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"Control"
Single by Janet Jackson from the album Control
B-side	"Fast Girls" (U.S.) "Pretty Boy" (UK)
Released	October 21, 1986
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1985
Genre	R&B, pop
Length	5:53
Label	A&M
Writer	Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis
Producer	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Janet Jackson singles chronology
"When I Think of You" (1986) "Control" (1986) "Let's Wait Awhile" (1987)
Control track listing
"Control" (1) "Nasty" (2)
Design of a Decade 1986/1996 track listing
"Alright" (8) "Control" (9) "The Pleasure Principle" (10)
Audio sample
Info "Control" (help·info)

"Control" is the fourth single from Janet Jackson's third album Control. The song was written by Jackson, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Its arrangement, built upon complex rhythmic tracks, showcased state-of-the-art production. It is about Jackson who wants to finally take control of her life. Jackson sings "When I was seventeen, I did what people told me." She is an adult who needs to guide herself in the world. The spoken intro of "Control" was sampled on Kylie Minogue's song "Too Much of a Good Thing", from her Let's Get to It album.

In 1988 the song won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, beating out her brother Michael, Whitney Houston and Jody Watley.

Janet performing in "Control" video.

The music video, directed by Mary Lambert, starts off with Janet fighting with her parents because she wants to move out of the house. Her father is deadset against it. She then leaves the house and is greeted, in her driveway by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson and others. They take her to a concert hall to perform, on her first gig, her single "Control" where she shows that she wants to be "the one in control." The video version of the song is different from the album version. The 9-minute video was made available on iTunes on April 27, 2007.

Released in 1986, the single peaked at five in the USA becoming Jackson's fourth consecutive Top 5 single on the Billboard Hot 100; it also peaked at one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The song captured a pivotal moment off the album by showcasing a female streak of independence. It was the thirty-seventh biggest Hot 100 single of 1987. The fifth biggest Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks single of 1987 and the ninth biggest-selling 12" single of 1987.

• Album Version (5:53)
• A Cappella (3:56)
• Design of a Decade US edit (5:15)
• 7" Edit (3:26)
• Extended Mix (7:33)
• Dub Version (5:55)
• Video Mix (6:02)
• Edit Of The Video Mix (4:35)