"Miss You Much" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it was recorded for the singer's fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). As with all tracks for the album, recording took place at Lewis and Jam's Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 1988 and 1989. Lyrically, the song narrates a longing to reconnect with a romantic partner after time spent apart.
"Miss You Much" was released as the lead single from Rhythm Nation 1814 on August 21, 1989, by A&M Records. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the second number one hit of Jackson's career. Spending four consecutive weeks atop the chart, it was the longest running number one single of 1989. It is Jackson's third longest running Hot 100 number one, behind "That's the Way Love Goes" (1993) and "All for You" (2001), which spent eight and seven weeks at number one, respectively. It also topped several Billboard composite charts, including the Hot Black Singles and Dance Club Songs charts. Internationally, the single became a top 40 hit in all territories where it charted. It is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting one million copies sold in the US alone. It emerged as the number one radio airplay hit of 1989 and the second best-selling single of the year behind "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins. Based on changing metrics of how chart performance is evaluated, Billboard magazine listed "Miss You Much" as Jackson's all-time biggest Hot 100 hit.[4]
A music video for the song directed by Dominic Sena was produced as part of the Rhythm Nation 1814 film, which aired as a 30-minute special on MTV prior to the album's release. The video for "Miss You Much" serves as the opening segment of the film and is followed by videos for two other songs from the album, "The Knowledge" and the title-track "Rhythm Nation", to form a complete narrative. Its inclusion in Rhythm Nation 1814 made it part of one of the largest projects to have ever been attempted by A&M, with a budget of $1.6 million for the entire film.[5] As with the other two components of the film, "Miss You Much" is shot entirely in black and white. Choreographed by Jackson, Anthony Thomas and Terry Bixler, the video features a complex dance routine, culminating with a sequence where Jackson and her back-up dancers use chairs as props in conjunction with their performance. Since the video's release, numerous artists have taken inspiration from or replicated the chair routine in their own videos and live performances, including Britney Spears, Usher, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Tinashe.
After the success of Control, Jackson remained silent on the charts for over two years before returning with "Miss You Much", the lead single from Rhythm Nation 1814. It became Jackson's biggest selling single at the time, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for four weeks. "Miss You Much" also became her second number-one hit, the first being "When I Think of You". The song sold over four million copies, becoming one of the biggest-selling songs of the year.[6] The song peaked at number two in Canada and reached the top twenty in Australia and many European countries.
Heavy anticipation and radio airplay during the late summer allowed "Miss You Much" to debut at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 2, 1989. After three weeks, as "Miss You Much" entered the top-ten of Billboard Hot 100, music industry prognosticators theorized that the song would become Jackson's second number-one song on the Hot 100. However, the song started facing competition from fellow singer Madonna's single "Cherish", which also moved into the top-five the same week.[7] The popular media pitted the two women against each other and tried to create rivalry between them.[8] The song eventually topped on October 7, 1989, the same week "Cherish" peaked at number two.[9] It was the biggest airplay hit of the year, and fifth biggest overall, also peaking atop the Hot Dance Club Play and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.[10] The song was the second best-selling single of the year, behind only Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise". It reached number 2 in Canada and New Zealand, and the top twenty of Australia, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It peaked within the top twenty five on the United Kingdom singles charts, although its accompanying album reached the top five on the UK albums chart.
Directed by Dominic Sena, choreographed by Jackson and Anthony Thomas, and filmed in August 1989 as part of the long-form Rhythm Nation 1814 film, the black-and-whitevideo for "Miss You Much" begins with dancers gathered at a pool hall, gossiping about Jackson and her boyfriend. Jackson enters the room as her dancers suddenly become quiet and look at her. One dancer asks Jackson what she has been doing lately. She jokingly responds, before demonstrating her love through song and dance. The end of the video cuts to a final dance routine performed with chairs, choreographed by Terry Bixler.[11]
The video's choreography and chair routine are regarded as iconic in popular culture. The chair routine is available on the Rhythm Nation Compilation DVD.
Britney Spears referenced the "Miss You Much" video, and Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" video, for the chair routine in her "Stronger" video. The video's director Joseph Kahn said Spears' idea for the routine was inspired by "Janet Jackson's 'Pleasure Principle' — the iconic chair sequence in that."[14] A review of the video commented "Ms. Spears gives us her best Janet Jackson impression ("Miss You Much") with a dizzying chair-dance routine."[15]
When asked if NSYNC was copying their rival the Backstreet Boys with their chair routine during "For The Girl Who Has Everything" performance from their Pay Per View concert special NSYNC 'N Concert, Justin Timberlake corrects Rick Campanelli and states they got it from Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much"[16]
During Jackson's inaugural MTV Icon tribute, "Miss You Much" was performed by Pink, Usher, and Mýa to honor Jackson. Pink notably recreated the video's iconic chair routine.
VH1's show Miss You Much was titled after the song.[17]
"Miss You Much" was covered by Korean singer Youme in the South Korean comedy film 200 Pounds Beauty in 2005. In the film, the song is performed by fictional Korean pop singer Ammy (Ji Seo-yun).
50 Cent's single "Follow My Lead", which features Robin Thicke, references "Miss You Much" in the line "like Janet Jackson said, I miss you much."
Akon's single "Right Now (Na Na Na)" references and interpolates "Miss You Much" by quoting the line "I miss you much" using the same rhythm and melody.
"Miss You Much" was featured in a dance scene in the movie Hustlers. The scene featured the main cast doing choreography to the song. It was also featured in the end credits.
^Graham, Jefferson (December 15, 1989), "Janet in command; Jackson rules her own 'Nation'; Highlights of a rhythmic life", USA Today, p. 1.D, ISSN0734-7456
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 8, 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Miss You Much" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
