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." Joseph Jackson resented John McClain for what he saw as an underhanded attempt to steal his daughter's career out from under him, stating, "I've worked hard for my family. The problem comes, though, when others come in behind you and try to steal them away. The wheels have already been set for Janet Jackson. Anyone who jumps on now will be getting a free ride." McClain responded, "I'm not trying to pimp Janet Jackson or steal her away from her father." He subsequently introduced her to the songwriting/production duo of James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis, former Prince associates and ex-members of The Time.

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." Before their association with Jackson, Jam, and Lewis had planned to record an album with tracks they wrote for Sharon Bryant, but she found their lyrics and sound to be too "rambunctious". 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. Jam and Lewis recalled that to collaborate with Jackson on the material, they spent the first week simply getting to know her. Lewis explained, "We got into her head. We saw what she was capable of, what she wanted to say, where she wanted to be, what she wanted to be. We put together some songs to fit her as we saw her, as she revealed herself to us. It was as simple as that."

For the song "What Have You Done for Me Lately", which was originally written for one of Jam and Lewis's own records, the lyrics were rewritten to convey Jackson's feelings about her recent annulment from James DeBarge. The song was chosen as the lead single for Control, as Jam and Lewis felt it best represented Jackson's outlook on life. "Nasty", which in Jackson's opinion was the most innovative song on the album, was inspired by her experience with street harassment in Minneapolis by a group of men outside the hotel where she was staying during the recording of Control. She recalled, "They were emotionally abusive. Sexually threatening. Instead of running to Jimmy or Terry for protection, I took a stand. I backed them down. That's how songs like 'Nasty' and 'What Have You Done for Me Lately' were born, out of a sense of self-defense." Jimmy Jam wrote and played the keyboard arrangement, with Jackson playing the accompaniment. Jackson, Jam, and Lewis sang background vocals. The distinctive triplet swing beat of the song was developed by Jam on an Ensoniq Mirage keyboard. "Let's Wait Awhile" was centered on safe sex and abstinence, a subject of significant social commentary at the time. Jam commented that songwriters commonly draw lyrical inspiration from current events and that the AIDS pandemic had raised awareness about sexually transmitted diseases. He commented, "The theme of the song ('Let's Wait Awhile') was Janet's idea. She's not a preachy person. She's not telling people how to live their lives. All she's doing is offering an opinion."

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." Jam stated, "We required that they put her in our hands. We had to do it on our turf, with no bodyguards, no star trips and none of Joe Jackson's people hanging around making suggestions." Jackson relocated to Minneapolis to record the album at Flyte Tyme Studios, the Minneapolis studio associated with Flyte Tyme Records, founded by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. "There's a little radiator I used to sit on when we did the Control album," Jackson recalled in 1993.Q, June 1993 John McClain served as the executive producer.

Jam and Lewis were the recording's primary instrumentalists, playing percussion, piano, and drums, and they also provided background vocals. Jackson accompanied Jam and Lewis on keyboard and took part in composing the arrangements. Stephen Holden of The New York Times observed that the album was a prominent example of the developing relationship with musicians and modern technology, stating "... technology has altered the form, shape, scale and even the meaning of popular music ... The album wasn't created by a studio band, as were most pop-rock albums in the 1960s and '70s, but by the producers and the singer programming mechanized drum and keyboard textures." Jackson's father disapproved of the new material and image on Control, claiming it would never sell. In a cover story for Spin magazine titled "Damn It, Janet: The Battle for Control of Janet Jackson," Joseph was reported as saying, "[i]f Janet listens to me, she'll be as big as Michael." She and McClain disregarded his objections. Commenting on the final product, Jackson stated: "It's aggressive, cocky, very forward. It expresses exactly who I am and how I feel. I've taken control of my own life. This time I'm gonna do it my way."

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."Rhys-Morgan, Dean. Bold, Beautiful and Damned: The World of 1980's Fashion Illustrator Tony Viramontes, London: Lawrence King Publishing Ltd., 2013 , pp.140–141. 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." Alexander Fury wrote in The Independent, "the artwork created with 1980s illustrator Tony Viramontes for Control stands the test of time."

Release and promotion

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."