January : Janet & Rene go to Minneapolis to start working on the new album with Lewis & Jam but they decide to fly back to California because of the bad weather.
January 21 : Katherine’s father, Prince Scruse, dies at the age of 90 years old.
February 13 : Debbie Rowe gives birth to Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, first child of Michael, at the Cedar Sinai Medical Center of Los Angeles.
Late February : Michael hosts a Jackson Family Day at Neverland to introduce Prince to the clan. Janet who is in studio in Minneapolis can’t attend the party. LaToya is not invited.
June 24 : The stormy six-year marriage of singer LaToya and Jack Gordon is officially over. The divorce is granted in Clark County Family Court.
July 13 : Janet & Rene offer a special preview of 4 songs from the new album during a fan meeting.
July 29 : Janet & Rene attend Wayne Morris Birthday Party.
August : Janet completes the recording of the “Velvet Rope” album.
She auditions the new Kids which include Tina, Shawnette, Kelly, Nikki and a 17 years old dancer named Gil Duldulao who will eventually become Janet’s choreographer and best friend.
Janet shoots the video for “Got Til It’s Gone” directed by Mark Romance.
August 20 : Janet graces the cover of Jet magazine.
The single “Got Til It’s Gone” is released to radios.
September : Latoya visits Janet at her Malibu beach house and the two sisters reconnect after 9 years apart.
September 3 : Janet & Rene attend a listening party of the “Velvet Rope” album in NYC with many celebrities in attendance including Naomi Campbell & Lisa Marie Presley (who makes a cameo on one of the interludes).
September 4 : The video for “Got Til It’s Gone” is premiered on MTV.
Janet & Rene attend the 4th Annual MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City where Janet presents an award to Mark Romanek.
September 5 :Janet attends the Third Annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica where Maya Angelou presents her with the Lena Horne Awards during the Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards (with Katherine, Rene & Jimmy Jan in the audience) in Santa Monica.
September 9 : Janet & Rene attend a “Velvet Rope” Listening Party at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City with Katherine & the 3T among others.
September 16 : Janet, Rene & the Kids arrive in London.
September 17 : Janet unveils her wax statue at the Rock Circus and later she tapes two performances of Got Til It’s Gone for Top Of The Pops (which airs on September 20).
September 19 : Janet, Rene & the Kids attend a Velvet Rope Listening Party in London.
September 22 : “Got Til It’s Gone” is released as the 1st single from ” The Velvet Rope”. The song is not released as a commercial single in the US, making it ineligible to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 and several other charts under the chart rules that existed at that time.
September 24 : In Paris Janet & the Kids perform Got Til It’s Gone at Graines de Star TV show on M6.
September 25 : Janet is a guest on french TV show Nulles Part Ailleurs on Canal + but she doesn’t perform.
October 3 : Janet & her entourage fly back to NYC.
October 6 : The “Velvet Rope” album is released in Europe.
Janet gives an interview to Bill Bellamy live from Times Square on MTV Live.
October 7 : The “Velvet Rope” album is released in the US.
Janet makes a CD signing session at the Virgin Megastore on Times Square.
October 17 : Janet performs Together Again on Top of The Tops in London, England.
Early November : Janet goes to Chicago with Rene & the Kids to tape an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show. She also performs “Got Til It’s Gone” & “Together Again”. During the interview Janet reveals that she has not seen not spoken to Michael since december 1995.
November 8 : Janet performs “Got Til It’s Gone” on Hey Hey It’s Saturday TV Show in Melbourne, Australia.
November 16 : Janet performs “Got Til It’s Gone” on HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP in Tokyo, Japan.
November 19 : The Oprah Winfrey Show episode with Janet airs on TV.
Late November/Early December : “Together Again” is released as the 2n single from “The Velvet Rope”. It peaks at #1 on Hot 100 Billboard. Janet, Rene & the Kids go back to Europe to promote the single :
-Paris (France) : Janet performs Got Til It’s Gone on Les Années Tubes (TF1) which airs on November 25. She also performs Got Til It’s Gone and Together Again on Hit Machine which airs on M6 on December 14 and another performance of Together Again which airs on M6 on December 31.
-Hilversum (Netherlands) : Janet performs Together Again on TROS TV Show which airs on November 27.
-Rome (Italy) : Janet performs Together Again on Fantastico 8 which airs on November 29.
-London (England) : Janet performs Together Again on Smash Hits Poll Winners Party 1997 which airs on November 30.
-Madrid (Spain) : Janet performs Together Again on Sorpresa, ¡Sorpresa! which airs on December 11. She also performs Got Til It’s Gone and Together Again on Música sí which airs on December 12 and another performance of Together Again which airs on Turrón y… cuenta nueva on December 31.
-Berlin (Germany) : Janet performs Together Again on Nur Die Liebe Zählt which airs on December 13.
-Maimarkthalle, Mannheim (Germany) : Janet performs Together Again on Wetten, dass..? which airs on December 13.
December : Janet is on the cover of Ebony magazine with new pictures and a new interview where she reveals that she recently reconnected with LaToya.
December 20 : Enid Spann Jackson, Jackie’s ex wife and mother of their children Siggy & Brandi tragically dies of a brain aneurysm in a movie theater bahhroom. The Jackson family gather at Hayvenhurst to support Siggy & brandi.
Jackson Dynasty 