In 2004, Jackson released her eighth studio album, "Damita Jo". The album debuted at number two on "Billboard" 200, was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and sold over three million copies worldwide. However, its singles received minimal airplay due to a blacklist of Jackson's music and videos on many music channels and radio formats caused by legalities surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. Jackson then decided to start to work on a new project in the coming year, involving her then-fiancé, record producer Jermaine Dupri, who was commissioned to executive produce the project, in addition to a number of other producers. She decided to create a modern record, while returning to dance music, in the vein of her hit album, "Control" (1986). Producer Jimmy Jam revealed that while recording the album, Janet became more confident with her writing ability, doing the bulk of the writing. He also commented, "We're all kind of back in there doing it again together, which I really enjoy." It's the physical nature of sitting in the same room and really hashing it out. It's like, 'You're not going to leave until we have a lyric,' so it's fun." Jackson and Jimmy both agreed that Dupri molded well into their tri due to him being a fan of Jam and Lewis' work and vice versa.