Design of a Decade: 1986–1996

In 1991, Jackson fulfilled her contract with A&M Records, signing a multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records estimated between $32 million and $50 million, with media outlets proclaiming her the highest paid recording artist at the time.^[1][2] Jackson's fifth studio album with Virgin, Janet—stylized as janet. and read "Janet, period"—was released in May 1993. The record was a commercial success—opening at number one in the United States, making the singer the first female artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era to do so and second overall^[3]—and sold over 14 million copies worldwide.^[4][5][6] Six singles were released from Janet, with two of them topping the Billboard Hot 100: "That's the Way Love Goes" and "Again".^[7] The former won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song category at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards,^[8] while the latter received a nomination for an Best Original Song at the 66th Academy Awards.^[9]

As Jackson's contract with Virgin allotted her the option to leave the label during this time, she returned to A&M in order to release Design of a Decade: 1986–1996, her first compilation album. Billboard magazine reported that DreamWorks SKG and A&M were interested in signing with her. A&M president Al Cafaro stated: "We've always thought Janet was an A&M artist... And we would love to sign her if she is available. This project has reminded us how much fun she is to work with."^[10] The release contained fourteen digitally remastered singles, as well as two new songs — "Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay" — written with longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.^[11][12] The former is a pop and dance song which draws influences of Middle Eastern music.^[13][14][15] It was originally created to be a possible duet with Jackson's brother Michael, but they chose to record "Scream" together instead.^[16] The latter is a mid-tempo ballad with funk elements, which is a play on words with "twenty-four hours" and "foreplay".^[17][18]

To release Design of a Decade: 1986–1996, A&M provided a "very aggressive but serious marketing plan", which included "a multimillon-dollar worldwide marketing plan that [involved], syndicated and local TV advertising, as well as print ads in a number of consumer publications, including Seventeen, Us, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Jet, Vibe and Essence."^[10] The compilation was first released internationally on October 2, 1995, before a release took place on October 10 in North America; a special focus was put on the international release, as the record company felt that it needed to explore Jackson's full potential on a global level.^[10] A total of four different versions for the collection were released in various regions, three of which have distinctly different covers designed to appeal to her fan base in particular regions.^[10] Both the international release and the Japanese version contained two additional songs: "The Best Things In Life Are Free", a duet with Luther Vandross, and "Whoops Now". In Australia, the record included the Frankie Knuckles and David Morales mix of the former, whereas the Japanese and international edition contained the C.J. Mackintosh version of the song. All versions featured a 24-page booklet featuring new pictures and an interview with Jackson.^[10]

A video compilation was also released on the same day, on VHS, LaserDisc and Video CD, containing a music video for each song on the album, with the exception of "Twenty Foreplay".^[10][11][19]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[20]
Calgary Herald	[21]
The Charlotte Observer	[22]
Chester Chronicle	9/10[23]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[24]
The Knoxville News-Sentinel	[13]
The San Francisco Examiner	[25]
Smash Hits	[26]
Spin	[27]
St. Petersburg Times	[15]
The Village Voice	A−[28]

Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 received positive reviews from music critics. Gil L. Robertson IV from Cash Box described the package as "a treasure trove for all who like their music hot and sweet", noting how "all the songs here have been enormous hits" and writing that the new tracks "aptly showcase Jackson's continued evolution as a strong and highly-focused adult performer".^[29] Chester Chronicle's Terry Underhill called the album as "one of the best compilations albums of the year", and asserted it "will be an enormous success and deserves to be."^[23] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave it an A− rating, saying, "Those who begrudge her the place she's earned in the pop cosmos have some catching up to do."^[28] James Muretich from Calgary Herald described Jackson as "the funkiest of females on the recording scene", as "in the past 10 years, Janet has moved out from the shadow of Mikey and proves that she can churn out one slick soul hit after another"; he also commented that the new songs showed that "Janet is quickly becoming – if not there already – the Diana Ross of her day".^[21] From The Charlotte Observer, Langston Wertz Jr., while giving a positive review, wrote that Jackson "proves she's a star" with the album.^[22] Elysa Gardner from Vibe magazine wrote that the compilation traces "a young woman's progression from questioning others' authority to reveling in her own."^[17]

Spin's Chris Norris said: "Since Janet is state-of-the-art production right down to her sculpted nose, it makes sense that she should call her retrospective Design."^[27] Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel described it as "hardly comprehensive" as it lacked almost all the singles from Janet, but noted that the remaining songs "sound tremendous: a testimony to the timelessness of Jackson and her ace production team, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis."^[13] Erika N. Duckworth from the St. Petersburg Times commented, "Despite enduring cracks about Jackson's less than power-packed voice, Jackson has defied her critics with sheer staying power. Design of a Decade will likely keep her fans hanging around for her next in-carnation."^[15] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it a four and-a-half out of five star rating, writing, "The hits from those two albums were state-of-the-art dance-pop productions at the time of their release, filled with bottomless beats and memorable, catchy hooks." He also pointed out that the album's new songs felt like "genuine hits, not tacked-on filler, and help make the album a compulsively listenable greatest-hits collection", despite calling its title "misleading".^[20] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly was impressed by how "Jackson reinvented both pop and herself during those 10 years", complimenting its "fairly seamless" sequence, although criticizing the album's title as its "biggest flaw". He also noted how the new songs showed "how much more confident a singer Jackson has become, even if the latter number finds her still working overtime to show us she's an honest-to-God grown-up."^[24]

In Jackson's home country, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 for the week of October 28, 1995, with 129,000 copies sold.^[30][31] The next week, it eventually peaked at number three.^[32] It became the first time a Jackson's album did not peak at number one since Control (1986).^[33] Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 also spent a total of 16 weeks on the Catalog Albums chart, with a peak of number three in 2001.^[34] On December 18, 1995, the collection was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 2,000,000 copies across the country.^[35] As of September 2009, it has sold over 2,422,000 million copies in the United States, as estimated by to Nielsen SoundScan.^[a][37] Meanwhile, BMG Music Service calculated that the compilation has sold an additional 1,480,000 units through BMG Music Clubs as of February 2003.^[38]

In Canada, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 reached number five on the RPM albums chart.^[39] It earned a platinum certification from the Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 100,000 copies across the region.^[40] In Australia, the album debuted at number two on the albums chart on October 8, 1995, remaining on the position for three weeks.^[41] It was eventually certified four-time platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of 280,000 across the country.^[42] Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 topped the charts in New Zealand, receiving a platinum certification by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).^[43][44] In Japan, the collection charted for nine weeks on the Oricon Albums Chart, with a peak of number four.^[45] The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified it platinum for shipment of 200,000 copies.^[46] The record topped the charts in Singapore for the week ending November 10, 1995.^[47]

In the United Kingdom, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart on October 14, 1995, behind (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis. It went on to spend 22 weeks inside the chart^[48] and received a double platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).^[49] The collection remains Jackson's best selling album in the country, with 529,000 copies sold as of May 2019.^[50] In Germany, the album reached number ten on the chart and was certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), with 250,000 copies shipped.^[51][52] In other European regions, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 peaked inside the top ten in several countries, such as Denmark,^[53] France,^[54] Ireland,^[55] and Switzerland,^[56] while peaking at number eight on the pancontinental European Top 100 Albums chart.^[57] In 1995, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry awarded the album a platinum certification, denoting sales of a million copies across the continent.^[58] Within four months of release, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 had sold over 4.3 million copies worldwide.^[59]

"Runaway" was released as the lead single from Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 in August 1995.^[10] In the United States, the song entered at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the fourth highest debut of all time on the chart, tied with the Beatles' "Let It Be" (1970). It also made Jackson the first female artist in history to debut at the top 10 of the chart twice, along with "Scream" months prior.^[60] "Runaway" reached number three weeks later and spent 24 weeks inside the Hot 100.^[7] Its commercial success was extended to other regions, reaching the top ten in several countries worldwide.^[61][62][63]

"The Best Things in Life Are Free" was re-released in the United Kingdom in December 1995, serving as the second single from the project in the region.^[64] "Twenty Foreplay" was released as the third overall single, and second from the compilation in most territories, in March 1996.^[65] In contrast to "Runaway", the song was less successful commercially, reaching the top 30 in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.^[66][67][68] As it was not released commercially in the United States, "Twenty Foreplay" did not enter the Hot 100, but it reached number 36 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, based on airplay.^[7][69]

Credits and personnel adapted from the album's liner notes.^[70]