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If

 
Lyrics: If
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Performed by: Janet Jackson
Written by: Jackey Beavers; Johnny Bristol; Harvey Fuqua; James Iii Harris; Janet Jackson; Terry Lewis

Credits: Beavers, Jackey (Songwriter); Bristol, Johnny (Songwriter); Fuqua, Harvey (Songwriter); Harris, James Iii (Songwriter); Jackson, Janet (Songwriter); Lewis, Terry (Songwriter); BLACK ICE PUBLISHING (Publisher); EMI APRIL MUSIC INC. (Publisher); FLYTE TYME TUNES (Publisher); JOBETE MUSIC CO INC (Publisher); STONE AGATE MUSIC (Publisher)

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Wikipedia: If (Janet Jackson song)
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"If"
Single by Janet Jackson
from the album janet.
B-side "One More Chance"
Released July 13, 1993
Format CD single, CD maxi single, cassette single, cassette maxi single, 7" single, 12" maxi single
Recorded 1992
Flyte Tyme Studios
(Edina, Minnesota)
Genre R&B, rock, new jack swing
Length 4:31 (album version)
3:49 (radio edit)
5:40 (extended LP mix)
2:57 (short single edit)
Label Virgin
Writer(s) Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis
Producer Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Janet Jackson singles chronology
"That's the Way Love Goes"
(1993)		 "If"
(1993)		 "Again"
(1993)
janet. track listing
"You Want This"
(4)		 "If"
(6)		 "This Time"
(8)
Audio sample
file info · help

"If" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, janet. (1993). Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was released as the album's second single in July 1993, and became Jackson's second top five hit from the janet. album.

Contents

Song information

"If" deals with a female narrator's fantasies of being someone's girlfriend. The track contains a sample from Diana Ross & the Supremes' 1969 song "Someday We'll Be Together", and is built on a heavy metal guitar riff heard throughout the song. The combination of heavy hip hop/new jack swing beats and electric guitar was a relative departure in sound for Jackson.

Jackson performed the song as a medley with "That's the Way Love Goes" at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards; the audio recording of which appears on the limited edition double disc edition of janet. A remix of "If" entitled Brothers in Rhythm House Mix appears on Jackson's 1995 remix album janet. Remixed.

The single contains a B-side called "One More Chance", a cover of a song her brother Randy wrote, produced, and performed for The Jacksons' 1984 Victory album.

Jackson has performed the song on all of her tours, including the janet. Tour, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, and Rock Witchu Tour.

Critical reception

Nicholas Jennings of Maclean's wrote, "One standout song [from janet.] is the guitar-driven If, with its explicit lines. "You on the rise/as you're touching my thighs".[1] Craig S. Semon of the Telegram & Gazette commented: "One of the most exciting tracks on "janet." is the naughty seducer, "If." Jackson is consumed with sexual fantasies of a man who doesn't even know she exists. Wailing guitar chords and hip-hop programming move this punchy, fast-paced dance number as Jackson creates erotic pictures in the mind of her soon-to-be lover to get to his physique".[2]

Chart performance

"If" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It attained moderate peak positions across Europe.

Music video

The song's video, directed by Dominic Sena in June 1993, challenged notions of culture and sexuality in a highly stylised and imaginative presentation with a theme of voyeurism. The video is set in an exclusive club in Asia, where entrance can only be gained via the password "if." Inside the club, Jackson performs suggestively with dancers amongst androgynous and polysexual characters.

The video won the 1994 MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. That same year it also won a Billboard Music Award for Dance Clip of the Year.[3]. Parts of the video were edited out for general release. The video is featured on Jackson's 2004 video compilation From janet. to Damita Jo: The Videos. A longer alternate version of the video, the "All Dance Version", which focuses on Jackson's dance performance, was exclusively released on the 1994 VHS janet.,[4] but could later be found on YouTube and on the re-release of 2001's All for You.

Track listings and formats

UK 7" promo single (VS1474)[5]
French CD single (89206425)[6]
Japanese 3" CD single (VJDP-10208)[7]
  1. Radio Edit – 3:49
  2. "One More Chance" – 5:54
UK 12" single (VST 1474)[8]
  1. Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:07
  2. Brothers In Rhythm Dub – 7:00
  3. Radio Edit – 3:49
  4. Extended LP Mix – 5:40
  5. Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  6. D&D 12" Mix – 5:47
UK CD single (VSCDT 1474)[9]
Japanese CD single (VJCP-12020)[10]
  1. Radio Edit – 3:49
  2. Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:07
  3. Tee's Freeze Mix – 7:17
  4. Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  5. Extended LP Mix – 5:40
  6. D&D 12" Mix – 5:47
U.S. double 12" single (SPRO-12809)[11]
  1. Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:07
  2. Brothers In Rhythm Dub – 7:00
  3. Extended LP Mix – 5:40
  4. Tee's Radio Mix – 4:02
  5. D&D 7" Mix – 4:23
  6. Tee's Freeze Mix – 7:17
  7. TNT Bass Mix – 5:36
  8. Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  9. D&D JDD Mix – 5:26
  10. Tee's Capella – 2:09
U.S. 12" single (Y-12675)[12]
  1. Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:07
  2. Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  3. Tee's Freeze Mix – 7:17
  4. Extended LP Mix – 5:40
U.S. promo CD single 1 (DPRO-12800)[13]
  1. Radio Edit – 3:49
  2. Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  3. Extended LP Mix – 5:40
  4. Todd Terry's Radio Mix – 4:19
  5. Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:07
  6. Short Single Edit – 2:59
U.S. promo CD single 2 (DPRO-12808)[14]
  1. D&D 7" Mix/Adult 7" Radio Mix – 4:41
  2. D&D 12" Mix/Adult 12" – 5:47
  3. D&D JDD Mix/Adult Dub – 5:26
U.S. CD maxi single (V25H-12674)[15]
  1. Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:07
  2. Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  3. Tee's Freeze Mix – 7:17
  4. Extended LP Mix – 5:40
  5. TNT Bass Mix – 5:36
  6. D&D 12" Mix/Adult 12" – 5:47
  7. Short Single Edit – 2:59
  8. "One More Chance" – 5:54

Official remixes

  • Album Version – 4:31
  • Radio Edit – 3:49
  • Short Single Edit – 2:59
  • Extended LP Mix – 5:40
  • Brothers In Rhythm House Mix – 7:10
  • Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix – 6:20
  • Brothers In Rhythm Dub – 7:00
  • Tee's Freeze Mix – 6:14
  • Tee's Radio Edit – 4:02
  • Tee's Capella – 2:09
  • Todd Terry Janet's Jeep Mix – 6:26
  • TNT Bass Mix – 5:36
  • D&D 7" Mix/Adult 7" Radio Mix – 4:41
  • D&D 12" Mix/Adult 12" – 5:47
  • D&D JDD Mix/Adult Dub – 5:26
  • "That's the Way Love Goes/If" Medley (Live) – 5:46

Charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[16] 18
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[17] 31
Canadian Singles Chart[18] 1
Dutch Top 40[19] 10
Finnish Singles Chart[20] 12
French Singles Chart[21] 63
German Singles Chart[22] 25
Chart (1993) Peak
position
New Zealand Singles Chart[16] 8
Swedish Singles Chart[16] 19
Swiss Singles Chart[16] 27
UK Singles Chart[23] 14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[24] 3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[24] 1

References

  1. ^ Jennings, Nicholas (1993-05-31), "Songs that scorch -- Janet. by Janet Jackson", Maclean's 106 (22): 54, ISSN 00249262 
  2. ^ Semon, Craig S. (1993-08-01), "Janet Jackson is no longer Michael's little sister", Telegram & Gazette: 12, ISSN 10504184 
  3. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=ZggEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0_2#PPA48,M1
  4. ^ Amazon.com: Janet: Janet Jackson: Video
  5. ^ Janet Jackson If (Radio Edit) - Jukebox Issue UK 7" RECORD (324859)
  6. ^ Janet Jackson If France 5" CD SINGLE (118411)
  7. ^ Janet Jackson If Japan 3" CD SINGLE (19278)
  8. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  9. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  10. ^ Janet Jackson If Japan 5" CD SINGLE (85917)
  11. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  12. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  13. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  14. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  15. ^ Janet Jackson - If
  16. ^ a b c d "Janet Jackson – If – swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Janet+Jackson&titel=If&cat=s. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  17. ^ "Janet in Belgium". MJJ Charts. http://www.mjjcharts.com/BelgiumJanet.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  18. ^ "Janet in Canada". MJJ Charts. http://www.mjjcharts.com/Canadajanet.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 34 – 1993" (in Dutch). Top 40. http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=34&jaar=1993. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  20. ^ "Janet in Finland". MJJ Charts. http://www.mjjcharts.com/FinlandJanet.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  21. ^ "Janet in France". MJJ Charts. http://www.mjjcharts.com/FranceJanet.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  22. ^ "Musicline.de – Janet Jackson – If" (in German). Musicline.de. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/JACKSON%2CJANET/If/single. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  23. ^ "Chart Stats – Janet Jackson – If". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=21060. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
  24. ^ a b c "janet. > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kbfpxq9gldke~T31. Retrieved 2008-11-09. 
Preceded by
"Gimme Luv (Eenie Meenie Miny Mo)" by David Morales and the Bad Yard Club		 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
September 4, 1993 – September 11, 1993		 Succeeded by
"Love for Love" by Robin S.
v • d • e
Janet Jackson
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Video releases
Tours
Television
Filmography
Related articles
v • d • e
Janet Jackson singles
Janet Jackson

"Young Love" · "Come Give Your Love to Me" · "Say You Do" · "Love and My Best Friend" · "Don't Mess Up This Good Thing"
Dream Street
Control
Janet Jackson's
Rhythm Nation 1814
janet.
Design of a
Decade 1986/1996
The Velvet Rope
All for You
Damita Jo
20 Y.O.
"Call on Me" · "So Excited" · "Enjoy" · "With U"
Discipline
"Feedback" · "Rock with U" · "Luv" · "Can't B Good"
Number Ones
Promotional singles
Collaborations

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