CD single cover art.
"Alright" is the fourth single from Janet Jackson's 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814. It was released on March 4, 1990 and though it peformed moderately in international countries, it did become a top 5 hit in the United States and even managed to claim the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Background[]
Alright" samples Lyn Collins' 1972 song "Think (About It)". The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs. While it was to become the only single of the seven released off the Rhythm Nation 1814 album to not hit the top two on the Billboard Hot 100, it became the fourth consecutive single from the album to reach number one on the dance chart, helping Jackson break a record set by Madonna. (Madonna has since broke the record again with a string of eighteen consecutive number-one dance hits from 1999–2008.)
Jackson performing "Alright" live on the Janet. Tour.
" "Alright" earned Jackson a 1991 Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female. The UK 7" single contains the Spanish version of "Come Back to Me", entitled "Vuelve a Mi", in various versions. The song was recorded again in January 1990 with Heavy D for the music video.
Jackson has performed the song on all of her tours: the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, janet. Tour, The Velvet Rope Tour and All for You Tour, which all depict Jackson performs the song wearing a zoot suit. On the Rock Witchu Tour, she wears a sailor suit. On the Number Ones: Up Close and Personal Tour, she wears a black catsuit.
Music video[]
Screen cap from the video.
The video to the song, which was filmed in February 1990 and was styled to resemble a 1930s and 1950s musical, featured Cyd Charisse, The Nicholas Brothers, and Cab Calloway in one of his last on-screen appearances. Anthony Thomas choreographed the video. The video begins with Jackson and two male dancers, all wearing flashy zoot suits sitting on a bench. A paperboy throws newspapers on them. They wake up and read the frontpage of the newspaper, from which they learn Calloway is in town for the premiere of his Alright film. Jackson and her dancers take a cross-town journey to the premiere. There, Jackson, her dancers, and Calloway fans wait for Calloway to make his grand entrance. Jackson seemingly envisions herself as Calloway's glamorized female guest, getting pushed to the red carpet. Calloway takes her hand and helps her up. Jackson and her dancers get in Calloway's limo. They arrive at large dance out in the middle of a street. Jackson and her dancers climb on the back of a car and Jackson notices her watch is missing. They get off the car and are sprayed by a street cleaning truck. They sit on the bench. Later that night, Jackson and her dancers are homeless people asleep on the bench—revealing the video to have been a dream. Cab Calloway, in the meantime, walks to the bench and places Jackson's watch in her hand. He sneaks away saying, "Alright". There is also an extended version that features rapper Heavy D. Jackson won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video in 1991.
During MTV's first-ever MTV Icon, Usher paid tribute to Jackson by be re-enacting the sidewalk bench routine from the "Alright" music video.
On May 24, 2007, the video was added to iTunes.
Official versions/remixes[]
- 1990
- 7" R&B Mix featuring Heavy D – 4:53
- 7" R&B Mix - 4:34
- 12" R&B Mix featuring Heavy D – 7:17
- 12" R&B Mix - 7:19
- 7" House Mix featuring Heavy D – 4:59
- 7" House Mix - 4:21
- 12" House Mix featuring Heavy D – 8:30
- 12" House Mix - 7:12
- Hip Hop Mix Edit featuring Heavy D - 5:11
- Hip Hop Mix featuring Heavy D – 7:24
- Hip House Dub – 6:40
- House Mix Edit - 5:03
- House Mix – 9:10
- House Dub – 5:58
- 1996
- CJ Radio – 3:40
- CJ Extended Mix – 6:32
- Tee's Club Mix – 6:19
- Tee's Beats – 3:24
Charts[]
Peak positions[]
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 29 |
| Dutch Single Top 100 | 35 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 6 |
| German Singles Chart | 43 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 14 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 28 |
| UK Singles Chart | 20 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs | 1 |
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
| Australian Singles Chart | 100 |
End of year charts[]
| End of year chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 40 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 44 |
Certifications[]
| Country | Certifier | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Gold | 500,000 |