Award Shows March 30, 2019
Janet Jackson Thanks Her 2-Year-Old at Rock Hall Induction
Looking regal and every bit like the newly installed member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that she is, Janet Jackson, 52, made a glowing appearance at Friday's induction ceremony.
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View StoryRather than performing, as is traditional, she kept it simple, restricting her appearance to a speech, one in which she made sure to thank her family for all their support — starting with her toddler, Eissa!
People Magazine reports Jackson said of the 2-year-old, "I just want to thank my baby, my beautiful son. He wakes me up every single morning singing his own melodies. I want you to know that you are my heart, you are my life, and you have shown me the meaning of real, unconditional love. Mama loves you, Eissa."
Jackson also thanked her brothers, inducted into the Hall in 1997 as the Jackson 5, her mom, as well as her late dad. “When I was a kid, my dream wasn't to be a singer," she admitted. "I wanted to go to college and I wanted to be a lawyer. It was my father's dream... I witnessed... my family's extraordinary impact on popular culture. As the youngest in my family, I was determined to make it on my own... But never in a million years did I expect to follow in their footsteps. Tonight, your baby sister has made it.”
Jackson, who was voted into the Hall on the third try (acts are eligible 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording, and their inclusion on an annual ballot is voted on by over 1,000 music-industry veterans and historians), was inducted by Janelle Monáe, who called her the "queen of black girl magic" and said, “It was just so refreshing to see someone who looked like me and millions of other little black girls around the world.”
The induction ceremony airs April 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, HBO Go, HBO Now, and On Demand.