Janet Jackson - From Janet. To Damita Jo: The Videos (2004)

Janet Jackson has had a wild ride in the quest toward diva-dom. Starting out with the dubious distinction of being Michael Jackson's kid sister; she startled the American music scene with a precocious start with CONTROL. Her happy, snappy, pop songs were apparently the right equation for an audience hungering for the ultimate in catchy songs. With each album, she advanced several notches in her journey to rule the R&B scene, and eventually surpassed the gloved one's influence. This collection of music videos from four Virgin albums, JANET, THE VELVET ROPE, ALL FOR YOU, and DAMITA JO, represents Ms. Jackson as a mature women in her prime. The smiley girl from next door is long gone, replaced by a remarkably sexy and impossibly cool player who knows she rules the universe and is ready for a sexual challenge. From the mellow, almost jazzy romance in "That's The Way Love Goes," to giddy love song "Together Again," and the hypnotic funk fest in "Go Deep," Jackson's dual mission in life seems to be to party and create passion of the most outrageous kind.

As usual, the other great strength of these videos are how they showcase Jackson's other main talent in dance. Like her brother, she has always excelled in extremely complicated dance moves that are executed with a particularly severe, don't-mess-with-me expression. There is also some wonderful imagery from the world's best video directors, underscoring Jackson's ability to market and package her dance music in a way that is sure to be immortalized in music history.