BMI is proud to announce that multiplatinum superstar Janet Jackson will be named a BMI Icon at the 2018 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards. The event will be held Thursday, August 30, at The Woodruff Arts Center’s Symphony Hall in Atlanta, and will be hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President Creative (Atlanta), Catherine Brewton.
“As one of the most influential entertainers of all time, Janet Jackson’s artistry and music transcends generations and has inspired many with messages of empowerment that can be heard throughout her rich catalog of music,” said Brewton. “She is the definition of an icon, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honor.”
Jackson joins an elite group of recipients who have received BMI’s Icon Award for their “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Past recipients have included Patti LaBelle, Nile Rodgers, James Brown, Snoop Dogg and Al Green, among others.
Throughout her groundbreaking career, she’s sold more than 160 million records worldwide, scored seven No. 1 albums, and is the only artist in Billboard’s history to have three different albums— Control, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 and janet.—each produce five or more top ten hits on the Hot 100 chart. Jackson is also one of only four artists, alongside Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and U2, to have earned No. 1 albums in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
She has received two Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination, and garnered six GRAMMY Awards, along with dozens of American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards, including this year’s Billboard Icon Award, which was her first televised performance in nine years. With no signs of slowing down, Jackson has a series of upcoming summer performances that kick off July 8 in New Orleans at the ESSENCE Festival and go through August 12 in San Francisco at the Outside Lands Music Festival.
Throughout the evening, BMI will also salute the songwriters, producers, publishers and administrators of the past year’s 35 most-performed R&B/Hip-Hop songs in the United States from BMI’s repertoire of more than 13 million musical works. The BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter, Producer and Publisher of the Year will be named during the ceremony.
