Billboard: The 98 Greatest Songs of 1998: Critics' Picks
71. Janet Jackson, "Go Deep" (No. 28, Radio Songs)
Not only is this song tailor-made to get a party started, it's also its very own party contained in a song, from the crowd murmurs over the beat at the beginning to the group sing-along of a chorus. That super-loose vibe -- with its irresistible snare intro and cheeky sound effects sprinkled throughout -- is what makes it so danceable, and it perfectly matches the music video's foamy house party, so rudely interrupted by a pre-SNL Bill Hader as a pizza delivery boy at the end. -- KATIE ATKINSON
25. Janet Jackson, "I Get Lonely" (No. 3, Hot 100)
Desperation isn’t supposed to sound sexy. It’s supposed to make you sound pathetic, needy, maybe a little unhinged. And it usually does -- unless you are Janet Jackson, singing about loneliness over a Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis beat that snaps and glides and makes you move despite your fragile state. Such is “I Get Lonely,” the third single from The Velvet Rope, Jackson’s gorgeous album of intense introspection. “Lonely” clocks in at over five minutes, but it hits all the right spots: a full-voiced chorus of Jackson multiplied and plainly stating her feeling; and a handful of waiting-by-the-phone verses; a breakdown where she coos -- what else -- “gonna break it down, break it down, break it down.” Like any good song, this chorus provides that much-needed moment of release. Unlike any good song, this chorus happens six times, repeating the same insistent two lyrics per refrain. Twelve climaxes in fewer than half as many minutes? Only Janet gets it done like that. -- C.W.
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