After acting in the variety show The Jacksons, she began starring in several TV series and commenced recording her debut album.

"Young Love" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who highlighted it as a standout song from Janet Jackson and praised its catchiness.

When Jackson was sixteen, she had a contract arranged with A&M Records and began recording her debut album with the assistance of her father, working with a number of songwriters and producers such as René Moore, Angela Winbush, and Bobby Watson, who produced her first single, titled "Young Love", released on July 7, 1982.

[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from website AllMusic noted that Jackson demonstrated "no distinctive musical personality of her own, which isn't surprising considering that she was in her teens.

[4] In a retrospective review, Peter Piatkowski from PopMatters stated that it was an "insight into the kind of excellent dance music she'd master later on", also describing the track as a "perfect example of post-disco pop joy".

[5] In the United States, "Young Love" received little notoriety on the principal singles chart, the Billboard Hot 100; it was able to reach a peak of number 64.