Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990

1990 concert tour by Janet Jackson

The Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 was the first headlining concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was launched in support of her fourth studio album Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), and also contained material from her third studio album Control (1986). Jackson's record label A&M announced plans for the world tour in fall 1989, following the release of Rhythm Nation 1814. Managed by Roger Davies and Rusty Hooker, the tour was developed by musical director Chuckii Booker, choreographer Anthony Thomas, stage designer Roy Bennett, stage manager Chris Tervit, production manager Benny Collins, and Jackson herself. The nine month trek saw concerts in the United States, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. It began in the United States in March 1990 and continued through November 1990, when it came to a close with a return trip to Japan. Songs performed during the set list of the tour were divided evenly between Jackson's third and fourth studio albums—each concert began with "Control" (1986) and ended with "Rhythm Nation" (1989). Noting performances placed greater emphasis on theatricality over vocal prowess, the tour received numerous stellar reviews based on Jackson's showmanship, choreography, and socially conscious message, drawing some comparison to her brother Michael Jackson. The tour was a commercial success, grossing over $28.1 million in North America alone. 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."

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.

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." 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.

+ List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue Date City Country Venue Attendance RevenueNorth AmericaMarch 1, 1990MiamiUnited StatesMiami Arena15,082 / 15,082$297,870March 3, 1990Chapel HillDean Smith Center17,095 / 17,095$321,653March 4, 1990CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum20,834 / 20,834$398,892March 6, 1990ColumbiaCarolina ColiseumMarch 7, 1990KnoxvilleThompson–Boling Arena15,449 / 15,449$285,554March 9, 1990LouisvilleFreedom Hall17,639 / 17,639$332,787March 10, 1990CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum15,312 / 15,312$283,272March 12, 1990RichfieldRichfield Coliseum16,990 / 16,990$314,315March 13, 1990PittsburghCivic Arena15,825 / 15,825$287,906March 15, 1990New York CityMadison Square Garden35,741 / 35,741$1,053,548March 16, 1990March 19, 1990MontrealCanadaMontreal Forum13,000 / 13,000$281,888March 20, 1990TorontoSkyDome22,625 / 22,625$476,627March 22, 1990LandoverUnited StatesCapital Centre34,581 / 34,581$765,112March 23, 1990HartfordHartford Civic CenterMarch 26, 1990WorcesterWorcester Centrum27,600 / 27,600$600,458March 27, 1990March 29, 1990LandoverCapital CentreMarch 31, 1990HamptonHampton ColiseumApril 2, 1990DetroitJoe Louis Arena35,645 / 35,645$702,460April 3, 1990April 5, 1990BloomingtonMet Centerrowspan="2" rowspan="2" April 6, 1990April 8, 1990RosemontRosemont HorizonApril 9, 199015,703 / 15,703$347,063April 11, 1990Kansas CityKemper Arena14,516 / 14,516$283,062April 13, 1990Fort WorthTarrant County Convention Center13,233 / 13,233$258,043April 15, 1990HoustonThe Summit27,082 / 30,000$506,903April 16, 1990April 18, 1990TempeASU Activity CenterApril 20, 1990InglewoodGreat Western Forum57,600 / 57,600$1,196,448April 21, 1990April 23, 1990San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena13,283 / 13,283$264,233April 25, 1990InglewoodGreat Western Forum April 26, 1990April 28, 1990OaklandOakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena58,002 / 58,002$1,363,047April 29, 1990May 1, 1990May 2, 1990May 4, 1990SacramentoARCO Arena29,942 / 29,942$703,637May 5, 1990 AsiaMay 17, 1990TokyoJapanTokyo Domerowspan="5" rowspan="5" May 18, 1990May 20, 1990OsakaOsaka jō HallMay 21, 1990May 23, 1990YokohamaYokohama Arena North AmericaJune 6, 1990TacomaUnited StatesTacoma Dome39,287 / 47,370$893,779June 7, 1990June 9, 1990VancouverCanadaBC Placerowspan=2 rowspan=2 June 11, 1990EdmontonNorthlands ColiseumJune 12, 1990CalgaryOlympic Saddledome14,531 / 16,507$317,334June 15, 1990DenverUnited StatesMcNichols Sports Arenarowspan="3" rowspan="3" June 16, 1990June 18, 1990Salt Lake CitySalt PalaceJune 20, 1990Mountain ViewShoreline Amphitheatre34,698 / 40,000$730,905June 21, 1990June 23, 1990Costa MesaPacific Amphitheatrerowspan="2" rowspan="2" June 24, 1990June 26, 1990InglewoodGreat Western Forum42,848 / 42,848$892,188June 27, 1990June 29, 1990July 2, 1990DallasReunion Arenarowspan="2" rowspan="2" July 3, 1990Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention Center ArenaJuly 5, 1990AustinFrank Erwin Center24,974 / 26,508$484,477July 6, 1990July 8, 1990New OrleansLouisiana SuperdomeJuly 10, 1990MemphisMid South Coliseum10,488 / 10,488$235,980July 12, 1990MiamiMiami Arena10,031 / 11,500$225,698July 13, 1990OrlandoOrlando Arena12,842 / 12,842$288,945July 14, 1990St. PetersburgFlorida Suncoast Dome18,833 / 18,833$419,647July 16, 1990AtlantaOmni Coliseum51,712 / 51,712$1,034,240July 17, 1990July 19, 1990July 20, 1990July 22, 1990BirminghamBJCC Coliseum13,354 / 13,354$287,111July 24, 1990IndianapolisMarket Square Arena12,962 / 12,962$256,000July 25, 1990CincinnatiRiverbend Music CenterJuly 27, 1990MilwaukeeBradley Center15,491 / 15,884$298,860July 29, 1990Tinley ParkWorld Music Theatrerowspan="3"rowspan="3"July 30, 1990August 1, 1990August 5, 1990St. LouisSt. Louis ArenaAugust 10, 1990LandoverCapital Centre44,812 / 44,812$1,019,473August 11, 1990August 13, 1990August 14, 1990GreensboroGreensboro Coliseumrowspan=4 rowspan=4 August 16, 1990PhiladelphiaThe SpectrumAugust 17, 1990August 19, 1990August 21, 1990OttawaCanadaLansdowne Park8,013 / 12,000$188,044August 22, 1990Auburn HillsUnited StatesThe Palace of Auburn Hills32,832 / 32,832$746,928August 23, 1990August 25, 1990AlbanyKnickerbocker Arena13,200 / 13,200$254,623August 27, 1990ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center10,709 / 11,805$243,630August 28, 1990UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,827 / 15,029$291,814August 30, 1990East RutherfordBrendan Byrne Arena15,686 / 15,686$317,168 EuropeOctober 4, 1990RotterdamNetherlandsAhoy Sportpaleis 37,602 / 37,602 $806,458October 5, 1990October 6, 1990October 8, 1990BerlinGermanyWerner Seelenbinder Halle8,965 / 8,965$132,079October 12, 1990StockholmSwedenStockholm Globe ArenaOctober 14, 1990ParisFrancePalais Omnisports de Paris Bercy16,782 / 16,782$217,093October 15, 1990ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadionrowspan=10 rowspan=10 October 16, 1990MunichGermanyOlympiahalleOctober 18, 1990FrankfurtFesthalle FrankfurtOctober 21, 1990LondonEnglandWembley ArenaOctober 22, 1990October 24, 1990DortmundGermanyWestfalenhalleOctober 26, 1990BirminghamEnglandNEC ArenaOctober 27, 1990October 28, 1990LondonWembley ArenaOctober 29, 1990 AsiaNovember 3, 1990OsakaJapanOsaka jō Hallrowspan=10 rowspan=10 November 4, 1990November 6, 1990TokyoTokyo DomeNovember 7, 1990November 9, 1990Hong KongHong Kong ColiseumNovember 10, 1990November 11, 1990November 14, 1990NagoyaJapanNagoya Rainbow HallNovember 15, 1990November 16, 1990YokohamaYokohama Arena Total1,044,858 / 1,044,858$21,800,000 USD

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. After the tour ended, she gave $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund in the form of a "Rhythm Nation Scholarship". Jackson's first show for the summer tour, Saturday June, 7 at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma WA, sold out so fast that she quickly added a second show – to be performed the day before, on Friday June 6. At the Saturday show, she had the world premiere of the video for "Black Cat" that had been filmed the night before. Jackson was scheduled to play Philadelphia in March but somehow the people who manage the Spectrum arena doubled booked Jackson's show and a WWF match on the same night. The sold out show was rescheduled in August. Jackson's four Los Angeles shows sold out in 48 minutes. Jackson had to reschedule her appearance at Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey from September 8 to August 30 because of her performance at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. The opening act throughout all dates of the tour was the tour's musical director, Chuckii Booker. On the Show in Munich, Germany it was Johnny Gill. Jackson had to reverse the decision to use a live panther on the show after several incidents, including the panther urinating on stage. Citing concerns from fans, and her own love of animals, Jackson eventually did not use the cat in the summer leg of the tour. Jackson spent her 24th birthday at Tokyo Disneyland. Janet plans to release the "Rhythm Nation 1814 World Tour" on DVD or package it with an upcoming studio album in the near future. 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.