"Control" is the fourth single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson

Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

's third album Control

Control (Janet Jackson album)

Control is the third studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on February 6, 1986 by A&M Records. Her collaborations with songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis resulted in an unconventional sound: a fusion of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap vocals,...

. The song was written by Jackson, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...

 and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. 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. Jackson sings, "When I was seventeen, I did what people told me." Now she is an adult who wants to make her own decisions in life. The spoken intro of "Control" was sampled on Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...

's song "Too Much of a Good Thing", from her 1991 album Let's Get to It

Let's Get to It

Let's Get to It is the fourth album by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. It was released by PWL on 14 October 1991 and was a top twenty album in both Minogue's native Australia and the United Kingdom.-Album information:...

.

In 1988, the song won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video

Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video

The Soul Train Music Award winners for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video :...

, beating out her brother Michael

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

, Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

, and Jody Watley

Jody Watley

Jody Vanessa Watley is an American, singer, songwriter, record producer, and founder of Avitone Records whose music crosses genres from Pop, R&B, Jazz, Dance and Electronic Soul....

.

Jackson has performed the song on many of her tours, including Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour

Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour

The Rhythm Nation World Tour is the debut concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was launched in support of her fourth studio album Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 , and also contained material from her third studio album Control...

, The Velvet Rope Tour

The Velvet Rope Tour

The Velvet Rope World Tour is the third concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Launched in support of her sixth studio album The Velvet Rope , the tour embarked on an international trek that included Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and Australia.Due to the fact...

, All for You Tour

All for You Tour

The All for You Tour was a worldwide concert tour in 2001 by American pop/R&B singer Janet Jackson in support of her multi-platinum album All for You...

, and Rock Witchu Tour

Rock Witchu Tour

The Rock Witchu Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter, Janet Jackson, in support of her tenth studio album Discipline. This was Jackson's first tour in nearly seven years. The tour visited North America...

. It was also included in her current tour, Number Ones: Up Close and Personal

Number Ones: Up Close and Personal

Number Ones: Up Close and Personal is the sixth concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Described as her "largest world tour", the show is in support of her second compilation album, Number Ones...

. The only tour that it was not included on was the janet. Tour

Janet. Tour

The Janet. World Tour is the second concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was launched in support of her fifth studio album Janet . It began in November, 1993 and continued through April, 1995...

.

In 2011, the song was included in Dance Central

Dance Central

Dance Central is a music video game for the Xbox 360 that utilizes the Kinect motion peripheral. The game was developed by Harmonix, creators of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, and is a launch title for Kinect...

 DLC setlist to be played using Kinect for the Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

. The song is also listed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.

Chart performance

Released in 1986, the single peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, 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

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 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 37th 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

12-inch single

The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

 of 1987. In the UK it missed the top 40, peaking at number 42.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

, 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

Jellybean Johnson

Jellybean Johnson is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota...

, and Jerome Benton

Jerome Benton

Jerome Benton is an American musical performer, backup dancer and comedic actor. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince, but he is best known for his association with The Time....

. 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

ITunes Store

The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

 on April 27, 2007. Ja'net Dubois, who co-starred on Good Times

Good Times

Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...

with Jackson in the 1970s, plays her mother in the video. Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

 choreographed the video.

The live footage was recorded at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

Grand Olympic Auditorium

The Grand Olympic Auditorium is the former name of a sports venue in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located at 1801 S. Grand Avenue, the venue was built in 1924 specifically for the 1932 Summer Olympics, which saw the boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling events held there. At the time it...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

Track listings

U.S. and European 7" single

A. "Control" (Edit) – 3:26

B. "Fast Girls

Fast Girls

"Fast Girls" is a song by Janet Jackson and is the third and final single released from Dream Street. It peaked at #40 on the R&B charts. The song was written and produced by fellow A&M artist Jesse Johnson.The single had two different B-Side's...

" – 3:18

U.S. and European 12" single

A1. "Control" (Extended Version) – 7:33

B1. "Control" (Dub Version) – 5:55

B2. "Control" (A Cappella) – 3:55

UK 7" single

A. "Control" (Edit) – 3:26

B. "Pretty Boy" – 6:32

UK 12" single

A1. "Control" (Extended Version) – 7:33

A2. "Control" (Edit) – 3:26

B1. "Control" (Dub Version) – 5:55

B2. "Pretty Boy" – 6:32

Australian 12" single

A1. "Control" (Video Mix) – 7:33

B1. "Control" (Dub Version) – 5:55

B2. "Control" (A Cappella) – 3:55

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

Chart (1986/1987)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	82
Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...  (Flanders)	20
Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	20
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	12
New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...	16
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	42
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	5
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1

End of year charts

End of year chart (1987)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	37

Chart procession and succession