"Can't B Good" is a song recorded 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 ...

for her tenth studio album ''

Discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

'' (2008). It was written and produced by D. DoRohn Gough and

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

. The song is a soulful, "jazzy" R&B track about Jackson's relationship with

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

. It was released as the fourth and final single from ''Discipline'' on March 18, 2008 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

. "Can't B Good" received mostly 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 ...

, who praised it for being smooth, tender and lovely, and picked the song as one of the best tracks on ''Discipline'', with some others comparing the song to "

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

" (1983) by Jackson's brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

. Commercially, "Can't B Good" peaked at number 76 on the US

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 ...

Recording and production

"Can't B Good" was written and produced by D. DoRohn Gough and

. It was recorded between 2007 and 2008 at SouthSide Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Although Jackson didn't write the song, Jackson described "Can't B Good" as a song reflecting her seven-year relationship with songwriter and producer

, saying: "I'd been hurt before, and I was trying to protect myself. I'm glad I allowed myself to accept it. He's very attentive and affectionate, a beautiful soul". A remix of the song was recorded, featuring Jamaican rapper

Red Rat Wallace Wilson (born 17 January 1978), better known by the stage name Red Rat, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae recording and performing artist.Kellman, AndyRed Rat Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-15 He is known for his up-beat music, com ...

, and was produced by HardWork.

Music and lyrics

Princess P. from MWZA described the lyrics as "standard falling-in-love-too-deep far", with the thwack of the snare contrasting heavily with the layers of cooing vocals. Musically, the song is a mid-tempo "smooth and jazzy" R&B ballad, featuring thundering bass and piano, with 1980s-inspired keyboard sounds and cooing harmonies. Princess P. also wrote the song resembles

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

's " Rock the Boat" (2001) with a more "punishing" beat, Jackson's brother

's "

Butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

" (2001) and Janet Jackson's own track "Spending Time with You" from '' Damita Jo'' (2004).

Critical reception

"Can't B Good" received mostly positive reviews from

. Andy Kellman from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

picked the song as one of the album's best tracks, highlighting that "it's a descendent of her brother Michael's ' Can't Help It,' with that gentle and affecting self-examination that only a Jackson can do so well." Chuck Taylor of ''

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'' magazine wrote that "'Can't B Good' serves up a smooth, jazzy groove and Jackson's soft, supple vocal, fluffed with multiple background layers that duly merit adult R&B love." Princess P. from MWZA saw that, "The layers pile and pile so that by the bridge, the song is virtually dizzying", calling it "extremely well-produced." ''

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'' writer Joan Anderman perceived the song is "eerily reminiscent of '

', one of brother Michael's most elegant records." Margeaux Watson 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 ...

'' agreed, calling a "tender" throwback to the same song. ''

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Ann Powers called it "a waterfall of mixed emotions enfolding a sunlit morning-after," and "the most emotionally vulnerable ballad Jackson's recorded in years." Dan Gennoe of

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wrote that the song "proves that ballads don't have to be inane and that she doesn't have to spell out exactly where she wants it and how to be sexy." Glenn Gamboa from ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'' praised the track, writing that it could be one of her best songs ever. Caroline Sullivan, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', simply wrote that "Can't B Good" is completely lovely. Andy Battaglia of '' The A.V. Club'' called it a "majestic" song produced by Ne-Yo. Tom Young of

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio ...

called it "a potential diamond." For Nick Levine from

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

, the song was created to recall classic Jackson ballads like " Come Back to Me" (1990) and "

Let's Wait Awhile "Let's Wait Awhile" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, '' Control'' (1986). It was released on January 6, 1987, by A&M Records as the album's fifth single. The song was written and produced by Jackson and Jim ...

" (1987), but failed to do so, due to its lack of melody. Chad Grischow of IGN was less favorable, calling it "cheesy late-eighties ballad, featuring wafer-thin breathy vocals that sounds like someone calling you to their hospital bed rather than the bedroom."

Commercial performance

"Can't B Good" was the fifth most-added song on ''

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''s

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

panel, debuting at number 40 on the ''Radio & Records'' Urban AC Chart dated March 28, 2008. The song debuted and peaked at number 40 on the ''

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

the week ending April 5, 2008. Furthermore, it peaked at number 76 on the

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Discipline''. *

– vocals * David DoRohn Gough – songwriter, producer *

Shaffer Smith Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love Yo ...

– songwriter, producer *

– vocals production * Manuel Seal – vocals production *Ian Cross – vocals production, mixing assistant *Phil Tan – mixing *John Houghkirk –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

*Carlos Oyanedel – assistant

Charts

References

{{authority control 2000s ballads 2008 singles Janet Jackson songs Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Ne-Yo Island Records singles 2008 songs