Throwback Thursday ‘Together Again’ by Janet Jackson (1997)

Janet Jackson has a new documentary debuting this Friday, (January 28, 2022) on Lifetime and A&E, so what better way to celebrate than with one of her biggest hits! (See the trailer at bottom of the story.)

"Together Again" was on Janet's sixth album, The Velvet Rope.

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"Together Again" was written as a tribute to one of Janet Jackson's friends that had passed away from AIDS. It was originally written as a ballad, however, the final version was uptempo and the rest is history.

According to Wikipedia, "Jackson was reportedly inspired to write the song from her own personal experience, as well as a piece of fan-mail she received from a young boy in England who had lost his father. According to Jimmy Jam, 'it had a deep meaning for her because it was about a friend she lost to AIDS, but as with all her songs, she tries to make them apply in a general sense to anybody. The idea was to make it a joyous song musically'."

The music video shows Janet and her dancers living in a sort of futuristic Safari, living among wild animals.

In a video interview with Allure magazine, Janet reveals that the giraffe and elephant used in the music video were actually her brother, Michael's. And that they almost lost the giraffe! How do you lose a giraffe? Go to about the 6-minute mark in the video below for the full story.

There are two versions of "Together Again". The one we know and love and the 'Deeper Remix'.

"Together Again" was huge! The song debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 20, 1997. Eventually, the song helped Janet earn her eighth number-one single on January 31, 1998. "Together Again" spent two weeks at #1, and a total of forty-six weeks on the chart. It was Jackson's first single to reach number one in the U.S. since "Again" in 1993. (Side note: "Again" is probably my favorite Janet song.)

"Together Again" was #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End chart for 1998.

On a personal note, "Together Again" reminds me of being homesick with pneumonia in 6th grade. I was at home watching a lot of MTV and VH1 and this song/video was non-stop!