To celebrate the release of Janet Jackson's new compilation album, Number Ones, fans gathered Saturday for three 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 events were produced by Flash Mob America, who posted the locations of the mobs on its Twitter page throughout the day. Hundreds of people gathered to watch, but it was the second Flash Mob stop that grabbed headlines. Soon after launching into their performance at Los Angeles shopping center the Grove, the performers realized that Janet herself was watching the mob from a balcony above the fray.
Joleen Nordstrom was one of those dancers, and she shared her story with the Newsroom:
The first Flash Mob went off flawlessly. The screeching noise at the beginning of the song started, and the Grove shoppers wondered, "What is going on, and why isn't someone fixing it?" The person standing next to me said, "Look at those people grabbing their heads!" I responded, "I know. Crazy!" — right before I started the Janet march and yelled the "huuhs," and we broke out into the dance.
The next Flash Mob was a little crazier. People had heard about us, there was a lot of media around, and everyone wanted to know: "What is going on?" But true to Flash Mob style, we just went with it and improv'd along the way.
We started it all over again, coming in with our Janet march and the "huuhs," but this time, the "huuhs" became "Huh?" Janet Jackson herself had walked out not even 10 feet from us to watch the whole thing. As we threw our right hands up in the air to the "Miss You Much" pose, we were throwing them right to her.
We were now performing for Janet Jackson. We put our all into the dance like we've never Flash Mobbed before, and we rocked it. When it was over, we were supposed to walk away as if nothing happened. But something did happen. Janet Jackson came to watch us dance, and it was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had.
After we composed ourselves, we had one more to go: Universal Studios. The excitement from all the dancers was at an all-time high. There was no media, no press and no craziness this time, but we were still at our best.
When we signed on for the Janet Jackson Flash Mob, none of us had any idea she was going to show up. We did it because we are her fans, and we love to dance and have fun. Having the opportunity to be a part of this — learning her moves, the nights of meeting in secret locations, going over it just one more time, getting that part down — has been an amazing experience. Having Janet show up just made it into a dream come true for all of us. I know we are all honored to be a part of Flash Mob America and this experience.
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