Come Back to Me (Janet Jackson song)

"Come Back to Me"
Single by Janet Jackson
from the album Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
Released	June 18, 1990
Format	CD single, 7" single, 12" single, cassette single
Recorded	1989; Flyte Tyme Studios (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Genre	R&B, pop
Length	5:32
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis
Producer	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Janet Jackson singles chronology
"Alright" (1990) "Come Back to Me" (1990) "Black Cat" (1990)
Alternative cover UK CD single cover

"Come Back to Me" is the fifth single from American R&B and pop singer Janet Jackson's fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989).

Song information

The song was written by Jackson, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis and produced by Harris and Lewis. A remix of the original song appears on Jackson's first greatest hits compilation, 1995's Design of a Decade 1986/1996.

The single contains the B-side "The Skin Game Pt. 1". "The Skin Game Pt. 2" is an instrumental which appears exclusively on selected releases. Jackson also recorded the song in Spanish, titled "Vuelve a Mi" which also appears on selected releases. In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side co-featuring "Alright".

In 2008 the song was sampled on Plies' "Bust It Baby Pt. 2" featuring Ne-Yo. Jackson would be featured on the official remix to the song, "Bust It Baby Pt. 3", which leaked to the Internet.

Jackson has performed the song on her tours, including the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, janet. Tour, All for You Tour, and Rock Witchu Tour, as well as the Number Ones: Up Close and Personal tour. It was not included on The Velvet Rope Tour.

Chart performance

The song reached number two on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (behind Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love") and on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (behind The Time's "Jerk Out)", becoming another top five single from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. It also became Jackson's first—and so far only—number-one hit on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. Internationally, it failed to reach the top twenty-five in Canada, peaked at number twenty on the UK Singles Chart, and did poorly in Australia. However, the song is one of her biggest hits in Brazil. It was a theme to a soap opera and still, to this day, is played often in Brazilian AC stations.

Music video

Directed by Dominic Sena, the video is set in Paris, where Jackson deals with the former lover leaving her. She reminisces about her and the good moments spent with her former lover. The male lead in the video was René Elizondo, Jr., whom she would marry a year later. The video shows the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais, the Gare d'Austerlitz, the Champs de Mars area, and the view from Montmartre, among others. It appears on the video compilation Design of a Decade 1986/1996 and was released on iTunes on May 4, 2007.

Track listings

UK double 12" promo single (USAT 681)

1. "Alright" (12" House Mix) – 7:07
2. "Alright" (Hip House Dub) – 6:40
3. "Alright" (Acappella) – 3:26
4. "Alright" (12" R&B Mix) – 7:17
5. "Alright" (House Dub) – 5:58
6. "Alright" (7" House Mix With Rap) – 5:35
7. "Alright" (7" House Mix) – 4:21
8. "Alright" (R&B Mix) – 4:34
9. I'm Beggin' You Mix – 5:33
10. The Abandoned Heart Mix – 5:19
11. LP Instrumental – 5:15

UK 12" single (USAF681)

1. The Abandoned Heart Mix – 5:19
2. "Alright" (12" R&B Mix) – 7:17
3. "Alright" (House Dub) – 5:58

UK CD single (USACD681)

1. 7" I'm Beggin' You Mix – 4:46
2. "Alright" (7" R&B Mix) – 4:34
3. "Alright" (7" House Mix With Rap) – 5:35

U.S. 12" single (SP-12345)

1. 7" I'm Beggin' You Mix – 4:46
2. I'm Beggin' You Mix – 5:33
3. LP Instrumental – 5:15
4. "The Skin Game, Part I" – 6:43
5. "The Skin Game, Part II" – 6:37

Japanese 3" CD single (PCDY-10015)

1. 7" I'm Beggin' You Mix – 4:46
2. "Vuelve a Mi" – 5:15

Japanese CD maxi single (PCCY-10131)

1. 7" I'm Beggin' You Mix – 4:46
2. I'm Beggin' You Mix – 5:33
3. "Vuelve a Mi" – 5:15
4. The Abandoned Heart Mix – 5:19
5. LP Version – 5:35
6. LP Instrumental – 5:15
7. "Vuelve a Mi" (Spanish) – 5:21
8. "The Skin Game, Part I" – 6:43
9. "The Skin Game, Part II" – 6:37

Official remixes

• Album Version – 5:33
• Instrumental – 5:17
• 7" I'm Beggin' You Mix – 4:47
• 12" I'm Beggin' You Mix/Design Of A Decade 1986/1996 Version – 5:34
• The Abandoned Heart Mix – 5:18
• "Vuelve a Mi" – 5:13
• "Vuelve a Mi" (Spanish) – 5:21

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1990/1991)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	79
Canadian Singles Chart	27
Irish Singles Chart	21
UK Singles Chart	20
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales	17

End of year charts

End of year chart (1990)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	49

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by "Vision of Love" by Mariah Carey

U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single August 25, 1990 – September 8, 1990

Succeeded by "Release Me" by Wilson Phillips

Other versions

In 1992, saxophonist Marion Meadows covered the song from his album "Keep It Right There."

In 2011, Teairra Mari covered the song