text: together again ( janet jackson song ) " together again " is a song by american recording artist janet jackson from her sixth studio album , the velvet rope ( 1997 ) . it was written and produced by jackson , jimmy jam and terry lewis , with additional writing by jackson 's then - husband , rené elizondo , jr . it was released as the second single from the album on december 2 , 1997 , by virgin . originally written as a ballad , the track was rearranged as a dance and house song . jackson was inspired to write the song by her own personal experience of losing a friend to aids , as well as by a piece of fan mail she received from a young boy in england who had lost his father . " together again " was well received by music critics , who praised the song 's structure and jackson 's vocals , comparing them to those of diana ross and works by donna summer . commercially , the song was a success , topping the billboard hot 100 chart for two weeks , as well as reaching the top of the hot dance club songs . the song was additionally certified gold by the riaa . worldwide , it peaked within the top five in most countries , such as canada and the united kingdom , and topped the charts in the netherlands . it is jackson 's best selling single selling 6 million copies worldwide and is one of the best selling singles of all time . two music videos were produced for " together again " . the video for the original , directed by seb janiak , shows jackson and her dancers performing in a futuristic african paradise where people are seen living side by side with wild animals such as elephants , giraffes , and wildcats . another music video released for the ' deeper remix ' was directed by rené elizondo , jr. and shows jackson in an apartment . jackson performed " together again " in a number of occasions to promote the velvet rope , including at the american music awards , and also on all of her tours since its release . it is also included in two of jackson 's greatest hits collections , number ones ( 2009 ) and icon : number ones ( 2010 ) . background " together again " was written as a tribute from jackson to a friend who had recently died from aids as well as aids victims and their families worldwide , as stated in the liner notes of the velvet rope ( 1997 ) . originally written as a ballad , the track was re - arranged as a dance and house song . 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 arrangement of the song was constructed in 30 minutes by jam , lewis and jackson while in the recording studio . once the melody was in place , jackson finished writing the lyrics to the song . the song 's sound was inspired by donna summer 's song " last dance " . jackson told mtv news that her inspiration to write " together again " was " runaway " by nuyorican soul , as the song reminded her of being in studio 54 in new york when she was a child . " runaway " gave jackson a kind of new york feel of disco and she wanted to do something like this . composition " together again " was written and produced by jackson , jimmy jam and terry lewis , with additional writing by jackson 's then - husband , rené elizondo , jr . it is a dance and house track . according to the sheet music published at musicnotes.com by emi music publishing , the song is set in common time with a key of c major . jackson 's vocals range between a3 to d5 . the song has a moderate tempo of 123 beats per minute with the chord progression following the sequence of c – em7 / b – em7 ( b5 ) / bb – a7 – dm9 – g13 – dm9 – g13 . the bass line in the chorus descends according to the key until reaching the , after which it goes back to the dominant note set up the resolution , the repetition of the chorus or the interlude , which begins on the . at the end of the second bridge , the song modulates up a minor third into e - flat major . three versions of the song were released ; the original dance version , the " deep remix " , a r & b and hip - hop version , and the " deeper remix " , which is a r & b and soul remake . lyrically , it was described as a ode from jackson to a friend who had died from aids . larry flick from billboard noted its " tear - stained lyrics " . ernest hardy of rolling stone described it as " unsullied pop bliss " , saying " the bass - heavy house track " together again " showcases a poignant lead vocal , giving off a ' 60s soul / girl group vibe " , critical reception music critics received " together again " positively . bbc deemed it a " thumping great hit , an old - fashioned piece of professional dance music , played perfectly " . music critic joey guerra from the daily cougar stated , " jackson pours her heart into " together again , " which builds to an ecstatic house beat " which takes " a cue from the soaring melodies of ' 60s girl groups " . he further commented that the song is " genuine happy - feeling . it sounds lame at first but pay attention to what she 's singing ; that vocal smile changes everything . " " she even makes a bid for gay icon status " , wrote neil mccormick in a review of the velvet rope for the daily telegraph , " delivering a diva - ish performance reminiscent of diana ross on ' together again ' . " " together again " was also compared to other singers ' works . jon pareles from the new york times described " together again " as " a creamy diana ross homage " , noting that jackson " deploys her small voice shrewdly " in it . larry flick from billboard magazine called " together again " " a disco ode to loved ones lost to aids - related illnesses " . jackson " has clearly been studying donna summer records , delivering a wonderfully nuanced performance that takes firm command of the track 's vibrant house beat without sacrificing an ounce of emotion " . danyel smith , while interviewing jackson for vibe in november 1997 , elaborated that the song was a big , perfect ode to donna summer , and likened it to her songs " macarthur park " and " last dance " . in 1999 , ' together again " won the award for " most played song " at the bmi pop awards . chart performance " together again " debuted at number nine on the billboard hot 100 chart on the issue dated december 20 , 1997 , before becoming jackson 's eighth number - one single on january 31 , 1998 , spending two weeks at number one , and a total of forty - six weeks on the chart . the song also peaked atop the hot dance club songs chart and at number eight on the hot r & b / hip - hop songs chart . " together again " was certified gold by the riaa . in canada , it peaked at number two on the official singles chart and also reached number two on the dance chart . in australasia , " together again " also experienced success . in australia , it debuted at number eighteen on the issue dated december 7 , 1997 , peaking at number four and staying on the aria charts for twenty - five weeks and was certified double - platinum by the aria for 70 , 000 copies shipped . in new zealand , it debuted at number sixteen the week of december 21 , 1997 . on february 22 , 1998 , it reached its peak of number five , staying on the chart for ten weeks . the song debuted and peaked at number four on the uk singles chart on december 13 , 1997 , falling to six the following week , two weeks later it returned to its peak of four , spending ten weeks in the top ten and nineteen weeks inside the chart . it was certified platinum by the bpi eventually selling nearly 800 , 000 units in the uk . it also spent 1 week atop the uk r & b singles chart and number six on the uk dance chart . it is jackson 's best selling uk austria , it entered the singles chart at number twenty - five , eventually peaking number six and spending a total of fourteen weeks on the chart . in france , the song peaked at number two for ten weeks , and was certified platinum by the snep . in germany , it peaked at number two for two weeks and remaining on the german singles chart for twenty - four weeks . it was certified platinum for 500 , 000 copies sold . in the netherlands , " together again " entered the singles chart at number sixty - one during the week of december 13 , 1997 . it eventually peaked at number one , staying a total of thirty - two weeks on the chart . the nvpi certified the single gold for shipment of 10 , 000 copies . on the swiss singles chart dated january 11 , 1998 , " together again " debuted at number thirteen . after two weeks , it peaked at number two and was later certified gold by the ifpi . a portion of the single 's worldwide sales were donated by jackson to the american foundation for aids research . music videos two music videos were produced for " together again " . the original version was directed by french photographer seb janiak and choreographed by tina landon . filmed in the serengeti , tanzania , the video jackson with mini red ponytails on her head . she and her dancers perform in a futuristic african - flavored paradise where people are seen living side by side with wild animals such as elephants , giraffes , and wildcats . at a point of the video , jackson appears to be hugging another version of herself . dan macrae from et canada commented , " janet is positively beaming as she participates in some lovely choreography and chills out with local wildlife " . this version received a nomination for best dance video at the 1998 mtv video music awards . another music video was released for the " deeper remix " . directed by rené elizondo , jr , the video depicts jackson in an apartment remembering a friend . both videos are featured on the dvd edition of 2001 's all for you and the 2004 video compilation from janet to damita jo : the videos . live performances in order to promote the velvet rope and the single , jackson performed " together again " at the american music awards of 1998 . the singer has also performed the song on all of her tours since its release . she included the song on the 1998 the velvet rope tour . dressed up in " chandeliers and sensible clothing " , it was performed as the closing song from the concert . jon pareles from the new york times viewed the performance as " an elegy disguised as an arm - waving , feel - good song " . the performance of the song at the october 11 , 1998 show in new york city , at the madison square garden , was broadcast during a special titled the velvet rope : live in madison square garden by hbo . it was also added to the setlist at its dvd release , the velvet rope tour – live in concert in 1999 . it was again performed as the encore on the all for you tour in support of her follow - up album all for you in 2001 and 2002 . gina from st. petersburg times , while reviewing the concert , described the performance , " the show closed with a buoyant together again that found jackson grinning , surrounded by dancers moving in refreshing , unscripted merriment " . the february 16 , 2002 final date of the tour at the aloha stadium in hawaii , was broadcast by hbo , and included a performance of " together again " . this rendition was also added to the setlist at its dvd release , janet : live in hawaii , in 2002 . jackson also performed it on vh1 's the concert for new york city benefit concert which paid tribute to victims of the september 11 attacks the same year . in 2004 , while promoting her eighth studio album damita jo , jackson made surprise performances of " together again " and " all nite ( don 't stop ) " at new york 's gay pride march . " together again " was one of her older songs on the 2008 rock witchu tour , her first tour in seven years . it was at the middle of the setlist . she was dressed in a gold and black glam hip hop - inspired track suit , and one gold glove . variety magazine 's phil gallo likened her vocals in the song to that of diana ross 's . rap - up noted the audience " went wild " during the song . while reviewing the vancouver concert , marsha lederman of globe and mail noted that the most memorable moment of the show was when jackson " stopped on the catwalk after her hit together again , listened to the crowd roar its approval , and became emotional – really emotional . we 're talking tears . ' thank you , ' she said – seeming to really mean it , as she waved her hands , begging the audience to stop " , she completed . while promoting her second greatest hits album number ones , the singer performed an eight - minute medley of six hits during the american music awards of 2009 . it included " control " , " miss you much " , " what have you done for me lately " , " if " , " make me " , and finished with " together again " . for the latter 's performance , jackson stood alone at center stage , smiling , as the received applauses and standing ovation from the audience . it also was the closing song of her concert at essence music festival in new orleans , in july 2010 , which she headlined . " together again " was again performed as a closing number on her number ones : up close and personal 2011 tour as a dedication to her late brother , michael jackson , wearing a tight white one - piece disco suit . mtv news ' writer vaughn schoonmaker noted that the song appeared to be the biggest hit of the show . jackson included the song on her 2015 - 2016 unbreakable world tour . track listings credits and personnel janet jackson - vocals , songwriter , producer , vocal and rhythm arrangement jimmy jam and terry lewis - songwriters , producers , all other instruments , vocal and rhythm arrangements rené elizondo , jr . - songwriter steve hodge - engineering , mixing alexander - drum machine xavier smith – assistant engineer source : charts