"What Have You Done for Me Lately" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, Control (1986). Jackson co-wrote the song with its producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was released on January 13, 1986, by A&M Records as the album's lead single. After two unsuccessful albums and a management change, the singer began developing a new album. "What Have You Done for Me Lately" was penned for one of Jam and Lewis's own records, but the lyrics were rewritten to convey Jackson's feelings about her recent divorce from James DeBarge in January 1985. It revolves around a woman's frustration with her partner in a relationship.
Critical reviews for "What Have You Done for Me Lately" were positive, with music critics believing it erased the former "pop-ingénue image" of Jackson's first two albums, reestablishing her as an "independent woman" figure. The song has been featured in critic lists as one of the greatest songs of all time and received a nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Song at the 1987 Grammy Awards. The song peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also peaked at number two on the US Dance Club Songs and topped the US Hot Black Singles charts. Outside of the US, it topped the singles chart in the Netherlands and peaked within the top ten in Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The accompanying music video for "What Have You Done for Me Lately" was directed by Brian Jones and Piers Ashworth and choreographed by singer Paula Abdul. In it, Jackson goes to a diner with her friends to talk about her relationship problems. The video won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video in 1987. The song was first performed live by Jackson at the 29th annual Grammy Awards in 1987. She has also performed it live in each of her concert tours, beginning with the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 through the State of the World Tour (2017). It has been included in each of Jackson's greatest hits albums Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995), Number Ones (2009), and Icon: Number Ones (2010). "What Have You Done for Me Lately" has been sampled and covered by various artists, and is also regarded as one of Jackson's signature songs which helped establish her as a known artist.
Background
After arranging a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982 for a then sixteen-year-old Janet, her father Joseph Jackson oversaw the entire production of her debut album, Janet Jackson, and its follow-up, Dream Street (1984); the latter of which was written and produced by Jesse Johnson and Janet's brothers Marlon and Michael. Jackson was initially reluctant to begin a recording career, commenting, "I was coming off of a TV show that I absolutely hated doing, Fame. I didn't want to do [the first record, Janet Jackson]. I wanted to go to college. But I did it for my father ..." and elaborated that she was often in conflict with her producers. Amidst her professional struggles, she rebelled against her family's wishes by marrying James DeBarge of the family recording group DeBarge in 1984. The Jacksons disapproved of the relationship, citing DeBarge's immaturity and substance abuse. Jackson left her husband in January 1985 and was granted an annulment later that year.
Jackson subsequently fired her father as her manager and hired John McClain, then A&M Records' senior vice president of artists and repertoire and general manager. She also subsequently left the Jackson home in Encino, California, and moved into her own apartment around this time. Commenting on the decision, she stated, "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do, telling him that I didn't want to work with him again." Joseph Jackson resented John McClain for what he saw as an underhanded attempt to steal his daughter's career out from under him. McClain responded by saying "I'm not trying to pimp Janet Jackson or steal her away from her father." He subsequently introduced her to the songwriting and production duo James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis, former Prince associates and ex-members of The Time.