"Someone to Call My Lover" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her seventh studio album, All for You (2001). Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was released as the album's second single on June 12, 2001, by Virgin Records. Using a guitar riff from America's "Ventura Highway" and the melody from Erik Satie's "Gymnopédie No. 1", "Someone to Call My Lover" talks about being determined to find a perfect match.

"Someone to Call My Lover" received positive reviews from critics, with most praising its innocence and sweet aura, picking the song as a standout track on the album. The song was a success on the charts, reaching number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 while peaking at number nine in Canada and the top twenty in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. A music video was directed by Francis Lawrence and centers on a jukebox. Another video for the So So Def remix was also released. Jackson has performed the song on three of her tours, most recently on her 2024 Together Again Tour. In 2025, the song saw a spike in online popularity following a viral trend on TikTok.

Background and writing

"Someone to Call My Lover" was written and produced by Janet Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis. In an interview, Jimmy said, "And for 'Someone to Call My Lover,' she hadn't heard the 'Ventura Highway' sample before. She hadn't heard those songs. So it's kind of fun to come up with stuff like that and play it for her. And she hasn't heard of it, but she still really likes it. So you have something that's going to appeal to people that haven't heard it before, it's going to catch them, but it's also going to catch the people who are nostalgic about it."

Composition and music

At the time of recording, Jackson was in a divorce battle with her husband, René Elizondo, Jr., after nearly ten years of marriage. "Someone to Call My Lover", and several of the other songs on All for You, use Jackson's divorce and re-emergence into single life as central themes. "Someone to Call My Lover" talks about being determined to find a perfect match. Dave Barry replays America's "Ventura Highway" main guitar hook, as an interpolation and serves as the opening to the single, accompanied by finger snaps and bass. In the beginning, Jackson has begun touring again and there isn't anyone to talk to and she wishes she had companionship, "Back on the road again/Feeling kinda lonely/And looking for the right guy/To be mine," she sings.

Critical reception

"Someone to Call My Lover" received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic picked the song as "one of the record's best cuts". Timothy Park of NME enjoyed the lyrics, writing that "while most of us dream of being Janet, it's reassuring to know she dreams of being us. And providing she does it with the ever-enduring Jam & Lewis produced fluffy pop of 'Someone To Call My Lover' then who are we to complain?." In another NME review, Piers Martin wrote that the song "recalls Aaliyah's 'Try Again' in its squelchy simplicity." Gene Stout of Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised the track, calling it "sweetly innocent", praising the "Ventura Highway guitar," and writing that it "adds a wistful, nostalgic feel to the song's deep yearnings for love and togetherness."

According to Chuck Arnold from Entertainment Weekly, "Although she has yet to find someone to call her lover, the mood is irrepressibly upbeat and optimistic about pre-Tinder match-meeting".

Chart performance

The song was released as the second single from All for You, following the huge success of its title track. It is the last of Jackson's singles to have reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart to date. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Someone to Call My Lover" reached the top 40 in June. It eventually peaked at number three the issue dated September 1, 2001, becoming Jackson's 27th and last top-10 hit. The song reached number nine on Nielsen Soundscan's Canadian chart. The song earned Jackson a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002, losing out to Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird".

Music video

The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence on Spahn Ranch in Los Angeles, California in May 2001. It premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on June 20, 2001. It centres on a jukebox. Jackson is depicted driving and walking into a bar, where she sings, dances and eventually hitches a ride from a red car. A video for the So So Def Remix was also released, and contains similar footage to the original but contains shots of Dupri in alternate scenes as well as his vocals. The original video made the limited bonus-DVD edition of All for You while the So So Def Remix video appears on the 2004 video compilation From Janet to Damita Jo: The Videos.

Live performances

Jackson has performed "Someone to Call My Lover" on two of her tours. The song was added to the setlist of her All for You Tour, as one of the last songs on the show. During the performance, the singer wore a white T-shirt and jeans, along with a lei in Hawaii. The February 16, 2002, final date of the tour at the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, was broadcast by HBO. This rendition was also added to the setlist at its DVD release, Janet: Live in Hawaii, in 2002. "Someone to Call My Lover" was also the video dedication song to Singapore for the 2011 Number Ones, Up Close and Personal tour. It was also performed on her 2017 State of the World Tour in place of "Island Life" at several shows, including in Cleveland on December 3, and Memphis on December 6. Jackson performed the song on the second leg of her 2023-2024 Janet Jackson: Together Again tour. She also performed the song in a medley along with "All for you" during the 2025 American music awards.

Track listings

US CD single

  1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40
  2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (single edit) – 4:14

US 12-inch single

:A1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40

:A2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle radio mix) – 3:49

:B1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (album version)

UK CD single

  1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (single edit) – 4:14
  2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle club mix) – 7:48
  3. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40
  4. "Someone to Call My Lover" (video)

UK 12-inch single

:A1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle club mix) – 7:48

:B1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40

:B2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (The Velvet mix) – 4:46

UK cassette single

  1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (single edit) – 4:14
  2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle club mix) – 7:48
  3. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40

European CD single

  1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (single edit) – 4:14
  2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40

Australasian and Japanese CD single

  1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (single edit) – 4:14
  2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle radio edit) – 3:49
  3. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def remix) – 4:40
  4. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Velvet mix) – 4:46
  5. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle club mix) – 7:48

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the All for You album booklet.

Studios

  • Recorded and mixed at Flyte Tyme Studios (Edina, Minnesota)
  • Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)

Personnel

  • Janet Jackson – writing, all vocals, production
  • Jimmy Jam – writing (James Harris III), all additional instruments, production
  • Terry Lewis – writing, all additional instruments, production
  • Dewey Bunnell – writing
  • David Barry – guitar
  • Alex Richbourg – drum and MIDI programming
  • Steve Hodge – recording, mixing
  • Brad Yost – recording and mixing assistant
  • Xavier Smith – recording and mixing assistant
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
  • Mike Bozzi – mastering assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (2001)

!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)

|9

|-

!scope="row"|Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)

|1

|-

!scope="row"|Croatia International Airplay (HRT)

|2

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|32

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (European Hit Radio)

| 1

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (2025)

!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position

|-

!scope="row"|UK Dance Singles (OCC)

|31

|}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (2001)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)

|76

|-

!scope="row"|Canada Radio (Nielsen BDS)

|20

|-

!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100

|38

|-

!scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)

|73

|-

!scope="row"|US Dance Club Play (Billboard)

|28

|-

!scope="row"|US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)

|20

|-

!scope="row"|US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)

|46

|}

Release history

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Release dates and formats for "Someone to Call My Lover"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

|-

! scope="row"| United States

| June 12, 2001

|

| Virgin

|

|-

! scope="row"| Germany

| June 25, 2001

| CD

| rowspan="4"| EMI

|

|-

! scope="row"| France

| July 17, 2001

| CD

|

|-

! scope="row"| Australia

| rowspan="2"| July 23, 2001

| Maxi CD

|

|-

! scope="row"| United States

| Hot adult contemporary radio

| rowspan="2"| Virgin

|

|-

! scope="row"| United Kingdom

| July 30, 2001

|

|

|}

See also

  • List of number-one dance singles of 2001 (U.S.)

References