"Alright" is a song by American singer
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
from her fourth studio album, ''
Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). Written by Jackson and
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the song was released on March 4, 1990, by
A&M Records as the fourth single from ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814''. In the United Kingdom, it was issued as the album's fifth single in June 1990.
While it was to become the only single of the seven released off the ''Rhythm Nation 1814'' album to not hit the top-two on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number four, it became the fourth consecutive single from the album to reach number one on the
Dance Club Songs, helping Jackson break a
record set by
Madonna. "Alright" earned Jackson two
1991 Grammy Award nominations for
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and
Best R&B Song.
Composition
"Alright"
samples Lyn Collins' 1972 song "
Think (About It)" and the song's final hook samples
B.T. Express' 1974 song "Do You Like It". The song was recorded again in January 1990 with
Heavy D for the music video.
Chart performance
"Alright" peaked at number four on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, number two on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
and number one on the
Dance Club Songs. It is the only single from the album that did not reach the top two on Billboard Hot 100.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
to the song, which was filmed in February 1990 and was styled to resemble a 1930s and 1950s musical, featured
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.
After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...
,
The Nicholas Brothers
The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of biological brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their ...
, and
Cab Calloway in one of his last on-screen appearances. Anthony Thomas choreographed the video, with some scenes staged by veteran Hollywood choreographer
Michael Kidd.
The video begins with Jackson and two male dancers, including Richard Gaines, all wearing flashy
zoot suits sitting on a bench. A paperboy throws newspapers on them. They wake up and read the frontpage of the newspaper, from which they learn Calloway is in town for the premiere of his ''Alright'' film. Jackson and her dancers take a cross-town journey to the premiere. There, Jackson, her dancers and Calloway fans wait for Calloway to make his grand entrance. Jackson seemingly envisions herself as Calloway's glamorized female guest, getting pushed to the red carpet. Calloway takes her hand and helps her up. Jackson and her dancers get in Calloway's limo. They arrive at large dance out in the middle of a street. Jackson and her dancers climb on the back of a car and Jackson notices her watch is missing. They get off the car and are sprayed by a street cleaning truck. They sit on the bench. Later that night, Jackson and her dancers are homeless people asleep on the bench—revealing the video to have been a dream. Cab Calloway, in the meantime, walks to the bench and places Jackson's watch in her hand. He sneaks away saying, "Alright". There is also an extended version that features rapper
Heavy D. Jackson won a
Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award for Video of the Year. Originally entitled Best Music Video, the award has been retitled a further two times, including to The Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Mus ...
in 1991.
During
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's first-ever ''
MTV Icon
''MTV Icon'' is a series of annual television specials produced by MTV between 2001 and 2004, each paying homage to a musical artist or band selected as a cultural icon, in a format similar to the network's annual Video Music Awards and Movi ...
'' in 2001, American singer
Usher paid tribute to Jackson by re-enacting the sidewalk bench routine with the two male dancers from the "Alright" music video. In 2011,
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...
's video "
Yeah 3x" was compared to the video.
Live performances
Jackson has performed the song on all of her tours. In the
Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour,
janet. Tour,
The Velvet Rope Tour
The Velvet Rope Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. Launched in support of her sixth studio album ''The Velvet Rope'' (1997), the tour visited Europe, North America, Japan, New Zealand, Africa, and Australi ...
and
All for You Tour
The All for You Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson, in support of her seventh studio album '' All for You'' (2001). The show was designed by Mark Fisher and Jackson. It was originally scheduled to start in ...
, Jackson performs the song wearing a Zoot suit. On the
Rock Witchu Tour
Rock Witchu Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, in support of her tenth studio album '' Discipline'' (2008), and her first in nearly seven years, following a total blacklist of the singer's music, due to t ...
, she wears a sailor suit. On the
Number Ones: Up Close and Personal tour, she wears a black catsuit. Jackson also included the song on her 2015-2016
Unbreakable World Tour and the 2017-2019
State of the World Tour in a medley with "
Miss You Much" and "
You Want This
"You Want This" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, ''Janet'' (1993). Released as the album's seventh single (sixth and final in the U.S.) in October 1994, the track was written and produced by Jackson and Jimm ...
". She also included the song on her 2019 Las Vegas Residency
Janet Jackson: Metamorphosis. It was also included on her special concert series
Janet Jackson: A Special 30th Anniversary Celebration of Rhythm Nation in 2019.
Track listings and formats
US 12-inch single
# "Alright" (12-inch R&B mix) – 7:17
# "Alright" (7-inch R&B mix) – 4:34
# "Alright" (a cappella) – 3:26
# "Alright" (12-inch house mix) – 8:30
# "Alright" (hip house dub) – 6:40
# "Alright" (house dub) – 5:58
UK 12-inch single
# "Alright" (CJ Mackintosh hip hop mix) – 7:24
# "Alright" (CJ Mackintosh house mix) – 9:10
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1989 songs
1990 singles
A&M Records singles
Janet Jackson songs
Music videos directed by Julien Temple
New jack swing songs
Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Songs written by James Brown
Songs written by Janet Jackson
Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis