Format CD Label Virgin | Length 3:10 | |
Released December 30, 2004 (2004-12-30) Recorded 2003; Flyte Tyme Studios West at The Village
(Los Angeles, California) Genre R&B
dance-pop
soul
funk | ||
"R&B Junkie" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her eighth studio album, Damita Jo (2004). Written by Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Tony "Prof T" Tolbert, Michael Jones and Nicholas Trevisick, the track was released as a promotional single in December 2004 by Virgin Records. "R&B Junkie" is an upbeat song which has a "retro" feel consisting of eighties soul, R&B funk, dance-pop and synths, while it samples Evelyn King's 1981 song "I'm in Love"; it has "oh-oh-ohs" throughout the verses.
Contents
- Recording and composition
- Critical reception
- Live performance
- Track listing
- Credits and personnel
- Chart performance
- References
"R&B Junkie" received positive reviews from music critics, who described it as "infectious" and one of the best tracks on Damita Jo. The song peaked at number one on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, as it received a limited release. "R&B Junkie" was performed by Jackson during the 2004 BET Awards.
Recording and composition
"R&B Junkie" was recorded in 2003, at Flyte Tyme Studios West at The Village, in Los Angeles, California. It was written by Janet Jackson, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Tony "Prof T" Tolbert, Michael Jones and Nicholas Trevisick, while it was produced by Jackson, Jam and Lewis. The latter one also played the keyboards. The song had its drums and percussion played by IZ. Serban Ghenea did the mixing of "R&B Junkie" at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, with Tim Roberts being his assistant. Ian Cross engineered the song while Ghian Wright was an assistant. Additionally, the Pro-Tools engineer was John Hanes.
"R&B Junkie" is an upbeat song which has a "retro" feel consisting of eighties funk, dance-pop, and synths. It transforms a brief sample from Evelyn King's 1981 song "I'm in Love" into a new composition. According to LA Weekly, it worked in the context of a song that is "an ode to old-school soul music and the dances those sounds inspired". The magazine also considered the song a likely candidate for a summer club hit. "R&B Junkie"'s positive vibe was described as a sonic "ambrosia" by Baltimore City Paper. Additionally, the song has "oh-oh-ohs" throughout the verses and on the chorus.
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews from music critics. Angus Batey from Yahoo! Music described "R&B Junkie" as one of the high points from Damita Jo, describing it as a delicious throwback. BBC Music's Ian Warde asserted that the song "is a nice Evelyn Champagne King infused number that parties like it's 1982". Similarly, Michael Paoletta from Billboard called the song a "winner" from Damita Jo and noted that it "fabulously" referenced the sampled song. Mikael Wood from Baltimore City Paper commented that "R&B Junkie" had an enough positive vibe to shame American musician Michael J. Powell into early retirement. Ernest Hardy from LA Weekly described the song as the second best song from Damita Jo, after "Like You Don't Love Me". Spence D. from IGN called it as ultimately non-descript, despite considering it infectious.
Live performance
Jackson performed a medley of "All Nite (Don't Stop)" and "R&B Junkie" at the 2004 BET Awards. Following Jackson's Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy, various performances on TV were aired with a time delay per the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's guidelines, but the awards show was televised without a delay.
Track listing
- "R&B Junkie" – 3:10
Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel adapted from Damita Jo album liner notes.
Chart performance
"R&B Junkie" was only released as promo single and was sent to Urban AC radio stations. It failed to chart on any main Billboard charts, but peaked at number one on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles.