Call on Me (Janet Jackson song)

"Call on Me"
Single by Janet Jackson and Nelly
from the album 20 Y.O.
Released	June 19, 2006 (U.S. radio) July 18, 2006 (U.S. digital download) July 23, 2006 (AUS radio) September 5, 2006 (U.S. single) September 15, 2006 (GER single) September 18, 2006 (UK single)
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	2005, at Flyte Tyme Studios (Santa Barbara, California) Southside Studios (Atlanta, Georgia)
Genre	R&B
Length	3:30
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, James Phillips, Cornell Haynes, Jr., James Harris III, Terry Lewis
Producer	Jermaine Dupri, LRoc, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson singles chronology "R&B Junkie" (2004) "Call on Me" (2006) "So Excited" (2006) 20 Y.O. track listing "With U" (8) "Call on Me" (9) "20 Part 3 (Interlude)" (10) Nelly singles chronology "Nasty Girl" (2005) "Call on Me" (2006) "Wadsyaname" (2007) Music sample Janet & Nelly - "Call on Me"

"Call on Me" is a song by American R&B singer Janet Jackson and American rapper Nelly from Jackson's ninth studio album, 20 Y.O. (2006). Written by Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, James "LRoc" Phillips, Nelly, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis, it was released as the album's lead single in mid-2006, peaking at number twenty-five on the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, it spent two non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, making it Jackson's sixteenth R&B chart-topper. A cover of the song appears in Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party.

Background

"Call on Me" is a mid-tempo song which samples The SOS Band's 1983 song "Tell Me If You Still Care", written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. On the song, Jermaine Dupri said, "It's really just a record about when you need a friend, somebody you need to talk to, just call on a person. It's a friend record. It really is not a boyfriend/girlfriend record. The way Nelly and Janet are talking is more girlfriend/boyfriend, but it really goes out to friends." Jackson performed the song on the Rock Witchu Tour and the Number Ones: Up Close and Personal tour.

Chart performance

The song premiered on New York City's Z100 on June 17, 2006. In the United States, the song was played one hundred and eighty-four times two days prior to its official release, on four different formats of radio, generating an audience impression of 4.358 million. By its official radio release date, it had achieved 8.679 million audience impressions. "Call on Me" debuted at number eight on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, a position roughly equivalent to number one hundred and eight on the Hot 100. The song also debuted at number forty-eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart two days after its official release, which was the highest debut of the week. The following week, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart at number nineteen, the highest debut since TLC's "No Scrubs", which debuted at number thirteen in February 1999. "Call on Me" was released on the iTunes Store on July 18, 2006, which helped the song rise from number sixty-three to number twenty-five, the song's Hot 100 peak position. The following week, the song lost digital download points and fell to number thirty-three in its sixth week on the Hot 100. A limited retail shipment of the single was released on September 5, 2006 in the U.S. The song quickly reached number one on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, where it has remained for six non-consecutive weeks, making it her longest stay atop the sales chart, beating out 1993's "That's the Way Love Goes", which spent five. "Call on Me" spent six weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales. The song also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two non-consecutive weeks, becoming Jackson's fifteenth number-one R&B hit, her first since 2001's "All for You". It was Nelly's fourth number one on the R&B chart, his first since 2002's "Dilemma". In late September, "Call on Me" became the first of Jackson's number-one R&B hits to return to the pole position after dropping from number one. In the United Kingdom, "Call on Me" debuted at number eighteen the week of September 23, 2006; it was the highest-charting new entry of that week. However, due to the limited success of 20 Y.O., no other singles from the album were released in the UK. The track also became a top twenty hit in several European countries, including Finland and Ireland, and a top ten hit in Italy. Overall, "Call on Me" proved to be a success in the United States. It finished as the eighth best-selling single of the year, and second in the urban format. It was the twenty-seventh most played song at urban radio and finished overall at number twenty-two on Billboard's 2006 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year-end chart.

Music video

Jackson in the "Call on Me" music video, directed by Hype Williams.

The music video for "Call on Me" was directed by Hype Williams and took nine days to complete (from July 1, 2006 to July 9, 2006). It was filmed inside a hangar at the JFK Airport in New York City, New York. The music video incorporates Indian, Asian, and African styles, with a mixture of outfits and hairstyles. The video is composed of live action and animation. Jermaine Dupri announced that the music video would be "the most expensive video of the last three years." "We pushed it as far as we could go. "We tried to get a goddess feel", said make-up artist Fran Cooper. The video premiered on BET on July 26, 2006. It premiered in Canada on MuchMusic and CTV on July 27, 2006. The music video for "Call on Me" hit number one on BET's daily top ten countdown 106 & Park on August 16, 2006, Jackson's first number one on that show. It reached number eighteen on the channel's year-end countdown. The music video is featured on the deluxe edition and iTunes exclusive edition of 20 Y.O.

Track listings

U.S. promo CD single

1. Radio Remix – 4:03
2. Extended Club Remix – 9:22
3. Extended Dub Remix – 9:16
4. Album Version – 3:29

U.S. CD single (094636912325)

1. Album Mix – 3:29
2. Extended Album Mix – 5:08
3. Album Instrumental – 3:28

U.S. 12" single (7282311)

1. Album Mix – 3:29
2. Extended Album Mix – 5:08
3. Album Instrumental – 3:28
4. Album Mix – 3:29
5. Extended Album Mix – 5:08
6. Album A Cappella – 3:28

UK CD 1 (VUSCD)

1. Album Mix – 3:29
2. Full Phat Radio Mix – 3:32

UK CD 2 (VUSDX330)

1. Album Mix – 3:29
2. Full Phatt Extended Remix – 4:18
3. Tony Moran Extended Club Remix – 9:22
4. Album Instrumental – 3:28

UK 12" single (VUST 330)

1. Extended Album Mix – 5:08
2. Album Instrumental – 3:28
3. Album A Cappella – 3:28
4. Club Radio Remix – 4:00
5. Full Phatt Extended Remix – 4:18

Official versions

• Album Mix – 3:30
• Extended Album Mix – 5:08
• Album Instrumental – 3:30
• Album A Cappella – 3:28
• Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Extended Club Remix – 9:19
• Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Extended Dub Remix – 9:13
• Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Radio Remix – 4:00
• Full Phatt Extended Remix – 4:17
• Full Phatt Radio Remix – 3:32
• Full Phatt Instrumental – 3:32

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Club Chart	49
Belgian Tip Chart (Flanders)	2
Belgian Tip Chart (Wallonia)	7
European Hot 100 Singles	31
Finnish Singles Chart	20
French Singles Chart	41
German Singles Chart	45
Irish Singles Chart	20
Italian Singles Chart	7
New Zealand Singles Chart	11

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Romanian Top 100	82
Slovak Airplay Chart	25
Swedish Singles Chart	25
Swiss Singles Chart	43
UK Singles Chart	18
UK R&B Singles Chart	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	25
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	33
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	2

End of year charts

End of year chart (2006/2007)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	22
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	95

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by "Pullin' Me Back" by Chingy featuring Tyrese Gibson

U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one single September 23, 2006 (first run) October 7, 2006 (second run)

Succeeded by "Pullin' Me Back" by Chingy featuring Tyrese Gibson "Say Goodbye" by Chris Brown