Control

"Control"
Single by Janet Jackson
from the album Control
B-side	"Fast Girls", "Pretty Boy"
Released	October 21, 1986
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	August 1985; at Flyte Tyme, Minneapolis, MN
Genre	Dance-pop, R&B
Length	5:53 (album version) 3:26 (single version)
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson
Producer	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Janet Jackson singles chronology
"When I Think of You" (1986) "Control" (1986) "Let's Wait Awhile" (1987)
Control track listing
"Control" (1) "Nasty" (2)
Design of a Decade 1986/1996 track listing
"Alright" (8) "Control" (9) "The Pleasure Principle" (10)
Music video
"Control" at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)

"Control" is the fourth single from Janet Jackson's third album Control. The song was written by Jackson, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Its arrangement, built upon complex rhythmic tracks, showcased state-of-the-art production. It is about Jackson who wants to finally take control of her life. Jackson sings, "When I was seventeen, I did what people told me." She is an adult who needs to guide herself in the world. 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.

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.

Jackson has performed the song on many of her tours, including Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, and Rock Witchu Tour. The only tour that it was not included on was the janet. Tour.

Chart performance

Released in 1986, the single peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 becoming Jackson's fourth consecutive top five hit on the chart; it also peaked at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the Hot Dance Club Play charts. The song captured a pivotal moment off the album by showcasing a female streak of independence. It was the thirty-seventh biggest Hot 100 single of 1987, the fifth biggest Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs single of 1987, and the ninth biggest-selling 12" single of 1987.

Music video

Jackson performing in the "Control" video.

The music video, directed by Mary Lambert, starts off with Jackson fighting with her parents because she wants to move out of the house. Her father is deadset against it. She then leaves the house and is greeted, in her driveway by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson, and Jerome Benton. They take her to a concert hall to perform, on her first gig, 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.

Track listings and formats

Official versions/remixes

• Album Version – 5:53
• A Cappella – 3:56
• Design Of A Decade US Edit – 5:15
• 7" Edit – 3:26
• Extended Mix – 7:33
• Dub Version – 5:55
• Video Mix – 6:02
• Video Mix Edit – 4:35

Charts

References