Someone to Call My Lover

"Someone to Call My Lover" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson from her seventh studio album, All for You. Written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was released as the album's second single on June 26, 2001.

Song information

The song's looped guitar riff is sampled from America's 1972 hit "Ventura Highway". The loop played throughout the chorus is an interpolation of "Gymnopédie No. 1" by French classical composer Erik Satie, played in 4/4 time instead of the original 3/4. Jackson had searched for years for the catchy Satie track. "When I was a little girl and I used to come home from school, there was something called "The 3:30 Movie", and they used to play the MGM Musicals. There was a commercial. I remember watching Singin' in the Rain and there was a commercial with the lady all in white, and I don't know if it was for Dove or something like that, but they would play this, 'Da, da , da.' It was the Erik Satie. I never knew who the composer was, and this song never left me."

Jackson said she came across the tune again about seven years later: "I was at Ralph Lauren and I said, 'Oh, my God! Is this the radio or is this a CD?' I said, 'Please tell me it's a CD.' They said, 'It's a CD—well, actually it's a Ralph Lauren CD and we don't have it anymore. I was like, 'Oh God...no,' and they gave me the CD."

Jackson said, "I took it straight to Jimmy [Jam] and said, 'Jimmy, I've just got to share this with you,' and he saw my passion and my love for it. He didn't take the actual song, but he kind of put his own flavor to it in 'Someone To Call My Lover,' which takes me back to my childhood."

At the time of recording, Jackson had just divorced her longtime husband, René Elizondo, Jr., after nearly ten years of marriage. "Someone to Call My Lover", and several of the other songs on the All for You album, use Jackson's divorce and re-emergence into single life as central themes.

The song's So So Def Remix was Jackson's first collaboration with Jermaine Dupri, and the single peaked at number three in the United States. The song earned Jackson a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2002, losing out to Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird".

Jackson performed the song only on the All for You Tour. To date, it is the most recent of Jackson's singles to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence, and centres around a jukebox. Jackson is depicted driving and walking into a bar, where she sings, dances and eventually hitches a ride from a red car. A video for the So So Def Remix was also released, and contains similar footage to the original but contains shots of Dupri in alternate scenes as well as his vocals.

The original video made the limited bonus-DVD edition of All for You while the So So Def Remix video appears on the 2004 video compilation From janet. to Damita Jo: The Videos.

Track listings

European 12" promo single (VSTDJ 1813)

• Side A:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" – 4:32

• Side B:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Velvet Mix-Jam & Lewis) – 4:46
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (80's Remix-Jam & Lewis) – 5:08

European CD single (VSCDE 1813)

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40

European CD maxi single (7243 8 97773 2 1)

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Edit) – 3:49
3. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
4. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Velvet Mix) – 4:46
5. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48

UK 12" promo single (VSTDJX 1813)

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Dub Mix) – 6:02

UK 12" single (VST 1813)

• Side A:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48

• Side B:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (The Velvet Mix) – 4:46

U.S. 12" promo single (SPRO-16408)

• Side A:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Version) – 4:32

• Side B:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Instrumental) – 4:40
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Instrumental) – 4:32

U.S. double 12" promo single (SPRO-16404)

• Vinyl one – side A:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Version) – 4:32
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Instrumental) – 4:32

• Vinyl one – side B:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Instrumental) – 4:40

• Vinyl two – side A:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Vocal Mix) – 7:48
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Vocal Mix) – 3:49

• Vinyl two – side B:

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Dub Mix) – 6:02
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Acappella) – 3:49

U.S. CD single (7243 8 97773 0 7)

UK CD single (VSCDT 1813)

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48
3. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
4. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Video)

Japanese promo CD single (VJCP-12141)

Australian CD single (8977732)

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14
2. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Mix) – 3:49
3. "Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40
4. "Someone to Call My Lover" (The Velvet Mix) – 4:46
5. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48

French promo CD single (VUSCDJ1813)

1. "Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14

Official remixes

• Album Version – 4:32
• Album Instrumental – 4:32
• Single Edit – 4:14
• Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix – 7:38 (= Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Vocal Mix or Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Vocal Mix)
• Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Mix – 3:49
• Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio A Cappella – 3:49
• Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Dub Mix – 6:02
• Velvet Mix – 4:46
• Jam & Lewis Total 80's Remix – 5:08
• So So Def Remix featuring Jermaine Dupri – 4:40
• So So Def Instrumental – 4:40
• So So Def Remix Acapella - 4:40

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	15
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	32
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	38
Canadian Singles Chart	9
Dutch Top 40	28
French Singles Chart	58
German Singles Chart	65
Irish Singles Chart	23
Italian Singles Chart	34
New Zealand Singles Chart	18
Swedish Singles Chart	49
Swiss Singles Chart	42
UK Singles Chart	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	11
U.S. Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Adult Contemporary	29

Year-end charts

Chart (2001)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	38