Janet Jackson Says Performing Michael Jackson Duet ‘Scream’ Makes Her Think of ‘What He Was Going Through’

The superstar spoke to the BBC about performing her 1995 duet with her late brother on her extended Together Again tour

• Janet Jackson spoke to the BBC about performing her and Michael Jackson’s duet “Scream” on tour
• The superstar reflected on what the 1995 song still means to her today
• She also talked about writing the track with her late brother back in the ’90s

Janet Jackson still has fond memories of making music with her late brother Michael.

While speaking to the BBC about some of the classic selections performed on her current Together Again tour, the 58-year-old superstar reflected on one particular highlight of her concerts: the moment she sings her and Michael’s smash duet “Scream.”

The live song, which Janet performs with video footage of Michael (who died in 2009), is described by the outlet as one of the “most powerful moments” of Janet’s tour. The “All For You” singer shared that she herself gets a bit emotional at times while thinking of her brother, “listening to him every night, seeing him, remembering us.”

“Mike and I wrote that song in New York, in his apartment,” she recalled to BBC. “So [I relive] that whole journey, listening to him sing it [and remembering] what he was going through at that time. And just me being his little sister, always by his side, and being that support system. That’s always been my role.”

Janet and Michael released “Scream” and its famous black-and-white music video in 1995, shortly after the latter had settled a 1994 lawsuit that charged him with abusing a child, per The New York Times. The song itself alluded to much of what Michael was dealing with at that time, including struggles with fame, public harassment and tabloid fodder about his life: “I’m tired of injustice, I’m tired of the schemes / Your lies are disgusting / So, what does it mean, damn it?”

Back then, “Scream” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 17 total weeks on the chart. The single and video also went on to earn several major accolades, including a 1996 Grammy for best music video, short form, and a record 11 nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Speaking on the success of the song in a 1995 MTV interview, Michael said he felt “very, very honored.” “And I’m sure Janet is, too,” he added. “We worked hard on it. To reap the fruits of this type of thing is a wonderful achievement.”

Janet’s 2022 Lifetime docuseries Janet Jackson gave an inside look into how she and Michael created their duet, showing old footage of the two writing the song in his N.Y.C. apartment and recording in the studio with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In one part of the docuseries, Janet reflected on Michael’s state of mind while they were recording, saying, “Mike was going through a lot, and I think it was taking its toll on him.”

The Grammy winner went on to reveal that despite how fun their “Scream” music video looked to fans, behind the scenes was a different story.

“It was tough,” Janet remembered. “Michael shot nights; I shot days. His record company, they would block off his whole set so that I couldn’t see what was going on. They didn’t want me on set. I felt like they were trying to make it very competitive between the two of us. That really hurt me, because I felt I was there fighting the fight with him. Not to battle him.”

“I wanted it to feel like old times between he and I, and it didn’t,” she continued with a hint of sadness. “Old times had long passed.”

Source people.com