"You Want This"
Single by Janet Jackson featuring MC Lyte
from the album Janet
B-side
  • "70's Love Groove"
  • "New Agenda"
ReleasedOctober 11, 1994 (1994-10-11)
StudioFlyte Tyme Studios, Edina, Minnesota
Genre
Length
  • 4:46 (single mix feat. MC Lyte)
  • 5:05 (album version)
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Janet Jackson
  • Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Janet Jackson singles chronology
"Throb"
(1994) 		"You Want This"
(1994) 		"Whoops Now/What'll I Do"
(1995)
Music video
"You Want This" on YouTube

"You Want This" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, Janet (1993). Released as the album's seventh single (sixth and final in the US) in October 1994, the track was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The single version, also used in the music video directed by Keir McFarlane, featured an additional rap verse from MC Lyte. The song was listed in the book Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (2005) by Bruce Pollock.[2]

Song information

Based on samples from Diana Ross & the Supremes' 1968 song "Love Child" and Kool & the Gang's 1973 song "Jungle Boogie", the song is about Jackson being told by her girls that a guy is watching and wanting her. Jackson proclaims if the guy wants to be with her, he has to work for it. The single contains two B-sides, the janet. track "New Agenda" and the then-unreleased "70's Love Groove", which also appears on 1995's janet. Remixed. In the United States, however, "70's Love Groove" is listed as a double A-side with "You Want This" on Hot 100, starting on its third week.[3]

MC Lyte said of the song: "By that time, Janet and I were friends. It was just a matter of her asking if I wanted to do it. I was just about to go on tour with her and do her U.S. leg. Coupled with that, they asked me to do a song with her that we could perform while we were on that tour.”[4]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "a bouncy ditty that plunges from a sample of "Love Child" by the Supremes into a rollicking jack/funk beat." He added, "The groove sparks an appealing vocal that is by turns playful and seductive."[5]

Chart performance

The single peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and was moderately successful internationally, making it to the top twenty in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The single entered the UK R&B Singles chart at #2.[6]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "You Want This" was directed by Keir McFarlane and filmed in Desert Shores, California in August 1994. Loosely based on Russ Meyer's 1965 film, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, it centers around Jackson as a female gang leader with the singer and her friends encountering two men.[7] MC Lyte declared, "I was totally psyched to be in a video with Janet Jackson. The only thing I wish I did know how to do was dance [laughs]. Have I been able to dance I could have really participated."[4] A black-and-white version of the video was first released to music channels, while a colorized version was released one month later. CST Entertainment Imaging Inc. was responsible for the transformation, with 30 to 40 members of the company's Color F/X division split into three shifts and worked for nearly three weeks to create this version.[8] Both versions are available on the 1994 video compilation janet. The colorized version is featured on the repackage of 2001's All for You as well as the 2004 DVD From Janet to Damita Jo: The Videos.

Live performances

Jackson has performed the song on five of her tours, janet. Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, the Number Ones, Up Close and Personal, Unbreakable World Tour, and the State of the World Tour. Michael Jackson would often add a vocal sample of the opening "you know you want me" line from "You Want This" in live performances of his song "Dangerous".

Track listings

Official remixes

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[41] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Arnold, Chuck (May 16, 2016). "Janet Jackson's 50 best songs of all time, ranked". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  2. ^ Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (second ed.). Routledge. ISBN 0-415-97073-3.
  3. ^ "Billboard". 5 November 1994.
  4. ^ a b "Full Clip: MC Lyte Breaks Down Her Entire Catalogue (Brandy, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J & More)". 2011-01-07. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  5. ^ Flick, Larry (1994-10-08). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 77. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  6. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  7. ^ Cohan, Steven; Hark, Ina Rae (2002-01-04). The Road Movie Book. ISBN 9781134824366.
  8. ^ "Billboard". 1994-10-29.
  9. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  10. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  11. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  12. ^ Janet Jackson You Want This USA Promo 5" CD SINGLE (37434)
  13. ^ Janet Jackson You Want This USA 5" CD SINGLE (36102)
  14. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  15. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  16. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  17. ^ Janet Jackson - You Want This
  18. ^ Janet Jackson You Want This Australia 5" CD SINGLE (309914)
  19. ^ Janet Jackson You Want This UK DOUBLE CD SINGLE SET (162822)
  20. ^ Janet Jackson You Want This - Remix Japan 3" CD SINGLE (35420)
  21. ^ a b c "Janet Jackson – You Want This – swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  22. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2694." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  23. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 140. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  24. ^ Lwin, Nanda (1995). The Record 1994 Chart Almanac. Music Data Canada. p. 124. ISBN 1-896594-00-X.
  25. ^ "EUROCHART HOT 100 SINGLES" (PDF). Music & Media. 11 (49). December 3, 1994. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  26. ^ "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. December 24, 1994. p. 18. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  27. ^ "Janet Jackson – You Want This" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  28. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 3, 1995". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  30. ^ "Janet Jackson: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  31. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  32. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  33. ^ "Airplay" (PDF). 27 November 1994. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  34. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). November 19, 1994. p. 6. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  35. ^ "Janet Jackson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  36. ^ "Janet Jackson Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  37. ^ "Janet Jackson Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  38. ^ "Janet Jackson Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  39. ^ "Janet Jackson Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  40. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Archived from the original on 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  41. ^ "American single certifications – Janet Jackson – That's The Way Love Goes". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
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