In 2016, during an event celebrating Madonna as Billboard’s Woman of the Year, Madge said: “I think the most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around. Michael is gone. Tupac is gone. Prince is gone. Whitney is gone. Amy Winehouse is gone. David Bowie is gone. But I’m still standing. I’m one of the lucky ones and every day I count my blessings.”

If a pop star can scratch out a few years standing on top, it’s a major miracle. Only two ’80s-born stars have stuck around for four decades: Madonna and Janet Jackson.

This summer both icons will dominate the concert season – Janet Jackson performs at the Xfinity Center May 19, Madonna plays two nights at the TD Garden in August. Madonna will get most of the headlines but Janet deserves equal time (and both deserve more attention than 99% of the shows on the road this summer).

Janet Jackson has outsold David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, and Tupac (and Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Cher). She has racked up 28 Top 10 hits (as many as her brother, more than Prince). But beyond the numbers, Janet has balanced radical stylistic shifts and experimental sounds with pop perfection like no one but, well, Madonna.

Jackson was 19 when she teamed with production and writing partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to make “Control” – an LPs-worth of perfect pop. She was 49 when she dove into the weird (but still poppy) for “Unbreakable,” an album packed with quiet storm r&b, EDM tricks, and jazzy tones. Between the two came righteous feminist anthems, songs celebrating sexual liberation, political rants set to addictive dance grooves, and sweet, silly pop gems.

With no new album to promote and absolutely nothing to prove, Jackson can spend her Together Again Tour exploring every evolution, reinvention and smash single. Yes, she’ll do “Nasty,” “If,” and “When I Think of You” (but don’t expect her to do them exactly as you remember them). Better yet, she’ll resurrect some odd, awesome stuff.

I’m thinking of something like “Damita Jo,” the title track to her 2004 album that shows off a sex-positve thump and delightful flirtation with disco, hip hop and neo soul. Or the android funk of “Feedback” (a Janelle Monáe track years before Janelle Monáe broke). Or the slow burn of “No Sleep” or towering dance jam “Throb” or glitchy, trip hop-touched “When We Oooo.”

So many of Janet’s deep cuts dive into love and lust, a night based on what she loves in her catalog, what she lusts for artistically, sounds amazing. Which brings us to this: Jackson is a killer live act.

Jackson last stopped in Massachusetts for a 2017 TD Garden show. The mix of high-energy dance numbers and breathy ballads, of defiant protest songs and pop escapism, felt unique and distinctively Janet.

It’s hard for pop stars to stick around. When one does, it’s for good reasons. It’s cause for celebration. Celebrate with Miss Jackson later this month.

For tickets and details, visit janetjackson.com