"Call on Me" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson with guest vocals from American rapper Nelly from Jackson's ninth studio album 20 Y.O. (2006). It was written by Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, James Phillips, Cornell Haynes Jr., James Harris III and Terry Lewis, and produced by Dupri, Phillips, Jam and Lewis, in addition to Jackson. "Call on Me" was released as the album's lead single on June 19, 2006, by Virgin Records. The song is a mid-tempo ballad which talks about calling on a person when a friend or somebody to listen is needed.
"Call on Me" received mixed reviews from music critics, although some picked it as one of the best tracks on the album, calling it a "lovely and elegant" ballad. The song was a moderate success commercially, becoming her most successful single in some countries since "All for You" (2001). It peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, it spent two non-consecutive weeks atop the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, making it Jackson's 16th number-one single on the chart. Internationally, the song peaked within the top 20 in Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The accompanying music video for "Call on Me" was directed by Hype Williams and took ten days to complete. Incorporating Indian, Asian, and African styles, outfits worn in the video included a specially-designed kimono, metal corset, and nine-inch platform heels. "Call on Me" is one of the most expensive music videos of all time, with a production cost of over $1 million. Following its release, it was reported that the video was blacklisted by MTV, following her incident at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004, which was co-produced by the network. To promote 20 Y.O., Jackson performed the song with Nelly on TV show Today, as well as on two of her concert tours.
Background and writing
In 2004, Jackson released her eighth studio album, Damita Jo. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and sold over three million copies worldwide. However, its singles received minimal airplay due to a blacklist of Jackson's music and videos on many music channels and radio formats caused by legalities surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. Jackson then decided to start to work on a new project in the coming year, involving her then-fiancé, record producer Jermaine Dupri, who was commissioned to executive produce the project, in addition to a number of other producers. She decided to create a modern record, while returning to R&B and dance music, in the vein of her hit album, Control (1986). Producer Jimmy Jam revealed that while recording the album, Janet became more confident with her writing ability, doing the bulk of the writing. He also commented, "We're all kind of back in there doing it again together, which I really enjoy." It's the physical nature of sitting in the same room and really hashing it out. It's like, 'You're not going to leave until we have a lyric,' so it's fun." Jackson and Jimmy both agreed that Dupri molded well into their tri due to him being a fan of Jam and Lewis' work and vice versa.
During the sessions, "Call on Me" was written. For the song, Jackson revealed that Nelly and Dupri had been in the studio alone working together, and came up with the record on their own. They called Jackson up, played it for her over the phone, and asked if she wanted to record it. Jackson obliged. Speaking about the song, Dupri said "It's a duet between her and Nelly. It's the jump-off. We don't just have a record that's just a Nelly and Janet record. I believe this record is gonna be one of the biggest records on radio this year. Outside of who it is, it's a well-put-together song." Dupri also commented about Nelly's addition to the song, saying: "Nelly, I try to do what I do with my friends. Me and him had just come off the success of 'Grillz' at the time I made this record. He was the person on my mind. "Especially since Janet only made records, not to disrespect Q-Tip or Heavy D, but as far as popular rappers in this day and time, Busta Rhymes was the only one. We was trying to go to the radio and not do the typical R&B featured record. I was trying to be more creative and find somebody who can do melody as well as rap on the record. Nelly doesn't really rap on this song, he's singing. He has that different style. That's kind of what the record is. We see that enough: R&B with a rapper feature. That's why I call this a duet as opposed to a feature".
The first single from 20 Y.O. was thought to be released in February initially. However, it had an initial release date for May.