"Twenty Foreplay" is a song by American singer-songwriter 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...

 from her first greatest hits album, Design of a Decade 1986/1996

Design of a Decade 1986/1996

Most music reviewers had a positive reception to Design of a Decade, mainly because of the amount of chart-topping singles it contained, but many noted the "misleading title" as the content predominantly spanned a five-year period....

(1995). It was released as the album's second and final 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...

 on February 7, 1996.

Song information

The song starts off as a soulful

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 ballad before changing to a mid-tempo

Tempo

In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

 R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 groove. The title is a play

Word play

Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...

 on the word "foreplay

Foreplay

In human sexual behavior, foreplay is a set of intimate psychological and physically intimate acts between two or more people meant to create desire for sexual activity and sexual arousal. Either or any of the sexual partners may initiate the foreplay, and they may not be the active partner during...

" and "24 hours a day

24/7

24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...

". The U.S. version of "Twenty Foreplay" is lengthier than the international version which was edited in order to fit two more songs on the international release of Design of a Decade 1986/1996

Design of a Decade 1986/1996

Most music reviewers had a positive reception to Design of a Decade, mainly because of the amount of chart-topping singles it contained, but many noted the "misleading title" as the content predominantly spanned a five-year period....

. The Slow Jam Fantasy Mix was produced by Jorge Corante

Jorge Corante

Jorge Corante is a music producer, songwriter and composer for film. Corante has worked with a number of high-profile artists and numerous films.- External links :...

 and is the complete version of the song which contains an extra second verse.

Chart performance

"Twenty Foreplay" saw moderate success in Europe, peaking at number twenty-two in the United Kingdom, number forty-one in the Netherlands (on the physical sales-based Single Top 100 chart), and number seventy-four in Germany. It fared better in Australia, where it reached the top thirty. It charted inside the top thirty-five of the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay

The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart...

 chart, but was unable to enter the 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...

 or 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,...

 as the song was not given a commercial release in the United States.

Music video

The 1950s look of the 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...

 was inspired by Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...

, whom Jackson considers to be America's first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 sex symbol

Sex symbol

A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...

. The video was shot in black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 and depicts Jackson in the glamorous Hollywood

Classical Hollywood cinema

Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...

 life such as movie premiere, press conference, and videotaping of her on the backlot of a movie set. The video has never been released commercially.

Track listings and formats

European promo CD single (588 460-2)

1. Slow Jam International Edit - 4:26

European 12" promo single (588 464-1)

1. Radio Club Mix - 5:02
2. Tribal Vocal Mix - 6:59
3. The Raw Dub - 6:59
4. Junior
   Junior Vasquez
   Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
   
   's Jungle Club Mix - 9:56
5. Junior's Dub - 9:01

U.S. 12" promo single (AMPRO 00124)

1. Junior's Jungle Club Mix - 9:56
2. Junior's Dub - 9:01
3. Tribal Beats - 2:58
4. The Raw Dub - 6:59
5. Tribal Vocal Mix - 6:59
6. Slow Jam Fantasy Mix - 6:19

U.S. promo CD single (AMSAD 00133)

1. Slow Jam Mix - 4:50
2. Slow Jam Edit - 4:28
3. Slow Jam Video Edit - 4:50
4. Slow Jam Fantasy Edit - 5:20
5. Slow Jam Fantasy Mix - 6:19

U.S. CD maxi single (581 317-2)
German CD maxi single (CDM5813172)

1. Slow Jam International Edit - 4:26
2. Runaway(Jam & Lewis Street Mix Edit) - 3:23
3. Runaway(Jam & Lewis Ghetto Mix) - 4:54
4. Slow Jam Video Edit - 4:50

UK CD maxi single (581 511-2)

1. Slow Jam International Edit - 4:26
2. "The Pleasure Principle
   The Pleasure Principle (song)
   "The Pleasure Principle" is the sixth single from Janet Jackson's third studio album, Control . The photo for the single cover was shot by famed fashion photographer David LaChapelle.-Song information:...
   
   " (Legendary Radio Mix) - 4:17
3. "Alright
   Alright (Janet Jackson song)
   "Alright" is the fourth single from American R&B and pop singer Janet Jackson's fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 .-Song information:...
   
   " (CJ Radio) - 3:52
4. "The Pleasure Principle" (Legendary Club) Mix - 8:15

UK double CD single (Limited edition)(581511/3)

1. Slow Jam International Edit - 4:26
2. "Runaway
   Runaway (Janet Jackson song)
   "Runaway" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her first greatest hits album, Design of a Decade 1986/1996 . Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the track was released as the album's lead single on August 29, 1995...
   
   " (Album Version) - 3:35
3. "When I Think of You
   When I Think of You
   "When I Think of You" is the third single from Janet Jackson's third studio album, Control . Written by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and produced by Jam and Lewis, the song is about a person who finds relief and fun in a lover...
   
   " (Album Version) - 3:57
4. "Let's Wait Awhile
   Let's Wait Awhile
   "Let's Wait Awhile" is the fifth single from Janet Jackson's third studio album, Control . It was written by Jackson, and the Flyte Tyme duo, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was produced by Jackson, Jam and Lewis...
   
   " (Album Version) - 4:36
5. Slow Jam International Edit - 4:26
6. "The Pleasure Principle" (Legendary Radio Mix - 4:17
7. "Alright" (CJ Radio) - 3:52
8. "The Pleasure Principle" (Legendary Club) Mix - 8:15

Official remixes

• Album Version – 6:06
• Album Version Edit – 5:17
• Junior
  Junior Vasquez
  Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
  
  's Jungle Club Mix – 9:56
• Junior's Dub – 9:01
• Radio Club Mix (remixer: Junior Vasquez) – 3:49
• Radio Club Mix Edit (remixer: Junior Vasquez) – 3:42
• Tribal Beats (remixer: Junior Vasquez) – 2:58
• Tribal Vocal (remixer: Junior Vasquez) – 6:59
• The Raw Dub (remixer: Junior Vasquez) – 6:59
• Slow Jam Mix (remix & additional production: Jorge Corante) – 4:50
• Slow Jam Edit (remix & additional production: Jorge Corante) – 4:26
• Slow Jam International Edit (remix & additional production: Jorge Corante) – 4:20
• Slow Jam Video Edit (remix & additional production: Jorge Corante) – 4:52
• Slow Jam Fantasy Mix (remix & additional production: Jorge Corante) – 6:20
• Slow Jam Fantasy Edit (remix & additional production: Jorge Corante) – 5:20
• Slow Jam Bedtime Mix – 6:19
• UK Edit – 3:13

Charts

Chart (1996)	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...	29
Dutch Single Top 100	41
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...	74
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...	38
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 ...	22
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart...	32