Runaway (Janet Jackson song)

"Runaway" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson for her first greatest hits album, '' Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'' (1995). Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as one of the two new songs on the album, it was made available commercially as the album's lead single on August 29, 1995, by A&M Records in the United States. Originally written for a possible duet with her brother Michael Jackson, "Runaway" is a pop and dance song with influences of Middle Eastern music, including church bells and sitars in its composition. It lyrically talks about traveling around the world. The track received positive reviews from music critics, who appreciated its production and compared it to works by Prince and the Supremes, as well as with Jackson's past singles.

"Runaway" was commercially successful. In the United States, it reached number three and became the fourth highest debut of all time on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and also made Jackson the first female artist in history to debut at the top 10 of the chart twice. The song also experienced success in other regions, peaking inside the top 10 in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. An accompanying music video for the track was directed by Marcus Nispel at an airplane hangar in California in August 1995. It shows Jackson traveling and visiting many locales around the world. The singer performed "Runaway" on The Velvet Rope Tour (1998–99), All for You Tour (2001–02), Rock Witchu Tour (2008), Number Ones, Up Close and Personal tour (2011), and most recently on second leg of the State of the World Tour in 2018.

Background

In 1991, Jackson fulfilled her contract with A&M Records, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records estimated between $32 million and $50 million, making her the highest paid recording artist at the time. Her fifth studio album, titled ''Janet'', was released in May 1993, selling 14 million copies worldwide. As Jackson's contract with Virgin included a clause giving her the option to leave the label during this time, she returned to A&M in order to release '' Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'', her first compilation album. A&M president Al Cafaro stated: "We've always thought Janet was an A&M artist... And we would love to sign her if she is available. This project has reminded us how much fun she is to work with." According to Cafaro, no new songs would be released; however, " That's the Way Love Goes" from her contract with Virgin, as well two new tracks, were included in the compilation, so it "legitimately represents Jackson's greatest hits from the past 10 years."

Two new songs – "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay" – were recorded in July and August 1995 for the album, produced by Jackson's longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. "We just wanted a couple of great songs you could groove to, songs that would fit in with the rest of the package", Jam stated. While responding to ''Billboard''s description of the songs as "decidedly upbeat" ones, Jam commented that "we tend to write in the mood that Janet's in at any given time, and she was in a very good, happy mood". "Runaway" was originally created to be a possible duet with Jackson's brother Michael Jackson, but they chose to record "Scream" together instead. It was chosen as the lead single from ''Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'', being serviced to radio stations in the United States in August 16, 1995, and was made available commercially as a cassette and CD single on August 29. Additionally, a variety of remixes of her past single "When I Think of You" (1986), provided by David Morales, Deep Dish and Farley and Heller, were included in the release. Afterwards, it was included on Jackson's second compilation album '' Number Ones'' (2009).

Recording and composition

"Runaway" was written and produced by Jackson alongside Jam and Lewis. It was recorded at Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota, by Steve Hodge, who also mixed the track. Jam and Lewis also play all the instruments present on the song, with the exception of the guitar, which was played by Mike Scott. It was mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine, along with all other tracks present on ''Design of a Decade: 1986–1996''.

"Runaway" is set in common time with moderately slow groove tempo and a metronome of 92 beats per minute, and it is set in the key of C major. The track follows in the chord progression of B♭/C–C–B♭/C-C throughout. Musically, it is a pop and dance song which draws influences of Middle Eastern music. According to ''Spin''s Chris Norris, the song begins with "church bells, synthetic gamelan, bubbling water, sitars" as well as Jackson's "little girl giggle, which soon overtakes the mix." ''Billboard''s Larry Flick wrote that it has a "gigglin' performance" by Jackson and "silken 'ooh-sha-sha' harmonies"; he also said that Jam and Lewis "snap the song's playful elements into a cohesive package with a taut funk bassline and a Supremes-styled pop backbeat." For ''Music Week'' magazine, the track also "cleveriy mixes the flavour of a vintage Prince track with Jackson's own inimitable style, fitting snugly alongside Ihe Prince-influenced sound of the likes of TLC." For their part, '' Freaky Trigger'' website observed that "this is one of the few songs Janet has recorded that panders to her gossamer-thin voice; any more muscle on the verses or chorus would turn the shimmer into an insufferable bludgeoning mess." Reviewers also noted similarities between the song and Jackson's past single " Escapade" (1990).

Lyrically, in "Runaway" Jackson sings about traveling around the world. "I've seen the world / Been to many places / Made lots of friends / Many different faces", she sings while naming places like Nairobi, Tuscany, Australia and Mexico, while also lamenting her lover's absence during her travels: "One thing was missing... that's you". At one point of the song, she tries to convince him to join her: "It'll be fun, walking in the rain in Spain". Towards the end of the song, Jackson breaks the fourth wall with the lyric, "Ooh, didn't quite hit the note/That wasn't such a good time". Jam commented that the lyrics can be perceived on two levels: "It can be perceived as running away from a loved one but also as an hommage to her fans and all the places that she had just been to on her world tour." David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' described the lyrical content as Jackson "go ngon tour and travel to exotic destinations, but that special someone isn't around to share it." Tina Maples from the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' stated that the song was "more like a postcard that reads 'Wish you were here. XOXOXO'", while also commenting it was "pretty much what you'd expect from a cloistered celeb who's been shuttled from airport to backstage to hotel room: Janet might have been around the world, but worldly she ain't."

Critical reception

"Runaway" received generally positive reviews from music critics. ''The Guardian''s Ross Jones called the song "cute", while Phil Thompson of ''The Tampa Tribune'' considered it "bubbly", and Langston Wertz Jr. from ''The Charlotte Observer'' classified it as "excellent". According to Lindsay Harrison of ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'', on "Runaway", Jackson "does what she does best – sing a danceable carefree song with a cheesy, but cool-in-a-way video." From ''Vibe'' magazine, Danyel Smith wrote that the song "sounds like an exotic, sitar-kissed reworking of 'Escapade,', and will probably be a smash by the time you read this." Howard Cohen of ''The Miami Herald

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