Janet Jackson Gets Nasty at ESSENCE Music Festival

After being asked numerous times over the last 15 years to perform, Janet Jackson finally accepted ESSENCE’s invitation to headline this year’s ESSENCE Music Festival at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Friday (July 2). “They’ve asked me for a while to be a part of the festival and my schedule never really permitted it,” Ms. Jackson explained to CNN.

The pop superstar, dressed as a futuristic dominatrix, pleased old and new fans with material including “The Pleasure Principle,” “Control,” “Rhythm Nation,” and her latest single “Nothing.” She even catered to one lucky male fan onstage in an S&M sequence, complete with whips and a straitjacket.

Monica, Charlie Wilson, Raphael Saadiq, and Chrisette Michele also performed earlier in the day.