"If" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fifth album, Janet (1993). Jackson co-wrote and co-produced "If" with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Harvey Fuqua, John Bristol and Jackey Beavers receiving songwriting credits for the sampling of their composition "Someday We'll Be Together", performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes. "If" was released as the album's second single on July 13, 1993, by Virgin Records. It fuses various genres, including rock, trip hop and industrial music, with elements of new jack swing and hip-hop.
"If" received critical acclaim, with most critics noting Jackson's evolution into a sexual persona from her prior reserved, celibate public image. It received a BMI Pop Award for Most Played Song and was also ranked among Slant Magazines "Best Singles of the 1990s" list. It peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It also performed well in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The accompanying music video for "If", directed by Dominic Sena, portrays voyeurism, sensuality and intense choreography, while depicting technology that was unavailable at the time, such as touch screens and web cameras. The video received various accolades, including Best Female Video and Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Award for Dance Clip of the Year. It was also voted the second best female video of the decade by Idolator. Jackson performed "If" at the MTV Video Music Awards in a medley with "That's the Way Love Goes", in addition to several of her concert tours.
Background
Jackson's role in the film Poetic Justice gave her the confidence to attempt edgier themes musically, commenting "I know it would shock people, but I'm not doing it for shock value. And I know there are some people that are going to say, 'No, I will not be able to accept this because this is a little girl that we saw when she was seven years old.'" She continued, "Everybody says, 'Oh, my God, you've changed so much. Is this really you?'," described to laugh before saying, "Of course it's me." Virgin Records wanted the song to be janet's lead single, saying "it could have a great dance video." Jackson disagreed, deciding to release it as the album's second release. The song was written by Jackson in a conference room during a label meeting. Describing the process, Jackson said "Once you get into recording, it almost has a life of its own. We really got rolling when we did the song "If". Writing a song can happen any kind of way ... Jimmy [Jam] was watching a ballgame and playing around on the keyboards. I ask him to play the chords he was playing again ... "If" turned out to be funkier, gritter." Speaking about its theme, she stated "the song is about fantasizing. I've had those feelings [expressed in the song]..it's my time to share!" Jackson added, "[its] about a girl who goes to a club and fantasizes about this guy: serious fantasies about the things she'd do to him if she was his girl – the positions and things like that. But she's not, so she can't, so she gets pretty frustrated in the second verse – without it being too much. It's still within good taste."Q, June 1993
Critical reception
"If" was acclaimed for its innovation and sonic progression, as well as its sexuality and usage of multiple genres. Patrick Corcoran from Albumism called it "a pounding, fuzzed-up, nasty-sounding track that drips with the thrill of lust at first sight." David Nathan of B&S Magazine remarked that the song pulls no punches. "Listening to it and reading the lyrics Janet wrote in a Virgin Records conference room, I blush - in itself a rare occurrence." BBC Radio 3's commended it as an "impressive industrial fury" based on "oral satisfaction". Andrew Hammp from Billboard declared it a "rockin' dance track," with strings that "anchor the climax." The song's theme of avoiding temptation to interfere with monogamy was also noted, adding "Though Jackson lets her mind race with naughty thoughts [...], she ultimately stops herself from going after someone else's man." Another editor, Larry Flick described it as a "moist, seductive teaser, wrapped in an equally sexy pop/hiphop groove." He added, "Her honey-sweet voice bounces off cyborg guitar riffing, taking the rhythm-rock vibe of her Rhythm Nation hit "Black Cat" to a more intense level. Tucked beneath the pleasingly crowded production is an infectious chorus and a nifty funk bassline." Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune wrote, "There's a surprising, fuzzed-up guitar riff lifted from Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' that gives 'If' some punch." David Browne from Entertainment Weekly exclaimed it "takes Jackson into exciting new terrain," blending her vocals with "a traffic jam in a city of cyborgs." A writer for Idolator called it an "industrial dance/sex epic" in addition to "infectious and raunchy," saying "Janet Jackson's unmistakable voice is used to perfection to create an eerily tropical but beautiful track." "If" was also interpreted as "a swirling epic number", fusing "90s disco with guitar-rock," using a "Hendrix-lite guitar" throughout the song. Jackson's vocals were delivered at "break-neck speed, practically rapping about the salacious pleasures of her lover," while its production had "a lot of styles on display," including "distorted synth meets acoustic guitar."
Nicholas Jennings of Maclean's called the "guitar-driven" song a "standout" for its explicit lines. Alan Jones from Music Week gave it four out of five, noting it as "certainly unusual, and certainly a hit." Jon Pareles of The New York Times observed the song to open with a "screaming guitar and a chanted verse, rising to a sweet melody." A reviewer from Popblerd said it "starts with guitar feedback" before transitioning into "a sweaty, sexy dance workout", adding it "blew us away." James Hamilton from the RM Dance Update called it "guitar yowled swirling jittery jack swing pop". Dave Ritz from Rolling Stone qualified it as both "subtle and bold," with Jackson's "bedroom fantasies" given "a fierce dressing-up — tough jeep beats, hard-rock guitar, and a Diana Ross & The Supremes sample — and some missed just what she was on about." Music critic Richard Croft raved "the janet. album was a big sex-fest from beginning to end but nowhere was it hotter than 'If'," labeling the chorus "infectious, at the same time bitchy and vulnerable, defiant and desperate." The song's sexuality was considered to accomplish "the rare thing of being feminist and feminine at the same time without compromising either," saying the song is "a big pleading love song that put her totally at the whim of the man, and a big fuck-off anthem that said "I'm here, I'm Janet freaking Jackson, but if you're not gonna notice me then get bent". Phrased a little differently, of course." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said its content was "impending or simply imagined", adding "the very title of which embodies that fact, is essentially about masturbation, with Janet describing what her lover's "smooth and shiny [cock]" feels like against her lips while ostensibly rubbing herself off under the covers". Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave "If" four out of five, declaring it "her sauciest and funkiest yet." He added, "Janet's turning into Prince — and that's not such a bad thing." Craig S. Semon of the Telegram & Gazette stated "the naughty seducer" to be one of Jackson's "most exciting tracks." An anecdote also stated Jackson became "the sex kitten every man dreamed she would be," opposed to formerly known as "a sweet fresh faced girl singing little ditties about young love." The lyrics "purposely leaves something to the imagination," leaving one to wonder what Jackson is referring to: "Could Janet be talking about the lips, chest, or a man's procreation stick? For freakiness' sake, I'd like to go with the last option over everything." A reviewer from Vibe called it "a weird masterpiece".
Chart performance "If" debuted at number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number four and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 28, 1993. It reached number three on the Hot R&B Singles chart and peaked atop the Dance Club Play chart. It placed at number 19 on the annual year-end chart and sold 600,000 copies. In Canada, the song debuted at number 92 before peaking at number three in October. It spent a total of nineteen weeks on the chart and was ranked at number 25 on Canada's RPM year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, "If" debuted on UK Singles Chart at number 23 and peaked at number 14 the following week. It spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. The song performed moderately in Europe and Oceania. The song peaked within the top 10 in Sweden, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, also peaking within the top 20 in Australia.
On April 2, 2011, the song charted at number forty-five on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart.
Music video
Background The accompanying music video for "If" was directed by American director Dominic Sena and choreographed by Tina Landon and Jackson, with additional choreography by Omar Lopez and Keith Williams. It takes place in an Asian nightclub, displaying touch-screen technology and web cameras used to monitor the interactions of patrons. Jackson is the club's main performer, being observed by patrons through screens who are able to enter the function by saying the correct password. The video's themes of sexual fantasy, desire, and voyeurism were intended as an elaborate metaphor for the song's racy content. The video was also thought to have a "Blasian" theme, portraying interracial lust in the clip's "body language, the atmosphere and her smoldering off-stage eye contact" with Jackson's male interest, Michael Gregory Gong.
Jackson commented on the video, stating "It's nothing nasty or dirty, but it's very sexy. During taping I kept saying, 'Oh, my god, I'm glad my mother is not here.'" An alternate version of the video known as the "All Dance Version" focuses solely on the video's choreography. This version was shown on many music channels due to the original's suggestive visuals regarded as very explicit at the time. The uncensored video appears on the From janet. to Damita Jo: The Videos compilation, while the alternate version is included on the janet. video release and re-release of All for You.
Synopsis The video opens with a moonlit scene of a woman wearing a Kimono walking towards a building in an Asian village. The woman walks to the door, looks into a hidden camera and says the password, "If". A man operating the door from inside then grants her access to the festivities. The inside of the bordello is then shown as a green light turns on, signaling male dancers to be lowered from the ceiling, who descend upside down on ropes in a winding fashion simulating a corkscrew. The woman is then shown entering the club. A wider view of the club is then revealed, with club patron watching the stage as female dancers perform. Various scenes of people attending the club are shown through touch-screen monitors and web cameras.
Multiple screens are shown, and a man watching some of the other patron on the monitor uses the futuristic touch-screen to select angles of the performance on the main stage. The doors on the main platform then rapidly open as Janet, who is wearing a black and white top, black pants and a Bohemian choker, descends the stairs and enters the main stage, surrounded by blowing red fabric and a radiant white light. She focuses solely on one man in the audience watching her through the monitor as she and her dancers start performing a sexually suggestive dance routine, three women in high fashion outfits are shown walking through the club and observing the men in attendance through a monitor.