Make Me (Janet Jackson song)

{{Infobox song

| name = Make Me

| cover = Make Me (Janet Jackson single - cover art).jpg

| alt =

| border = yes

| type = single

| artist = Janet Jackson

| album = Number Ones

| released = {{Start date|2009|09|22}}

| recorded = 2009

| studio =

| genre =

Nu-disco{{cite web |last=Kellman |first=Andy |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=number-ones-r1680302/review|pure_url=yes}} |title=Number Ones – Janet Jackson |publisher=AllMusic. Rovi Corporation |access-date=2023-12-21}}
funk

| venue =

| length = 3:40

| label = A&M

| writer =

Janet Jackson
Rodney Jerkins
Thomas Lumpkins
Michaela Shiloh
Bernard Edwards
Nile Rodgers

| producer =

Janet Jackson
Darkchild

| prev_title = Can't B Good

| prev_year = 2008

| next_title = Nothing

| next_year = 2010

| misc = {{External music video|type=single|1={{YouTube|nbZAyU1hz4k|"Make Me"}}}}

}}

"Make Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson included on her second greatest hits compilation Number Ones (2009). The song was written by Jackson, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Thomas Lumpkins, and Michaela Shiloh. Initially presented as an audio stream to those who joined her web site's official mailing list in September 2009, it was released via digital download later that month, on September 22, 2009, as the lead and only single from Number Ones by A&M Records.

"Make Me" features an up-tempo disco beat and lyrical hook reminiscent of her material from the 1980s. The song received critical praise, with music critics comparing the song favorably to her hit "All for You" (2001) and her brother Michael Jackson's 1979 number one single "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough", both of which carry a distinct disco beat. It became her 19th number one hit single on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and made her the first artist to earn number one singles on the chart across four decades. The song's music video, directed by Robert Hales, was shot entirely in black and white, and it received positive critical reception for its vintage aesthetic.

Background

In 2009, the 26th Annual MTV Video Music Awards were held a few months after Jackson's brother Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. The awards dedicated the night to her brother with a retro-music video montage, and pop singer Madonna opened the show with a speech about Jackson. Additionally, Janet Jackson made an appearance to perform the 1995 song "Scream".{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621392/20090913/madonna.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922190441/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621392/20090913/madonna.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2009|title=VMAs Kick Off with Madonna and Janet's Tribute to Michael Jackson|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|date=September 13, 2009|publisher=MTV News. Viacom|access-date=September 14, 2009}} Following the awards show on September 13, 2009, a song titled "Make Me" was released on Jackson's official website as an audio stream for those who joined the site's e-mail newsletter.{{cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|title=Janet Jackson Releases New Single Following VMA Performance |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621430/20090914/jackson_janet.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922205956/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621430/20090914/jackson_janet.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2009|publisher=MTV News. Viacom|date=September 14, 2009|access-date=September 14, 2009}} On September 22, it was released as a digital download for purchase. Although claims were made that "Make Me" is a tribute song to Michael's 1979 single "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", Jackson later stated in an interview with Ryan Seacrest it is not, despite the similarity of the lyrics in the song's outro.{{cite web |url=http://www.kiisfm.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=onair.php&mid=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/LOSANGELES-CA/KIIS-FM/JANETJACKSON111609.mp3?CPROG=PCAST?CCOMRRMID&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=LOSANGELES-CA&NG_FORMAT=chrrhythmic&NG_ID=kiis102fm&OR_NEWSFORMAT=&OWNER=&SERVER_NAME=www.kiisfm.com&SITE_ID=842&STATION_ID=KIIS-FM&TRACK= |title=Interview with Ryan Seacrest |publisher=KIIS FM |date=November 16, 2009 |access-date=November 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173702/http://www.kiisfm.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=onair.php&mid=http%3A%2F%2Fa1135.g.akamai.net%2Ff%2F1135%2F18227%2F1h%2Fcchannel.download.akamai.com%2F18227%2Fpodcast%2FLOSANGELES-CA%2FKIIS-FM%2FJANETJACKSON111609.mp3%3FCPROG%3DPCAST%3FCCOMRRMID&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=LOSANGELES-CA&NG_FORMAT=chrrhythmic&NG_ID=kiis102fm&OR_NEWSFORMAT=&OWNER=&SERVER_NAME=www.kiisfm.com&SITE_ID=842&STATION_ID=KIIS-FM&TRACK= |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

"Make Me" was written by Janet Jackson, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Thomas Lumpkins, and Michaela Shiloh. Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers have also been credited as the song samples Fonzi Thornton's song "I Work For A Livin'", written and produced by them for the 1982 Soup For One motion picture soundtrack.{{cite web|title=Make Me|url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=11115063&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713072013/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=11115063&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 13, 2012|publisher=BMI|date=November 20, 2009|access-date=November 30, 2009}} Darkchild, who produced music from Jackson's tenth studio album Discipline (2008), co-produced the song with her. He reported to MTV that he had been working on new material with Jackson since her departure from Island Records in September 2008.{{cite web|last=Reid|first=Shaheem|title=Rodney Jerkins Talks Janet Jackson's VMA Performance, New LP|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621493/20090914/jackson_janet.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922190618/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621493/20090914/jackson_janet.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2009|publisher=MTV News. Viacom|date=September 14, 2009|access-date=October 16, 2009}} Of the new material, he commented, "It's about dancing ... It's all about her. It's about [saying], 'Listen, if you really want to get with me, you gotta make me feel a certain way' ... We're going back to basics and fundamental sounds of Janet. We're trying to target her fans [by making] the records that her fans will embrace." In October 2009, Universal Music Enterprises issued a press release stating "Make Me" would be included in Jackson's second greatest hits album, Number Ones, a compilation of her 33 global number one singles.{{cite web|title=Janet Jackson's Greatest Hits Celebrated on Number Ones|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/janet-jacksons-greatest-hits-celebrated-on-number-ones-64079852.html|publisher=PR Newswire|place=Universal Music Enterprises|date=October 14, 2009|access-date=October 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019022802/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/janet-jacksons-greatest-hits-celebrated-on-number-ones-64079852.html|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=dead}}

Reception

=Critical reception=

Following her performance at the VMA's, Gil Kaufman of MTV reported, "Janet gave the ultimate thank you to her beloved sibling by posting a new single, 'Make Me,' on her Web site ... Easing up on the darker S&M themes of her recent albums, 'Make Me' is a fun, breezy tune with an elastic disco beat" adding that "[t]he chorus twists Michael's refrain into a Janet-worthy, sexy come-on, with the lyrics, 'Don't stop 'til you get it up'." Clover Hope of Vibe magazine commented: "Fun, rhythmic, buoyant—it's the type of rebound we'd hoped for with 2008's Discipline, where Jackson teamed up with Rodney Jerkins in search of a youthful edge that only seemed to date her. They got it right here though, as Jerkins taps into Janet's sense of fanciful pleasure, rewinding time in a Janet way."{{citation|last=Hope|first=Clover|title=Song Of The Week: Janet Jackson "Make Me"|url=http://www.vibe.com/mt/2009/09/song-of-the-week-janet-jackson-make-me|newspaper=Vibe|date=2009-09-18|access-date=2009-11-21}} Jerkins also had Larry Ryckman and Ari Blitz Master "Make Me" with AfterMaster HD Audio which gave it a uniquely powerful presence. Michael Menachem of Billboard magazine hailed the song as her best dance recording since "All for You" (2001). Noting the single's similarity to Michael Jackson's disco themed "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" from Off the Wall, Menachem comments "[it] isn't just Jackson's best dance song in years—it's a hit that would make her brother proud."{{citation|last=Menachem|first=Michael|title=Janet Jackson, "Make Me"|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1070638/janet-jackson-make-me|newspaper=Billboard|date=2009-11-09|access-date=2009-11-21}} Glenn Gamboa of Newsday referred to the single as "remarkably upbeat, blending a bit of the playfulness that has been missing in her recent work with a high-energy Euro-dance backdrop."{{citation|last=Gamboa|first=Glenn|title=Things that turn us on|newspaper=Newsday|page=B.5|date=2009-11-10}}

=Chart performance=

Entering at number fifty, "Make Me" became her nineteenth number one hit single on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

It became her 19th number one hit single on the chart, and made her the first artist to earn number one singles on the chart across four decades.{{citation|last=Trust|first=Gary|title=Chart Beat Thursday: Ke$ha, Janet, Reba|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/266319/chart-beat-thursday-keha-janet-reba|date=2009-12-23|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc|access-date=2009-12-23}} Following its peak on the Dance/Club chart, it entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number ninety-one, eventually peaking at number seventy-one. In the UK, the single become her first release since her collaboration with Nelly on "Call on Me" in 2006 to chart inside the Top 75.

Music video

A music video for the song was directed by Robert Hales and choreographed by Gil Duldulao.{{citation|title=Trailer: Janet Jackson's ABC Interview|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2009/11/11/trailer-janet-jacksons-abc-interview|publisher=Rap Up|date=2009-11-10|access-date=2009-11-12}} It premiered on 20/20 on November 20, 2009.{{citation|title=Janet Jackson Music Video 'Make Me'|url=https://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9143508|publisher=ABC|date=2009-11-20|access-date=2009-12-23}} Nick Levine from Digital Spy commented: "There's lots of dancing, Janet looks fantastic and the whole thing's as slick as a classic Jam & Lewis groove. In short? A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the next three-and-a-half-minutes. Right, back to 'Escapade' for us".{{citation|last=Levine|first=Nick|title=Anyone for the new Janet Jackson video?|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/thesound/a187947/anyone-for-the-new-janet-jackson-video.html|publisher=Digital Spy|date=2009-11-21|access-date=2009-12-23}} Jefferson Reid and Lindsay Miller of E! Online stated the video "features a vintage Janet vibe, including space-age shoulder pads and countless hat-tips to brother Michael."{{citation|last1=Reid|first1=Jefferson|last2=Miller|first2=Lindsay|title=Inside Janet Jackson's AMA "Make Me" Run-Through|url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b154939_inside_janet_jacksons_ama_make_me.html|publisher=E!|date=2009-11-21

|access-date=2009-11-21}}

Live performances

While promoting her second greatest hits album Number Ones, the singer performed an eight-minute medley of six hits during the American Music Awards of 2009. It included "Control", "Miss You Much", "What Have You Done for Me Lately", "If", "Make Me", and finished with "Together Again". At the end of the performance, the singer received applause and standing ovation from the audience.{{cite web|url=http://www.janetjackson.com/story/all/janet-opens-the-american-music-awards|title=Janet Opens the American Music Awards|date=November 27, 2009|access-date=June 16, 2014|publisher=JanetJackson.com|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714114244/http://www.janetjackson.com/story/all/janet-opens-the-american-music-awards|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Kaufman|first=Gil|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1626828/janet-jackson-kicks-off-american-music-awards-with-energetic-medley/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715072416/http://www.mtv.com/news/1626828/janet-jackson-kicks-off-american-music-awards-with-energetic-medley/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2014|title=Janet Jackson Kicks Off American Music Awards With Energetic Medley|date=November 22, 2009|access-date=June 15, 2014|publisher=MTV News. Viacom}} Jackson also performed the track on The X Factor results show on December 6, 2009.{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5goZ2NwLwln3C4ZWdsQYY9pMUz89Q |title=The Press Association: Janet and Gaga set for X Factor |website=Google News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129084529/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5goZ2NwLwln3C4ZWdsQYY9pMUz89Q |archive-date=2009-11-29}} She pre-recorded the performance so she could perform as the headliner of the Jingle Bell Ball in London.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} She closed the concert with a medley of her greatest hits including "Make Me", wearing half hareem-pant, half skirt concoction, jackets and high-top trainers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/fashion/433954/see-pics-frock-horrors-at-the-jingle-bell-ball.html|title = SEE PICS! Frock-horrors at the Jingle Bell Ball|date = 7 December 2009}} Jackson also included the song in her performance at the 2010 Essence Music Festival, held in New Orleans, Louisiana.{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/livefrom/post/2010/07/janet-jackson-jumps-back-in-at-essence-music-festival/1#.U5zoFyh4O_I|title=Janet Jackson jumps back in at Essence Music Festival|date=July 3, 2010|access-date=June 16, 2014|last=Shriver|first=Jerry|work=USA Today|publisher=Gannett Company}} The song was also included on the Number Ones: Up Close and Personal tour which happened the following year.{{Cite web|url=http://www.muumuse.com/2011/03/janet-jackson-the-number-ones-up-close-and-personal-tour-live-at-mohegan-sun-march-16.html/|title = Janet Jackson: The Number Ones up Close and Personal Tour Live at Mohegan Sun on March 16 (Concert Review)|date = 18 March 2011}} Jackson also included the song on her 2024 Together Again Tour.

Track listing

Digital Single

"Make Me" (Album Version) - 3:38
"Make Me" (Moto Blanco Club Mix) - 7:11
"Make Me" (Bimbo Jones Club Mix) - 6:46
"Make Me" (Ralphi Rosario Vocal Club Mix) - 9:20
"Make Me" (Ralphi's Martini Mix) - 7:44
"Make Me" (Craig J's Get It Up! Mix) - 6:46
"Make Me" (DJ Dan Extended Vocal Mix) - 4:27
"Make Me" (DJ Dan Peaktime Mix) - 6:13
"Make Me" (Dave Aude Club Mix) - 8:01
"Make Me" (Bimbo Jones Dub) - 8:25

Charts

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Weekly chart performance for "Make Me"

!align="center"|Chart (2009–10)

!align="center"|Peak
position

Global Dance Tracks (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/janet-jackson/chart-history/dgl/|title= Janet Jackson – Global Dance Songs |magazine= Billboard |access-date=December 20, 2019}}

|align="center"|12

Japan Hot 100{{cite magazine |title=Make Me - Janet Jackson|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=janet jackson|chart=all}} |access-date=2009-10-17 |magazine=Billboard}}

|align="center"|17

South Korea Singles Chart{{cite web | title=Korean International Singles Chart (October 2009.)| publisher=GAON Music Chart | year=2010 | url= http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/search/list.gaon?Search_str=Janet&x=0&y=0#| access-date=2010-10-14}}

| style="text-align:center;"|28

US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)

|align="center"|1

US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)

|align="center"|71