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Damita Jo - Janet Jackson
Metascore
53 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 13
  3. Negative: 2 out of 13
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  1. E! Online
    83
    Strong and sensual.
  2. Blender
    80
    What's titillating about Damita Jo isn't some easy flash of sexuality, but the varied soundbeds that Jackson and her producers create to house her love games, and the confidence with which she plays. [May 2004, p.116]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. The Guardian
    80
    The obligatory boring ballads aside, the results are astonishing.
  4. The New York Times
    70
    The album is even sleeker and sexier than its predecessor, "All for You," and in saner times, that would be enough to ensure its success. [28 Mar 2004]
  5. Los Angeles Times
    63
    All this heavy construction is undertaken in the service of one of pop's thinnest, wispiest voices, and although Jackson's lack of vocal presence leaves a void at the heart of "Damita Jo," she's enough of a personality to create a few serviceable personas.
  6. Q Magazine
    60
    The sex tracks themselves are more scary than seductive.... [But] the dancefloor tunes are far more slinky. [May 2004, p.107]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Billboard
    60
    At 22 tracks, "Damita Jo" has its fair share of hits and misses.
  8. Entertainment Weekly
    58
    For the most part, the songs are stylized set pieces--the furthest thing from steamy R&B--and they evaporate as you listen to them. [9 Apr 2004, p.83]
    All this publication's reviews
  9. Dot Music
    40
    That it'll be her most scrutinised release is a problem, because its stilted, wearying, obsessive concentration on an uncomfortably forced notion of it's creator's sexuality means it's the only album she's made in the last dozen years that doesn't merit such focussed attention.
  10. All Music Guide
    40
    Without strong rhythmic or melodic hooks, the album's slow grooves blend together and Jackson disappears into the productions.
  11. Rolling Stone
    40
    Smacks of trying too hard.
  12. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    30
    Damita Jo, sadly, is an outdated product of the turn-of-the-millennium pop scene, in which female singers conflated sexual openness with empowerment.
  13. Playlouder
    20
    Finds her flailing club-footedly some twelve steps behind contemporary R&B, whispering distractedly through a seemingly unending array of interludes and phoning in songs that even Mariah at her most barely-there would dismiss as a trifle on the insipid side.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 49
  3. Negative: 5 out of 49
  1. JosephV
    7
    Not thrilled by this CD. I think it's her weakest. Maybe I just haven't gotten into it yet...
  2. PRay
    8
    All For You was rubbish, 20yo is rubbish, in contrast Damito Jo is everything that the latter two fail to be, the most naturally sexy, fresh, funky that Janet has sounded in years. Didnt need the marketing stunt if thats what it was. Unlike All For You which had some rubbish sex songs, this has good ones, unllike 20 yo which has some rubbish dance songs and a load of bland songs, Damito Jos efforts are all better than all the weak tracks on bothe those albums.… Full Review »
  3. JayB
    10
    Janet continues to do what she does best. Damita Jo showcases Janets ever increasing self awareness, while also containing the many sweet R&B tracks that has made her such a success. One of 2004's best R&B albums!… Full Review »
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