Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990

Due to the fact that A&M Records had chosen not to invest in promoting a concert tour for Control (1986), the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 became Jackson's first in support of a studio album. A&M announced plans for her global tour in the fall of 1989. She was assisted by a team of eleven musicians, back-up singers, and six dancers. Anthony Thomas was selected as chief choreographer for the tour. Thomas stated: "Janet was looking for dancers with a hybrid of street and technical training ... I'd say the cast is half and half between those two, which is what makes it so interesting. I'm not a trained dancer—and Janet is not, either. She just looks like it because she's a natural. She picks up dance steps very quickly." According to Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Thomas and Jackson also collaborated on the dance sequences for Jackson's half-hour video—a telemusical her publicists call it—that accompanied the release of her 'Rhythm Nation' album in October." Musician and record producer Chuckii Booker was hired as Jackson's musical director; his band became the tour's opening act. Booker explained that he was approached by Jackson after a recommendation from her producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In an interview, he stated: "I had known Janet for four to five years, but it was pretty much on a hi-and-goodbye basis until last September when she invited me to a 'Rhythm Nation' party in Los Angeles. I attended and told her I was very excited for her. She said, 'Yes, and I'd like you to be musical director.' I turned around, thinking she was talking to somebody else. I couldn't believe it. But then I found out she had talked to Jimmy and Terry and they had recommended me." ==Promotion==

On June 9, 1990, MTV aired a four-hour special entitled "Janet Jackson Saturday" featuring interviews and music videos by Jackson, as well as live coverage of her tour. The full "Rhythm Nation 1814 World Tour" concert from the second date at the Tokyo Dome in Japan was filmed and aired on Japanese television. ==Critical reception==

. Music writer Troy Moon, who viewed the tour's dress rehearsal, called the show "spontaneous, very loose and limber. It came off as nightclub funk, more Prince than (Michael)." Music Critic Deborah Wilker remarked that "[Janet] does not present a serious threat to brother Michael, though she has proven beyond any doubt she is a formidable force in her own right." Commenting on her performance at the Capital Centre in Landover, Richard Harrington of The Washington Post noted that the growing trend of video screen use in concert had both advantages and drawbacks, such as [l]iving up to the very expectations engendered by those incessantly played video images." In reference to her showmanship, he stated that "[s]he doesn't quite command the stage yet, but she has little problem commanding attention, thanks to her spectacular dancing and the wonderfully aggressive choreography that informs the 90-minute show." He complimented her endurance for her 80-minute-plus show and downplayed criticism of lip-syncing by saying "[e]ven a classically trained vocalist would be hard-pressed to maintain any sort of level of volume—or, more appropriately, 'Control'—while bounding up and down stairs and whipping limbs in unnatural directions at impeccable, breakneck speed." Jackson also performed in Osaka and Yokohama before returning to the North America and then traveled to Europe for the final leg of her tour. In reference of the comparisons between her and brother Michael, Metella comments that "the 23-year-old Jackson throws herself into an orgy of non-stop dancing and extravagant theatrics that clearly express her talent and her personal philosophies. She may not have surpassed Michael yet, but she's closing in on him fast—using many of his own tricks, yet." In reviewing her performance at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada, Metella reports that the use of lighting and sound effects made for an excellent routine in addition to the well received vocalization of songs like "Control", "Nasty", and "What Have You Done for Me Lately", "[b]ut it was the dancing that was most electrifying ...witnessing the astonishing pace and physical commitment of Jackson during the dance numbers could and did galvanize us into action of our own, which is exactly what the show was about." ==Commercial reception==

The majority of all of the tour's concert dates became instant sell-outs. The tour's dress rehearsal at the Pensacola Civic Center issued 7,600 tickets to the public as a benefit to local charity, which sold-out in less than an hour. The first international concert, which took place in Tokyo, Japan sold out the Tokyo Dome within seven minutes—a record for the fastest sellout in the history of the Dome. Lori Buttars of The Salt Lake Tribune reported: "In May, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Tour became the fastest sell-out in Salt Palace history. Tickets for the June 18 concert were gone in a record 1 hour and 20 minutes after the box office opened." In June, 1990, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Jackson's tour had become one of the most commercially successful box office attractions for a recording artist. The Rhythm Nation World Tour, with an attendance of over two million patrons, is the most successful debut tour by any recording artist in history, a record that still stands in 2023. ==Opening acts==

• Chuckii Booker • Johnny Gill ==Set list==

• "Control" • "Nasty" • "What Have You Done for Me Lately" • "Let's Wait Awhile" • "When I Think of You" • "The Pleasure Principle" • "T.V." (interlude) • "State of the World" • "Race" (interlude) • "The Knowledge" • "Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)" (instrumental interlude) • "Black Cat" • "Come Back to Me" • "Alright" • "Escapade" • "Miss You Much" • "Pledge" (interlude) • "Rhythm Nation" ==Shows==

Tour • Management – Roger Davies Management, Inc. • Tour Manager – Rusty Hooker • Assistant Tour Manager – Nelson Hayes • Production Manager – Benny Collins • Assistant Production Manager – Lisa Hoth • Stage Manager – Chris Tervit • FOH Sound Engineer - Chris Taylor • Monitor Engineer - Randy Weitzel • Musical Director – Chuckii Booker • Lighting/Design – Roy Bennett • Lighting Director - John Featherstone • Automated Lighting- Gary Westcott • Drum Technician - Tom Wilson • Tour Photography – Eddie Wolfl The band • Musical Director/Keyboards/Vocals: Chuckii Booker • Drums: Derek Organ • Keyboards: Tom Organ, Rex Salas • Percussion: Tim "Timbali" Cornwell • Guitar: David Barry • Bass/Keyboards: Derek Allen • Background vocals: Vanessa Townsell, Pamela Quinlan, Nadirah Ali • Dancers – "The Nation" • Choreography Janet Jackson, Anthony Thomas, Terry Bixler, LaVelle Smith • Staging Janet Jackson, Tina Landon, LaVelle Smith, Terry Bixler, Anthony Thomas, Art Palmer, Karen Owens, Travis Payne ==Miscellaneous==

• The tour grossed over $28 million in the US only from dates reported. • Estimated worldwide attendance at 2 million, with more than 1.85 million in North America alone coming from 91 shows. • The May 18 show in Tokyo, Japan was aired on Japanese television in full, spliced with commercials Janet had filmed for JAL Airlines. • The first international concert, which took place in Tokyo, Japan sold out the Tokyo Dome within seven minutes and set a record for the fastest sellout in the history of the Dome. Bootleg versions are widely available. • Pioneer signed an exclusive deal to release the concert on laser disc only and thus no video or DVD has yet been released. However, no laser disc has been released either. ==See also==