"Nasty" is the second 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 studio 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,...

(1986). Released in 1986, the single peaked at number three on 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...

 and 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 remains one of Jackson's signature song

Signature song

A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...

s. 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 music video and appeared in it as well as one of Jackson's friends. The line "My first name ain't baby, it's Janet, Miss Jackson if you're nasty" became a national catchphrase. The song won for Favorite Soul/R&B Single at the 1987 American Music Awards

American Music Awards of 1987

The 14th Annual American Music Awards were held on January 26, 1987.-Pop/Rock Category:-Soul/R&B Category:-Country Category:...

. It ranked number 30 on VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years, number 45 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s, and number 79 on Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s 100 Greatest Pop Songs. "Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...

 included the chorus in his 1986 polka medley "Polka Party!."

Background

The song was Jackson's autobiographical account of confronting abusive men who tried to force their hand on her.
"Nasty" was used as the theme song for the 1990 TV drama series Nasty Boys

Nasty Boys (TV series)

The Nasty Boys was a television action drama series based on the real life Narcotics Officers of the North Las vegas Police Department.-Background:...

, however, singer Lisa Keith

Lisa Keith

Lisa Keith is an American Christian contemporary/pop singer, probably best known for her work as a backing vocalist for other artists and lead vocalist on Herb Alpert's hit single from 1987, "Making Love in the Rain"...

 sang it instead and the lyrics were changed to fit the show.

The song was also used as a entrance theme for the wrestling Tag Team The Nasty Boys

The Nasty Boys

The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active from the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling...

 in their AWA

AWA

AWA may be an abbreviation for:* Advanced World Alliance , a treaty between individuals instead of nations or tribes* Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited , Australian manufacturer of radio and communications equipment...

 career.

Music video

The music video was directed by Mary Lambert and choreographed by 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...

.

Live performances

Jackson has performed the song on all of her tours, 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...

, 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...

, 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...

. She has also performed it on The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....

, The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...

, American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

2010 finale, and the Billboard Music Award

Billboard Music Award

The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...

s.

Track listings

U.S., UK, and European 7" single

A. "Nasty" (Edit of Remix) – 3:40

B. "You'll Never Find (A Love Like Mine)" – 4:08

U.S. and European 12" single
Australian limited edition 12" single

A1. "Nasty" (Extended) – 6:00

B1. "Nasty" (Instrumental) – 4:00

B2. "Nasty" (A Cappella) – 2:55

U.S. and European 12" single – Cool Summer Mix Parts I and II

A. "Nasty" (Cool Summer Mix Part I) – 7:57

B. "Nasty" (Cool Summer Mix Part II) – 10:09

UK 12" single

A1. "Nasty" (Extended) – 6:00

B1. "Nasty" (Instrumental) – 4:00

B2. "You'll Never Find (A Love Like Mine)" – 4:08

Official versions/remixes

• Album Version – 4:03
• A Cappella – 2:55
• Cool Summer Mix Part I – 7:57
• Cool Summer Mix Part II – 10:09
• Edit of Remix – 3:40
• Extended – 6:00
• Instrumental – 4:00

Accolades

Organization	Country	Accolade	Year	Source
VH1 VH1 VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...	United States	100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years	2003
VH1	United States	100 Greatest Songs of the 80s	2006
Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...	United States	100 Greatest Pop Songs

Charts

Chart (1986)	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...	17
Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...	21
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)	4
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....	3
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...	5
French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...	99
German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...	9
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	20
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...	8
Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	8
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 ...	19
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...	3
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	2

End of year charts

End of year chart (1986)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	58

Chart procession and succession