The website The Smoking Gun published Janet Jackson's performance contract, which stipulated that a comedian appearing at the same event could not mention the singer or any member of the Jackson family in their act.
Janet Jackson appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine wearing only bikini bottoms and a necklace made of large shells. She had lost a significant amount of weight shortly beforehand.
Janet Jackson began a three-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Doesn’t Really Matter”. The song appeared in the film “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps”, starring Janet Jackson and Eddie Murphy.
HBO premiered Janet Jackson's new music video “Every Time.” The premiere took place shortly before the evening broadcast of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and served as a preview for the premiere of the live concert special Janet: The Velvet Rope from Madison Square Garden.
Janet Jackson was scheduled to perform at St. Louis Arena, but the concert was postponed until the following day because of her health problems. At the rescheduled show on August 5, she performed three songs before collapsing backstage and being taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with an acute viral infection.
Janet Jackson's single "When I Think of You" began a two-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was her first US No. 1 hit; in the UK, the song reached No. 10. With this success, Janet and her brother Michael Jackson became the first siblings to each have a solo single reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. The song was also the first Hot 100 No. 1 produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who would go on to produce 15 more chart-toppers.
Eighteen-year-old Janet Jackson secretly married 21-year-old James DeBarge of the group DeBarge. Most of her family, including her parents, were on the Victory tour with The Jacksons at the time. The marriage ended eight months later. Janet Jackson subsequently enjoyed a highly successful career, placing 39 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1986 and 2008.