If (Janet Jackson song)
"If" | ||||
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Single by Janet Jackson | ||||
from the album Janet | ||||
B-side | "One More Chance" | |||
Released | July 13, 1993 | |||
Studio | Flyte Tyme (Edina, Minnesota) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:31 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Janet Jackson singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"If" on YouTube |
"If" is a song by American singer-songwriter
"If" received critical acclaim, with most critics noting Jackson's evolution into a sexual persona from her prior reserved, celibate public image. It received a BMI Pop Award for Most Played Song and was also ranked among Slant Magazine's "Best Singles of the 1990s" list. It peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It also performed well in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The accompanying music video for "If", directed by
Background
Jackson's role in the film
Critical reception
"Jackson is consumed with sexual fantasies of a man who doesn't even know she exists. Wailing guitar chords and hip-hop programming move this punchy, fast-paced dance number as Jackson creates erotic pictures in the mind of her soon-to-be lover to get to his physique."
—Telegram & Gazette on "If"
"If" was acclaimed for its innovation and sonic progression, as well as its sexuality and usage of multiple genres. Patrick Corcoran from Albumism called it "a pounding, fuzzed-up, nasty-sounding track that drips with the thrill of lust at first sight."
Nicholas Jennings of
Chart performance
"If" debuted at number 57 on the US
On April 2, 2011, the song charted at number forty-five on the
Music video
Background
The accompanying music video for "If" was directed by American director
Jackson commented on the video, stating "It's nothing nasty or dirty, but it's very sexy. During taping I kept saying, 'Oh, my god, I'm glad my mother is not here.'"
Synopsis
The video opens with a moonlit scene of a woman wearing a
Multiple screens are shown, and a man watching some of the other patron on the monitor uses the futuristic
As Jackson continues entertaining the crowd, the woman who was originally shown entering the bordello is again seen walking through the event, quickly paying one of the guards to allow her into the club's private sector. Jackson continues the routine as additional scenes on a monitor are briefly seen. This leads into the video's choreographed breakdown, with Jackson performing the routine as angles switch multiple times. Jackson continues the intricate dance while a woman is shown touching the image of a man's faces on another screen. Another woman is then shown on a webcam, becoming aroused while observing a couple engaging in sexual activity.
The video's final dance sequence begins, with Janet grabbing a male dancer's crotch region and simulating oral sex, before placing him on the floor and bending him over. Janet continues to seductively watch the man in the audience as she performs, kneeling before the male dancer and then lowering him to floor. The video ends with the man in the audience passionately touching an image of Janet on the monitor, as the woman who was shown entering the club is then seen exiting and walking towards the village.
Reception
Described by Jackson as "a female fantasy," David Ritz of
Legacy and influence
"If" is one of several of Jackson's videos considered to influence a higher degree of sexual freedom among young women. Jean M. Twenge, author of Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before (2007), wrote "in the 1950s, only 3% of the young women had received oral sex from a man. By the mid-1990s, however, 75% of women aged 18-24 had experienced cunnilingus. Music videos by female artists have contributed to the trend," with Jackson "heavily implying male-on-female oral sex in music videos by pushing down on a man's head until he's in exactly the right position."[47] Similarly, Paula Kamen in Her Way: Young Women Remake the Sexual Revolution (2000) states that "[i]n the early to mid-1990s, oral sex even reached mainstream music as politically charged demand of truly liberated women," citing Jackson as a prime example of a female artist simulating cunnilingus in her videos, specifically in "If."[48]
The video was innovative for its depiction of
Jackson's videography, the "If" video in particular, helped establish Tina Landon's career as a legendary choreographer, with many subsequent female pop artist, including Britney Spears, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Pink, Shakira, and Christina Aguilera, requesting to work with her for their own music videos and projects.[44]
Live performances
Jackson performed the song as a
On the 1993-95
"If" was also performed at the
Legacy
In 2013,
The song was applauded as a "sweaty, sexy dance workout" which "still holds up" twenty years after its premiere.[17] Slant Magazine ranked "If" as the twenty-second best song of the nineties, saying the "dance rock" song "found Miss Jackson asserting her right to have an orgasm the likes of which would dwarf your puny muscular spasms." Over filtered production suggesting "a cybernetic logjam," the song effectively "prowls, marking its prey, staking its claim," likened to Jackson "playing with your mind". The song's peak of "sweet harmonies of the bridge" plunges into "the crunching paradox of the chorus," ultimately decided to be "more metallic than carnal".[22] The track was also heralded as "a BIG-ASS song that made a mark and blazed a trail." The song's theme of "hypothetical sexual fantasies" with undertones of sadness were considered "erotic and defiant", and its production of "wailing guitar chords, insanely catchy hip-hop beats, and some of Janet's best vocals" determined it as potentially "the most eclectic song of her entire discography."[46] Alicia Jackson of The Redefined said the song's "soft, sing-song nature" melded with "pure raunchiness" were "the gateways to who I am today," in relating the lyrics contrasted with Jackson's shy persona.[67] Pitchfork ranked the song as the fiftieth best song of the nineties, calling it "the fiercest track from her chart-obliterating Janet album".[68]
Awards and nominations
List of accolades for "If" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Covers and remixes
Electronic artist EPROM released a remix of "If" in 2011. Okayfuture described it as a "bubbly, reverb infused, deep bass remix", and Hypetrak said "Janet was one of the most influential pop albums during the early nineties. Thus, it is more than right that its standout single, "If," is still a demanded subject to reinterpretation."[73][74] Kaytranada released a remix of "If" in 2012. Okayplayer gave the remix a positive review, stating "That bumpin' bassline, the infectious claps and overall bouncin' nu-disco vibe... had us at hello. Rarely have we ever seen a sample done oh so right."[73]
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the janet. liner notes.[83]
- Janet Jackson – lead vocals, backing vocals, producer
- Jimmy Jam – producer
- Terry Lewis – producer
- Steve Hodge – mixing
- Dave Rideau – mixing
- Todd Perry – remixer
- Darryl James – remixer
- David Anthony – remixer
Charts
Weekly charts |
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA)[119] | Platinum | 600,000[118] |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | July 13, 1993 |
|
Virgin | [citation needed] |
United Kingdom | July 19, 1993 |
|
[120] | |
Japan | August 30, 1993 | Mini-CD | [121] |
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{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (US 12-inch Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. Y-12675.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (US Double 12-inch Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. SPRO-12809.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (UK CD Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. VSCDT 1474.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (Japanese CD Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. VJCP-12020.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (UK 12-inch CD Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. VST 1474.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (French CD Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. 89206425.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ If (Japanese 3-inch CD Single liner notes). Janet Jackson. Virgin Records. 1993. VJDP-10208.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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