Control is the third studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released on February 4, 1986, by A&M Records. Her collaborations with the songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis resulted in an unconventional sound: a fusion of rhythm and blues, rap vocals, funk, disco, and synthesized percussion that established Jackson, Jam, and Lewis as leading innovators of contemporary R&B. The distinctive triplet swing beat used on the record is a precursor to the new jack swing genre. The album became Jackson's commercial breakthrough, helped her transition into the popular music market, and made Control one of the defining albums of the 1980s and contemporary music.
With its autobiographical themes, most of the album's lyrics reflected a series of changes in her life: a recent annulment of her marriage to singer James DeBarge, severing business ties with her father and manager Joseph and the rest of the Jackson family, hiring A&M executive John McClain as her new manager, and her subsequent introduction to Jam and Lewis. Critics have praised the album as both an artistic achievement and a personal statement of self-actualization. It has also been regarded as a template for numerous female artists, particularly Black women, to model their careers.
Following its release, Control became Jackson's first album to top the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States and five of its commercially released singles—"What Have You Done for Me Lately", "Nasty", "When I Think of You", "Control", and "Let's Wait Awhile"—peaked in the top five of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The feat made Jackson the first female artist to have five top-five hits from one album on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; "When I Think of You" became the singer's first number-one hit. Control also set a record for the longest continuous run of charting singles on the Hot 100, with 65 consecutive weeks. Music videos created to promote the album's singles showcased her dancing ability and became a catalyst for MTV's evolving demographics. The album remained on the Billboard 200 chart for over two years. It has been certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.
Control received several accolades, including a nomination for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and a Producer of the Year, Non-Classical win for Jam and Lewis in 1987. It is listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 200 Definitive Albums of All Time and has been included in several publications' "best of" album lists. In 2016, it was selected for exhibition in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
Background
Joseph Jackson, patriarch of the Jackson family of musicians, was known for managing the careers of all nine of his children, most notably the successful career of The Jackson 5. After arranging a recording contract with A&M in 1982 for a then-15-year-old Janet, he oversaw the entire production of her debut album, Janet Jackson, and its follow-up, Dream Street (1984); the latter was written and produced by her brother Marlon and Jesse Johnson. Best known as a television actress, she was initially reluctant to begin a recording career. She said, "I was coming off of a TV show that I absolutely hated doing, Fame. I didn't want to do [the first record, Janet Jackson]. I wanted to go to college. But I did it for my father ..." and elaborated that she was often in conflict with her producers. Amid her professional struggles, she rebelled against her family's wishes by marrying James DeBarge of the family recording group DeBarge in 1984. The Jacksons disapproved of the relationship, citing DeBarge's immaturity and substance abuse. Jackson left her husband in January 1985 and was granted an annulment later that year.
Jackson subsequently fired her father as her manager and hired John McClain, then A&M Records' senior vice president of artists and repertoire and general manager. Commenting on the decision, she said, "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do, telling him that I didn't want to work with him again." McClain responded, "I'm not trying to pimp Janet Jackson or steal her away from her father."
Composition and production
When Jam and Lewis agreed to produce Jackson's third studio album, they wanted to appeal primarily to the African American community while also achieving crossover success on the pop music charts. Jam commented in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, "We wanted to do an album that would be in every black home in America ... we were going for the black album of all time." The duo presented the same set of recordings to Jackson, who gave her input and took co-writing and co-production credits for the album. The song was chosen as the lead single for Control, as Jam and Lewis felt it best represented Jackson's outlook on life. Jimmy Jam wrote and played the keyboard arrangement, with Jackson playing the accompaniment. Jackson, Jam, and Lewis sang background vocals.
Although Joseph Jackson initially demanded that his daughter's new album be recorded in Los Angeles so he could keep an eye on her, Jam and Lewis refused. They required the entire album to be produced at their own studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota, "far from the glitter and distractions of Hollywood and the interference of manager-fathers." "There's a little radiator I used to sit on when we did the Control album," Jackson recalled in 1993. John McClain served as the executive producer. Jackson accompanied Jam and Lewis on keyboard and took part in composing the arrangements. Jackson's father disapproved of the new material and image on Control, claiming it would never sell. She and McClain disregarded his objections.
Album cover
Fashion photographer and illustrator Tony Viramontes created the album's stylized cover and the singles "Nasty" and "Control". Jackson said of Viramontes, "He was very creative, and I believe one day his work will be iconic. He was such a joy to work with. I miss him." Author Dean Rhys Morgan in Bold, Beautiful and Damned: The World of Fashion Illustrator Tony Viramontes discusses how Jackson was "transformed from a former child star into an assured, fashion-forward figure with her trendsetting big hair and severe all-black ensemble. Until this point, Jackson had been more a reflection than pioneer, more interpreter than innovator. This album was all about Janet and who she wanted to be."
Release and promotion
thumb|left|Jackson performing a [[Medley (music)|medley of the album's singles, "The Pleasure Principle", "Control" and "What Have You Done for Me Lately", during the Rock Witchu Tour in 2008.]]
Although A&M did not consider a full concert tour to promote the album, the label funded a three-week promotional tour across the United States in 13 cities following its release. In addition to the studio release, a remix album, Control: The Remixes, was released in select countries in November 1987. Jackson's lyrical expression has been cited as one of the key elements of the album's success. Author Dave Marsh in The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made (1999) comments: "Certainly, Janet must have written her own lyrics, which went after men, particularly thinly disguised stand-ins for her father and former husband—more venomously than a male songwriter would have dared. Control, the resulting album, was one of the best-sellers of 1986–1987, producing five hit singles." Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine credits the release of Control as "the birth of Janet the music video star, as six of the nine tracks were turned into popular videos that effectively announced her as the queen of the production dance number." The video for "Nasty" received three nominations for the fifth annual 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, winning Best Choreography for Paula Abdul.
Commercial performance
thumb|right|Jackson singing "[[Let's Wait Awhile" during her 2015–16 Unbreakable World Tour.]]
Control debuted at number 84 on the Billboard 200 on March 8, 1986, and at number 26 on the Top R&B/Black Albums on March 1, 1986. After twenty weeks, it topped the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Black Albums chart, selling 250,000 copies in a single week, a record for an album by a female artist. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) first certified Control gold in April 1986, denoting 500,000 units shipped within the United States. Two months later, in June 1986, the album was RIAA certified platinum, denoting 1 million units shipped. and as of December 2009, the album has sold 496,000 copies in the U.S. since 1991 according to Nielsen SoundScan, which does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music, where she sold 883,000. Combined, it has sold over 6,379,000 copies in the U.S. Since its debut, Control has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The single was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1990. The song was compared favorably to similar recordings of female empowerment released by black women, such as "New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle, "Better Be Good to Me" by Tina Turner, and "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" by The Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin. Oprah Winfrey commented: "What you're seeing in all the areas of arts and entertainment is black women internalizing the idea of black power and pride ... Black women started listening to their inner cues, rather than society or even the black community's idea of what they are supposed to be and can be." "Nasty", the album's second single, beat "What Have You Done for Me Lately" by one position, peaking at number three on the Hot 100 and at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart. Critic Jon Bream noted "the songwriters have slyly juxtaposed a nasty-sounding groove and the repetition of the word 'nasty' with a subtle antinasty message."
"When I Think of You" reached number one on the Hot 100, becoming Jackson's first single to top the chart, and was certified gold in November 1990. The album's fourth single and title track, "Control", reached its peak position at number five on the Hot 100 and at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart, later certified gold by the RIAA in November 1990. "Let's Wait Awhile" reached number two on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Black Singles chart. Unlike the preceding singles, "The Pleasure Principle" did not reach within the top five on the Hot 100, instead peaking at number fourteen. It did, however, become Jackson's fifth number one single on the Hot Black Singles chart.
| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
| rev2score = B
| rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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| rev4 = The Guardian
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| rev5 = Paste
| rev5score = 8.7/10
| rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
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| rev8 = Tom Hull – on the Web
| rev8score = B+ ()
Upon its release, the album received widespread critical acclaim. Rolling Stone<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Rob Hoerburger commented that the "sharp-tongued" Janet Jackson is "more concerned with identity than with playlists", as Control declares she is no longer the Jacksons' baby sister. Hoerburger wrote that tracks such as "Nasty" and "What Have You Done for Me Lately" erased the former "pop-ingénue image" of Jackson's first two albums, and that "Control is a better album than Diana Ross has made in five years and puts Janet in a position similar to the young Donna Summer's—unwilling to accept novelty status and taking her own steps to rise above it." NME wrote: "Jackson has gone a long way in shaking off the experience of being a shadow Jackson child. She is an artist in her own right." Newsweek stated "[i]n an era of big-voiced pop-soul divas ... her current hit album, is taut, funky, hard as nails, an alternative to sentimental balladry and opulent arrangements of Patti LaBelle and Whitney Houston." In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau "scoffed at Janet's claims of autonomy", but praised Jam and Lewis's beats as "their deepest ever" while finding Jackson's contribution entertaining enough. Los Angeles Times critic Connie Johnson wrote: "Though still a teen-ager, this singer's stance is remarkably nervy and mature. She has a snotty sort of assurance that permeates several cuts, plus the musical muscle to back it up." Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that Control takes obvious influence from Prince, describing "[t]he album's pacing, its clipped vocal lines—even the spoken introduction that starts things off" as pure Minneapolis sound; he added "[b]ut where the Prince style is usually connected with heavy-breathing come-ons, Miss Jackson is cheerfully standoffish."
For the 29th Annual Grammy Awards, Control received four nominations: Album of the Year, Best R&B Song for "What Have You Done for Me Lately", Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Non-Classical Producer of the Year for Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jam and Lewis won Producer of the Year. The album earned a record-breaking 12 nominations from the American Music Awards, winning four. Jackson also won three Soul Train Music Awards and six Billboard Music Awards.
Later reviews remained favorable. Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine argued that the misconception that Control is Jackson's debut album only confirmed the album as the "quintessential statement on personal and artistic self-actualization" that it set out to accomplish. In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Laura Sinagra said that on Control, "Jam and Lewis perfected their melodic, full-blown funk attack", while Jackson "filled each track with a breathy believability" with vocal performances that ranged from yearning to seductive.
Accolades
{|class="wikitable"
! Organization
! Country
! Accolade
! Year
! Source
|-
| Billboard Year-End Charts
| United States
| Top Black Artist, Top Black Singles Artist, Top Dance Club Play Artist, Top Dance Sales Artist, Top Pop Singles Artist, Top Pop Singles Artist, Female
| 1986
|
|-
| Rolling Stone
| United States
| "Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Eighties" (ranked 28)
| 1989
|
|-
| Vibe
| United States
| "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century" (unranked)
| 1999
|
|-
| Q
| United Kingdom
| "100 Women Who Rock the World" (ranked 72)
| 2002
|
|-
|rowspan=2 | Slant Magazine
|rowspan=2 | United States
| "Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums" (unranked)
| 2003
|
|-
| "Best Albums of the '80s" (ranked 31)
| 2012
|
|-
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
| United States
| "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time" (ranked 86)
| 2007
|
|-
| The Guardian
| United Kingdom
| "1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die" (unranked)
| 2007
|
|-
| Vibe
| United States
| "The Unfadeable 51" (unranked)
| 2008
|
|-
| Spin
| United States
| "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" (ranked 234)
| 2014
|
|-
| Billboard
| United States
| "Greatest of All Time Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" (ranked 16)
| 2017
|
|-
| NPR
| United States
| "Turning The Tables: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women" (ranked 17)
| 2017
|
|-
| Pitchfork
| United States
| "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s" (ranked 8)
| 2018
|
|-
| Cleveland.com
| United States
| "The 80 greatest albums of the 1980s by Rock Hall Inductees" (ranked 9)
| 2020
|
|-
| Rolling Stone
| United States
| "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (ranked 111)
| 2020
|
|-
| Apple Music
| United States
| "Apple Music 100 Best Albums" (ranked 42)
| 2024
|
|}