Not many artists can claim they have been performing in for 50 years. With the opening of her latest residency at the Resorts World Theatre on Monday, celebrated her golden anniversary on the Strip — she first took the stage alongside the entire family, including her brothers, The Jackson 5, in 1974 at the MGM. Mother Katherine Jackson and Tyler Perry were in the sold-out crowd for opening night.
“Janet Jackson: Las Vegas” is the follow-up to 2019’s “Metamorphosis” at Park MGM and closely follows the playbook of her 2023-24 “Together Again” tour, with night one carrying some major surprises with both live debuts and songs not performed live in many years. While some artists stack their Vegas residencies with the greatest hits, Jackson’s setlist is more like an encyclopedia of her career — two hours, 43 songs, iconic choreography and a recall of many of the fashion moments that made her a pop culture icon. A risk-taker since she threw on her first double-breasted blazer for 1986’s , Ms.
Jackson defies the residency formula. She takes the slow-burn approach into her big hits, starting off the night cycling through snippets from seven lesser-known tracks, ranging from ‘s “Throb” to ’s “2Nite” before dropping a widely recognizable song, the ’s “Go Deep.” While the audience was undoubtedly waiting for a big hit to kick it all off, Jackson shows us she still does as she pleases, and “JJ: LV” establishes itself as a long haul, evocative of.
