kicked off on September 7, 2017.


Set list

This set list is representative of the show on August 31, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. It does not represent all shows during the tour. # "Video Introduction" (contains elements from " Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)", " Nasty", " Rock with U", " Every Time", "
Rhythm Nation "Rhythm Nation" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, '' Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). It was written and produced by Jackson, in collaboration with Jimmy Jam and ...
", and " Scream")
#" BURNITUP!" #" Nasty" #"
Feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...
" #"
Miss You Much "Miss You Much" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was recorded for the singer's fourth studio album, '' Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). As with all ...
" / " Alright" / " You Want This" #" Control" / " What Have You Done for Me Lately" / " The Pleasure Principle" #"
Escapade Escapade or Escapades may refer to: Transportation *Beneteau Escapade, a French sailboat design * HMS ''Escapade'', a 1934 Royal Navy destroyer that served in World War II *'' Just Escapade'', an American two-seat kit-built light aircraft Films ...
" #" When I Think of You" / " All for You" #" All Nite (Don't Stop)" #" Love Will Never Do (Without You)" #"After You Fall" #" Again" / " Come Back to Me" / "
Let's Wait Awhile "Let's Wait Awhile" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album '' Control'' (1986). It was released on January 6, 1987 on A&M Records as the album's fifth single. The song was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy ...
" #" I Get Lonely" #" Any Time, Any Place" #" No Sleeep" #"
Got 'til It's Gone "Got 'til It's Gone" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, featuring American rapper Q-Tip (musician), Q-Tip and Canadian singer Joni Mitchell, from her sixth studio album, ''The Velvet Rope'' (1997). It was written by Jackson, Jimmy Jam ...
" #" That's the Way Love Goes" #" Together Again" #" The Best Things in Life Are Free" #" Throb" #"
Black Cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...
" #" If" #" Scream" / "
Rhythm Nation "Rhythm Nation" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, '' Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). It was written and produced by Jackson, in collaboration with Jimmy Jam and ...
" ;Encore #
  • "Shoulda Known Better" #"
    Unbreakable Unbreakable may refer to: Books * ''Unbreakable'' (book), the 2017 autobiography of Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic * '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', the 2013 autobiography of singer Jenni Rivera Film and television * ''Unbreakable' ...
    " ;Notes *"Night" was added to the set list, starting with the third night in Honolulu.


    Shows


    Cancelled shows


    References


    Notes


    Citations


    External links


    Official website
    {{Janet Jackson 2015 concert tours 2016 concert tours Janet Jackson concert tours