Peak
1
Weeks
46
Score
8,549
Chart Year
1998
wo music videos were produced for "Together Again". The original version was directed by French photographer Seb Janiak and choreographed by Tina Landon.[43] Filmed in the Serengeti, Tanzania, the video depicts Jackson with mini red ponytails on her head.[44] She and her dancers perform in a futuristic African-flavored[4] paradise where people are seen living side by side with wild animals such as elephants, giraffes, and wildcats. At a point of the video, Jackson appears to be hugging another version of herself. Dan MacRae from ET Canada commented, "Janet is positively beaming as she participates in some lovely choreography and chills out with local wildlife".[45] This version received a nomination for Best Dance Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.[45] Another music video was released for the "Deeper Remix". Directed by René Elizondo Jr, the video depicts Jackson in an apartment remembering a lost lover, with the singer commenting that "there's a butterfly that's throughout the video that represents the spirit" of this lover.[46] Both videos are featured on the DVD edition of 2001's All for You and the 2004 video compilation From Janet to Damita Jo: The Videos
This song is Janet Jackson's dedication to all of her friends she lost to AIDS. She can still feel their presence and knows that someday they will be together again in heaven. In the liner notes to the album, Jackson names her fallen friends: Dominic, George, Derrick, Bobby, Dominic, Victor, José, and writes, "I miss you, and we will be together again." Jackson had a large LGBT following but didn't release any songs that dealt specifically with that community until The Velvet Rope, her sixth album. Other tracks include a cover of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)" where she sings to a female lover, and "Free Xone," which deals with same sex relationships and espouses "one love." From a marketing standpoint, Jackson had little to gain with these kind of songs, but they were important to her so she stood up to the resistance from her record company, Virgin." "Before I wrote the song, I told some of the people at the label the concept for the song, and they didn't think it was a good idea," she told New Now Next. "I thought, 'You know, this is really stupid.' It was in my heart." Jackson wrote this song with the songwriting/production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and her then-husband Rene Elizondo Jr. Elizondo also directed one of the music videos for the song, which shows Jackson reminiscing in her apartment about a friend she lost. The Jam/Lewis team had been working with Jackson since her 1986 album Control. This combination had one of the greatest runs of hits in the history of popular music; Jam and Lewis kept working with Jackson through her 2006 album 20 Y.O. The album version runs 5:01 and starts slow, with a synthesized harp and mellow soundscape for the first 40 seconds before the beat drops. This version was influenced by Donna Summer's "Last Dance." The single runs 4:08 with a beat that comes in right away. The album version ended up being more popular; many radio stations play it instead of the single, and Jackson kept the slow intro when she performed it in concert. Uptempo and hopeful, the song celebrates the lives of those Jackson lost more than it laments their deaths. "The idea was to make it a joyous song musically," Jimmy Jam said in the Billboard Book of #1 Hits. Jam also added that while the song has a specific inspiration for Jackson, it's a universal theme. "As with all her songs, she tries to make it apply in a general sense to anybody." "Together Again" was the second single from The Velvet Rope, following "Got 'Til It's Gone," a song that features Q-Tip and samples Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi." Surprisingly, that one didn't chart in America, but "Together Again" really connected and shot to #1, giving Jackson her eighth chart-topper.
There are times When I look above and beyond There are times when I feel your love Around me, baby I'll never forget my baby (I'll never forget you) There are times when I look above and beyond There are times when I feel your love around me, baby I'll never forget my baby When I feel that I don't belong Draw my strength from the words when you said "Hey, it's about you, baby Look deeper inside you, baby" Dream about us together again What I want us together again, baby I know we'll be together again, 'cause Everywhere I go Every smile I see I know you are there Smilin' back at me Dancin' in moonlight I know you are free 'Cause I can see your star Shinin' down on me (Together again, ooh) Good times we'll share again (Together again, ooh) Makes me wanna dance (Together again, ooh) Say it loud and proud (Together again, ooh) All my love's for you Always been a true angel to me Now above I can't wait for you to wrap your wings around me, baby (Wrap them around me, baby) Wrap them around me, baby (Wrap them around me, baby) Sometimes hear you whisperin' "No more pain, no worries will you ever see, my baby" (Ever see, my baby) "I'm so happy for my baby" (Happy for my baby) Dream about us together again What I want us together again, baby I know we'll be together again, 'cause Everywhere I go Every smile I see I know you are there Smilin' back at me Dancin' in moonlight I know you are free 'Cause I can see your star Shinin' down on me Oh, I get it Oh, I get it (Together again, ooh) Good times we'll share again (Together again, ooh) Ooh, it makes me wanna dance (Together again, ooh) Say it loud and proud (Together again, ooh) All my love's for you There are times when I look above and beyond There are times when I feel you smile upon me, baby I'll never forget my baby What I'd give just to hold you close as on Earth In Heaven we will be together, baby (be together, baby) Together again, my baby (together again, my baby) Everywhere I go Every smile I see I know you are there Smilin' back at me Dancin' in moonlight I know you are free 'Cause I can see your star Shinin' down on me Everywhere I go Every smile I see I know you are there Smilin' back at me Dancin' in moonlight I know you are free 'Cause I can see your star Shinin' down on me
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 20, 1997 | 9 | 117 |
| 2 | Dec 27, 1997 | 4 | 122 |
| 3 | Jan 3, 1998 | 4 | 122 |
| 4 | Jan 10, 1998 | 3 | 123 |
| 5 | Jan 17, 1998 | 2 | 124 |
| 6 | Jan 24, 1998 | 3 | 123 |
| 7 | Jan 31, 1998 | 1 | 125 |
| 8 | Feb 7, 1998 | 1 | 125 |
| 9 | Feb 14, 1998 | 2 | 124 |
| 10 | Feb 21, 1998 | 2 | 124 |
| 11 | Feb 28, 1998 | 4 | 122 |
| 12 | Mar 7, 1998 | 4 | 122 |
| 13 | Mar 14, 1998 | 7 | 119 |
| 14 | Mar 21, 1998 | 9 | 117 |
| 15 | Mar 28, 1998 | 14 | 112 |
| 16 | Apr 4, 1998 | 19 | 107 |
| 17 | Apr 11, 1998 | 19 | 107 |
| 18 | Apr 18, 1998 | 20 | 106 |
| 19 | Apr 25, 1998 | 23 | 103 |
| 20 | May 2, 1998 | 23 | 103 |