like a virgin

Madonna made it through the wilderness and blossomed into a superstar with the materialistic media manipulation of this provocative pop phenomenon.  Having found success with her self-titled debut, Madonna was wary of working with another producer; but her record company refused to let her produce her next album:   "Warner Bros. Records is a hierarchy of old men and it's a chauvinist environment to be working in because I'm treated like this sexy little girl. I had to prove them wrong, which meant not only proving myself to my fans but to my record company as well. That is something that happens when you're a girl. It wouldn't happen to Prince or Michael Jackson. I had to do everything on my own and it was hard trying to convince people that I was worth a record deal. After that, I had the same problem trying to convince the record company that I had more to offer than a one-shot singer. I had to win this fight."

Warner agreed to let her work with Nile Rodgers as producer, his work on David Bowie's hit 'Let's Dance' album was as much of a reason as his tenure with Chic. Rodgers even brought in the rhythm section of his old band for the sessions.  'Like A Virgin' was recorded digitally at The Power Station in New York and featured Madonna on vocals and background vocals;   Bernard Edwards on bass;   Lenny Pickett on saxophone;  Nile Rodgers on guitar and synclavier;  Robert Sabino and Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr. on synthesizer;  Dave Weckl and Tony Thompson on drums;  and   Brenda King, Curtis King, Frank Simms, and George Simms on background vocals.  Rodgers would later admit:   "I am always amazed by Madonna's incredible judgement when it comes to making pop records. I've never seen anyone do it better, and that's the truth. When we did that album, it was the perfect union, and I knew it from the first day in the studio. The thing between us, man, it was sexual, it was passionate, it was creativity... it was pop."

The album drew controversy over the suggestive lyrics and the album cover shot by fashion photographer Steven Meisel.  Madonna would express:    "I have always loved to play cat and mouse with the conventional stereotypes. My 'Like a Virgin' album cover is a classic example. People were thinking who was I pretending to be—the Virgin Mary or the whore? These were the two extreme images of women I had known vividly, and remembered from childhood, and I wanted to play with them. I wanted to see if I can merge them together, Virgin Mary and the whore as one and all. The photo was a statement of independence, if you wanna be a virgin, you are welcome. But if you wanna be a whore, it's your fucking right to be so ... 'Boy Toy' is a joke...It’s a personal statement. It’s not for the women of the world, only for myself...It’s a statement for innocent sexuality ... Manipulating people, that’s what I’m good at...From when I was very young, I just knew that being a girl and being charming in a feminine sort of way could get me a lot of things, and I milked it for everything I could ... I remember when I was growing up I remember liking my body and not being ashamed of it. I remember liking boys and not feeling inhibited. I never played little games; if I liked a boy, I’d confront him. I’ve always been that way. Maybe it comes from having older brothers and sharing the bathroom with them or whatever. But when you’re that aggressive in junior high, the boys get the wrong impression of you. They mistake your forwardness for sexual promiscuity. Then when they don’t get what they think they’re going to get, they turn on you. I went through this whole period of time when the girls thought I was really loose and all the guys called me nympho. I was necking with boys like everybody else was. The first boy I ever slept with had been my boyfriend for a long time, and I was in love with him. So I didn’t understand where it all came from. I would hear words like slut that I hear now. It’s sort of repeating itself. I was called those names when I was still a virgin. I didn’t fit in and that’s when I got into dancing. I shut off from all of that and I escaped...My image to people, I think, is that I’m this brazen, aggressive young woman who has an O.K. voice with some pretty exciting songs, who wears what she wants to wear and says what she wants to say and who has potential as an actress. Sex symbol? That is such a weird question. I guess I would be perceived as that because I have a typically voluptuous body and because the way I dress accents my femininity, and because a lot of what I am about is just expressing sexual desire and not really caring what people think about it. Maybe that would make you a sex symbol, I don’t know...I think it goes beyond sexuality. Maybe my fearlessness and courage give people a good feeling. I think I have a real sweetness inside and love for life and a good sense of humor. Maybe people see that. I think a lot of people are afraid to express themselves that way, so maybe they feel they can attach themselves to an innocence and joy. I believe that dreams come true: that you can do what you want to do...It all has to do with an attitude and loving yourself the way you are...There has been the feeling that it’s not right to want to dress up and be feminine, because women think that if they indulge in that, men won’t respect them or take them seriously. Maybe kids now see someone in the public eye doing what I do. Maybe that’s the phenomenon and why young girls are dressing up like me because finally someone else is showing that it’s O.K...To call me an antifeminist is ludicrous. Some people have said that I’m setting women back 30 years. Well, I think in the ’50s, women weren’t ashamed of their bodies. I think they luxuriated in their sexuality and being strong in their femininity. I think that is better than hiding it and saying, 'I’m strong, I’m just like a man.' Women aren’t like men. They can do things that men can’t do. If people don’t get the humor in me or my act, then they don’t want to get it. If ten year olds can get it and laugh, then an adult surely can ... I’d love to be a memorable figure in the history of entertainment in some sexual comic-tragic way. I’d like to leave the impression that Marilyn Monroe did, to be able to arouse so many different feelings in people ... [I like] her innocence and her sexuality and her humour and her vulnerability ... Hopefully I’ll be incredibly mellow and wise with age. Not mellow, but very wise and still just as mischievous and childlike and wondering as I am now."

'Like A Virgin' was a worldwide smash, going to six in Norway; five in France; three in Austria, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland; two in Australia and Japan;  and number one in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US.  Four of the five singles from the album reached number one somewhere, while another single 'Crazy For You' from the 'Vision Quest' soundtrack became another number one smash around the same time.  'Like A Virgin'  has sold over twenty-one million copies worldwide.  









http://www.madonna.com/




"Like a Virgin" became her first number one single on the US pop chart, breaking into the top ten around the world and topping the charts in Australia and Canada as well.  The song became a lightning rod for critics who saw her as a bad influence on the minds of the young.  Madonna says:  "I was surprised by how people reacted to "Like a Virgin" because when I did that song, to me, I was singing about how something made me feel a certain way—brand-new and fresh—and everyone interpreted it as I don't want to be a virgin anymore. Fuck my brains out! That's not what I sang at all. "Like a Virgin" was always absolutely ambiguous."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHW5RVvg2v4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s__rX_WL100








"Into The Groove"  was another worldwide smash, going to number one in Australia, Italy, the UK, and on the US dance chart.   It was added to later versions of the album in other countries; but never appeared on the US release.  It was Madonna's first producer credit.  





"Material Girl" was a number one dance hit and a number two pop hit.  The video mimics a dance routine performed by Marilyn Monroe in the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the film 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'.







"Dress You Up"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5IHOEeUJhk










'Like A Virgin' 
full album:




All songs produced by Nile Rodgers, except "Into the Groove", produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray.


1. "Material Girl"   Peter Brown, Robert Rans 4:00
2. "Angel"   Madonna, Bray 3:56
3. "Like a Virgin"   Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg 3:38
4. "Over and Over"   Madonna, Bray 4:12
5. "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"   Miles Gregory 4:47
6. "Into the Groove"   Madonna, Bray 4:43
7. "Dress You Up"   LaRusso, Stanziale 4:01
8. "Shoo-Bee-Doo"   Madonna 5:16
9. "Pretender"   Madonna, Bray 4:30
10. "Stay"   Madonna, Bray 4:07

like a prayer

Madonna poured her personal pain into the music and made her most powerful artistic statement with this controversial pop confession.  The increasing success of her first three albums ('Madonna', 'Like A Virgin', and 'True Blue') had made her an international superstar; but, at the same time, her marriage with Sean Penn was falling apart.  The real life drama of their relationship fed into the creative process for her next album.  

Madonna would reveal:   "I sort of get into certain kinds of moods. And then all the songs I write come out of that mood. I don’t say to myself, Now I’m going to be in that mood. It just happens...Listen to a song like "Like a Virgin," and then listen to "Live to Tell." There’s a different mood in each one. They’re the same person, but it’s just my desire to focus on something different because of a mood I’m in. All the changes in my so-called image are just different facets of me. It’s a matter of what you choose to focus on and how deeply you want to go into it. It’s a matter of being specific, I guess...[The press focus on image over music] used to annoy me, but now it doesn’t anymore. Because somehow I feel that, as much as people complain and moan and groan and criticize me, they’re affected by me. I’ve touched a nerve in them somehow...I didn’t have the censors on me in terms of emotions or music. I did take a lot more chances with this one, but obviously success gives you the confidence to do those things...Sometimes, the music is sort of there, already written by either Pat Leonard or Stephen Bray. They give it to me and it inspires or insinuates a lyric or feeling. Then I write out the words in a free form, and we change the music to fit the form. Other times I’ll start out with lyrics, or I’ll have written a poem and I’ll want to put that to music. Then I end up changing the words a little bit to make them more musical. Sometimes I’ll hear the melody in my head. I don’t write music and I don’t read music, so I’ll go to Pat Leonard, who is an extremely talented musician, and I’ll sing it to him and make him play it, making chords out of it. Then I write the words to the song...I write all the lyrics myself... I’ve worked with live musicians before, but this is the first time they were all together in one room, and we did most of the basic tracks with a band playing right there. I sang with them too, and we ended up keeping a lot of those vocals. It made it different, because obviously when the musicians are playing with you, you respond differently from when the track is already done, and you’re by yourself with the headphones on, overdubbing things.    This approach was more integral to the music. I mean, we had every intention of going back and fixing the vocals, but then we’d listen to them and say, 'Why? They’re fine.' They were a lot more emotional and spontaneous when I did them with the musicians. It’s probably because I didn’t feel the pressure of knowing that this was going to be the final vocal. So I decided not to go back and clean them up. There are weird sounds that your throat makes when you sing: p’s are popped, and s’s are hissed, things like that. Just strange sounds that come out of your throat, and I didn’t fix them. I didn’t see why I should. Because I think those sounds are emotions too...I wrote a lot of songs for the album, and then I went through a process of editing what I was going to keep or not. I feel that there is something that links all the songs together, a common theme having to do with Catholicism, family, relationships, things like that. I had written a lot of other songs, but I didn’t feel they went with the theme, so I cast them aside...My first couple of albums I would say came from the little girl in me, who is interested only in having people like me, in being entertaining and charming and frivolous and sweet. And this new one is the adult side of me, which is concerned with being brutally honest."

'Like a Prayer' went to number four in Australia; and number one in Austria, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.  The album has sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide.  

http://www.madonna.com/




The song "Like a Prayer" was originally used in an advertisement for Pepsi; but when the video sparked outrage and accusations of heresy and sacrilege, the endorsement deal was cancelled (although she was allowed to keep her fee).  The single became her seventh US chart-topper, going to number two in Austria, France, and Germany; and number one just about everywhere else.  Madonna says:   "Originally, when I recorded the song, I would play it over and over again, trying to get a visual sense of what sort of story or fantasy it evoked in me. I kept imagining this story about a girl who was madly in love with a black man, set in the South, with this forbidden interracial love affair. And the guy she’s in love with sings in a choir. So she’s obsessed with him and goes to church all the time. And then it turned into a bigger story, which was about racism and bigotry. I wanted to put something in about Ku Klux Klan, use burning crosses… but then 'Mississippi Burning' came out and I realized I was hitting the nail on the head a little too hard. Too obvious. So I thought I should take a slightly different approach. My original idea was much sadder. Kind of: this is reality, and reality sucks.   Then Mary Lambert got involved as the director, and she came up with a story that incorporated more of the religious symbolism I originally wrote into the song. The whole album has a lot of religious imagery in it. The video still has the sadness, but it’s got a hopeful ending. I mean, I had these ideas about me running away with the black guy and both of us getting shot in the back by the KKK. Completely insane. So Mary made it more palatable."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fzeNUqQbQ&feature=kp





"Express Yourself" peaked at number two in the US; and number one in Canada, Italy, and Switzerland.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8





"Cherish" went to number two in the US and number one in Canada.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q2WS6ahCnY





"Oh Father"







"Keep It Together"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gco7FCwyExY





"Dear Jessie"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGYmN-1UQzI&feature=kp







'Like a Prayer' 
full album:  



1. "Like a Prayer"   Madonna, Patrick Leonard Madonna, Leonard 5:39
2. "Express Yourself"   Madonna, Stephen Bray Madonna, Bray  4:39
3. "Love Song" (with Prince) Madonna, Prince Rogers Nelson 4:52
4. "Till Death Do Us Part"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 5:16
5. "Promise to Try"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 3:36
6. "Cherish"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 5:03
7. "Dear Jessie"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 4:20
8. "Oh Father"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 4:57
9. "Keep It Together"   Madonna, Bray Madonna, Bray   5:03
10. "Spanish Eyes"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 5:15
11. "Act of Contrition"   Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Leonard 2:19

madonna

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone started a revolution with her unique fashion style and infectious bubblegum disco.  She had left her dance scholarship at the University of Michigan behind to pursue a career in dance in New York City.  While working small jobs, she performed in modern dance troupes and formed the bands Breakfast Club and Emmy and the Emmys.   She convinced DJ and record producer Mark Kamins to play the tape of her song 'Everybody' one night at the Danceteria nightclub in New York.   The crowd response convinced Kamins to help her get a record deal. After being rejected by Island, she signed with Sire Records founder Seymour Stein for two 12" singles.  Her first single was produced by Kamins who worked closely with his friend Arthur Baker and studio musician Fred Zarr on the awkward first session for both Madonna and him.  'Everybody' went to number three on the US dance chart and led to an album deal.  She started recording tracks with Warner Brothers producer Reggie Lucas, who also brought two of his own songs ('Borderline' and 'Physical Attraction') to the project; but, after a disagreement over the sound of the finished tracks, Lucas left without changing anything.  Madonna enlisted  a DJ at Funhouse disco John "Jellybean" Benitez to help her finish the album.  Benitez was also able to provide a new song for the album:  'Holiday'.  

The album credits would eventually include Madonna on vocals, background vocals, and cowbell; Tina B. , Christine Faith, Gwen Guthrie, Brenda White, and Norma Jean Wright on background vocals; Dean Gant on synthesizer, piano, and electric piano; Curtis Hudson, Reggie Lucas, Paul Pesco, and Ira Siegel on guitar; Raymond Hudson on bass; Anthony Jackson on electric bass; Bashiri Johnson on percussion; Bob Malach on tenor saxophone; Ed Walsh on synthesizer; and Fred Zarr (appearing on every track) on synthesizer, piano, drums, electric piano, Moog synthesizer, Fender Rhodes, and Moog bass.  

Madonna would explain her ambitions at the time:   "Stardom...I want to make a lot of love.  I don’t think about money. It just gets there. Up until a year ago I was still broke and living on the street. But I still feel the same way. Money will never be a problem for me. If you worry about it, it’s a problem...I’m always fallin' in love. But I get in trouble because I think it’s love then I realize it’s not, but the other hperson is in love and then I have this problem til I think it’s love again and have the courage to get out of the last one...Fantasies are essential. Without fantasies I would have died of starvation."

'Madonna' slowly worked its way up the charts, going gold after a year and a half and eventually selling over ten million copies worldwide.  It charted at number twenty-eight in Germany, twenty in Japan and on the US R&B chart, sixteen in Canada, fifteen in Austria, ten in Australia, eight in France and in the US, seven in the Netherlands, six in New Zealand and the UK, and number two in Sweden.  

Madonna looks back:   "The songs were pretty weak and I went to England during the recordings so I wasn't around...I wasn't in control...I didn't realize how crucial it was for me to break out of the disco mold before I'd already finished the album. I wish I could have got a little more variety there ... From the very beginning of my career, people have been writing shit about me and saying, 'She's a one-hit wonder, she'll disappear after a year' ... The ones that said I was talentless, that I was chubby, that I couldn’t sing, that I was a one-hit wonder. They pushed me to be better, and I am grateful for their resistance.”








http://www.madonna.com/

"Everybody"  went to number three on the US dance chart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOqr_x_9fMc

"Burning Up" caught fire at number thirteen in Australia and number three on the US dance chart. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pufec0Hps00

"Holiday" (Curtis Hudson, Lisa Stevens) made it to number thirty-two in Canada, twenty-six in Italy, eighteen in Switzerland, sixteen on the US pop chart, eleven in the Netherlands, nine in Germany, four in Australia, two in the UK, and number one on the US dance chart. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rswx2Z7SDw

"Lucky Star"  hit thirty-six in Australia, fourteen in the UK, eight in Canada, four on the US pop chart, and number one on the US dance chart. 





"Borderline" crossed over to thirty-six in Germany, twenty-five in Canada, twenty-three in Switzerland, twelve in Australia, ten on the US pop chart, four on the US dance chart, and number two in the Netherlands and the UK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSaC-YbSDpo






'Madonna'
full album:



(writing credits) producer(s)

1. "Lucky Star"   (Madonna) Reggie Lucas, John "Jellybean" Benitez  5:37
2. "Borderline"   (Lucas) Lucas 5:18
3. "Burning Up"   (Madonna) Lucas, Benitez  3:45
4. "I Know It"   (Madonna) Lucas 3:47
5. "Holiday"   (Curtis Hudson Lisa Stevens)  Benitez 6:08
6. "Think of Me"   (Madonna) Lucas 4:54
7. "Physical Attraction"   (Lucas)    Lucas Benitez  6:39
8. "Everybody"   (Madonna) Mark Kamins 4:57

bonus tracks
9. "Burning Up" (12" Version) Madonna   Lucas Benitez   5:59
10. "Lucky Star" ("New" Mix) Madonna Lucas Benitez 7:15

ray of light

Madonna revitalized her career with the adventurous musical exploration of this warm spiritual embrace of motherhood with smooth and serious layers of electronica.  In the years leading up to 'Ray of Light', she had a streak of albums that were considered disappointments commercially when compared to the massive success of her albums in the 80's and then found critical validation in the role of  Eva Perón for the film 'Evita' for which she won a Golden Globe.  Madonna Louise Ciccone took some time off from recording to give birth to her first child, daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.  This was a period of introspection for her and she became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah
which influenced the music on her new album.  

Madonna began collaborating with Babyface; but felt the songs they came up with were too much like her previous work.  Next, she connected with songwriter Rick Nowels and they wrote seven songs in nine days together.  She also wrote songs with producer Patrick Leonard; but decided that she wanted someone else to produce the album with her.  She connected with British electronic artist William Orbit and invited him to work on the new album with her:   "I was a huge fan of William's earlier records, Strange Cargo 1 and 2 and all that. I also loved all the remixes he did for me and I was interested in fusing a kind of futuristic sound but also using lots of Indian and Moroccan influences and things like that, and I wanted it to sound old and new at the same time."   

The sessions took place over five months in Los Angeles at Larrabee Studios North at Universal City with only producer William Orbit, engineer Pat McCarthy, and his assistant engineer, Matt Silva in the control room with Madonna.  Orbit recalls:  "It took a long time to do the album, months. And it wasn't like we were slacking. We actually did have to work fast, and there were many times when we had to move on. One of Madonna's favorite phrases was: 'Don't gild the lily.' In other words, keep it rough, and don't perfect it too much. It's a natural urge for computer buffs to perfect everything because they can, and we were very wary of that."

Madonna says:    "I feel like everybody I work with, I push them to another level. When I work with people who seem uptight, I open them up. I try to get them to go off the beaten path, to improvise and throw the rules out the window. When I work with somebody who’s very chaotic and disorganized like William, then I have to opposite effect : I toe the line and become more focused. Crack the whip. William’s a genius, but he’s completely disorganized...It was a kind of a culture shock. We had lots of problems. Things went haywire and everyone got frustrated because we were working with samples and synth sounds and Pro Tools and not with Live misicians, and shit would keep breaking down and nobody would know how to fix it. We’d be sitting there relying on one machine, and I’d be thinking, 'This is fucked'. So we had a lots of uphill battles. But we got through it...What I wanted was his sensibility, the textures, the really high-tech sounds. But William also works from a very melancholy place. I’ve been a big fan of his for years and I just knew our collaboration would be something beautiful."

With its stirring mix of ambient, classical, drum and bass, rock, techno, trip hop, and world music, 'Ray of Light' was a universal success, going to seven in Japan; six in Portugal; four in Malaysia; two in Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Sweden, and the US; and number one in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the European top 100, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.   'Ray of Light' secured six Grammy nominations and won four:  Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Recording Package, Best Dance Recording, and Best Short Form Music Video.  The album had been nominated for Album of the Year and the title song for Record of the Year.  It has sold over sixteen million copies worldwide.  

Madonna considers:   "My daughter came to visit me every day in the studio so there were lots of baby interruptions; that’s new. Mostly, though, I look at more musical chances. I let William play Mad professor. He comes from a very experimental, cutting-edge sort of place, he’s not a trained musician -and I’m used to working with classically trained musicians- but I knew that’s where I wanted to go,so I took a lot more risks Oftentimes the creative process was frustrating because I wasn’t used to it; it took a lot longer than usual to make this record. But I realize now that I need that time to get where I was going...It happens differently every time. In William’s case, he would often given me tapes of snippets he was working on, eight-bar phrases, 16-bar phrases, stripped-down versions of what you hear on the record. And I’d listen to them over and over and it would just inspire lyrics. I’d start writing a little bit and then I’d go back to William say, 'Okay, let’s expand on this musical idea.' And as we’d expand on this music, I’d expand on the lyrics. That was true for most everything except for the album’s last track, 'Mer Girl'. I decided I would write a song to the music as given to me, and when William asked me if I wanted to do something with it, I said, 'I want it just like it is, I want you to put the tape up right now and I’m gonna sing to it .' And did it in one take. For 'Frozen', a song wrote with Pat Leonard, I was obsessed with the movie The Sheltering Sky and the whole Moroccan orchestral superromantic man carrying the woman he loves across the desert vibe. So I told Pat that I wanted something with a tribal feel, something really lush and romantic. When he started playing some music, I justed turned the DAT on and started freeassociating and came up with the melody...I studied with a vocal coach for 'Evita' and I realized there was a whole piece of my voice I wasn’t using. Before, I just believe I had a really limited range and was going to make the most of it. Then I started studying with a coach. God bless her. My secret dream is to sing Italian at songs, so at the end of my lesson my teacher would let me sing Italian operetta. Maybe that affected me unconsciously...I don’t think that a lot of soul searching is going on in soul music these days, so in that respect it’s pretty disappointed and uninspiring. There are definitely artists whom I respect and edmire, but for the most part R&B is not what it used to be...I feel a lot more aware of the influence and the impact I have on people. In the beginning of my career I just did whatever I wanted to and if it made me feel good, If it was fun, that was cool. Now I feel like everybody we do -the movies we make, the music, the stuff that’s on television- affects society in a potent way. I feel a sense of responsibility because my consciousness has been raised and I would like it impart the wisdom I have to others without being corny or preachy...It’s just a process, a process of asking questions, making mistakes, and being hurt. My daughter has had a lot to do with it. Having a child and questioning my own mortality and feeling incredibly responsible for someone else’s life and being aware of how my behavior affects her you have to step back and realize that we all affect each other."










http://www.madonna.com/







'Ray of Light' made it to number thirty-two in Switzerland; thirty-one in Austria; twenty-eight in Germany; twenty-five in Belgium; eighteen in France; seventeen in the Netherlands; sixteen in Ireland; fourteen in Sweden; nine on the Eurochart and in New Zealand; six in Australia; five in Japan and the US; three in Canada; two in Finland, Italy, and the UK; and number one in Spain and on the US dance chart.  The song won Grammys for Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video and was nominated for Record of the Year.  The video was nominated for eight MTV awards and won six.  





Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
Shes got herself a universe gone quickly
For the call of thunder threatens everyone
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
Faster than the speeding light she's flying
Trying to remember where it all began
Shes got herself a little piece of heaven
Waiting for the time when earth shall be as one
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light
Quicker than a ray of light
Quicker than a ray of light
Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
Shes got herself a universe gone quickly
For the call of thunder threatens everyone
And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light
Then gone for
Someone else shall be there
Through the endless years
Shes got herself a universe
Shes got herself a universe
Shes got herself a universe
And I feel
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
Quicker than a ray of light Im flying







'Frozen' went to number five in Australia and New Zealand; four in Ireland; two in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Eurochart, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US; and number one in Finland, Italy, Spain, and the UK.  




'Drowned World / Substitute For Love'
hit forty-three in the Netherlands, forty-two in France, forty-one in Sweden, thirty-nine in Germany, thirty-four in Austria, thirty-one in Switzerland, twenty-one in New Zealand, eighteen in Canada, sixteen in Australia, ten in Japan and the UK, five in Italy, and number one in Spain. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEItzaWmSwY




'The Power Of Good-Bye' charted at thirty-three in Australia; twenty-five in New Zealand; twenty-three in Ireland; twenty-one in France; twenty in Belgium; eleven in the US; eight in Switzerland; seven in Japan; six in Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK; four in Austria, Finland, and Germany; three in Sweden; and number two on the Eurochart and in Spain.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHydngA5C4E





'Nothing Really Matters' charted at ninety-three on the US hot 100; forty-eight in France; forty-one in Sweden; thirty-nine in Belgium; thirty-eight in Germany; thirty-four in the Netherlands; twenty-nine in Austria; twenty-eight in Ireland; twenty-six in Switzerland; sixteen on the Eurochart; fifteen in Australia; seven in Italy, New Zealand, and the UK; six in Canada and Finland; and number one in Spain and on the US dance chart.   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAVx9RKaLPU

'Ray of Light'
full album:




1. Drowned World / Substitute For Love
(Madonna, William Orbit, Rod McKuen, Anita Kerr, David Collins )
2. Swim 
(Madonna, Orbit)
3. Ray Of Light 
 (Madonna, Orbit, Clive Maldoon, Dave Curtiss, Christine Ann Leach) 
4. Candy Perfume Girl 
  (Madonna, Orbit, Susannah Melvoin) 
5. Skin 
 (Madonna, Patrick Leonard ) 
6. Nothing Really Matters 
  (Madonna, Leonard)  
7. Sky Fits Heaven 
  (Madonna, Leonard)  
8. Shanti / Ashtangi
 (Madonna, Orbit) 
9. Frozen 
  (Madonna, Leonard)  
10. The Power Of Good-Bye 
 (Madonna, Rick Nowels)  
11. To Have And Not To Hold 
 (Madonna, Nowels)  
12. Little Star 
 (Madonna, Nowels)  
13. Mer Girl 
 (Madonna, Orbit) 
14. Has To Be 
 (Madonna, Orbit, Leonard)  









Drowned World tour


1. "Drowned World/Substitute for Love"
2. "Impressive Instant"
3. "Candy Perfume Girl"
4. "Beautiful Stranger"
5. "Ray of Light"
6. "Paradise (Not for Me)"
7. "Frozen"
8. "Open Your Heart"
9. "Nobody's Perfect"
10. Medley: "Mer Girl" / "Sky Fits Heaven" / "Mer Girl"
11. "What It Feels Like for a Girl"
12. "I Deserve It"
13. "Don't Tell Me"
14. "Human Nature"
15. "The Funny Song"
16. "Secret"
17. "Gone"
18. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
19. "Lo Que Siente la Mujer"
20. "La Isla Bonita"
21. "Holiday"

22. "Music"