Janet Jackson

Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 30 years. The youngest child of the Jackson family, she began her career with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.

After signing a recording contract with A&M Records arranged by her father and manager Joseph Jackson in 1982, she became a pop icon following the release of her third studio album Control (1986). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover success in popular music. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her records, choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV, she was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.

Janet Jackson (album)

Janet Jackson is the self-titled debut album by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was released on September 21, 1982, by A&M Records. Jackson's career as a recording artist was established by her father and manager Joseph Jackson, who arranged her recording contract with her recording company. Prior to her rise to fame, the singer had no interest in pursuing a musical career. Despite this, she was motivated to pursue a career in entertainment, and considered the idea after recording herself in the studio. After acting in the variety show The Jacksons, she began starring in several TV series and commenced recording her debut album. Its artwork depicts Jackson submerged in a swimming pool.

Janet Jackson contains predominantly pop and R&B-influenced tracks. Songwriters Angela Winbush and René Moore contributed to much of the album's lyrics. Moore and Winbush share production credits with Foster Sylvers, Jerry Weaver, and Bobby Watson. Janet Jackson received mixed reviews from music critics who found its content bland, although highlighted some tracks. It also managed to chart on the Billboard 200 and in New Zealand. Three singles from the album had little impact on Billboard charts, among them "Young Love", "Come Give Your Love to Me" and "Say You Do". In order to promote Janet Jackson, she performed the song on American TV shows American Bandstand and Soul Train in 1982.

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on September 19, 1989, by A&M Records. Although label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, Control (1986), Jackson insisted on creating a concept album addressing social issues. Collaborating with songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, she drew inspiration from various tragedies reported through news media, exploring racism, poverty, and substance abuse, in addition to themes of romance. Although its primary concept was met with mixed reactions, its composition received critical acclaim. Jackson came to be considered a role model for youth because of her socially conscious lyrics.

Noted for its use of sample loop and utilizing swing note and synthesized percussion throughout its production, the album encompasses a variety of musical styles, such as new jack swing, hard rock, pop, dance and industrial music. The songs range from mechanized dance rhythms to soft balladry, giving it appeal across multiple radio formats. It became the singer's second consecutive album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, also topping the charts in Australia and peaking within the top ten in Japan, New Zealand, and United Kingdom. Certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it emerged the biggest-selling album of 1990 and has sold an estimated twenty million copies worldwide. Due to its innovative production and lyrical exploration, critics have regarded the album as the pinnacle of Jackson's artistic achievement. It is included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and the British reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, among other publications "best of" album lists. It has been cited as an influence in various musical trends, inspiring numerous artists.

Nation

Nation (from Latin: natio, "people, tribe, kin, genus, class, flock") is a social concept with no uncontroversial definition, but that is most commonly used to designate larger groups or collectives of people with common characteristics attributed to them—including language, traditions, customs (mores), habits (habitus), and ethnicity. A nation, by comparison, is more impersonal, abstract, and overtly political than an ethnic group. It is a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.

According to Joseph Stalin: "a nation is not a racial or tribal, but a historically constituted community of people;" "a nation is not a casual or ephemeral conglomeration, but a stable community of people"; "a nation is formed only as a result of lengthy and systematic intercourse, as a result of people living together generation after generation"; and, in its entirety: "a nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture."

LGBT pride events in Singapore

Singapore's first public LGBT pride festival, IndigNation, took place during the month of August in 2005, with a second annual IndigNation in August 2006. Previous gay celebrations, exemplified by the Nation parties held annually in Singapore since 2001, were private commercial events held for LGBT recreation, but were also socio-political statements of significance in Singapore gay history and milestones in Singapore's human rights record.

History

Before 2001

Prior to 2001, all events held for LGBT people were private affairs not advertised or even made known to the general public. Most were held indoors, especially on Sunday nights at various mainstream discos which were eager to tap the pink dollar on a day when business from their straight patrons was slow. This phenomenon began in the early 1980s when the police started to turn a blind eye to men disco-dancing with each other, but not during the slow numbers, when they were cautioned by the managements of these venues to "behave". This was done to avoid complaints from heterosexual patrons who were initially invariably present.

Nation (university)

Student nations or simply nations (Latin: natio meaning "being born") are regional corporations of students at a university. Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, they are now largely restricted to the older universities of Sweden and Finland, in part because of the violent conflicts between the nations in university towns in other countries. Medieval universities were large metropolitan centres with students from many different domestic and foreign regions. Students who were born within the same region usually spoke the same language, expected to be ruled by their own familiar laws, and therefore joined together to form the nations. The most similar comparison in the Anglo-world to the nation system is in the collegiate system of older British universities or fraternities at American universities; however, both of these comparisons are imperfect. In Portugal and Brazil, there are fraternities called Repúblicas, but this has nothing to do with the natio original concept of nations (they are created for lodgement purposes).