"Escapade" 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 An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, released on September 19, 1989, by A&M Records. Although label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, ''Control'' (19 ...

'' (1989). It was written and produced by Jackson and

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

. The song was released on January 8, 1990, by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(fourth in the United Kingdom) from ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). "Escapade" became the third of the historic seven top-five singles released from the ''Rhythm Nation 1814'' album, reaching number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The accompanying

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Escapade" takes place at an exotic carnival setting, also featuring Jackson's trademark intense choreography. The song and its video have influenced other songs and videos from several artists, who have cited influence from its upbeat tempo and joyous feel. "Escapade" won a BMI Pop Award for Most Played Song due to its frequent airplay and popularity among the general public, and was also performed by Jackson in her

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese commercials for

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

. It has been included in each of Jackson's

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

s, '' Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'' (1995), '' Number Ones'' (2009) and '' Icon: Number Ones'' (2010).

Background and recording

"Escapade" is an upbeat song written and produced by Jackson and

for Jackson's fourth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'', and served as the follow-up to Jackson's prior single "

Rhythm Nation "Rhythm Nation" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). It was written and produced by Jackson, in collaboration with Jimmy Jam and T ...

". Jackson, Jam and Lewis came up with the song's theme after hearing the word used in a conversation, deciding it would make an interesting song title due to the word being uncommon. "We usually come up with the music first, then we try to think of a title that fits the way the music sounds", Jam said. "And 'Escapade' we thought was a cool word. It is kind of old fashioned — people don't really say 'Let's go on an escapade' anymore, but it really worked with that track." The song was partially inspired by

Martha & the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

's 1965 song " Nowhere to Run", which Jackson originally considered covering for the album, but instead chose to record a new song after a suggestion from producer Jimmy Jam. After the proposal, Jackson and her producers developed the song's initial idea, which was based on having an anthem-like feel, and "Escapade" became one of the first songs to be recorded for the album. Jam also described the song's production and recording process, saying "While she was sitting in one room coming up with the lyrics, I put it on the 24-track. We hooked the drum machine up. On my left hand I played the bass, on the right hand I played the chord. And it was just enough for her to sing to, which we do a lot. Because we like to let her sing to as minimum of a track as we can do, then fill in the track around her so that her part is the main part of the song. With 'Escapade,' she sang it and we kept saying we'll go back and redo the track...we never redid the track. There's a keyboard bass and another thing, and that was it. All we added were the overdubs, little bells ... because we'd gotten so used to the feel of the track, the mistakes and all, we ended up leaving it the way it was."

Composition

"Escapade" is set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with a key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

. Jackson's vocal chords ranges A₃ to E₅. The song is in a medium dance groove tempo of 115

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

with the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

being set like Db–Eb–F.

Commercial performance

"Escapade" peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for three weeks in early March 1990, becoming Jackson's third number-one single. It also topped 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

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

charts, and was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. "Escapade" was notably her sixth consecutive number-one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, tying a record previously held by

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

over forty years prior. The single also reached number one in Canada and Japan, as well as the Top 15 of Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, and New Zealand, as well as the Top 20 in the United Kingdom and Germany, also reaching the Top 25 in Australia and France. However, the song did not have a physical single released in many territories, which affected its chart positions despite strong airplay. Jackson's popularity on music channels such as

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 ...

worldwide also secured her high album sales, with her ''Rhythm Nation 1814'' album more than doubling its domestic sales internationally.

Music video

The

for the song was directed by Peter Smillie and was filmed in the backlot of

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...

. Set in a

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

-like carnival. Jackson and her dancers perform choreography in the exotic environment, with several subsequent pop videos using similar themes drawing influence from the clip. It was choreographed by Jackson and Anthony Thomas. An alternate video for the song, filmed at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

, was used as a commercial for Japan Airlines. It shows Jackson and her dancers performing to a backdrop of the then-new Japan Airlines 747-400's, taxiing, taking off, and landing on the runways of LAX.

Live performances

Jackson has performed "Escapade" on all of her tours, including the

Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour The Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 was the first headlining concert tour by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was launched in support of her fourth studio album ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989), and also contained material ...

janet. Tour Janet World Tour (stylized as janet. World Tour and known as Summer Escapade during the summer of 1994) was the second concert tour by American singer, performer, songwriter and dancer Janet Jackson. It was launched in support of her fifth studi ...

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 Austral ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Number Ones: Up Close and Personal, Unbreakable World Tour, and on the first leg of the

State of the World Tour The State of the World Tour was the eighth concert tour by American singer Janet Jackson. Launched in promotion of her eleventh studio album '' Unbreakable'' (2015), the tour is produced by Live Nation and is under the creative direction of Gil ...

. Jackson 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.

Legacy

Several artists have been influenced by the upbeat tempo and joyous feel of "Escapade".

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

said she was inspired by the song and Jackson's ''Rhythm Nation 1814'' album for her eighth studio album ''

Britney Jean ''Britney Jean'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Britney Spears. It was released on November 29, 2013, by RCA Records. The album is Spears's second eponymous record after '' Britney'' (2001), though the album's name re ...

'', explaining "I wanted to kind of recreate some of Janet's greatest moments that she's had, "Escapade" and that whole era. That's what I wanted to do, just have a lot of uptempos that were just high energy and a lot of fun."Britney Jean iHeartRadio Album Preview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNTJQAw0RlY&t=9m30s The song appears in the video game ‘’

Dance Central 2 ''Dance Central 2'' is a music rhythm game for the Xbox 360 and is the sequel to ''Dance Central''. It was released in October 2011. Plot Dr. Tan is monitoring the status of the area in The Airship, laughing while doing so. The player first me ...

’’ as downloadable content.

Track listing and formats

International 7-inch single, Japanese mini-CD and cassette single # "Escapade" (LP version) # "Escapade" (instrumental) International 12-inch single # "Escapade" (Shep's Good Time mix) – 7:16 # "Escapade" (The Get Away dub) – 5:21 # "Escapade" (LP version) – 4:45 # "Escapade" (Shep's Housecapade mix) – 7:54 # "Escapade" (Housecapade dub) – 5:42 # "Escapade" (I Can't Take No More dub) – 4:58 UK and West German 12-inch single, West German CD single # "Escapade" (Hippiapolis mix) # "Escapade" (Hippiapolis In dub) # "Escapade" (One Nation Under a Rhythm mix) West German CD maxi # "Escapade" (LP version) # "Escapade" (Shep's Good Times Mix) # "Escapade" (Shep's Housecapade Mix) UK CD maxi # "Escapade" (We Got It Made 7-inch) # "Escapade" (Shep's Housecapade mix) # "Escapade" (Shep's Housecapade dub) UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Escapade" (We Got It Made 7-inch) # "Escapade" (Housecapade 7-inch) Japanese maxi CD single # "Escapade" (The Get Away 7-inch) # "Escapade" (We Got It Made 7-inch) # "Escapade" (The Good Time 7-inch) # "Escapade" (Housecapade 7-inch) # "Escapade" (Shep's Good Times mix) # "Escapade" (Shep's Housecapade mix) # "Escapade" (The Get Away dub) # "Escapade" (Housecapade dub) # "Escapade" (I Can't Take No More dub) # "Escapade" (LP version)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 songs 1990 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Janet Jackson songs Songs written by Janet Jackson Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis A&M Records singles New jack swing songs