Janet Jackson Says She Wanted to ‘Go to College,’ But Dad Joe Told Her She’d ‘Sing’

Janet Jackson talks about her days as a baby star.

The 58-year-old singer revealed in an interview with BBC that she initially had no desire to perform or work within the entertainment industry, preferring as an alternative to go to college and study business law. However, when her father, Joe Jackson, heard her sing her first song on the age of 9, all the pieces modified.

Jackson said she snuck into the family recording studio at their home in Encino, California, and recorded the song “Fantasy” after her brothers returned from a 10-month tour in 1975.

“I wrote the drum track, recorded the background vocals, and sang and played everything on it,” she explained.

When she returned from school the following day, Jackson said she heard the song playing within the driveway and felt “very embarrassed.”

“The studio doors were open, and Mike was listening to it,” she said, referring to her late brother, Michael Jackson. “I think Randy was listening to it, my father was listening. Then my father said, ‘You’re going to sing.’”

Jackson said she opposed his request, saying she wanted to go to school as an alternative.

“I said, ‘No, no, no, I want to go to college and study business law,'” she shared, adding that “it was hard (to argue) because look where he’s taken my brothers. So I said, ‘OK, I’ll try.'”

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Jackson added that she “can’t remember ever being asked” if she wanted to be a baby star. “I just remember doing it,” she told the BBC.

Jackson became a pop star, selling greater than 100 million records and winning five Grammy Awards, according to the BBC. She has released several legendary albums, including 1986’s Control, 1989’s Rhythm Nation 1814, 1993’s Janet, 1997’s The Velvet Rope and 2001’s All For You. In 1990, Jackson became the primary woman to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Producer, according to the BBC.

“It was mind-blowing to me,” she said of her historic nomination. “You think this should have happened a long time ago.”