Janet Jackson is an iconic pop star who rose to fame in the 1980s and has had an incredibly successful career spanning over 4 decades. She is known for her elaborate stage shows and energetic dance performances. In 2022, Janet announced she would be going on a new tour called Together Again to celebrate her 50 years in entertainment. Fans are eagerly anticipating the shows and wondering – how long will the Janet Jackson Together Again concert be?
Janet Jackson’s Concert History
Over the years, Janet Jackson’s concerts have varied in length depending on the tour. Her early tours in the late 1980s ranged from 60-90 minutes. However, as her career progressed, her shows expanded. Her Janet World Tour in 1993 lasted about 2 hours. Subsequent tours like The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, and Rock Witchu Tour all clocked in around 2 hours as well.
Janet is known for her rigorous dance routines and costume changes, so her shows require more time than the average concert. She also includes extensive production elements like videos, pyrotechnics, and other surprises. Audiences can expect a full-fledged theatrical experience at her concerts.
So for a career-spanning show like the Together Again Tour, Janet will likely perform a lengthy setlist to satisfy fans. She has so many hit songs to choose from across her 10 studio albums and fans will want to hear as many classics and deep cuts as possible.
Setlist Expectations
The Together Again Tour will celebrate the breadth of Janet’s career. She debuted in 1982 and scored her first #1 album 30 years ago with Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. Fans will hope to hear hits from the following eras:
- Early 1980s and first two albums: “Young Love,” “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “Nasty,” “Control”
- Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814: “Miss You Much,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Alright,” “Escapade,” “Black Cat,” “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”
- janet: “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “If,” “Again,” “Any Time, Any Place,” “Because of Love”
- The Velvet Rope: “Together Again,” “I Get Lonely,” “Go Deep,” “Got ’til It’s Gone”
- All for You: “All for You,” “Someone to Call My Lover,” “Son of a Gun,” “Doesn’t Really Matter,” “Come On Get Up”
- Damita Jo: “Just a Little While,” “All Nite (Don’t Stop),” “I Want You”
- 20 Y.O.: “Call on Me,” “So Excited,” “With U,” “Show Me”
- Discipline: “Feedback,” “Rock with U”
- Unbreakable: “No Sleeep,” “Dammn Baby”
- Black Diamond: “Made for Now”
With a discography spanning almost 40 years, Janet has a wealth of material to choose from for the setlist. She will likely aim for a wide range, mixing major hits with fan favorites and a few surprise deep cuts.
Potential Special Guests
As a celebration of her career, Janet may invite some special guests to join her on stage for certain songs. This could really elongate the show if she performs duets with the original collaborators.
Some potential special guests could include:
- Her brother Michael Jackson via archival footage
- Q-Tip for their hit “Got ‘Til It’s Gone”
- Missy Elliott for “Son of a Gun” and other past collaborations
- J. Cole for their song “No Sleeep”
Duets and guest appearances will make the show more lively and diverse. It also allows Janet to rest her voice while still entertaining the crowd.
How Her Vegas Residency Factors In
In May 2022, Janet kicked off a Las Vegas residency show at Park MGM resort. The setlist and structure of this show could preview what we can expect for the Together Again Tour.
The Vegas show is approximately 75-90 minutes long with no intermission. It includes a retrospective of Janet’s biggest hits and fan favorites. She performs in a variety of eye-catching costumes and even incorporates her paintings into the visuals.
Since the Vegas residency has already tested out this career-spanning format, Janet and her team may adapt many elements for the larger-scale Together Again Tour. Of course, a huge arena show will be formatted differently than a more intimate theater residency. But Janet can still model the pacing, visuals, and overall theme.
Expanding the Vegas setlist by about 30-60 minutes could yield the perfect Together Again concert length.
Average Length of Her Previous Tours
Looking back at her touring history also gives a good indication of what to expect:
- Janet World Tour (1993): 25 songs, 2 hours
- The Velvet Rope Tour (1998): 27 songs, 2 hours
- All for You Tour (2001): 28 songs, 2 hours
- Rock Witchu Tour (2008): 21 songs, 2 hours
Her shows have hovered right around the 2 hour mark consistently. Even as certain production elements like choreography and staging have increased, she keeps the show length manageable.
Of course, the Together Again Tour is much more ambitious than her past shows given its celebratory nature. She may push the show length to 2.5 hours to really do it justice.
Concert Duration Comparison to Her Peers
How does Janet Jackson’s typical concert duration compare to other major pop/R&B artists?
| Artist | Average Concert Length |
|---|---|
| Beyonce | 2 hrs |
| Bruno Mars | 2.5 hrs |
| Mary J. Blige | 2 hrs |
| Chris Brown | 1.5 hrs |
| Usher | 1.5 hrs |
| Rihanna | 1.5 hrs |
| Alicia Keys | 2 hrs |
| Mariah Carey | 2 hrs |
The majority of Janet’s R&B/pop peers average between 1.5-2.5 hours per show. So Janet’s typical 2 hour concert duration is right in line with industry standards in her genre. For her celebratory Together Again Tour, stretching the show length a bit past 2 hours would give fans a truly memorable experience.
Factors That Could Add Time
Certain elements thatcould extend the Together Again Tour show time include:
- Costume changes: Janet is known for her multiple fashion reveals per show. Quick changes between songs will add up.
- Choreography: Janet’s intricate dance routines require extra time to execute.
- Set production: Moving stage elements, videos, and effects adds to the pacing.
- Audience interaction: Janet connecting with the crowd between songs could extend the show.
- Special guests: Duets with surprise singers or rappers could add a few songs.
Factors like these may naturally push the concert length a bit longer.
What About an Opening Act?
Janet has not had opening acts for the majority of her tours, so it’s unlikely she would have one for Together Again. She is the sole star attraction for her shows.
However, there’s an outside chance she could have a symbolic opening act representing her early career. For example, her young niece Paris Jackson could perform a song or two as a nod to Janet following in her brother Michael’s footsteps.
But an opening act of any kind would cut into Janet’s own stage time, so it’s improbable. This will be her time to shine.
Set Design Factors
The set design for the Together Again Tour will also impact the concert length.
Based on past tours, Janet often has an elaborate multi-level main stage, plus a secondary B-stage that she moves to midway through the show via a ramp or bridge. This allows her to get closer to fans on all sides of the arena.
However, set changes to move her between stages does require 2-3 minutes in between blocks of songs. This, along with any other major set piece moves or scene changes, will pad out the runtime a bit.
Lighting shifts and video effects also help transition between sections smoothly and allow time for Janet to change costumes if needed.
So the expansive, multi-zone stage setup does factor into the pacing and overall timeframe of the concert.
How Rehearsals Factor In
Mounting a huge tour like this requires months of preparation for Janet and her team to pull it off flawlessly. She is reportedly planning 6-8 weeks of extensive rehearsals before the Together Again kickoff.
This rehearsal period will be crucial to solidify all the moving parts:
- Nail down the setlist contents and order
- Refine the transitions between songs
- Hone Janet’s choreography
- Perfect the technical elements like video and lighting
- Build chemistry with the dancers and band
Janet is a consummate professional and will want every moment of the show to shine. The rehearsal time is key to making that happen.
Fans can expect a tightly calibrated show right out the gate once the tour starts since Janet will have worked out all the kinks and timing during the rehearsals.
What Songs Might Be Shortened or Extended?
Certain songs will likely be truncated or lengthened during the live show compared to their recorded versions.
Shortened:
- “Black Cat” – Trim the long instrumental opening
- “The Pleasure Principle” – Condense the talkbox vocals section
- “Alright” – Reduce the chorus repetitions
Lengthened:
- “Nasty” – Extend the dance breakdown<.li>
- “Escapade” – Add an extra chorus or bridge
- “If” – Stretch out the sensual bits
- “Any Time, Any Place” – Extend the ending ad-libs
Janet and her musical director will study the cadence of the concert setlist carefully. They’ll tailor the song arrangements to optimize pacing and take the live audience on an enjoyable journey.
How Many Songs Can Fans Expect?
Based on her past tour setlists which ranged from 21-28 songs, fans can anticipate 24-30 songs for Together Again.
She has over 20 albums worth of material to choose from, so narrowing it down will be difficult! But expect her to play close to 30 of her classics and fan favorites.
Here’s a hypothetical 30-song Together Again setlist:
- The Pleasure Principle (Interlude Video)
- Control
- What Have You Done for Me Lately
- Feedback
- You Want This
- Alright
- Escapade
- Black Cat
- If
- Any Time, Any Place
- That’s the Way Love Goes
- Like You Don’t Love Me
- Come Back to Me
- Let’s Wait Awhile
- Again
- All for You
- Rope Burn
- I Get Lonely
- Nothing
- No Sleeep
- Runaway
- Got ’til It’s Gone
- Together Again
- Nasty
- Throb
- Someone to Call My Lover
- Black Eagle (Damuzi)
- Shoulda Known Better
- Make Me
- Rhythm Nation
This gives a wide range from her biggest hits to some fan-favorite album cuts. Playing around 30 songs allows her to cover all the eras comprehensively while still keeping the show length reasonable.
Will There Be an Encore?
Janet’s concerts typically end with an encore where she performs a couple more hits to close out the night. Her encore choices often include mega-hits like:
- “Together Again”
- “Rhythm Nation”
- “Miss You Much”
- “All for You”
The crowd will likely go wild hearing hits like these to wrap up the evening.
Given the celebratory nature of this tour, she may even do 2 separate encores: a mid-show encore and a final closing encore. This could add anywhere from 3-6 more songs total.
Fans will definitely be hoping for multiple encores to extend the magic!
Bottom Line – Expected Concert Length
Given all these factors, the Janet Jackson Together Again concert will likely run:
2.5 – 3 hours total
This accounts for:
- 24-30 songs in the main setlist
- 1-2 encores with 3-6 additional songs
- Quick changes and major set transitions
- Memorable choreography and dance breakdowns
- Amazing audience interaction and energy
For a career-spanning show in arenas, 2.5-3 hours allows Janet the proper time to take fans on a hit-filled journey while also pacing herself vocally and physically.
It will be a non-stop party celebrating her 50+ years in show business!
Conclusion
Janet Jackson’s Together Again Tour promises to be an epic live event that long-time fans have been craving. Given her track record of high-energy elaborate productions, we can expect the show length to be a full 2.5-3 hours with Janet performing around 30 of her most beloved hits. It will be a stunning musical and visual experience from start to finish. Let’s hope Janet extends the Together Again Tour to cities worldwide so more fans can join the celebration!
