Janet Jackson says she “doesn’t remember being asked” if she wanted to be a child star

nme.com:

Janet Jackson has recalled how she “doesn’t remember being asked” if she wanted to be a child star.The singer, songwriter and performer opened up about the early days of her music career during a recent interview with BBC.

In the discussion, she recalled what it was like growing up with famous siblings, and how she felt a sense of pressure to also go into the music industry.She explained that the decision was first initiated after her family came across a song that she wrote at nine years old, and her father, Joe Jackson, urged her to pursue it as a career.“I laid down the drum track, I did the background vocals, I sang and I played everything on it,” she said, explaining how she left the tape on the system and went to school not expecting to do anything with it, until she heard her family playing it in the car the next day.“I was so embarrassed.

The studio door was open and Mike [brother, Michael Jackson] was listening to it, Randy was listening to it, my father was listening… Then my father said, ‘You’re gonna sing’.“I said, ‘No, no, no, I want to go to college and study business law’,” she added, before adding that “it was kind of hard [to argue] because look at where he led my brothers, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll give it a go.'”“I don’t ever remember being asked,” she said. “I just remember doing it.”At the time, Janet’s brothers were already experiencing worldwide fame for their music careers, and had just returned from a 10-month tour across the globe.