"That's the Way Love Goes" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fifth album, Janet. (1993). The song was released in April 1993 by Virgin Records as the lead single from the Janet album. Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song's themes of romantic lust saw Jackson transitioning to sensual territory, considered a shocking contrast to her previous releases among critics and the public. The song's slow tempo fused R&B, pop, funk and soul music with flourishes of hip-hop. It received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised it as "iconic" and "hypnotic" for its production and vocals.
In the United States, to prevent radio leaks, Virgin Records issued a fictional release date of April 27 to pop and urban radio stations, but on April 14, two weeks before the purported release day, Virgin sent out promotional copies of the single to stations nationwide and ensured that these stations had added the song to their playlists before the day's end. Following its release, "That's the Way Love Goes" became one of the longest-reigning US hits of 1993, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. It also spent multiple weeks at number one on several of Billboards other component charts and is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Internationally, it placed at number one in several countries, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
"That's the Way Love Goes" received the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in addition to Billboard Awards, BMI Pop Award for Most Played Song, and American Music Awards. Its accompanying music video, directed by René Elizondo Jr., received several nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Female Video, and also influenced several videos, including releases from Ciara and Prince.
"That's the Way Love Goes" has been recorded by artists such as Bruno Mars and NSYNC, cited as an influence by Britney Spears and Nelly Furtado, and inspired or been sampled in songs by Alicia Keys, Destiny's Child and Hikaru Utada. It is considered to be one of Jackson's signature songs and is included in each of her greatest hits collections: Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995), Number Ones (2009) and Icon: Number Ones (2010).
Background In 1991, Jackson fulfilled her contract with A&M Records, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records estimated between 32 and 50 million dollars, making her the highest-paid recording artist at the time. The first version of "That's the Way Love Goes" had a lovelorn tone which Jackson revised, contacting producer Jimmy Jam to say she was taking an alternate direction. Jackson was initially indifferent upon hearing its instrumental, prompting her to request a tape to listen to as she embarked on a brief vacation. Upon returning, Jackson replied "You know that track you did? I love it. It's absolutely the bomb," adding "I wasn't hearing it, but now I totally hear it. We've gotta do that track! Oh my God, we played it non-stop!" Jackson wished to write and record the song immediately, and quickly devised its title.
Jam commented that "That's the Way Love Goes" was the perfect introduction into what the album was going to be. At one point in the recording in December 1992, they took a two-week break for the Christmas holidays and Jackson went to Anguilla. She asked Jam to make a cassette of tracks they were already working on to take with her on the trip. Two weeks later in January 1993, she was excited about the track, requesting that her producers put the track on the album and explaining that she played it non-stop while she was traveling. The producer recalled, "At about one in the morning, the intercom went off in my bedroom. She goes, 'Jimmy? Are you awake?' I said, 'I am now'. She said, 'I've got the concept. It's going to be called 'That's the Way Love Goes'.' Throughout the whole project, it was our favourite record. [...] there was something about that song that we just thought was so different and really captured that part of her life". In retrospect, Jackson called the song "relaxed and carefree", being "easy and fun, soft and seductive". When Virgin heads went to Minneapolis, Jackson and her producers played a rough cut of "If" for them. The executives felt it would be the first release from the album, and Jackson shared this feeling. However, Jam and Lewis, still wanted the label to release "That's the Way Love Goes" first. Jam recalled, "Janet goes, 'Yeah, you're right!' Then she comes back a week later and says, 'Well… guys, it looks like 'If' is going to be the single. The record label feels it could have a great dance video...' So we were finishing up recording later with Chuck D and we played him and [hip-hop producer] Hank Shocklee the two songs. They said, 'If. That's like Janet saying I'm back!' So Janet's looking at us like 'See? See!?' And then he (Chuck) goes, 'But that other song… you know when Sade releases a record and it's not like a bunch of hype? She just slips it out there and you say, 'Oh my God listen to this!?' It introduces itself". And we're looking at Janet like, 'See!?'"
Composition
"That's the Way Love Goes" samples James Brown's 1974 song "Papa Don't Take No Mess" and the Honey Drippers' 1973 song "Impeach the President". It is set in common time, in the key of G minor. Jackson's vocal chords range between the tonal nodes of high-tone F3 to low-tone Bb4. The song is in a medium tempo of 100 beats per minute with a repeating chord progression of EbMaj7–F6–Gm. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine noted its "measured hip-hop loop and titular one-line hook". Patricia Smith of The Boston Globe also noted that the chorus of the song consists of a simple line, "deep male voice weaves its way through the chorus, and Janet experiments with the layering of spoken lines, chanting the title like a mantra". J.D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun noted that Jackson performed the vocals in the composition at the lower end of her vocal register, "coaxing a velvety warmth" that perfectly complements the lyrics.
The composition begins with the "seemingly innocent" phrases such as "You'll be so glad you came", and goes on to more adult lyrics. Shayne Lee in her book Erotic Revolutionaries: Black Women, Sexuality, and Popular Culture (2010), while noting the whole erotic lyrics singer, wrote: "In 'That's the Way Love Goes' she promises to take her man to places he's never been. She urges him to reach out and feel her body; slow down because he's got her there all night; to go deeper, and that feels so good she's going to cry". The Crisis magazine wrote that Jackson has long been famous for her "self-conscious image of a good girl", but changed her lyrics' style. "Just listen to the spicy lyrics of her super-hit 'That's the Way Love Goes' and you will realize that she is no longer that cute little girl from the Good Times show".
Critical reception "That's the Way Love Goes" was well received by contemporary music critics, praised for its sonic innovation and departure, evolving to an edgier and sensual style. Patrick Corcoran from Albumism stated that it is "a song that is greater than the sum of its parts." He added, "Its mid-tempo, James Brown and The Honey Drippers sampling groove manages to go hard and stay cool at the same time, while Janet's delicately wanton vocal and lyrics drip with sensuality." Alex Henderson of AllMusic qualified it as both "sultry" and "hypnotic". The song was considered one of several which displayed how Jackson "blossomed into a beautiful young woman," described as "a slow burn of a groove led by her sensual whisper," complete with "slinky guitars" revealing a hidden side of her persona. Andrew Hampp from Billboard magazine said the song is an adult affair in comparison to Jackson's prior releases, saying "Janet leaves the flirting to the kids and instead lets her guard down for her lover ("Come closer baby closer / reach out and feel my body.")" Another Billboard editor, Larry Flick called it "a gorgeous midtempo jam fueled by warm classic funk and soul instrumental colors. Romantic, almost poetic lyrics, and an instantly memorable chorus are given depth by Jackson's caressing, whispery vocal and fluid guitar lines."
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly described it as "gently percolating pop" and "easygoing", with another critique stating "the sexy lyrical composition blends well with the seductively arranged harmony of the song." Bjørg Tulinius from Danish magazine Gaffa picked the song as one of "the best numbers" of the album, describing it as "soul-imprinted". Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times described "That's the Way Love Goes" as "one of the most endearing pieces of romantic pop confection of the '90s", adding "the song is a highlight of Jackson's latest and best album, "janet.," a "silky collection" exploring "questions of sexual awakening and desire with a classy sense of pop craft and convincing passion." The publication also stated "Summer pop doesn't get any smoother or more seductive," likening its quality as unheard for several decades, adding "You might have to go all the way back to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles or, even, the Drifters to find summer pop as silky and as inviting as this." Editor Maureen Sajbel considered it a "gentle love ballad". MTV considered it "sultry, slow-burning". Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented that "romance is back, and so is Janet, who writes the handbook of love on a beat similar to Charles & Eddie's Would I Lie To You. Exploring the borders between jazz dance and swing beat, Jackson is breathing sensuality."
Alan Jones from Music Week deemed it an "insidious cool tempo Jam/Lewis track [that] weaves an intricate melody, at once maddeningly commercial and yet unbelievably delicate." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday declared "After two straight smash albums and a dozen immediate hits, Jackson takes a left turn," ultimately "focusing on vibe and groove and making the most of her voice." Jan DeKnock from Orlando Sentinel labeled it an "appealing midtempo number" with Jackson's vocals performed in a "lilt" technique. Touré from Rolling Stone described the song as a "warm bed of soul sounds." The publication praised Jackson's approach to sexuality, writing "Jackson evades reductive sexuality by demanding love and respect from both her partner and herself. She wants you to touch her, and love's got to do with it because "that's the way love goes." Janet won't stand for a trade-off — she wants love and sex." Sean Fennessey from Vibe called it "cool, sensual, simple." Richard Harrington from The Washington Post labeled it as "supple" and "sensual". An additional review stated "That's the Way Love Goes" and the janet. album "shattered any illusions the public still held that Janet remained a little girl. Filled with sexual desires and adult fantasies, Janet broke boundaries but still managed to channel her desires into chart-topping hits."
Chart performance "That's the Way Love Goes" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 14. Two weeks later, it became Jackson's sixth number-one single on the Hot 100, eleventh number-one single on the Hot R&B Singles chart, and ninth number-one single on the Dance Club Play chart. At the time of its release, the song's three week trek to the top made it the second-fastest rising single in Hot 100 history, behind the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love". The single spent four weeks atop the Hot R&B Singles chart and Maxi-Singles Sales charts. To date, the song is Jackson's longest hit in the United States, and was also the seventeenth biggest hit of the 1990s. Six years after its release, Billboard ranked the song as the thirtieth biggest pop hit of the past forty-five years, and in 2007, ranked it as the nineteenth biggest hit ever by a female solo artist.