Again (Janet Jackson song)
| Again | |
|---|---|
| Janet Jackson | |
| publication | October 12, 1993 |
| length | 3:47 |
| Genre (s) | pop |
| Author (s) |
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Janet Jackson |
| Producer (s) | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Janet Jackson |
| Label | Virgin Records |
| Award (s) | USA: Platinum UK: Silver Oscar nomination |
| album | Janet. (1993) |
| Cover version | |
| 2012 | How to Dress Well |
Again is a 1993 song by Janet Jackson . The song was first released in the credits of the 1993 film Poetic Justice and later appeared on Janet Jackson's album Janet. It became a huge success in the United States, where it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was awarded a platinum record. The song was also nominated at the 1994 Academy Awards.
background
Before recording her fifth studio album, Janet. played Janet Jackson in the film Poetic Justice . In the film, she plays Justice, a young woman whose boyfriend is killed in a gang shootout in South Central Los Angeles . Justice tries to process her grief by writing poetry. Filming also shaped Jackson's songwriting, trying to make the album more poetic and serious, focusing less on dance tracks than on previous albums.
The song Again was written by the producer duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as an experimental track for the album. Jackson liked the tune, but it wasn't until the film producers asked to get an exclusive song from Janet Jackson for the film that the three remembered the instrumental title . Janet Jackson then wrote a text for the pop ballad.
The song ran in the credits of the film, but was not on the soundtrack album. Instead, Jackson used it for their album and released it as the third single on October 12, 1993 . The single also contained the jazz-funk piece Funky Big Band and a French version of the song, both of which were also featured on the album.
Music video
.jpg)
The video shows Janet Jackson writing the song. Scenes with their past love, played by actor Gary Dourdan , can be seen in flashbacks. Another video with scenes from the film was also created. Both videos were of her then-husband Jr. René Elizondo turned. The original video was later made for the Janet VHS compilation . as well as the DVD From Janet to Damita Jo: The Videos , while the video with the film scenes was used for the video album for All for You .
Reception and chart success
The song was nominated for both the 1994 Academy Awards for Best Song and the Golden Globe for Best Movie Song. For both awards but won Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen from the movie Philadelphia .
On the Billboard Hot 100, the song reached number one on the charts in October 1993 and was awarded a platinum record . The single also reached number seven on the Billboard R&B charts . Again reached number 20 in the German charts. In the United Kingdom it made it into the top 10 to number six and was awarded a silver record.
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
29 (16 weeks) | 16 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
20th (11 weeks) | 11 |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
6th (11 weeks) | 11 |
 United States (Billboard)
|
1 (23 weeks) | 23 |
Cover versions
Singer-songwriter How to Dress Well covered the song for his 2012 album Total Loss .
Iyaz used a sample of the song for his 2010 song Solo . Stanley Clarke also used the melody for Lucky Again from his album At the Movies in 1995 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Ritz: Sexual healing . In: Rolling Stone . No. 665 , September 16, 1993, ISSN 0035-791X , p. 38 .
- ↑ Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits . Billboard Books, 2003, ISBN 0-8230-7677-6 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US US R&B albums US R&B singles
- ↑ a b Best-Selling Records of 1993 . In: BPI Communications (Ed.): Billboard . Volume 106, No. 3 , January 15, 1994, ISSN 0006-2510 , pp. 73 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Tom Breihan: How To Dress Well Covers Janet Jackson. In: Stereogum. August 16, 2012, accessed June 16, 2014 .