She sings “Inshallah, see you in the next life” on “Broken Hearts Heal,” Janet’s ode to Michael - a track that sounds like a rainbow. The video for “No Sleeep” makes no secret of its quiet-storm intentions, with Janet spending a cozy evening by the fire in a sleek modernist house while rain streams down the windows. She punctuates the song with a vulnerable sigh, before answering her own question: “Who’s gonna be there after you fall? I will.” The album incorporates the sound of water flowing several times, which made this drought-stricken Californian feel both deeply calm and extremely thirsty.

She’s the queen of low-key sex appeal, and her voice is accordingly soft, feathery, and “plush,” as she says at the opening and close of lead single “No Sleeep.” “After You Fall” is a tremulous piano ballad that showcases a very intimate Janet and her naked voice. Any worry that Janet had pulled back and become more guarded melts away as you listen to the album. There’s a moment on this album in which Janet sings about acceptance and compassion when somebody sneezes in the background of the track and she says “bless you.” It’s symbolic of the record and Janet herself - wistful, playful, incredibly modern, but also nostalgic. A famous last name only gets you so far, as any of the other Jackson siblings’ music careers can attest. It’s what makes her such a great dancer and has given her such longevity as an artist.

On Unbreakable, Janet pushes herself yet again. She has always been advanced at genre-mixing - her fourth album, Rhythm Nation 1814, pushed dance-pop to new realms by incorporating far-flung influences like industrial music and hard rock. Janet’s influence has manifested itself lately in the sensual choreography and pillow talk of artists like FKA twigs and Tinashe. But as Janet has been out of the spotlight, popular music has only become more Janet-like. Justin Timberlake famously threw Janet under the bus after the Super Bowl fiasco, and her reputation suffered while his took no hit. In that time, her brother Michael died and she secretly married for a third time to businessman Wissam Al Mana after ending a long-term relationship with Jermaine Dupri. Unbreakable is her first album in seven years - an eternity for any musician, let alone a world-famous pop star.

But Janet has never gone fully silent for this long before. No singer is as concerned with quiet as Janet Jackson - whispered lyrics, her signature giggle, the times in her videos when the music drops out as Janet smiles her perfect smile, often just before the next insane dance break.

Janet jackson unbreakable song lyrics