Janet Jackson Celebrates ‘Control’ 40th Anniversary

“When she went in to sing it, she started singing it in the [high] Janet voice we all know. And we said, Janet, what if you sang it an octave lower? And she said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, that sounds really weird,’” Lewis told Rolling Stone in 2021. “And then I remember the next day she came to the studio and we played it back for her. And she got this look on her face. It’s the best look an artist could ever give you, that look of surprise and satisfaction. And that was the thing that fueled us, because ‘Nasty’ was one of the earlier songs we did in making Control. That kind of took off of the any apprehension she had, any nervousness. She knew we had her back.”

Control marked the beginning of a career-defining album run that also included Rhythm Nation in 1989 and Janet in 1993. Jackson received three nominations at the 1987 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Control as well as Best R&B Song for “What Have You Done for Me Lately.” That same year, Jam and Lewis took home Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.