“Love and My Best Friend” from Janet Jackson (1982)
While it is well known that Janet Jackson had very little artistic input in her first few musical outings, “Love and My Best Friend” is a small highlight on her decent, albeit unfulfilling 1982 self-titled, debut album. This song has a beautiful vocal delivery, and the lyrics and arrangement are reminiscent of her brother Michael Jackson’s 1972 single, “Ben.” It has an air of young innocence that I find endearing, to this very day, and you can’t help but see a spark of a fully realized Janet that was to come to us in just a few short years. —Jordan Listenbee
“All My Love To You” from Dream Street (1984)
This cut, penned by her brother Marlon Jackson, is almost the Jacksons’ sassiest, youngest sister’s way of saying “anything you can do, I can do better.” While it certainly sounds like it could be a reject from The Jacksons’ “Victory” album, young Janet shows that she can hang alongside her more accomplished sibling. Still, it does get rather repetitive and has that dated 80s sound. Perhaps that’s why in the comfort zone where Janet was stifled… her brother was at home. The dutiful sibling role didn’t stick with Janet. She went on to ditch her father and the family sound to take control two years later, forcing even her most famous sibling to take notice. —Vincent Anthony