Janet Jackson performs onstage during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic

Janet Jackson is known almost as much for her private nature as she is for her signature dance moves and decades of pop hits. But in a rare interview with ABC News that aired on Wednesday night, the day after her Number Ones album came out, the singer sat down with Robin Roberts to discuss her feelings about brother Michael Jackson's death, her breakup with Jermaine Dupri and how she's trying to gain more control over her sometimes chaotic life.

"That was a shocker to me," Janet said of when she first learned that her brother had been using the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol — the drug that was found in lethal doses in his system after his death — as a sleep aid. "It just ... that's serious ... that's heavy ... that's heavy."

In one segment, Jackson walked around her palatial Los Angeles home, filled with photos of her famous family, and showed Roberts the last picture she has of Michael, taken two days before her birthday earlier this year. In the photo, a sad-looking MJ is seated on a couch with his two sons. Janet said the thing she misses the most about the sibling she called "Mike" is his "silliness," recalling how as children they spent all their time together playing and laughing.

Janet recounted the morning of Jackson's death on June 25, recalling how her assistant called her to relay the news that Michael had been taken to the hospital and how she didn't go immediately to the airport in New York because the severity of the situation was not apparent. "I tried calling again, and that's how I found out that he was ... no longer," she said, trailing off. "I just couldn't believe it. It didn't ring true to me. It felt like a dream. ... To this day, it's still so difficult for me to believe. You have to accept what is, but it's hard."

Talking for the first time about her warm embrace of Michael's daughter, Paris, when the 11-year-old gave her tearful goodbye to her father at his public memorial, Janet said she just wanted to scoop up and protect her niece at that moment. "All of them, not just her, Blanket, Prince. ... It's just tragic. It's hard for everybody. I think we've been doing well. I have a very strong family."

In one of the lighter segments, Janet recalled sitting in her pajamas as a young girl and watching her brothers on their early 1970s Saturday-morning cartoon before she became a performer. She gave Michael credit for helping her to hone a signature sassy performance style as a young girl when she debuted on their variety show at age 7. She also referred to domineering father Joseph Jackson as "old school" in response to a question about allegations by some of her brothers that he abused them, saying his overbearing manner "may extrapolate into being a little abusive."

Janet, 43, said she didn't celebrate a birthday until she was 23 because of her family's Jehovah's Witness beliefs. She noted that her once-promising acting career, stoked by strong roles on "Good Times" and "Diff'rent Strokes," was derailed because her father insisted she focus on music. She also said that her marriage to singer James DeBarge at age 18 was an attempt to break away from her family. That union ended after just three months due to DeBarge's drug addiction, which was eerily similar to the prescription-medication demons Michael faced, an addiction Janet said she believes her brother was in denial about.

Jackson discussed the many attempts at an intervention with Michael that failed. "That's what you do," she told Roberts in the same interview in which she blamed Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, for the singer's death. "Those are the things that you do when you love someone. You can't just let them continue on that way. And we did a few times. We weren't very successful."

Jackson said she doesn't think Murray, whom she's never met, should be practicing medicine anymore. "So this could happen to another family?" she said. "No."

For the first time, Jackson confirmed that she is no longer dating longtime beau Jermaine Dupri. She also talked about how the effects of being teased about her weight as a child have caused her to be conscious about her weight for her entire adult life. "There are people that regardless of what it is, if it's something that's stressful, whatever it may be, they don't eat, they lose a lot of weight, a divorce, they get real thin," she said laughing. "I'm the opposite." But she credited JD for making her feel "very comfortable" with her body and making her feel that "I'm fine the way I am. There's nothing wrong with me."

• Janet Jackson Performs A Tribute To Michael Jackson At The VMAs

• Janet Jackson
• Michael Jackson
• Jermaine Dupri

Janet Jackson
Photo: John Shearer/WireImage

While many of the people who worked with Michael Jackson on his "This Is Is" concerts expressed surprise at his struggles with drug addiction, sister Janet Jackson told ABC News that she and her family were well aware of her brother's demons.

In fact, Jackson said that she and her family reached out several times over the years to confront Michael about his drug problem and stage interventions, to no avail. "That's what you do," she told interviewer Robin Roberts in a sit-down in which she also blamed Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, for the singer's death. "Those are the things that you do when you love someone. You can't just let them continue on that way. And we did a few times. We weren't very successful."

The youngest Jackson sibling said Michael, to whom she was very close, understood that his family was trying to help him, but that he was "possibly" in denial about the extent of his problems. "I wish he could answer this question for you and not me," she said. "I felt that he was in denial."

A coroner's report found that Jackson died of a lethal amount of the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol, a drug he reportedly used to combat his chronic insomnia and which Murray has told police he administered to Jackson several times on the morning of the singer's death. Jackson told Roberts she thought Murray was responsible for her brother's death.

"You can't make 'em drink the water," Janet tells Roberts about forcing someone to face their addictions. "It's something that you can't do for them, something they have to do for themselves." Janet also revealed in the interview that she learned first-hand what the ravages of addiction can do during her first marriage to James DeBarge, who has admitted a prescription medication dependency. After eloping with the singer, Jackson said their marriage fell apart after three months due to DeBarge's addiction.

• Remembering Michael Jackson

• Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos

• Janet Jackson
• Michael Jackson

Janet Jackson (file)
Photo: John Shearer/ WireImage

Add Janet Jackson to the chorus of Jackson family members who believe Michael Jackson's June death involved some nefarious activity. In a segment from , ABC's upcoming interview with Janet Jackson, the singer said she believes Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, should shoulder the blame for her brother's death.

"He was the one that was administering. ... I think he's responsible," Jackson said in the interview, slated to air Wednesday, apparently referencing the fact that Murray was the one who provided what officials called a lethal dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol to Jackson.

Though Murray has not been charged in the case and his lawyer said he did not administer anything that "should have" caused Jackson's death, Janet reportedly tells ABC's Robin Roberts that she believes Murray should not be allowed to practice medicine anymore.

A spokesperson for Murray's attorney, Ed Chertoff, said in a statement to MTV News: "The Los Angeles investigation into Michael Jackson's death continues. We continue to maintain Dr. Murray neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed Michael Jackson. Any theory to the contrary is premature and not based in fact."

The Los Angeles Police Department has not yet concluded its investigation into Jackson's death, but Murray is the sole focus of their probe into what caused the singer to succumb to cardiac arrest in June.

Janet said Michael continues to be on her mind all the time, admitting that "a day doesn't go by that I don't think about him." Unlike some of the other Jackson family members, Janet was not in Los Angeles on June 25 and she recounted for Roberts the difficulty of dealing with Michael's passing long-distance.

"I was at my house in New York. ... And I get a call. ... [My assistant] said, 'Your brother's been taken to the hospital. It's on CNN right now,' " she recalled. "I called everyone. There's a line busy or — someone wasn't picking up. I spoke to Mother. I spoke to Tito. I spoke to my nephew Austin. I spoke to my sister La Toya. ... I told them to call me when they got to the hospital. And I remember thinking, 'Nobody's calling me back,' so I tried calling again, and that's how I found out that he was no longer. ... I couldn't believe it."

Jackson said the news was almost impossible to believe at first. "It just didn't ring true to me," she said in her first major interview since Jackson's death. "It felt like a dream. It's still so difficult for me to believe. It's, you know, you have to accept what is. But it's hard. You have to move on with your life. You have to accept what is, and I understand that."

The siblings were "incredibly close" as children, and Janet said they did practically everything together and spent every day together in their formative years, with Michael acting as a nurturing presence to his youngest sibling. "We'd feed all the animals, took care of the babies," she said of the animals on the family's Hayvenhurst compound in Encino, California. "All the animals — giraffes, mouflon sheep, deer, they had fawned — all kinds of animals, all kinds of birds. And I remember I would come home from school with the hay like I'm going to a ranch."

Janet said she last saw Michael two days before her 43rd birthday in May. "I was being silly, acting silly," she said. "And he was sitting in front of me and just cracking up, laughing at me. I was being loud, and he thought it was so funny. I was just being stupid, acting silly."

• The Making of Janet Jackson's Video Music Awards Tribute Performance

• Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos

• Janet Jackson
• Michael Jackson

Janet Jackson at the Grove in Los Angeles on Saturday
Photo: Jason LaVeris/ FilmMagic

Tuesday marks the release of Janet Jackson's new compilation album, Number Ones, which packages together two discs worth of her biggest chart-topping singles, including "Nasty," "Any Time, Any Place," "That's the Way Love Goes" and "If." And to celebrate the 34-track album, fans gathered on Saturday in a series of Flash Mobs that took place in various locations in Los Angeles to dance and pay tribute to some of the veteran diva's best dance moves and songs.

The message went out on Janet's official Web site at the end of October that fans could get together in three different locations in Los Angeles. The events were produced by Flash Mob America, who posted the locations of the mobs on its Twitter page throughout the day on Saturday.

	Janet Jackson Greets Her Flash Mob

Hundreds of people gathered to watch fans, who had rehearsed the day before, at each of the stops, but it was the second Flash Mob stop that grabbed headlines. The mob converged on Los Angeles shopping center the Grove and re-created classic Jackson dance moves to a medley of her hits that included "Rhythm Nation" and "Escapade."

Soon after launching into their performance, the performers realized that Janet herself was watching the mob from a balcony above the fray. When the group turned to acknowledge her, they gave her a raucous ovation, to which she responded with a round of applause and waves to the crowd before disappearing into the building, thus ending the show.

This is only the beginning of Jackson's step back into the spotlight, as she will appear this Wednesday night on an ABC News special in her first prime-time sit-down interview since the death of her brother Michael in June. In the interview, she says that she blames Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael's personal physician, for his death.

• Janet Jackson Greets Her Flash Mob In Los Angeles

• Janet Jackson

Michael Jackson
Photo: Time Life Pictures/DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Im

The A&E network reality show depicting the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death on his family, "The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty," is slated to premiere on Sunday, December 13, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. According to an A&E spokesperson, the series will kick off a six-show run that night with two hour-long episodes.

The show will focus on the lives of brothers Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon Jackson as they make preparations for a reunion tour that was reportedly to include a performance by Michael at a concert in Texas next summer. Shooting on the series cranked up again following Jackson's death in June, and episodes will also reportedly focus on the brothers' reactions to the shocking passing of the King of Pop.

There have been conflicting reports about whether Jackson's three young children — whom the singer vigorously tried to hide from cameras and paparazzi during his life — will appear on the program. An A&E spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on whether the children will be included in the show.

In a 30-second preview of the show, tagged "You only think you know them," the brothers can be heard in voiceover discussing their comeback. "It's been 20 years since we were in the studio," one says. "How are we going to make this happen?" another replies.

"I never wanted to hurt y'all; I never wanted to be separated," a third pleads over stock footage of their modest upbringing in Gary, Indiana, as the phrase "The wait is over" flashes on the screen. "We've never forgotten where we come from," another says. "What do we got? Each other. Let's show them who we are."

The second half of the clip shows the brothers rehearsing dance steps to the strains of the group's hit "ABC," as one of them intones, "We're family; we'll be Jackson 5 until the day we die."

• 'Michael Jackson's This Is It' Premiere Special
• This Week's Biggest News

• Janet Jackson Performs A Tribute To Michael Jackson At The VMAs
• Family & Friends Say Goodbye To Michael Jackson

• The Jackson 5
• Michael Jackson
• Janet Jackson
• LaToya Jackson

Janet Jackson
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images

Janet Jackson will be the subject of an hour-long special on November 18 that will feature her first extended sit-down interview since the death of her brother Michael back in June. Jackson will invite ABC News correspondent Robin Roberts into her home for a lengthy discussion that will air the day after Jackson's new greatest-hits compilation, Number Ones, hits stores.

The special will be the first time Janet discusses Michael Jackson's death at length in prime time, although she has addressed it briefly several times since Michael's passing on June 25. She appeared at the live televised memorial tribute to Jackson on July 7, and she addressed the audience of the BET Awards a few days after his death. "I'd just like to say, to you, Michael is an icon, to us, Michael is family," Janet said. "And he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much."

Janet also spoke to MTV about her tribute to Michael at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. "He left such an impression with his style on so many different generations," she told MTV News. "To see [the dancers at the VMA tribute] try to mimic him to the T and doing an incredible job at it as if he was the one that taught them — 'No, this is how you do it' — and to see them look so close to his movement, it just touched me. It really touched me."

Janet Jackson's Number Ones feature two discs of her biggest singles, as well as the recently released track "Make Me," which is a tribute to her late brother's breakout smash "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

• The Making of Janet Jackson's Video Music Awards Tribute Performance

• Janet Jackson

Rodney Jerkins and Janet Jackson
Photo: Arnold Turner/ WireImage

When we caught up with producer Rodney Jerkins on the VMA red carpet in September, he was already hard at work on Janet Jackson's next LP. Now the super-producer is opening up a lot more on exactly what fans can expect for Janet's 11th studio album.

"Janet is like my sister now," Jerkins told MTV News on Wednesday (October 21) at his Los Angeles recording studio. "We definitely have this incredible chemistry, this bond — I think we musically connect, crazily. I knew it — it's funny 'cause I predicted this. Five years ago, people used to ask me who I wanted to work with, and I was like, 'Janet Jackson.' And I was so passionate about that because I've always been a fan of her music and what her and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have done in the past. And I felt like, knowing she wants to try new things, that I feel I can get it and I can deliver it for her," he said.

DarkChild explained that fans can look forward to an emotionally driven album.

"Since we've been working ... I feel like the studio has become a second home for her because with the whole situation with Michael [Jackson] happening, and I feel like right now, emotionally, she can come here and let all her feelings out. I got her writing again — she has the pen and the pad in her hand."

But it's not just the recent passing of her brother Michael that is fueling the content of Jackson's album. Fans are going to see a side of Janet that they've never seen before, thanks in part to Rodney's persuasion.

"You gotta understand, she lost her brother. She was in a relationship for seven years [with Jermaine Dupri] that's over now. There's things that she told me that I didn't even realize. You know, certain [things] like self-esteem that I didn't even realize that she dealt with for years that, you know. ... She's working on her book and she'll deal with that in her book, but also in songs, certain songs we're dealing with that head on. And sometimes it can be a touchy subject for us to even go into, and I kinda had to persuade her, 'Let's just go, let's talk about that.' And she's been doing it, and she's a pro about it."

Although Rodney says you can expect some up-tempo dance tracks on the new album, it won't have the futuristic sound we heard on her last project, 2008's Discipline.

"It's funny, 'cause when we just started the project, she was like, 'I wanna do 10 dance records, all up-tempo to dance. Let's just go dance,' " Jerkins said. The sound is inspired by worldwide influences, from African rhythms to Brazilian and Latin music, and RJ said we can expect features on this album like a Pitbull track that was recorded last week.

"But she hits me today and she says we need to do some mid-tempos as well," Rodney continued. "And I'm glad for that because there's a time when you listen to a record that you wanna mellow out and she always gives us those great smoothed-out mellow records. So now that she's in that zone, it's like 'Yes!' 'cause we can focus on that. But I'm still gonna keep the beats hard underneath 'cause she's still a dancer at heart."

Jenkins and Jackson co-produced her recently released single, "Make Me," which will be included on her greatest-hits compilation Number Ones, due in November. A release date has not been announced for her yet-untitled studio album.

• Janet Jackson
• Rodney Jerkins

Janet Jackson
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

Janet Jackson will release a career-spanning greatest-hits compilation called Number Ones on November 17, bringing together 33 of the singer's most beloved tracks as well as the recently released new song "Make Me."

The two-disc set — the first compilation album from Jackson since 1995 — begins with 1986 debut album, Control, and stretches all the way to last year's Discipline.

Spanning 20 years of hits that have helped the youngest Jackson sell more than 100 million albums worldwide, the collection includes all of the singer's #1 singles beginning with "What Have You Done for Me Lately" and including such iconic hits as "Nasty," "When I Think of You," "The Pleasure Principle," "Rhythm Nation," "That's the Way Love Goes" and "All For You."

Jackson released "Make Me" last month, just a day after paying emotional tribute to late brother Michael at the VMAs. The track was produced by Janet and Rodney Jerkins.

In addition to a new album and a biography due next year, the onetime child television star is set to appear in her fourth big-screen effort, Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too," in 2010.

Here's the full track listing for Number Ones:

Disc One: "What Have You Done for Me Lately," "Nasty," "When I Think of You," "Control," "Let's Wait Awhile," "The Pleasure Principle," "Diamonds," "Miss You Much," "Rhythm Nation," "Escapade," "Alright," "Come Back to Me," "Black Cat," "Love Will Never Do (Without You)," "The Best Things in Life Are Free," "That's the Way Love Goes"

Disc Two: "If," "Again," "Because of Love," "Any Time, Any Place," "Scream" (her duet with Michael), "Runaway," "Got 'Til Its Gone," "Together Again," "Get Lonely," "Go Deep," "What's It Gonna Be," "Doesn't Really Matter," "All for You," "Someone to Call My Lover," "All Nite (Don't Stop)," "Call on Me" (with Nelly), "Feedback," "Make Me"

• Janet Jackson's Greatest Music Videos

• Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson performs at the VMAs on September 13, 2009
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Though Janet Jackson had not performed the choreography from "Scream" since she and her brother Michael shot the video in 1995, it couldn't have been a more fitting tribute to him. Jackson talked about the making of that video along with how she prepared for the Video Music Awards in the half-hour special "The Making of Janet Jackson's VMA Tribute Performance," which aired Saturday (September 19), and re-airs Sunday at 12:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and Tuesday at 7 p.m. on MTV.

According to Janet, "Scream" was a turning point for Michael, who used the video to express frustration over his legal troubles. " 'Scream,' there was so much going on at that time," Jackson recalled. "That's when the — I hate to say this but — the first allegations [of child molestation] came out and the whole bit. He was very upset and very angry and he had so much pent up in him that he wanted to get out and say. And when you listen to the lyrics, that's what it's about."

When Michael asked Janet for her help with the song, there was no way she could say no. "I played the role that I've always played in his life: his little sister that was there by his side, that had his back no matter what," she said. "That's what 'Scream' was for me."

The MTV special followed Janet as she relearned the intricate choreography for the VMA tribute along with her backup dancers, a crew of renowned choreographers including Tyce Diorio, Tina Landon, Jeri Slaughter, Travis Payne, Brian Friedman, Cris Judd, Dave Scott, Mia Michaels, Laurie Ann Gibson and Wade Robson.

Sore muscles aside, the group couldn't have been happier to get the chance to honor the man who inspired their own careers.

"As soon as I got the phone call I was absolutely thrilled and on board 110 percent," Slaughter said. "It's an honor to be in this for Michael."

After costume fittings, a cross-country flight to New York and a final run-through in Radio City Music Hall, Janet and company mounted the stage to a standing ovation, performing alongside images of Michael from the 1995 video.

"I know he was watching," Jackson said. "I know he was looking down. I hope he enjoyed it."

"The Making of Janet Jackson's VMA Tribute Performance" re-airs Sunday at 12:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and Tuesday at 7 p.m. on MTV.

• The Making of Janet Jackson's Video Music Awards Tribute Performance
• VMA 2009: The Entire Show On Demand

• Janet Jackson Performs A Tribute To Michael Jackson At The VMAs

• Michael Jackson
• Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson performs at the VMAs on September 13, 2009
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic

It was one of the most memorable and touching moments from Sunday night's Video Music Awards: Janet Jackson and a crew of renowned choreographers dancing alongside images of Michael Jackson from his 1995 video with his sister, "Scream," in tribute to the late pop icon.The process was an emotional one for Janet, who shared her story in the special "The Making of Janet Jackson's VMA Tribute Performance," which aired Saturday (September 19), and re-airs Sunday at 12:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and Tuesday at 7 p.m. on MTV.

"I know he was watching. I know he was looking down," Jackson said of the performance. "I hope he enjoyed it."

The half-hour special began with day one of training in a Burbank, California, studio, introducing the celebrated choreographers who would accompany Jackson: Tyce Diorio, Tina Landon, Jeri Slaughter, Travis Payne, Brian Friedman, Cris Judd, Dave Scott, Mia Michaels, Laurie Ann Gibson and Wade Robson.

Many of the choreographers had worked with Janet or Michael during their careers and said they owed much to the revolutionary dancer and singer.

"Being a part of this show is making you proud to be a dancer," Judd said.

Janet saw the performance as the perfect way for dancers to honor one of their own. "You see tributes. And you see the stars paying homage ... this time around because he represented dance for dancers. To be able to pay homage to him and choreographers, that was something so special to me," she said.

Day two of rehearsals found the sore choreographers ("This is why I choreograph. My back hurts," Scott moaned) being fitted for their Jackson-inspired costumes, including silver-studded shoes specially designed by Christian Louboutin.

"I like what [costume designer Robert Behar] did in homage to my brother, with the different looks he did," Jackson said. "But it's all in black and white."

Jackson and her crew also took a break from their own rehearsal to watch the other dancers who would open the awards show with a medley of classic MJ numbers. The dancers were so able to embody MJ that it was sometimes hard for Janet to control her emotions.

"It's like you're seeing all these carbon copies of your brother," Jackson said. "And I was trying not to cry, and I got choked up a few times. It gave me goose bumps. I thought they looked incredible."

When Jackson flew to New York and arrived at Radio City Music Hall for a final run-through of the performance, she was once again overcome with emotion.

"When I looked on that screen and I saw his face there, well, I started to cry," she said. "I had to walk away. It was very emotional for me, and I was trying not to cry, and I got choked up a few times. [His death is] hard for me to believe still sometimes and accept."

And what was Jackson thinking about as she approached the stage for the big performance? "Missing him. And just to say I love you and thank you. Just to say thank you for giving us the talent you've given us, the love you've given us, the music you've given us. Everything."

"The Making of Janet Jackson's VMA Tribute Performance" re-airs Sunday at 12:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and Tuesday at 7 p.m. on MTV.

• The Making of Janet Jackson's Video Music Awards Tribute Performance
• VMA 2009: The Entire Show On Demand

• Janet Jackson Performs A Tribute To Michael Jackson At The VMAs

• Janet Jackson
• Michael Jackson

Janet Jackson Greets Her Flash Mob In Los Angeles

• Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson Performs A Tribute To Michael Jackson At The VMAs

• Janet Jackson
• Michael Jackson

Janet Jackson's VMA History

• Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson's Rock Witchu Tour Hits Madison Square Garden

• Janet Jackson

Stars Collide At The 2008 VMA Weekend Parties

• Colby O'Donis
• Korn
• Game
• Calle 13
• Paris Hilton

MTV's Artist of the Week 02.25.08: Janet Jackson

• Janet Jackson

Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Chingy, More Celebrate Ne-Yo's Birthday In New York

• Ne-Yo
• Rihanna
• Janet Jackson
• Jermaine Dupri
• Chingy

Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene

• Britney Spears
• Justin Timberlake
• Timbaland
• Nick Cannon
• Lil Jon

Grammy Parties: Scarlett, Christina, Justin, Katharine And More

• Timbaland
• Nelly Furtado
• Natasha Bedingfield
• JC Chasez
• Rich Boy

Gwen, T.I., Pharrell, Luda And More Hit The 2006 Billboard Music Awards

• Gwen Stefani
• Pharrell Williams
• Ludacris
• Janet Jackson
• Chris Daugherty