"Twenty Foreplay" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Janet Jackson from her first greatest hits album, ''
Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'' (1995). 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 ...
as one of the two new songs on the album, it was sent to radio stations in the United States as the album's second single on December 5, 1995, while being issued as the third single on March 25, 1996 in the United Kingdom, 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 ...
. The title is a
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
on the word "
foreplay
Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
" and "
24 hours a day", and has an unusual musical structure, containing "over-the-top" lyrics which find Jackson singing to a boyfriend.
"Twenty Foreplay" received positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, and was unable to enter the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 or 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 ...
charts in the United States due to the lack of a commercial release. Overseas, it achieved moderate success commercially, reaching the top 40 in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The song's
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
music video was directed by Keir McFarlane, and features Jackson visually inspired by actress
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...
, living the glamorous
Hollywood life. "Twenty Roleplay" was only performed on 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 ...
in 2017.
Background and composition
In 1991, Jackson fulfilled her contract with
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 ...
, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
estimated between $32 million and $50 million, making her the highest paid recording artist at the time.
Her fifth studio album, titled ''
Janet
Janet may refer to:
Names
* Janet (given name)
* Janet (French singer) (1939–2011)
Surname
* Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table
* Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...
'', 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. According to A&M president Al Cafaro, no new songs would be released, but "
Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay" were included as new tracks, being recorded in July and August 1995 with Jackson's longtime collaborators
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 former was relesed as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from the project, reaching number three on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Twenty Foreplay" was sent to radio stations in the United States as the second single on December 5, 1995,
[ and was commercially released in the United Kingdom as the third single from the compilation on March 25, 1996, by A&M Records.][
"Twenty Foreplay" was written and produced by Jackson alongside Jam and Lewis.][ It was recorded at Flyte Tyme Studios in ]Edina, Minnesota
Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota.
Edina began as a small farming and mil ...
, by Steve Hodge, who also mixed the track. Instrumentation on the song includes guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
by Mike Scott, drums by Stokley, violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
s by Caroline Daws, Brenda Mickens, Helen Foli, Dick Massman, Laurie Hippen, Julia Persitz, Andrea Een, and Liz Sobieski, viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
by Alice Preves and Hasan Sumen, cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
by Josh Koestenbaum and Laura Sewell, bass by Greg Hippen, flute by Ken Holmen, and strings arranged and conducted by Lee Blaske. Jam and Lewis play all other instruments present on the song.[ "Twenty Foreplay" was ]mastered
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, along with all other tracks present on ''Design of a Decade: 1986–1996''.[
Musically, "Twenty Foreplay" has an unusual structure, as it does not contain a ]hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
.[ It starts as a "tender" ]ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
before changing to a mid-tempo "bump and grind". Danyel Smith of ''Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' noted that its "suggestive funk interlude" keeps with the spirit of ''Janet'' (1993). The title is a play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
on the word "foreplay
Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
" and " 24 hours a day", and contains "over-the-top" lyrics, which finds Jackson singing directed to her boyfriend: "Tell me do you want the blindfold / Tell me what you like". On the liner notes of ''Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'', biographer David Ritz
David Ritz (born December 2, 1943 in New York City) is an American author. He has written novels, biographies, magazine articles, and over a hundred liner notes for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Nat King Cole. He has coauthore ...
wrote that the track "infuses the melody with a lethal combination of carnal heat and emotional sensitivity".[ The singer told VH1 that "Twenty Foreplay" was a "kind of a sweet and sour thought" for her when she thinks about what the song is about, and she hears "the sadness in it and remember the sadness". The US version of "Twenty Foreplay" is lengthier than the international version, which was edited in order to fit two more songs on the international release of ''Design of a Decade: 1986–1996''.][
]
Reception
"Twenty Foreplay" received positive reviews from music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Elysa Gardner from ''Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' saw the track as a "lush romantic ballad"; similarly, ''Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' described it as a "pleasant, slinky ballad", while '' Music & Media'' stated that despite the "infectious beat", the song "comes across as quite mellow due to its lingering vocals and wandering melodies". Gil L. Robertson IV from '' Cashbox'' noted that the song "aptly showcase Jackson's continued evolution as a strong and highly-focused adult performer." On the liner notes of ''Design of a Decade: 1986-1996'', David Ritz called "Twenty Foreplay" a "smoldering ballad, one of those Janet Jackson lovemaking rhapsodies that seem to stop the hands of time".[ ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, while reviewing the album, felt that "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay" felt like "genuine hits, not tacked-on filler" on the album. On a contrary note, '' Billboard''s Paul Verna felt that the inclusion of both tracks on the compilation "gives the collection extra sizzle, and suggests that Jackson's already lofty star is still on the rise." Paul Marsh from ''The San Francisco Examiner
The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863.
Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...
'' wrote that "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay" were not "that adventurous, but they're solid", complementing that "if they were white of more bohemian, Jackson-Jam-Lewis might have been a hot modern rock band." For David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'', the track shows "how much more confident a singer Jackson has become", but felt that it finds her "still working overtime to show us she's an honest-to-God grown-up".
Although ''Billboard''s Fred Bronson predicted "Twenty Foreplay" to reach the top 10 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, extending Jackson's record as the second female artist with the most consecutive top 10 singles, the song was unable to enter the chart or 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 ...
due to the lack of a commercial release. However, the single managed to enter the Mainstream Top 40 and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...
at numbers 36 and 32, respectively.[ It achieved similar success in Canada, where it peaked at number 27 on the '']RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' singles chart on the week dated May 2, 1996.[ The single reached number 29 in Australia and spent five weeks on the chart,][ while peaking at number 38 in New Zealand, charting for a sole week.][ In the United Kingdom, "Twenty Foreplay" debuted at number 22 on the ]UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
for the week ending April 5, 1996, becoming Jackson's first single not to reach the top 20 since "Love Will Never Do (Without You)
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was recorded for the singer's fourth studio album, ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' ...
" (1991). It was present on the chart for six weeks. However, it fared better on the UK R&B Chart
The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...
, peaking at number five.[ The track attained lower success in other countries in Europe, peaking at number 31 in Scotland,][ number 41 in the Netherlands,][ and number 74 in Germany.][
]
Promotion
Music video
The music video for "Twenty Foreplay" was directed by Keir McFarlane.[ Jackson's look on the video was inspired by actress ]Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...
, who she idolized and had expressed interest in portraying on a biographic film; MTV News considered the video a virtual audition for the role. The video was shot in black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
and features the singer as a film actress living the glamorous Hollywood life such as attending a movie premiere and a press conference, intercut with footage of her singing on the backlot of a movie set. Jim Farber of the '' New York Daily News'' pointed out that Jackson had never "gone for the high-toned glamour she apes here", and felt that she "glows like Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
at her leggy peak", writing that "her efforts to be seen as timeless couldn't be more transparent. But the clip's haute fashion sense and cool photography impress". The video was released commercially on the two-CD + DVD compilation '' Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-'' (2022).
Live performances
Jackson sang "Twenty Foreplay" live for the first time on her 2017 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 ...
. Accompanied by two back-up singers, the singer performed the song while sitting on a stool dressed in a loose denim jacket, sweatpants and a flannel shirt tied around her waist. Andrew Barker from ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine said it showcased "perhaps the boldest of her three costume changes" during the show. Analyzing Jackson's voice during the performance, he deemed it strong, although it "isn't always the most layered of instruments, but it has a softness and a lilting sweetness that she managed to emphasize while still projecting well enough to cut through the clatter".
Track listings and formats
;UK CD single
# "Twenty Foreplay (Slow Jam International Edit)" – 4:26
# " The Pleasure Principle (Legendary Radio Mix)" – 4:17
# "Alright
Alright, All Right or Allwright may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Alright!'' (album), a 2007 album by Bogdan Raczynski
* ''Alright'', a 2011 album by Jerry Williams
* ''All Right'', a 1982 album by Himiko Kikuchi
Songs
* "Alright" (Cast song)
* ...
(CJ Radio)" – 3:52
# "The Pleasure Principle (Legendary Club Mix)" – 8:15
;European CD single
# "Twenty Foreplay (Slow Jam International Edit)" – 4:26
# " Runaway (Jam & Lewis Street Mix Edit)" – 3:23
# "Runaway (Jam & Lewis Ghetto Mix)" – 4:54
# "Twenty Foreplay (Slow Jam Video Edit)" – 4:50
;Remixes CD single
# "Twenty Foreplay (Radio Club Mix Edit)" – 3:42
# "Twenty Foreplay (Junior's Jungle Club Mix)" – 9:56
# "Twenty Foreplay (Radio Club Mix)" – 5:02
# "Runaway (G-Man's Hip Hop Mix)" – 4:14
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the ''Design of a Decade: 1986–1996'' liner notes.
* Janet Jackson — vocals, songwriter, producer
* James Harris III — songwriter, producer, instruments
* Terry Lewis — songwriter, producer, instruments
* Mike Scott — guitar
* Stokley — drums
* Caroline Daws — violin
* Brenda Mickens — violin
* Helen Foli — violin
* Dick Massman — violin
* Laurie Hippen — violin
* Julia Persitz — violin
* Andrea Een — violin
* Liz Sobieski — violin
* Alice Preves — viola
* Hasan Sumen — viola
* Josh Koestenbaum – cello
* Laura Sewell – cello
* Greg Hippen – bass
* Ken Holmen – flute
* Lee Blaske – strings
* Steve Hodge — recording, mixing
* Bob Ludwig — mastering
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1990s ballads
1995 songs
1996 singles
Janet Jackson songs
Contemporary R&B ballads
Songs written by Janet Jackson
Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Black-and-white music videos
Music videos directed by Keir McFarlane
Soul ballads