Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (sometimes shortened to Rhythm Nation 1814) is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released on September 19, 1989, by A&M Records. The album themes include various tragedies reported through the news at the time, exploring racism, poverty, and substance abuse. In 1990 Jackson went on her first head line tour called "Rhythm Nation Tour 1990". Since its release, the album has sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide.^[1]

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
Studio album by Janet Jackson
Released	September 19, 1989 (1989-09-19)
Recorded	September 1988 – May 1989
Genre	Dance-pop new jack swing R&B
Length	64:32
Label	A&M
Producer	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Janet Jackson Jellybean Johnson John McClain (executive)
Janet Jackson chronology
Control: The Remixes (1987) Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 janet. (1993)
Singles from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
"Miss You Much" Released: August 22, 1989 "Rhythm Nation" Released: October 24, 1989 "Escapade" Released: January 8, 1990 "Alright" Released: March 4, 1990 "Come Back to Me" Released: June 18, 1990 "Black Cat" Released: August 28, 1990 "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" Released: October 2, 1990 "State of the World" Released: February 6, 1991

Accolades

Organization	Country	Award	Year	Source
Parents' Choice Foundation	United States	Parents' Choice Award	1989	[2]
American Music Awards	United States	Favorite Dance Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, Favorite Dance Single ("Miss You Much"), Favorite R&B Single ("Miss You Much")	1990-91	[3][4]
Billboard Music Awards	United States	Top Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year, Top Selling Album of the Year, Top Selling R&B Album of the Year, Top Selling R&B Albums Artist of the Year, Top Selling R&B Artist of the Year, Top Dance Club Play Artist of the Year, Top Hot Dance 12" Singles Sales Artist of the Year	1990	[5]
Billboard's Tanqueray Sterling Music Video Awards	United States	Best Female Video Artist, Black/Rap, Best Female Artist, Dance, Director's Award, Black/Rap (Rhythm Nation 1814 Film), Director's Award, Dance ("Alright"), Tanqueray Sterling Music Video Award for Artistic Achievement (Rhythm Nation 1814 Film)	1990	[6]
MTV Music Video Awards	United States	Best Choreography ("Rhythm Nation"), Video Vanguard Award	1990	[7]
Grammy Awards	United States	Best Music Video, Long Form (Rhythm Nation 1814 Film)	1990	[8]
Rolling Stone	United States	"Women In Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" — #27	2002	[9]
Quintessence Editions Ltd.	United Kingdom	1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die	2003	[10]
Rolling Stone	United States	The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time — #275	2003	[11]
Rolling Stone	United States	The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time — #277	2012	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	United States	The 100 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years — #54	2007	[13]
Slant Magazine	United States	"Best Albums of the '80s" — #43	2012	[14]
Spin	United States	"The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)" — #54	2014	[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Interlude: Pledge"		0:47
2.	"Rhythm Nation"	Janet Jackson James Harris III Terry Lewis	5:31
3.	"Interlude: T.V."		0:22
4.	"State of the World"	Jackson Harris Lewis	4:48
5.	"Interlude: Race"		0:05
6.	"The Knowledge"	Harris Lewis	3:54
7.	"Interlude: Let's Dance"		0:03
8.	"Miss You Much"	Harris Lewis	4:12
9.	"Interlude: Come Back Interlude"		0:21
10.	"Love Will Never Do (Without You)"	Harris Lewis	5:50
11.	"Livin' in a World (They Didn't Make)"	Harris Lewis	4:41
12.	"Alright"	Jackson Harris Lewis	6:26
13.	"Interlude: Hey Baby"		0:10
14.	"Escapade"	Jackson Harris Lewis	4:44
15.	"Interlude: No Acid"		0:05
16.	"Black Cat"	Jackson	4:50
17.	"Lonely"	Harris Lewis	4:59
18.	"Come Back to Me"	Jackson Harris Lewis	5:33
19.	"Someday Is Tonight"	Jackson Harris Lewis	6:00
20.	"Interlude: Livin'...In Complete Darkness"		1:07

Vinyl[16]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Interlude: Pledge"		0:47
2.	"Rhythm Nation"	Janet Jackson James Harris III Terry Lewis	4:38
3.	"State of the World"	Jackson Harris Lewis	4:53
4.	"The Knowledge"	Harris Lewis	4:01
5.	"Miss You Much"	Harris Lewis	3:53
6.	"Love Will Never Do (Without You)"	Harris Lewis	5:48
7.	"Livin' in a World (They Didn't Make)"	Harris Lewis	4:36
8.	"Alright"	Jackson Harris Lewis	5:27
9.	"Escapade"	Jackson Harris Lewis	4:48
10.	"Black Cat"	Jackson	4:50
11.	"Lonely"	Harris Lewis	4:59
12.	"Come Back to Me"	Jackson Harris Lewis	5:33
13.	"Someday Is Tonight"	Jackson Harris Lewis	6:01
14.	"Interlude: Livin'...In Complete Darkness"		1:07

B-sides
No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Need Me" (B-side to "Miss You Much")
2.	"Skin Game" (B-side to "Come Back to Me")

Notes

• All songs except interludes and "Black Cat" are co-produced by Janet Jackson.
• All songs except interludes and "Black Cat" are produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
• "Black Cat" is produced by Janet Jackson and Jellybean Johnson.

Personnel

Herb Alpert – trumpet, horn, brass Julie Ayer – violin Stephen Barnett – conductor Steve Barnett – conductor David Barry – electric and 12-string guitar Lee Blaske – arranger Chris Brown – bass Carolyn Daws – violin Hanley Daws – violin David Eiland – programming Rene Elizondo – background vocals Richard Frankel – art direction, cover design Johnny Gill – percussion, special effects, finger snaps James Greer – background vocals Guzman (Constance Hansen & Russell Peacock) – photography Steve Hodge – background vocals, engineer Peter Howard – cello Janet Jackson – arranger, keyboards, vocals, background vocals, producer Jimmy Jam – percussion, piano, drums, keyboards, programming, producer Jellybean Johnson – guitar, drums, vocals, background vocals, producer Jesse Johnson – guitar Lisa Keith – background vocals

Kathy Kienzle – harp Joshua Koestenbaum – cello Jamila Lafleur – background vocals Terry Lewis – bass, percussion, arranger, background vocals, producer Tshaye Marks – background vocals John McClain – background vocals, executive producer Tamika McDaniel – vocals Tarnika McDaniel – background vocals John McLain – guitar, background vocals Shante Owens – background vocals Amy Powell – vocals Randy Ran – background vocals Nicholas Raths – guitar, classical guitar Sonya Robinson – background vocals Clarice Rupert – background vocals Warlesha Ryan – background vocals Tamas Strasser – viola John Tartaglia – viola Reshard Taylor – background vocals Romuald Tecco – concert master Anthony Thomas – background vocals Hyacinthe Tlucek – concert master Steve Wilson – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1989–91)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17]	1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18]	5
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[17]	28
German Albums (Official Top 100)[19]	39
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20]	8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17]	9
South Africa (RiSA)[21]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17]	24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17]	23
United Kingdom Albums (OCC)[22]	4
US Billboard 200[23]	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[23]	1

Year-end charts

End of year chart (1990)	Position
US Billboard 200[24]	1
End of year chart (1991)	Position
Australian Albums Chart[25]	13

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[27]	Platinum	100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[28]	2× Platinum	400,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29]	Gold	7,500^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[30]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)[32]	6× Platinum	9,600,000sales [*]
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes:

• ^ * As of December 2009, the album has sold 8,500,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan, which does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music.^[33] Combined, it has sold over 8,600,000 copies in the U.S. with additional 1.10 million copies sold at BMG Music Clubs.^[34] Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.