"Control" | ||||
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Single by Janet Jackson | ||||
from the album Control | ||||
B-side |
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Released | October 17, 1986 | |||
Recorded | August 1985 | |||
Studio | Flyte Tyme, Minneapolis, Minnesota | |||
Genre | Funk | |||
Length | 5:53 (album version) 3:26 (single edit) | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis | |||
Janet Jackson singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Control" on YouTube |
"Control" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album of the same name (1986). The song was written by Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis, and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was released as the album's fourth single on October 17, 1986, by A&M Records. Its arrangement, built upon complex rhythmic tracks, showcased state-of-the-art production. The song is about Jackson wanting to finally take control of her life.
In 1988, the song won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, beating out her brother Michael, Whitney Houston, and Jody Watley. Pitchfork included the song in its Best 200 Songs of the '80s list at number 126. [1]
Jackson has performed the song on many of her tours, including the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, Number Ones: Up Close and Personal, Unbreakable World Tour, and the State of the World Tour. The only tour that it was not included on was the Janet World Tour. It has been included in two of Jackson's greatest hits albums, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995) and Number Ones (2009).
Released in 1986, the single peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Jackson's fourth consecutive top-five single on the chart; it also peaked at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts. It was the 37th biggest Hot 100 single of 1987, the fifth biggest Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs single of 1987, and the ninth biggest-selling 12-inch single of 1987. In the UK it missed the top 40, peaking at number 42.
The music video for "Control" was directed by Mary Lambert, who had previously directed the video for "Nasty". The video shows Jackson playing a young singer preparing for her first gig, only to end up arguing with her parents because she wants to move out of the family home and live on her own. Her father is deadset against her plan. When he tells her they will not discuss the subject any further, she angrily storms out of the house, saying she will drive herself to the concert instead of taking the limo that has been provided for her. Just as she is about to leave for the concert, she is greeted in the driveway by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson, and Jerome Benton. They take her to a concert hall to perform her single "Control" where she shows that she wants to be "the one in control". The video version of the song is different from the album version. The nine-minute video was made available on the iTunes Store on April 27, 2007. Ja'net Dubois, who co-starred on Good Times with Jackson in the 1970s, plays her mother in the video. Paula Abdul choreographed the video.
The live footage was recorded at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Both Lambert and producer Sharon Oreck recall it as a difficult and trying experience; Oreck said in 2011 that it was her "worst nightmare" of the many videos she had produced. The crowd, which had been told that they would see Janet Jackson perform, had expected a free concert. "Instead we gave them 50 takes of Janet lip-synching 'Control'", said Oreck. [2]
At the time, Janet was in the midst of firing her father, Joe Jackson, from his position as her manager. Oreck said he was bitter and taking it out on everybody else. He told Oreck that he would not let Janet sit on the trapeze she is seen being lowered onto the stage in unless there was $1 million of liability insurance coverage on her. She told the record company, which responded, "Don't tell him anything, but don't tell him no, because we don't say no to Joe Jackson." This evasiveness did not work, and he became even angrier and threatened her with violence. Finally, Lambert told A&M she and Oreck would quit the video unless they told Joe Jackson his daughter was insured. [2]
The situation got worse later in the shoot. A&M told Lambert they wanted more white people visible in the audience. There were a few scattered throughout, and under the guise of simple repositioning she began having them sit further forward. Eventually the crowd as a whole figured out what was really happening, and grew angry. Lambert told the record company representative that she absolutely could not go on due to the potential for violence, and he went out and explained things to the crowd, which calmed down enough to complete the video. [2]
Jackson has performed the song on many of her tours, excluding the Janet World Tour. It opened her first concert tour Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour in 1990. It began with Jackson rising out of the floor perched upon a steel lift that resembled an oil rig. As she rose through the fog, she started singing the song. [3] The song was performed during a "frenzied" medley of "Control" "The Pleasure Principle", "Nasty" and "Throb" on The Velvet Rope Tour in 1998. [4] The medley at the October 11, 1998, show at the Madison Square Garden in New York City was broadcast during a special titled The Velvet Rope: Live in Madison Square Garden by HBO. It was also added to the setlist at its DVD release, The Velvet Rope Tour: Live in Concert in 1999. [5] During the All for You Tour (2001–2002), "What Have You Done for Me Lately" was performed in a re-worked version, during a medley with "Control" and "Nasty". According to Denise Sheppard from Rolling Stone , it was "another crowd favorite; perhaps best dubbed as the "bitter" portion of the night", also adding that "this performer - who has been performing onstage for twenty-eight years - knows what the crowd comes for and gives it to them in spades". [6] The February 16, 2002 final date of the tour at the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, was broadcast by HBO, and included a performance of it. This rendition was also added to the setlist at its DVD release, Janet: Live in Hawaii , in 2002. [7]
On December 4, 2006, Jackson opened the Billboard Music Awards with a medley of past singles "Control" and "The Pleasure Principle" and new single "So Excited", accompanied by black and red-clad dancers. [8] [9] For her first tour in seven years, the Rock Witchu Tour in 2008, she chose to open the show a medley with "The Pleasure Principle", "Control" and "What Have You Done for Me Lately". After an interlude, Jackson made her entrance amid fireworks and theatrical smoke to perform the medley, while donning a Mohawk hairstyle. [10] [11] While promoting her second greatest hits album Number Ones , the singer performed an eight-minute medley of six songs during the American Music Awards of 2009. It included "Control", "Miss You Much", "What Have You Done for Me Lately", "If", "Make Me", and finished with "Together Again". [12] [13] She also included the song on the Number Ones: Up Close and Personal tour (2011), the Unbreakable World Tour (2015–2016), and the State of the World Tour (2017–2019). Jackson included the song at her 2019 Las Vegas residence Janet Jackson: Metamorphosis. It was also included on her special concert series Janet Jackson: A Special 30th Anniversary Celebration of Rhythm Nation in 2019.In 2023 Jackson performed the song on her Janet Jackson: Together Again tour.
The spoken intro of "Control" was sampled on Kylie Minogue's song "Too Much of a Good Thing", from her 1991 album Let's Get to It . [14] In 2010, the song was included in the Dance Central DLC setlist to be played using Kinect for the Xbox 360. [15] Glee covered the song in the episode "Hold On to Sixteen", where the New Directions sang three songs originated by members of the Jackson family. Dianna Agron (as Quinn Fabray) opens the song with its spoken introduction, with leads sung by Darren Criss (as Blaine Anderson) and Kevin McHale (as Artie Abrams). The song is included on the soundtrack album Glee: The Music, Volume 7 . [16]
The song is also listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. [17]
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Weekly charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [36] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"What Have You Done for Me Lately" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, Control (1986). It was released as the album's lead single on January 13, 1986, by A&M Records. Jackson co-wrote the song with its producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. After two unsuccessful albums and a management change, Jackson began developing a new album. "What Have You Done for Me Lately" was penned for one of Jam and Lewis's own records, but the lyrics were rewritten to convey Jackson's feelings about her recent separation from James DeBarge in January 1985. The song revolves around a woman's frustration with her partner in a relationship. Musically, it is a dance-pop, funk and R&B song.
"When I Think of You" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, Control (1986). It was released on July 28, 1986, as the album's third single. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song is about a person who finds relief and fun in a lover. It was Jackson's first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also peaked at number 10 in the United Kingdom.
"Let's Wait Awhile" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album Control (1986). It was released on January 6, 1987 on A&M Records as the album's fifth single. The song was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Melanie Andrews serving as co-writer. It is also the first song Jackson co-produced. "Let's Wait Awhile" was inspired by intimate moments and conversations Andrews had with her first love and boyfriend. Just young teenagers at the time, the couple decided through those conversations to postpone sexual intimacy within their relationship until the time was right.
"The Pleasure Principle" is a song recorded by American singer Janet Jackson for her third studio album, Control (1986). A&M Records released it as the sixth single from Control on May 12, 1987. Written and produced by Monte Moir, with co-production by Jackson and Steve Wiese, the song is an "independent woman" anthem about taking control of a personal relationship by refusing to settle for loveless materialism. Musically, "The Pleasure Principle" is an R&B song built around a dance-pop beat. The photograph for the single cover was shot by David LaChapelle. The song has been included in two of Jackson's greatest hits albums, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995) and Number Ones (2009).
"Miss You Much" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was recorded for the singer's fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). As with all tracks for the album, recording took place at Lewis and Jam's Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 1988 and 1989. Lyrically, the song narrates a longing to reconnect with a romantic partner after time spent apart.
"Alright" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). Written by Jackson and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the song was released on March 4, 1990, by A&M Records as the fourth single from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. In the United Kingdom, it was issued as the album's fifth single in June 1990.
"All for You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, from her seventh studio album of the same name (2001). Written and produced by Jackson along with her collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song is a dance-pop and R&B track with influences of neo-disco and funk that heavily samples "The Glow of Love" by Change. Lyrically, it is about flirting with someone on the dance floor, being a reflection of the singer's state of mind at the time. It was released to radio stations as the lead single from the record in the United States on March 6, 2001, by Virgin Records, becoming the first single to be added to every pop, rhythmic, and urban radio format within its first week of release.
"Any Time, Any Place" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, Janet (1993). It was written and produced by Jackson along with production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and released as the album's fifth single on May 11, 1994, by Virgin Records. A remix produced by R. Kelly was also released. "Any Time, Any Place" reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became another R&B chart-topper for Jackson. She has performed the song on several of her tours.
"Runaway" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her first greatest hits album, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995). Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as one of the two original songs on the album, it was made available commercially as the lead single on August 29, 1995, by A&M Records in the United States. Originally written for a possible duet with her brother Michael Jackson, it is a pop and dance song with influences of Middle Eastern music, including church bells and sitars in the composition. It lyrically talks about traveling around the world. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who appreciated its production and compared it to works by Prince, as well as with Janet Jackson's past singles.
"I Get Lonely" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope (1997). It was written by Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Jackson's then-husband, René Elizondo Jr. It was released on February 24, 1998, by Virgin Records as the album's third single. The track is a departure from Jackson's signature brand of crossover dance-pop and R&B into a pure R&B and soul vibe. Lyrically, it expresses loneliness and the desire for an estranged lover. A remixed version of the song featured American R&B group Blackstreet.
"Together Again" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope (1997). It was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with additional writing by Jackson's then-husband René Elizondo Jr. It was released as the second single from the album in December 1997 by Virgin Records. Originally written as a ballad, the track was rearranged as an uptempo dance song. Jackson was inspired to write the song by her own private discovery of losing a friend to AIDS, as well as by a piece of fan mail she received from a young boy in England who had lost his father.
"Go Deep" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope (1997). It was written and produced by Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Jackson's then-husband René Elizondo Jr collaborating on the lyrics. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on June 15, 1998, by Virgin Records. A pop song, "Go Deep" talks about Jackson having a night out clubbing with her friends, and wanting to meet a man to have sex with him. Official remixes for the song were released, featuring Missy Elliott, Teddy Riley and Timbaland.
"Nasty" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, Control (1986). It was released on April 15, 1986, by A&M Records as the album's second single. It is a funk number built with samples and a quirky timpani melody. The single peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and remains one of Jackson's signature songs. The line "My first name ain't baby, it's Janet – Miss Jackson if you're nasty" has been used in pop culture in various forms. According to musicologist Richard J Ripani, Ph. D, the single is one of the earliest examples of new jack swing music.
"Don't Stand Another Chance" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson, included on her second studio album, Dream Street (1984). It was written by Marlon Jackson and John Barnes. Marlon also produced it, and provided backing vocals along with his brothers Michael, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie. "Don't Stand Another Chance" was released as the lead single from Dream Street on August 13, 1984, by A&M Records.
"Young Love" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson from her self-titled debut album (1982). It was written and produced by René Moore, Angela Winbush, with additional production by Bobby Watson. It was released as Jackson's debut single on July 7, 1982, by A&M Records. Prior to her rise to fame, the singer had no interest in pursuing a musical career. Despite this, she was motivated to pursue a career in entertainment, and considered the idea after recording herself in the studio. After acting in the variety show The Jacksons, she began starring in several TV series and commenced recording her debut album.
"Got 'til It's Gone" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, featuring American rapper Q-Tip and Canadian singer Joni Mitchell, from her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope (1997). It was written by Jackson, Jam and Lewis, with additional writing by René Elizondo Jr., Mitchell, and Kamaal Ibn Fareed. The song was produced by Jackson, Jam and Lewis. It was released as the lead single from The Velvet Rope in 1997, by Virgin Records. The song was recorded at Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota. For "Got 'til It's Gone", Jackson opted for a less polished sound which resulted in an authentic blend of R&B, pop, and hip hop with traces of reggae influences.
"You" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope (1997). Written and produced by Jackson along with her collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it samples "The Cisco Kid" by War, with its composers receiving writing credits due to the sample's usage. It was released as the album's fifth single on September 28, 1998 in the United Kingdom, by Virgin Records. The track is a trip hop song with elements of funk, which lyrically depicts Jackson calling for a stop to a life spent pleasing others; some journalists thought the lyrics were directed at her brother Michael, and compared her vocals to those of his on the song.
"Throb" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, Janet (1993). It was written and produced by Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis and is a house song with a nu jazz influence. It was released commercially in the Netherlands as the album's sixth single on June 18, 1994, while in the United States it was a radio-only release.
"So Excited" is a song recorded by American singer Janet Jackson, featuring guest vocals from rapper Khia, for Jackson's ninth studio album 20 Y.O. (2006). The song was written by Jackson, Jermaine Dupri, James Phillips, Johntá Austin, James Harris III, Terry Lewis and Khia Chambers, with Herbie Hancock, Michael Beinhorn and Bill Laswell also receiving songwriting credits for sampling Hancock's 1983 song "Rockit". Production for "So Excited" was handled by Dupri, LRoc, Jam, Lewis and Jackson. "So Excited" is musically a hip hop and dance song which lyrically expresses submission from a woman to her lover. It was released on August 28, 2006, by Virgin Records as the second single from 20 Y.O.
"Say You Do" was the third single from Janet Jackson's self-titled debut album Janet Jackson (1982). The song was written by René Moore & Angela Winbush.
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