Discipline (Janet Jackson Album) - Conception

Conception

In July 2007, it was announced that Jackson had signed a recording contract with Island Records, after her five-album deal with Virgin Records was fulfilled with the release of her album 20 Y.O. Jackson's tenth studio album, Discipline, which was an acknowledgment of Jackson's commitment, focus and dedication to her career, was released on February 26, 2008 under the supervision of label head L. A. Reid. Jackson commented, "I wanted to name the album Discipline because it has a lot of different meanings for me but the most important would be work—to have done this for as long as I have ... And to have had the success that I've had—not excluding God by any means—but it takes a great deal of focus."

Jackson worked with producers such as Rodney Jerkins (who produced the lead single "Feedback" alongside D'Mile), Jermaine Dupri, Ne-Yo, Shea Taylor, Stargate, Johntá Austin, Tricky Stewart, and The-Dream. Jackson's long-time producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, did not contribute to the project. The album was executively produced by Island Urban president Jermaine Dupri and Jackson. She did not write or co-write any songs on the album, a departure from her usual practice. The song "So Much Betta" contains sampled portions of the track "Daftendirekt" by the French house music duo Daft Punk.

The deluxe edition included a DVD entitled The Making of Discipline. The DVD is split into five chapters that documents the production of the album, its promotion, and the "Feedback" music video. The first chapter entitled "Photo Shoots", shows Jackson creating a new image for the album and adopting different looks for different markets. She spent two days working on photos for the cover and credit booklet, revealing that she still feels uncomfortable in front of the camera despite two decades in the music industry. In the second chapter, "The Studio", Jackson expressed her opinion on recording work, stating that although she usually enjoyed the experience, it was, at times, tedious. She discusses further how her songs are built up in layers and parts, from melodies and background vocals or sounds. The third chapter, "Rehearsals", shows the rehearsals of the dance routine for the "Feedback" music video. The DVD reveals that the eight dancers had been practicing for over a week before they started working with Jackson. The dancers then had three days to rehearse with Jackson and a further two days to complete the video. Jackson described the video as a metaphor for sexual tension. The fourth chapter, "Behind the Video", shows the making of the video itself. Jackson told the director that she wanted a futuristic, moody concept, and he came up with the idea of jumping between planets. The final chapter is the lead music video in its entirety. On March 31, 2008 an edition of Discipline in environmentally friendly packaging was released through Wal-Mart stores as part of a green promotion.