Janet Jackson poses topless for Vibe

 Janet Jackson has never been afraid to expose some skin. The 40-year-old singer, newly svelte after losing some 60 pounds, appears on the cover of Vibe magazine wearing a skimpy bikini bottom and a necklace made of large shells. Her right arm covers her breasts.

Will she ever stop posing for sexy photos? “Of course. When I’m 80,” she tells Vibe. “That’s when I’ll call it quits.”

Two years ago, Justin Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson’s bustier, briefly exposing one of her breasts, during the Super Bowl halftime show.

In an interview in the magazine’s September issue, on newsstands Aug. 15, Jackson says the incident — variously referred to as “Nipplegate” and the “bra-ha-ha” — is history.

“It’s just over and done with. It’s old. It’s the past. It’s history. I’m onto something new. Everybody got their licks in — those who wanted to — and it’s done,” she says.

Jackson credits her boyfriend, 33-year-old music producer Jermaine Dupri, for giving her self-esteem “a little boost.”

“I came to realize that younger men had less of a problem with who I am than older men,” she says. “With the younger guys, there was less ego. Things were less competitive. They weren’t threatened by who made more and who made less.”

She says that with Dupri, she feels as if she’s met her match.

“When I look at Jermaine, I see myself,” Jackson says. “I feel as if I’m looking in the mirror. The connection I feel with him I have never felt with anybody else.”

Her new album, “20 Y.O.,” is slated for release Sept. 26. Dupri produced a few tracks, and longtime collaborators Jimmy “Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis pitched in on the disc as well.

The pop star recently said she had packed on extra weight for a role in the upcoming movie “Tennessee,” which she ultimately had to pass on because of her new record.

When asked if she’d rather have a hit album or win an Oscar, she says: “Win an Oscar. It’s just a passion. But can’t I have both? Everybody in my family says I’m spoiled anyway. I want both…”

Janet Jackson Says She Prefers Younger Men

Janet Jackson doesn’t have a problem with dating younger men: In fact, she prefers it, the singer says in a new interview.

“I came to realize that younger men had less of a problem with who I am than older men,” Jackson, 40, whose boyfriend is 33-year-old music producer Jermaine Dupri, tells Vibe magazine.

“With the younger guys, there was less ego. Things were less competitive. They weren’t threatened by who made more and who made less.”

Dupri, she says, gives her self-esteem “a little boost.” “When I look at Jermaine, I see myself,” Jackson tells the magazine in its September issue, on newsstands Aug. 15. “I feel as if I’m looking in the mirror. The connection I feel with him I have never felt with anybody else.”

The couple, who have been together for five years, recently made headlines by hinting that they’re planning to get married – possibly on Sept. 26, the date Jackson’s new album, 20 Years Old, hits stores.

On the rumored wedding, Jackson told a British radio DJ, “Everyone’s been asking me about it. And if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.”

One thing she tells Vibe will happen: motherhood. Asked if she wants to have kids, Jackson says, “I do and I will. I didn’t before, but with Jermaine I do.”

Whether she becomes Mrs. Dupri or not, Jackson doesn’t plan to change her risqué image. The singer, who recently dropped more than 60 lbs., appears on the Vibe cover wearing nothing but bikini bottoms and a large shell necklace.

Will she ever stop posing for sexy pictures? “Of course,” Jackson says. “When I’m 80. That’s when I’ll call it quits.”

As for her famous Super Bowl performance, during which her nipple was exposed during the game’s live halftime show with Justin Timberlake, Jackson has put the incident behind her.

“It’s just over and done with. It’s old. It’s the past. It’s history. I’m onto something new,” she says. “Everybody got their licks in – those who wanted to – and it’s done.”

MICHAEL TAUGHT JANET ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

Superstar JANET JACKSON was taught the facts of life by her older brother MICHAEL JACKSON. The singer turned to Michael for an explanation after walking in on their parents JOE and KATHERINE having sex. She says, “I didn’t know what I was watching. My brother and I were very close at that time, so he was the one who told me.”