Control (Janet Jackson song)

"Control"
Single by Janet Jackson
from the album Control
B-side	"Fast Girls" "Pretty Boy"
Released	October 17, 1986 (1986-10-17)
Recorded	August 1985
Studio	Flyte Tyme, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genre	Funk
Length	5:53 (album version) 3:26 (single edit)
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	James Harris Terry Lewis Janet Jackson
Producer(s)	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Janet Jackson singles chronology
"When I Think of You" (1986) "Control" (1986) "Let's Wait Awhile" (1987)
Music video
"Control" on YouTube

"Control" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album of the same name (1986). The song was written by Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis, and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was released as the album's fourth single on October 17, 1986, by A&M Records. Its arrangement, built upon complex rhythmic tracks, showcased state-of-the-art production. The song is about Jackson wanting to finally take control of her life.

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. Pitchfork included the song in its Best 200 Songs of the '80s list at number 126.^[1]

Jackson has performed the song on many of her tours, including the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, Number Ones: Up Close and Personal, Unbreakable World Tour, and the State of the World Tour. The only tour that it was not included on was the Janet World Tour. It has been included in two of Jackson's greatest hits albums, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995) and Number Ones (2009).