Janet was looking for something different when she began work on her third studio album for A&M Records.  A chance encounter with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis initiated the project: "She saw us play with the Time in Long Beach," Jam recalled.  "We could see her in the front row."  A meeting was arranged backstage, and Jam & Lewis surprised Janet by playing some of their productions for her.  When their deal with Atlantic Starr frontwoman Sharon Bryant fell through, the duo chose to work on Janet's new LP.

Janet envisioned a project that would celebrate her newly-minted independence and maturity.  At 19, she had been through a lot, and she wanted to capture her struggle on wax.  "We listened to her talk about going through her divorce, moving out of her parents' house, and the fact that she was really serious about a singing career," noted Jam.  "The album was definitely a product of how she was feeling at the time."  Control  was completed in a mere six weeks, although "What Have You Done For Me Lately" was recorded when the rest of the album was in post-production.   It was chosen as the first single, a perfect introduction to the Minneapolis funk that dominated the record.  "What you hear on the album is the result of a lot of jamming (Jimmy and Terry) did right there in the studio," Janet told Spin.  "All the music is pretty much them.  But the lyrics, the vocal arrangements, the keyboards and synthesizers, that's where I came in."  Control  reached Number 1 in the US on July 5, 1986, and remained in pole position for 2 weeks.  The album spun off six Top 20 singles, five of which went Top 5.  Ms. Jackson had arrived.