The number one Janet Jackson song you forgot existed

By Fusion Staff  |  August 20, 2015 | 5:12pm
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Fifteen years ago today, the number one song in America was love song about never being left alone. But Janet Jackson’s “Doesn’t Really Matter” has been lost beneath a slew of other great Janet Jackson hits, like “The Way Love Goes” and “Together Again.”

This is a huge shame, because “Doesn’t Really Matter” is a really fun song.

Recorded for the soundtrack to the movie The Nutty Professor II , this track was a total departure from Jackson’s previous, much darker album Velvet Rope. “Doesn’t Really Matter,” is as poppy and catchy as they come. It quickly became Jackson’s 9th number one single and sat at the top of the charts for three weeks.

The music video for “Doesn’t Really Matter” is incredibly strange.

There’s a robot dog:

High heels magically transform into robotics:

Janet’s dancing stage dances swivels around, as if by magic:

It’s impossible to watch “Doesn’t Really Matter” without thinking of what came after it: Britney Spears used the same kind of futuristic sets, Mariah Carey used the same upbeat chord progressions, and most of the B-list artists of the early 2000s had tracks that seemed like straight derivations of this song (I see you Jessica Simpson.)

Released in the year 2000, in the aftermath of Y2K fever, “Doesn’t Really Matter” was influential because it drew on some of the biggest thoughts of the early 21st century. It made the future an exciting and innovating and thrilling place—and made you want to dance.

Kelsey McKinney is a culture staff writer for Fusion.

 
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