Gone" entered the singles' chart at number 50 during the week of September 27, 1997. It eventually reached number nine, staying a total of 13 weeks on the chart. On the Swiss Singles Chart dated October 12, 1997, "Got 'til It's Gone" debuted at number 32. After four weeks, it peaked at number 11. Music video Background and synopsis The accompanying music video for "Got 'til It's Gone" was directed by Mark Romanek and filmed at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. It made its worldwide premiere on September 4, 1997, immediately preceding the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, with the video airing later the same evening on other music channels such as VH1 and BET. Jackson wanted to work with Romanek because she believed him to be "amazing", commenting, "I gravitate toward the directors that I really fall in love with [...]". After hearing the song, Romanek decided to use African photography as a motif, creating what he called a "pre-Apartheid celebration based on that African photography". Joni Mitchell commented: "From the time [music] video began well into the late eighties there was a monstrous image of females being perpetrated without much exception. In the face of that I found this video to be full of humanity. Janet herself was lovely. It had dignity, and it was full of life". Jackson stated that she was "very proud" of the video, adding it was "fun to make". In the music video, Jackson portrays a lounge singer during the time of apartheid in South Africa. Inspired by a blend of '60s and '70s African culture, the video depicts freedom and prosperity, opposing racial segregation and supremacy. Jackson wears "vintage wide-lapeled brown leather jacket, men's tailored trousers, a printed halter top and individually-sectioned pigtails that bring to mind "the higher the hair, the closer to God", according to Soulbounce website. The video portrays a massive house party and includes scenes inspired by the work of photographer Malick Sidibé. Images shown throughout the video include a cigarette lighter flicking by a man's groin, a young child peeking behind a man as if he had been magically birthed, a one-eyed boxer posing, a couple presses up as if simulating rear-entry sex, children jump on mattresses, a lone figure walking outside, and Jackson's shadow crawling up a wall like a stalking animal. Joni Mitchell appears on a TV screen throughout the video, and Sudanese model