Jimmy Jam recalls Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson having friendly competition when recording "Scream"
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Michael and Janet recorded vocals separately but inspired each other, with Michael traveling to Minneapolis after hearing Janet's take, Jimmy Jam tells PEOPLE
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1995 song marked the siblings' first major collaboration
Jimmy Jam remembers some friendly competition betweenMichael JacksonandJanet Jackson.
When talking to PEOPLE at the Hollywood premiere ofMichaelon April 20, the songwriter and producer, 66, admits that making "Scream" with the siblings was “interesting” because of the family dynamic.
“When we did ‘Scream,' it was really interesting because Janet always felt like she was just guesting on Michael's song," he says. "She didn't ever think of it as a duo. And she kind of treated it like that. She just kind of said, 'Whatever my brother wants to do... this is the key he wants to do it in, these are the words he wants to say.' "
"She was very much deferring to what he wanted to do,” he adds.
In fact, Jimmy Jam says the siblings recorded their vocals in different places, with Michael recording in New York while his younger sister recorded in Minneapolis.
“When Michael heard Janet's vocal, he said, ‘Where'd you do that vocal?'" he recalls. "We said, ‘Minneapolis.' He said, ‘I'm going to come to Minneapolis.' "
"So I felt a little bit of the competitiveness, which was cool,” Jimmy Jam shares.
Ultimately, he says, Michael was “really happy" to work with Janet, 59.
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“He wanted to see her do well. She wanted to see him do well, and that happened and it was captured beautifully on video," he adds. "Somebody just asked me my favorite Michael Jackson video and I said, 'Scream.' "
The song, which was released in 1995, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 17 total weeks on the chart. The single and video also went on to earn several major accolades, including a 1996 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record 11 nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Jimmy Jam tells PEOPLE he still looks back and thinks the music video is “beautifully done.”
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In 2024, Janet told theBBCthat making that song with Michael helped her better understand what her brother was going through at the time.
"Mike and I wrote that song in New York, in his apartment," she recalled. "So [I relive] that whole journey, listening to him sing it [and remembering] what he was going through at that time. And just me being his little sister, always by his side, and being that support system. That's always been my role."
Janet and Michael released “Scream” and the famous black-and-white music video in 1995, soon after Michael settled a 1994 lawsuit that charged him with abusing a child, according toThe New York Times. The song references what Michael was dealing with: struggles with fame, public harassment and tabloids digging into his life.
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