I've been listening to a lot of music from the early 1990s and what was going on socially and in Pop culture lately.

I've been listening to a lot of music from Janet Jacksons self titles album -remixes, shows/performances

It's interesting to listen to something you haven't heard in YEARS and it comes back to you like it was yesterday

"If" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, janet.. Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was released as the album's second single and became Jackson's second top five hit from the janet. album.

The song received acclaim for its innovation, receiving a BMI Pop Award for "Most Played Song", and is also infamous for its iconic video clip, which portrays voyeurism, futuristic technology and intricate choreography. The "If" video set many trends and won multiple accolades, including "Best Female Video" and "Best Dance Video" at the MTV Video Music Awards.

One of the sexiest songs ever written!

US double 12" single

1. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm House Mix) – 7:07
2. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm Dub) – 7:00
3. "If" (Extended LP Mix) – 5:40
4. "If" (Tee's Radio Mix) – 4:02
5. "If" (D&D 7" Mix) – 4:23
6. "If" (Tee's Freeze Mix) – 7:17
7. "If" (TNT Bass Mix) – 5:36
8. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix) – 6:20
9. "If" (D&D JDD Mix) – 5:26
10. "If" (Tee's Capella) – 2:09

Japanese CD single

1. "If" (radio edit) – 3:49
2. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm House Mix) – 7:07
3. "If" (Tee's Freeze Mix) – 7:17
4. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix) – 6:20
5. "If" (Extended LP Mix) – 5:40
6. "If" (D&D 12" Mix) – 5:47

UK 12" single

1. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm House Mix) – 7:07
2. "If" (Brothers in Rhythm Dub) – 7:00
3. "If" (radio edit) – 3:49
4. "If" (Extended LP Mix) – 5:40
5. "If" (Brothers In Rhythm Swing Yo Pants Mix) – 6:20
6. "If" (D&D 12" Mix) – 5:47

Official remixes

G3000 said:

One of the sexiest songs ever written!

I still say, Janet needs to do an album with a strong rock vibe. It brings her voice out in a different way too

fanmade

If was the original choice for the lead single from janet., with Jackson being pressured to release the song by her label Virgin Records after playing them a rough demo, telling her "it could have a great dance video". Complying with her instincts, Janet decided to release "If" as the album's second single and instead debuted "That's the Way Love Goes" as the first offering from the album. Recounting the experience of choosing between the two songs, the song's co-producer Jimmy Jam said "we were finishing up recording later with Chuck D and we played him and [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!?’"

Written by Jackson in a Virgin Records conference room, Janet described the writing and recording process of "If", saying "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." Going into detail about the song's theme, she added "The song is about fantasizing. I've had those feelings [expressed in the song]..it's my time to share!" In Q Magazine, Jackson stated "If" being "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."

^Holey moley, that's a lot of remixes.

.

'If' is a song that barely ever gets any airplay here in Holland anymore. Back when I was watching the 'Classics' music video show on TMF as a teenager, they'd sometimes play 'If' and 'Black Cat', and I'd think to myself 'I don't remember these songs of hers!' I should probaby mention that Janet was pretty much my first real FAVOURITE singer when I was barely out of pre-school, so whenever she was on the radio, I'd listen.

.

Between 'If' and 'That's The Way', I must say I prefer the latter, but I've retroactively grown fond of 'If' a lot.

OldFriends, you're THE freaking man <-(OF4S edit lol)! Please turn the volume way up.

If is one of Top 5 all time favorite Janet tracks. I used to play the living hell out of that track from the janet. album throughout the summer of 1993 BEFORE it was release as the second single. Yes, I knew beforehand that it was a potential hit.

Now if we can just help Brother Andy (Vainandy) to wake up and given janet. another listen. I can NOT believe our fellow orger overlooks If, given that it's uptempo and all.

OldFriends4Sale said:

If was the original choice for the lead single from janet., with Jackson being pressured to release the song by her label Virgin Records after playing them a rough demo, telling her "it could have a great dance video". Complying with her instincts, Janet decided to release "If" as the album's second single and instead debuted "That's the Way Love Goes" as the first offering from the album. Recounting the experience of choosing between the two songs, the song's co-producer Jimmy Jam said "we were finishing up recording later with Chuck D and we played him and [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!?’"

Written by Jackson in a Virgin Records conference room, Janet described the writing and recording process of "If", saying "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." Going into detail about the song's theme, she added "The song is about fantasizing. I've had those feelings [expressed in the song]..it's my time to share!" In Q Magazine, Jackson stated "If" being "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."

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The rollout of the janet. album was perfect to me. Nobody saw "Thats The Way Loves Goes" coming. If I recall correctly, the song was an instant and I mean instant smash seemingly on all radio formats. I think it debuted at No. 1 its first week. I think they made the right decision to come smooth and unexpected versus with a bang.

-

"If" was a banger from the start! It was the perfect follow up to "TTWLG" because of it being the complete opposite of the first single. The song and video gave people the hot dance single they wanted from Janet. I was sold from the song's introduction alone. From the guitar distortion, to the Supremes sample, to the beat dropping, I loved it. By the time we get to her talking about my smooth and shiny feeling good pressed against her lips....I was done.

-

I hope Janet trusts her better instincts with her new project and not give a damn about current trends or their trendy artists/producers.

-

-

Oh and her rendition of "One More Chance" was good too. I always appreciated its subtlety. She did her brothers proud.

Musicslave said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

If was the original choice for the lead single from janet., with Jackson being pressured to release the song by her label Virgin Records after playing them a rough demo, telling her "it could have a great dance video". Complying with her instincts, Janet decided to release "If" as the album's second single and instead debuted "That's the Way Love Goes" as the first offering from the album. Recounting the experience of choosing between the two songs, the song's co-producer Jimmy Jam said "we were finishing up recording later with Chuck D and we played him and [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!?’"

Written by Jackson in a Virgin Records conference room, Janet described the writing and recording process of "If", saying "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." Going into detail about the song's theme, she added "The song is about fantasizing. I've had those feelings [expressed in the song]..it's my time to share!" In Q Magazine, Jackson stated "If" being "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."

-

-

The rollout of the janet. album was perfect to me. Nobody saw "Thats The Way Loves Goes" coming. If I recall correctly, the song was an instant and I mean instant smash seemingly on all radio formats. I think it debuted at No. 1 its first week. I think they made the right decision to come smooth and unexpected versus with a bang.

-

"If" was a banger from the start! It was the perfect follow up to "TTWLG" because of it being the complete opposite of the first single. The song and video gave people the hot dance single they wanted from Janet. I was sold from the song's introduction alone. From the guitar distortion, to the Supremes sample, to the beat dropping, I loved it. By the time we get to her talking about my smooth and shiny feeling good pressed against her lips....I was done.

-

I hope Janet trusts her better instincts with her new project and not give a damn about current trends or their trendy artists/producers.

-

-

Oh and her rendition of "One More Chance" was good too. I always appreciated its subtlety. She did her brothers proud.

the mid 90s was the last time of a great era of music and pop culture when things were sooo exciting

On & On +

Chart performance

If was released as the album's second single and debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. Seven weeks later, it reached its peak position of number four and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 28, 1993. "If" also reached #3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It placed at 19 on the year-end chart for 1993. In Canada, the song debuted at number 92 on the RPM issue dated July 24, 1993 and reached the third position on October 2, 1993. It spent a total of nineteen weeks on the chart and was placed at 25 on the RPM's year-end chart for 1993.

In the United Kingdom, "If" debuted on UK Singles Chart at number 23 and peaked at number fourteen the following week. It spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. The song performed moderately in Europe and Oceania. In the Netherlands and New Zealand, the song peaked at number eight and ten, respectively, also peaking in the Top 20 in Australia and Top 10 in Sweden.

"If" randomly debuted on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart at #45 during the week of April 2, 2011

ginusher said:

^Holey moley, that's a lot of remixes.

.

'If' is a song that barely ever gets any airplay here in Holland anymore. Back when I was watching the 'Classics' music video show on TMF as a teenager, they'd sometimes play 'If' and 'Black Cat', and I'd think to myself 'I don't remember these songs of hers!' I should probaby mention that Janet was pretty much my first real FAVOURITE singer when I was barely out of pre-school, so whenever she was on the radio, I'd listen.

.

Between 'If' and 'That's The Way', I must say I prefer the latter, but I've retroactively grown fond of 'If' a lot.

Yes, there are a bunch of them. That's one thing I liked about this album 4 Janet was the remixes

TonyVanDam said:

OldFriends, you're THE freaking man <-(OF4S edit lol)! Please turn the volume way up.

If is one of Top 5 all time favorite Janet tracks. I used to play the living hell out of that track from the janet. album throughout the summer of 1993 BEFORE it was release as the second single. Yes, I knew beforehand that it was a potential hit.

Now if we can just help Brother Andy (Vainandy) to wake up and given janet. another listen. I can NOT believe our fellow orger overlooks If, given that it's uptempo and all.

This is the standout track 4 me, the video the song took the energy way up

OldFriends4Sale said:

Musicslave said:

-

-

The rollout of the janet. album was perfect to me. Nobody saw "Thats The Way Loves Goes" coming. If I recall correctly, the song was an instant and I mean instant smash seemingly on all radio formats. I think it debuted at No. 1 its first week. I think they made the right decision to come smooth and unexpected versus with a bang.

-

"If" was a banger from the start! It was the perfect follow up to "TTWLG" because of it being the complete opposite of the first single. The song and video gave people the hot dance single they wanted from Janet. I was sold from the song's introduction alone. From the guitar distortion, to the Supremes sample, to the beat dropping, I loved it. By the time we get to her talking about my smooth and shiny feeling good pressed against her lips....I was done.

-

I hope Janet trusts her better instincts with her new project and not give a damn about current trends or their trendy artists/producers.

-

-

Oh and her rendition of "One More Chance" was good too. I always appreciated its subtlety. She did her brothers proud.

the mid 90s was the last time of a great era of music and pop culture when things were sooo exciting

On & On +

Chart performance

If was released as the album's second single and debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. Seven weeks later, it reached its peak position of number four and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 28, 1993. "If" also reached #3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It placed at 19 on the year-end chart for 1993. In Canada, the song debuted at number 92 on the RPM issue dated July 24, 1993 and reached the third position on October 2, 1993. It spent a total of nineteen weeks on the chart and was placed at 25 on the RPM's year-end chart for 1993.

In the United Kingdom, "If" debuted on UK Singles Chart at number 23 and peaked at number fourteen the following week. It spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. The song performed moderately in Europe and Oceania. In the Netherlands and New Zealand, the song peaked at number eight and ten, respectively, also peaking in the Top 20 in Australia and Top 10 in Sweden.

"If" randomly debuted on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart at #45 during the week of April 2, 2011

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Thanks. I must have been confusing her better chart performance of "TTWLG" with "If". She must have had some serious competition to keep this song from #1 back then. Both Hot 100 and R&B chart wise.

OldFriends4Sale said:

This remix is great! I remember it floating around Superbowl last year.

Music video

"If" takes place in an Asian nightclub which appears to be a brothel, with futuristic touch-screen technology and spy cameras used to monitor the intimate interactions of patrons within their private boudoirs being displayed. In the iconic video clip, Janet is portrayed as the main object of desire in the nightclub, with patrons observing her through web cameras after saying the correct password to enter the hidden function. The video is an elaborate metaphor for the single's message of sexual fantasy, desire and voyeurism. Its choreography and main dance sequence is infamous for its complexity, as well as Janet's revealing outfit and sexier appearance. The video's sexual theme was a stark contrast from Janet's previous work, which was previously unexplored in her videos and was still considered to be controversial for females in pop culture to portray at the time of its release. The video was directed by Dominic Sena, who previously worked with Jackson on music videos for her previous album Rhythm Nation 1814. It was choreographed by Tina Landon and Jackson, with additional choreography by Omar Lopez and Keith Williams for the instrumental breakdown. An alternate version of the video known as the "All Dance Version" omits many of the various club patron scenes and focuses solely on Janet's dance performance. This version was also shown on many music channels due to the original video's suggestive content being considered very risqué and explicit at the time.

Described by Janet as "a female fantasy", David Ritz of Rolling Stone commented on the video as it was being filmed, exclaiming "There are tantalizing bodies inches from my eyes. There is choreographed mock-cunnilingus. There is the phenomenon of Janet, off camera, watching herself being watched in this video of watchers, while another film crew makes a video on the making of the video. Reality is scrambled. Voyeurism is rampant. The music is pumping, the message obvious as an orgasm. I'm stimulated." Us Weekly also described the filming of "If", saying "Janet Jackson is making a video here in a huge Hollywood sound stage, standing in the middle of a dance floor surrounded by what looks like an elaborate, multilevel Chinese restaurant, complete with balconies, stairways and wide-screen monitors. She's flanked by several other women, all clad in black and lace, and the same number of black-clad men. She's doing one of those gang unison dances that she often does in her videos, while a thunderous track blasts over the sound system. She's being sexy, wiggling her hips and running her arms down her sides. But - in a striking departure

'If'...is forgettable trash.

Janet Jackson - "If" Rehearsals

OldFriends4Sale said:

Janet Jackson - "If" Rehearsals

[video was here]

I love these sort of rehearsal vids.

One of my favorite songs. "If" is just good, sexy fun

OldFriends4Sale said:

I have a vintage concert tour shirt from this era that uses this photo!

That was a great time for Janet. "If" was bangin'.

Cinny said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I have a vintage concert tour shirt from this era that uses this photo!

certain shirts are just cool no matter how long ago it came out, I like that one