As music legend Janet Jackson is getting ready for the concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of her landmark album Control, one undiscovered artist can win the chance to open up for her at that show through a contest.
The opportunity comes in the form of Open For An Icon, a contest held by Airtab Music in collaboration with Janet Jackson and famed producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, who announced it in a post via his Instagram account.
Jerkins, best known for his work on Jackson’s “Feedback” as well as for producing “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child and Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine”, will pick the winner along with Airtab CEO and founder Dennis Cunningham.
Emerging and unsigned artists have one more week to enter the contest, with the winner getting the opportunity to open for the five-time Grammy Award winner at the concert on December 12 at Amerant Arena in Sunrise, Florida. The winner of the contest will also get the opportunity to record three songs with Jerkins on the boards and enjoy VIP accomodations and global media exposure.
“Great talent is everywhere. Access to a meaningful opportunity is not,” Cunningham said in the press release for the contest. “Open for an Icon is about changing that. Rodney Jerkins has created music with the biggest artists in the world. Giving an emerging artist the opportunity to have three songs produced by him is the kind of access that could change a career.”
Control, Janet Jackson’s third album, was released on February 4, 1986 and became her first number one album on the Billboard charts. Produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the album was full of hits including the title track and
“What Have You Done For Me Lately”.
The December 12 show will be recorded for a documentary, Janet Jackson: Control 40 – Four Decades of Hits, which be released in 2027. Director Leslie Small will also be a judge picking the winner of the contest, and Airtab Music is listed as a producer of the film.
