| "Control" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byJanet Jackson | ||||
| from the albumControl | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | October 17, 1986 (1986-10-17) | |||
| 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" onYouTube | ||||
"Control" is a song by American singerJanet Jackson from her third studio albumof 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, byA&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 aSoul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, beating out her brotherMichael,Whitney Houston, andJody 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 theRhythm 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 theState of the World Tour. The only tour that it was not included on was theJanet World Tour. It has been included in two of Jackson's greatest hits albums,Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995) andNumber Ones (2009).
Released in 1986, the single peaked at number five on the USBillboard Hot 100, becoming Jackson's fourth consecutive top-five single on the chart; it also peaked at number one on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs andHot 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-selling12-inch single of 1987. In the UK it missed the top 40, peaking at number 42.
The music video for "Control" was directed byMary 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, andJerome 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 theiTunes Store on April 27, 2007.Ja'net Dubois, who co-starred onGood Times with Jackson in the 1970s, plays her mother in the video.Paula Abdul choreographed the video.
The live footage was recorded at theGrand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Both Lambert and producerSharon 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 Janetlip-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 ofliability 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 theJanet World Tour. It opened her first concert tourRhythm 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" onThe Velvet Rope Tour in 1998.[4] The medley at the October 11, 1998, show at theMadison Square Garden in New York City was broadcast during a special titledThe Velvet Rope: Live in Madison Square Garden byHBO. It was also added to the setlist at its DVD release,The Velvet Rope Tour: Live in Concert in 1999.[5] During theAll 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 fromRolling 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 theAloha Stadium inHawaii, 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 theBillboard 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, theRock 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 aMohawk hairstyle.[10][11] While promoting her second greatest hits albumNumber Ones, the singer performed an eight-minute medley of six songs during theAmerican 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 theNumber Ones: Up Close and Personal tour (2011), theUnbreakable World Tour (2015–2016), and theState of the World Tour (2017–2019). Jackson included the song at her 2019 Las Vegas residenceJanet Jackson: Metamorphosis. It was also included on her special concert seriesJanet Jackson: A Special 30th Anniversary Celebration of Rhythm Nation in 2019. In 2023 Jackson performed the song on herJanet Jackson: Together Again tour.
The spoken intro of "Control" was sampled onKylie Minogue's song "Too Much of a Good Thing", from her 1991 albumLet's Get to It.[14] In 2010, the song was included in theDance Central DLC setlist to be played usingKinect for theXbox 360.[15]Glee covered the song in the episode "Hold On to Sixteen", where the New Directions sang three songs originated by members of theJackson family.Dianna Agron (asQuinn Fabray) opens the song with its spoken introduction, with leads sung byDarren Criss (asBlaine Anderson) and Kevin McHale (asArtie Abrams). The song is included on the soundtrack albumGlee: The Music, Volume 7.[16] The song is also used in the opening of the 2019 filmHustlers.
The song is also listed in theRock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.[17]
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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. | ||
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