Entertainment

Janet Jackson Is Receiving Another Award, Proving That 2018 Really Is Her Year

Noam Galai/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

On the heels of the release of her first music video in over three years, Janet Jackson is being honored at the Black Girls Rock Awards, as reported by Billboard, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. The iconic entertainer is certainly having one hell of a year in terms of her career, and the accolades just seem to keep pouring in as she nears the finale of the second leg of her State of the World Tour.

Jackson will be honored as a “phenomenal woman in music” at the Black Girls Rock ceremony, as reported by Page Six, which will be held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and aired on BET Networks on Sept. 9. Other award recipients for the evening include singer, Mary J. Blige, who will receive the star power award, supermodel Naomi Campbell, who will be presented with the black girl magic award, and Judith Jamison, who Page Six notes will be honored with the living legend award for her work in dance and choreography.

It's a great honor for Jackson, who has not only made a decades-long career for herself, she's also been a champion for women. Just this year, Jackson was the recipient of the Icon Award at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, becoming one of only seven artists to have ever been honored with the award since its inception in 2011. Moreover, as Essence points out, Jackson was the first black woman to receive the honor. And, while she could have just used the moment to bask in her own glory, Jackson took the opportunity to advocate for the #MeToo movement.

"I’m deeply humbled and grateful for this award. I believe that for all the challenges, all of our challenges, we live a great moment in history. It's a moment that at long last women have made it clear that we will not be controlled, manipulated or abused. I stand with those women, and those men, equally outraged ... who support us in heart and mind."

One month later, Jackson continued to make history by becoming the first person to ever receive the Impact Award at the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards.

In addition to these huge accomplishments, the 52-year-old is in the midst of staging a major comeback. She dropped her single and video "Made For Now" featuring Daddy Yankee on Aug. 17. marking her first release since her 11th studio album Unbreakable debuted in 2015.

In a May 2018 interview with Billboard, Jackson hinted at the possibility of making new music, coyly sharing:

"It’s important that I maintain a let it happen when it happens approach. When I finally get to the music that genuinely expresses what I’m experiencing in the moment, I feel free. Music does that for me. Its healing properties are extraordinary."

Although Jackson has yet to announce an entire new album, music producer Harmony Samuels revealed to Billboard that he was helping Jackson prep for an upcoming album which will include "Made for Now" amongst other new tunes from the singer. In the interview, Samuels said that Jackson's return to music will be reminiscent of her sound during the legendary entertainer's Velvet Rope and Control eras.

With a highly-successful career that has spanned over four decades, Janet Jackson is certainly deserving of any award that comes her way.