Unbreakable (Janet Jackson album)
"Unbreakable" debuted atop the "Billboard" 200 albums chart in the week ending October 8, 2015. The album sold 116,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, which included streaming and individual digital song sales. Of that sum, the album sold 109,000 in pure sales. "Unbreakable" became Jackson's seventh number one album on that chart and also made her the third act to amass a number one album in each of the last four decades. The album also opened atop the US Independent Albums Chart. In its second week, "Unbreakable" dropped to number eight on the "Billboard" 200 with 30,000 equivalent album units sold, which represented a drop of 74 percent in album sales. Out of that figure, 27,911 were pure album sales. As of 28 April 2016, "Unbreakable" has sold 253,000 copies domestically. In Canada the album also debuted at number one, with sales of 4,300 units, which represented the lowest sales for an album debuting at number-one in 2015. It became Jackson's second chart-topping album in Canada in the Soundscan era since "All for You" debuted atop the charts in 2001.
Unbreakable (Janet Jackson album)
In her review for "USA Today", Elysa Gardner wrote: "The young woman intent on liberating herself and the world is still socially and spiritually conscious, but she has evolved into a more settled, reflective artist ... With "Unbreakable", Jackson, already a proven survivor—of both her family's well-publicized struggles and decades of changing trends in pop music and culture—gives us no reason to doubt that people will keep watching, and listening." Mikael Wood of "Los Angeles Times" wrote that the album is a collection of "grand-scaled but meticulously detailed songs" that include a mix of balladry, R&B, rock and EDM. Wood comments that although "the music makes for delicious ear candy, Jackson isn't content to leave it at that. She also has messages to deliver[.]" Writing for "The Guardian", Alex Macpherson remarked: "Unbreakable’s highlights are low-key moments of reflection and nostalgia: the hypnotic sway of Promise, the languorous dread of Lessons Learned and After You Fall, a skeletal piano lullaby that seems composed for Jackson’s late brother Michael, and on which she once again demonstrates the emotional range of her voice." Rebecca Haithcoat of "Spin" rated "Unbreakable" 8/10, stating that "it proves Janet can still surprise us. Who would've ever envisioned her slipping on a pair of boots and cowboy-cut Wranglers to sing 'Lessons Learned,' a country-tinged ballad about co-dependency? Or that she and the boys would've gone full "Nashville" and let a steel guitar cry and a little twang curl the edges of her voice on 'Well Traveled' (and that the whole thing would work!)?" Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave the album 3.5/5 stars, complimenting Jackson's diversity of sound while referencing her own catalog and familial influences. He remarked: "No one but Jackson can directly reference previous triumphs, address her audience, and yet move forward quite like this."