Just a Little While
"Just a Little While" | ||||
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Single by Janet Jackson | ||||
from the album Damita Jo | ||||
Released | February 2, 2004 | |||
Studio | DARP (Atlanta, Georgia) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:13 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Dallas Austin | |||
Janet Jackson singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Just a Little While" on YouTube |
"Just a Little While" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, from her eighth studio album, Damita Jo (2004). Written by Jackson and Dallas Austin and produced by the latter, the track is a reflection of Jackson's new-found happiness during the album's recording. It was released to radio stations as the lead single from Damita Jo in the United States on February 2, 2004, by Virgin Records, following a leak ahead of its scheduled release which caused Jackson's record company to rush with a music video and promotion. "Just a Little While" is a pop rock, dance, and new wave song which lyrically showcases Jackson's "signature fashion" of writing sexual lyrics which are "innocent on the surface", expressing the singer's desire to have sexual intercourse with a lover.
"Just a Little While" received mixed reviews from
Due to the song's leak, its music video was rush-filmed, being directed by Dave Meyers, and was released exclusively in international territories, not being serviced to music channels in the United States. It portrays Jackson filming a DVD for her boyfriend in a futuristic apartment setting, displaying the singer in multiple outfits. The singer embarked on a promotional tour to promote "Just a Little While" and Damita Jo, performing the song on several television shows including Top of the Pops, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, and Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ. A performance of the track, filmed during Jackson's promotional tour in Europe, was later included on the From Janet to Damita Jo: The Videos compilation in place of the original music video.
Background and release
Recording sessions for Damita Jo began in August 2002, with Jackson initially collaborating with longtime partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,[1] and concluded in February 2004 after 18 months, the longest Jackson had spent recording an album.[2][3] She initially considered pursuing other career plans, but then decided to record another album.[4] For only the second time in her career since Control (1986), Damita Jo saw the singer working with other music producers, including Dallas Austin.[5] The pair worked together on the album in Atlanta from late 2003 until 2004, when they decided which songs would make the final cut. Austin considered Jackson one of the easiest artists to work with, as she was "open to anything you put in front of them".[2] The theme for their collaborations was the singer's own sexuality, as she "always shows what's going on with her life through her records", revealing the phase Jackson is in with her own life.[2] He added that at the time of the sessions, Jackson was in a "really good space right now. She's in love. [...] So we tapped into her happiness".[6] Austin described Damita Jo as "easily the most sexy thing she's done", as well as "one of the best records she's made".[2]
Although Jam was hopeful that the
Recording and composition
"Just a Little While" was recorded at DARP Studios in Atlanta, during sessions conducted by Austin between late 2003 and early 2004.[2] Written by Jackson and Austin, it was produced by the latter, who also played the guitar and keyboards on the track. Tony Reyes was also in charge of playing the guitar, while providing background vocals along with Jackson.[16] It was engineered by Rick Sheppard, who also provided the MIDI and the sound design for the song, while Doug Harms and Cesar Guevara were the assistant engineers.[16] "Just a Little While" was mixed by Kevin "KD" Davis at Charlice Recording in Los Angeles and mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, along with all tracks present on Damita Jo.[16]
Musically, "Just a Little While" is a
Lyrically, "Just a Little While" showcases Jackson's "signature fashion" of crafting lyrics which appeared "innocent on the surface yet naughty upon closer inspection" as noted by Billboard's Keith Caulfield, noting that it was "about sex, plain and simple".[27] In it, the singer frets about burning her lover out and asserts that her unyielding sex drive will not be a distraction to him, singing, "Maybe I'll just lay around/Play by myself".[15] In a review for the single written by Juzwiak for The Village Voice, he stated that the lyrics were about Jackson just wanting a "zipless fuck", as "like a moth to a flame is Janet's hand to her strawberry (her words!)". He also noted that the singer is "so eager to please that even if the quickie she solicits in the chorus doesn't go down, she'll 'touch it on [her] favorite fruit' anyway", alluding to masturbation.[28] As described by the staff The Scotsman, the song "buries its dirty intentions under a catchy melody".[17]
Critical reception
"Just a Little While" received mixed reviews from music critics. Keith Caulfield from Billboard predicted it to be "another immediate radio hit", commending the "festive, guitar-based" track, and stating that "Janet Jackson knows how to make a great single".[27] Jaume Gill of Yahoo! Music described the song as "a treat", as well as Jackson's "best single in five years", and highlighted its "fun, loose production that smells a little like the eighties".[23] The Washington Post's David Segal praised it as a "very catchy first single",[29] while Ann Powers of Blender wrote that "Dallas Austin gives her a snappy single with the guitar-driven 'Just a Little While.'"[30] Neil Strauss of Rolling Stone considered the track "push-button rock & roll",[31] while Rich Juzwiak, writing for The Village Voice declared that it was "her virgin/whore-iest moment yet", as well as Jackson's "most self-sufficient" single.[28] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor from AllMusic, considered "Just a Little While" a "good dance tune",[18] whereas The New York Times's Kalefa Sanneh qualified it as "a playful new-wave song".[19] Spence D. of IGN called it the album's "most bizarre flip", noting the "raking guitar chords that propel the song along".[25] Tom Moon from The Philadelphia Inquirer felt that the song contained "that primal quality that gets people moving before they can even process the message."[32]
Peter Piatkowski from
For Yahoo! Music's Angus Batey, the track was "so out of place amid the prevailing slew of slushy sex-obsessed detritus it has to be tacked on at the end, after the outro", despite calling it "brilliant".
Commercial performance
In the United States, "Just a Little While" quickly became the most added and played song on pop radio formats upon its release.
"Just a Little While" was commercially more successful worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the track debuted at number 15 on the
Music video
No music video was filmed at the moment "Just a Little While" leaked, leading Jackson and her record company to produce a video for it ahead of its scheduled time.
Jackson's boyfriend plays a second DVD, showing her adorned in a red outfit and long ponytail while near a water fountain.
The music video for "Just a Little While" was serviced to music channels in Europe, receiving its premiere on
Live performances
In March 2004, Billboard reported that Jackson would embark on a promotional tour for Damita Jo, comprising regions such as France, the United Kingdom, as well as Japan and Canada.
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from the liner notes of Damita Jo.[16]
- Janet Jackson – main and background vocals, songwriter
- Dallas Austin – songwriter, producer, guitar, keyboards
- Tony Reyes – guitar, background vocals
- Rick Sheppard – engineer, MIDI, sound design
- Doug Harms – assistant engineer
- Cesar Guevara – assistant engineer
- Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing
- Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
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Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | February 2, 2004 |
|
Virgin | |
Australia | March 15, 2004 | Maxi CD | EMI | |
France | ||||
Germany |
|
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Canada | March 16, 2004 | CD | Virgin | |
Japan | March 17, 2004 | Maxi CD | EMI | |
France | March 30, 2004 | CD | ||
United Kingdom | April 12, 2004 |
|
Virgin |
See also
- List of number-one dance singles of 2004 (U.S.)
References
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- ^ a b c d e Patel, Joseph (January 16, 2004). "Janet Jackson Making Sexiest Album Yet, Producer Says". MTV News. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
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{{cite AV media notes}}
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