Towards the end of the magical era when music videos were a big thing (Boy, do I miss those days), Janet Jackson came out with the Rhythm Nation1814 album, accompanied by some glorious videos. My fave was always the title track. With fantastic music videos accompanying amazing songs like Miss You Much, Love Will Never Do (Without You), and Escapade, Jackson was absolutely on fire. Her singing and dancing were both every bit as good as her brother’s. What a talented family!
So when the adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s version of Rhythm Nation on the TV show Lip Sync Battle came up, I just had to go back to the original to see just how hard he nailed it. The answer is HARD.
And just because I can’t resist sharing this one as well, here’s Ms. Jackson with Miss You Much.
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My OBT 
January 27, 2025 at 8:49 am
JGL is so good at lip sync. He was on Jimmy Fallon, and I don’t remember the song, but Fallon was absolutely floored!
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January 27, 2025 at 1:53 pm
He’s just adorable! I’ve loved him since 3rd Rock.
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January 27, 2025 at 1:51 pm
I remember being impressed by the Rhythm Nation choreography at the time. As you know, I am a sucker for big group synchronized dance routines in general but it was such cool choreography for its era – and actually it really holds up and I think still looks really good. It is impressive that JGL nailed those moves. I too miss the era of music videos. They were really an art form and gave a lot of our best directors an opportunity to create what are essentially short movies and it’s just fun to marry a visual to the musical. Maybe they will come back around eventually.
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January 27, 2025 at 1:55 pm
That would make me so happy. I always loved them, even the boring ones. I used to joke that MTV was my film school. I used to love examining every transition and camera angle. And I’m with you on the choreography! She was and is a marvel. And she’s still got that smile.
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January 28, 2025 at 2:58 pm
Yes! I love that idea of it as being film school.
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January 28, 2025 at 7:18 pm
I also learned some terrible habits, but we will talk of those another day…
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