Miss You Much
"Miss You Much" 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 (1989). As with all tracks for the album, recording took place at Lewis and Jam's Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 1988 and 1989. Lyrically, the song narrates a longing to reconnect with a romantic partner after time spent apart.
"Miss You Much"
"You Need Me"
August 21, 1989[1]
1988–1989
Flyte Tyme (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- 4:12 (album version)
- 3:52 (international edit)
- James Harris III
- Terry Lewis
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
- Janet Jackson
"Miss You Much" was released as the lead single from Rhythm Nation 1814 on August 21, 1989, by A&M Records. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the second number one hit of Jackson's career. Spending four consecutive weeks atop the chart, it was the longest running number one single of 1989. It is Jackson's third longest running Hot 100 number one, behind "That's the Way Love Goes" (1993) and "All for You" (2001), which spent eight and seven weeks at number one, respectively. It also topped several Billboard composite charts, including the Hot Black Singles and Dance Club Songs charts. Internationally, the single became a top 40 hit in all territories where it charted. It is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting one million copies sold in the US alone. It emerged as the number one radio airplay hit of 1989 and the second best-selling single of the year behind "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins. Based on changing metrics of how chart performance is evaluated, Billboard magazine listed "Miss You Much" as Jackson's all-time biggest Hot 100 hit.[4]
A music video for the song directed by Dominic Sena was produced as part of the Rhythm Nation 1814 film, which aired as a 30-minute special on MTV prior to the album's release. The video for "Miss You Much" serves as the opening segment of the film and is followed by videos for two other songs from the album, "The Knowledge" and the title-track "Rhythm Nation", to form a complete narrative. Its inclusion in Rhythm Nation 1814 made it part of one of the largest projects to have ever been attempted by A&M, with a budget of $1.6 million for the entire film.[5] As with the other two components of the film, "Miss You Much" is shot entirely in black and white. Choreographed by Jackson, Anthony Thomas and Terry Bixler, the video features a complex dance routine, culminating with a sequence where Jackson and her back-up dancers use chairs as props in conjunction with their performance. Since the video's release, numerous artists have taken inspiration from or replicated the chair routine in their own videos and live performances, including Britney Spears, Usher, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Tinashe.
In 1990, "Miss You Much" received Grammy Award nominations for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best Rhythm & Blues Song. It won the Billboard Award for the Top Hot 100 Single of the Year and the American Music Awards for Favorite Dance Single and Favorite R&B Single. It has been included in each of Jackson's greatest hits albums, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995), Number Ones (2009) and Icon: Number Ones (2010). The song was covered in the Korean film 200 Pounds Beauty (2006) and has also being sampled by artists such as 50 Cent.
Chart performance[edit]
Heavy anticipation and radio airplay during the late summer allowed "Miss You Much" to debut at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 2, 1989. After three weeks, as "Miss You Much" entered the top-ten of Billboard Hot 100, music industry prognosticators theorized that the song would become Jackson's second number-one song on the Hot 100. However, the song started facing competition from fellow singer Madonna's single " Cherish ", which also moved into the top-five the same week.[7] The popular media pitted the two women against each other and tried to create rivalry between them.[8] The song eventually topped on October 7, 1989, the same week "Cherish" peaked at number two.[9] It was the biggest airplay hit of the year, and fifth biggest overall, also peaking atop the Hot Dance Club Play and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.[10] The song was the second best-selling single of the year, behind only Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise". It reached number 2 in Canada and New Zealand, and the top twenty of Australia, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It peaked within the top twenty five in the United Kingdom, although its accompanying album reached the top five.
Live performances[edit]
Jackson has performed "Miss You Much" on all of her tours, including the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, janet. Tour, The Velvet Rope Tour, All for You Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, Number Ones: Up Close and Personal, Unbreakable World Tour, State of the World Tour, and her 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.
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".[12][13]