Janet Jackson to headline Chicago Theatre March 7-8
It’s a trend -- pop divas playing smaller venues or canceling tours as a recession-racked concert industry tries to regroup. The latest singer to downsize her ambitions is Janet Jackson, who announced Monday that she will headline two shows March 7-8 at the Chicago Theatre as part of a 35-city tour.
To entice fans back into the seats, Jackson says she will focus on performing songs from her 2009 compilation, “Number Ones,” which includes 35 hits stretching back to the beginning of her career in the ‘80s.
Jackson is framing the shows as an opportunity to get “as up close and personal as possible” with her fans. That could be true, but it could also be code for “I can’t sell as many tickets as I used to.” Jackson’s career has been in slow decline in recent years, and her first tour in seven years in 2008 was unable to sell out the Allstate Arena. Like Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson, she has scaled down from her previous arena-sized level to play theaters. Christina Aguilera canceled her scheduled amphitheater tour last summer.
Jackson tickets ($50, $75, $100, $150, $200) go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Chicago Theatre box office and Ticketmaster.
greg@gregkot.com