But Janet's bounced back, big time. And at the insistence of two trusted pals, she's set out once again, for the All for You tour. Like any comeback, the tour had its own bumps in the road before it got started. A key part of her stage set didn't arrive in time for the scheduled Vancouver opening, so the trek got underway two nights later in Portland. It was in Vancouver — before the postponement — that MTV News' John Norris sat down with Janet to talk about touring, rumors of a rivalry with Mariah Carey, superstar brother Michael's upcoming record and why change is good.

John Norris: When you were starting out the U.S. leg of the Velvet Rope tour in 1998, you told me it was possible that that would be your last tour. Here we are two and a half years later and you're doing it again.

Janet Jackson: I let two people talk me into it, [dancer and tour co-choreographer] Shawnette [Heard] and [dancer] Gil [Duldulao]. I truly felt that was going to be my last tour. I remember when it came to the end of the tour they kept saying, "No, you can't." I was like, "What do you mean I can't?" [They said], "You have to do another tour." So here we are again and I'm saying this will probably be my last tour. That's truly the way I'm looking at it. [RealVideo]

Norris: Was it that Velvet Rope was a negative experience?

Janet: No, it was a wonderful experience. There's just other things I'd like to do. I probably won't tour [again] for a very, very long time. It's something that you feel inside and that's the way I've been looking at everything. [I've just been] taking it all in, because I really do feel in my heart this is my last one.

Norris: With some of your songs there's such identifiable, classic choreography. Are you keeping some of the old choreography, or have you reworked everything?

Janet: No, we're keeping some of the old stuff and [we] reworked some stuff. Then there's some completely new stuff from beginning to end. It's been very challenging, because you get used to working with one choreographer and their style. You kind of get stuck in that vein and you work your way out of it, picking up someone else's style, their flavor. It takes a little bit of time.

Norris: A change I want to ask you about is not having your former husband, Rene Elizondo, around this time. As you start a big world tour, do you notice his absence? Did he fill roles that aren't there now?

Janet: No. I don't mean this in a negative way whatsoever, I'm just being truthful. It's been wonderful. It really has. I'm not trying to be malicious. The only thing that Rene actually did with Velvet Rope is ... I was so busy [that] I needed help with the opening, so he stayed back in L.A. and oversaw [the] production of the opening of the show.