Madonna

[Angeman]

Debatable. Of course it's all speculation and we all have our personal preferences or opinions but for instance I don't think KIT was a strong single. Bedtime story, one of my favorite Madonna songs ever, killed the BS promo. HN as 3rd single would probably have done better. And I still think Jump , while a nice song, was not the strongest choice to close the COADF promo.

See those are the interesting opinions i was talking about. Jump and KIT are two ready made for radio singles. They have a traditional song structure and beat that goes well with radio. Bedtime Story doesnt iill give you that one but I still think it was single worthy.

Besides what order songs should have been released from an album is not what im talking about. The orginal discussion was for "filler" songs and Bedtime Story, KIT, Jump are not filler.

[Artoo]

See those are the interesting opinions i was talking about. Jump and KIT are two ready made for radio singles. They have a traditional song structure and beat that goes well with radio. Bedtime Story doesnt iill give you that one but I still think it was single worthy.

Besides what order songs should have been released from an album is not what im talking about. The orginal discussion was for "filler" songs and Bedtime Story, KIT, Jump are not filler.

KIT is utter trash though

[Angeman]

KIT is utter trash though

Yet will always have the distiction of being the finale in her most iconic show ❤️

[Artoo]

Yet will always have the distiction of being the finale in her most iconic show ❤️

Aka the ‘let’s go beat the traffic’ song.

[Artoo]

NOTICE

Due to excessive usage, only social media posts made by Madonna or an official, reputable and verified source can be posted in this thread.

l) Where social media embedding is enabled (i.e. the ability to embed Tweets, YouTube videos), we expect posters to make use of this function sparingly and appropriately and only by exception should the facility be used more than once per post. The moderation team reserves the right to amend posts where we feel this hasn't been the case.

We have discussed this before and it brings little to no value. If you want to discuss something, please discuss it - don’t just post random twitter links and say absolutely nothing about what you’re posting. It is utterly pointless and serves no purpose. If you want to post photos of something added to social media, post it as a photo and not a twitter link. UKMIX is a discussion board - please use it as a place to discuss Madonna.

That said, I’ll be very happy to revisit this if there is a genuine need to allow social media posts that are not made by Madonna or a reputable source. For clarity, posts by Rhino are permitted.

[Artoo]

Twenty years ago, on the 5th April 2003, Madonna made Billboard history when American Life debuted on the Hot 100 at #90 - it was the very first song to ever chart on pure downloads, despite Madonna pulling her own video days beforehand.

American Life will always be my favourite Madonna album. It’s basically the middle of her career right now and it’s interesting to revisit the interviews she gave at the time, discussing fame, fortune, religion and the meaning of life. She never fully recovered from the backlash she received, and in many ways it was the start of a new and different wave of ‘it’s okay to hate on Madonna now’ - primarily because of her interest in Kabbalah, but also because she was showing signs of aging.

I guess the album is a little dated now, but I will love it forever. It’s a genuine masterpiece.

[Forreal]

^ AL it’s indeed great, grown on me so much over the years

[Forreal]

The infamous X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS Book by Madonna and Steven Klein is back for sale now! #art

The book signed by Steven Klein retails for 5000$, signed by both Madonna and Steven Klein for 8000$. Limited to 1000 units each with individual numbers.

Available here:
https://stevenklein.us/collections/b...37190864306339

[Artoo]

A signed book bargain at $8000

I’ll save my money and dig out the PDF copy I’m sure I have floating around somewhere

[sve]

I find it very interesting that M had 3 huge peaks, the first one from Like a Virgin to This Used to Be My Playground, after that, she had her first crisis, the Erotica era, and she was able to return in 1998, but in the US she was never as big as before. Her second peak, from Frozen to Die Another Day, brought Madonna to be in her own league again WW, Frozen being the third most played song in Europe in 1998, Beautiful Stranger the second most played in 1999, American Pie the second most played in 2000 and Dont tell me the most played in 2001. She was big in the US, but nothing close to her early days. Her second crisis, the American Life era, would lead to the same scenario, total recovery in most of the world, bringing her third peak, from Hung Up to the Superbowl, whit Madge reaching the same status as before, but again weaker in the US.

Madonna went from vinyl to CDs, then to the digital era in a very wise way, by the last peak, she decided to focus on tour sales rather than albums and singles, and from the Confessions tour up to MDNA Tour, she was the number one force in the business. Unfortunately, she went too far with this idea, ignoring her albums and the planning of hit singles that maintained her at the top for almost three decades. She did not create a new fan base that would maintain her star power.

I believe also she and her time had some mistakes in single choices, BS could have been a top five in the US, American Pie at least a top ten, and there was the amazing/impressive instant debacle (both were missed top-five hits), Into the Groove was at least a missed American top 3, Gambler at least a top ten, Soner or Later a top ten hit (after the Oscars). But also, Oh Father was never the strongest choice, Spanish Eyes was a new La Isla Bonita waiting to be a global hit. Drowned World was way weaker than Skin and Skys Fits Heaven, and Hollywood was better than American Life. I won't talk about post-SB, mostly because I disagree with almost every step she took.

I miss her workaholic days when she had a new project all the time, but over and over, she rushed her projects. She became the biggest single act this way, but she had to sacrifice some big hits and album sales. A Madonna era was meant to last for a year, an MJ era for 3 years. Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a prayer ROF had legs for at least one other big single. Later her eras became even shorter, Music, Confessions and HC were discarded too soon.

During the first half of her career, Madonna worked really hard on soundtracks, which gave her some big moments, but she had difficulties on timing. WTG killed True Blue in 1987, but by 1988 there was no project running, Im breathless killed Like a Prayer before being killed by TIC, but by 1991 she was already on hiatus. GHV2 could have been supported by BS, AP, or DAD, but was released alone. Masterpiece was never prepared for supporting MDNA or becoming another oscar moment.

Another group of missed opportunities was the songs that could have been singles but were not even released, for example Like a Flower, History, Triggering, or Across the Sky. There was space on compilations, remixes, or live albums that should have been used as a way to expose the general public to new songs. By that time, her name alone was enough for making some top ten around most of the world.

[Artoo]

Madonna went from vinyl to CDs, then to the digital era in a very wise way, by the last peak, she decided to focus on tour sales rather than albums and singles, and from the Confessions tour up to MDNA Tour, she was the number one force in the business. Unfortunately, she went too far with this idea, ignoring her albums and the planning of hit singles that maintained her at the top for almost three decades. She did not create a new fan base that would maintain her star power.

That’s a fair assessment. One thing I would add is that the transition from physical sales to digital sales wasn’t as kind to Madonna as a lot of people make out.

Warner did very well by her in continuing to release physical media across the 2000s, and this absolutely helped her chart positions - but aside from her lead singles, her follow up singles did pretty poorly on paid downloads. The single was dying a slow death back then and in the UK for example, releasing three physical singles (usually two CDs and a 12”/picture disc) helped gain top ten positions. Warner UK even held Get Together back for months after it was released in the rest of the world, releasing it as the Confessions Tour reached British shores (the strategy paid off).

I would also add that back when Madonna signed the Live Nation deal, streaming wasn’t even an idea. Had the world continued with physical media and downloads, everything might have turned out very well.

As she wasn’t signed to a record label (it was simply an outsourced distribution agreement with Interscope) there was evidently no creative partnership and thus little investment from them in making the records a priority. As such, we have no idea what sort of relationship there was with Interscope (if any), and we have no idea how limiting the 360 deal actually was in terms of releasing music.

For example, there could have easily been a clause that stopped her working with Warner to emphasis her catalogue etc. I only say this as Madonna basically returned to Warner as soon as the Live Nation deal was completed, and her digital presence began increasing.

I believe also she and her time had some mistakes in single choices, BS could have been a top five in the US, American Pie at least a top ten, and there was the amazing/impressive instant debacle (both were missed top-five hits), Into the Groove was at least a missed American top 3, Gambler at least a top ten, Sooner or Later a top ten hit (after the Oscars). But also, Oh Father was never the strongest choice, Spanish Eyes was a new La Isla Bonita waiting to be a global hit. Drowned World was way weaker than Skin and Skys Fits Heaven, and Hollywood was better than American Life. I won't talk about post-SB, mostly because I disagree with almost every step she took.

There was something posted a few pages back about how Madonna was supposedly furious that Crazy For You was being released as a single, as she thought it might have harmed sales of the Like a Virgin album. That is probably why Into The Groove was never a formal single in the US, and why they used it to sell copies of Angel - selling two Madonna songs at the same time.

The US market moves slower than most other music markets, which is probably why Gambler was never a single in the US. Bedtime Stories and American Pie weren’t physically released there as a means of trying to sell more copies of their OSTs.

Releasing Sooner or Later in 1991 made little sense, considering Madonna had released The Immaculate Collection by, had completed Blond Ambition Tour, stopped promoting Dick Tracy and had split from Warren. The Oscars were also days before Warner planned on releasing Rescue Me, which was getting significant radio support.

I think Madonna and Warner hoped Oh Father would become another Live To Tell moment, and had it worked, it’s quite possible Spanish Eyes could have been the follow up single (as an attempt to replicate La Isla Bonita). Perhaps when Oh Father flopped, they opted to release an uptempo song but clearly had little faith in Keep It Together, as they asked Madonna to record a b-side to help sales.

Hollywood was supposed to be the lead single (and name of the album), but plans changed quite last minute when American Life was recorded. I don’t personally think Hollywood was lead single material, the obvious choice to me was Nothing Fails.

Drowned World is one of the best songs she’s ever recorded and is a beautiful song that deserved to be released.

I miss her workaholic days when she had a new project all the time, but over and over, she rushed her projects. She became the biggest single act this way, but she had to sacrifice some big hits and album sales. A Madonna era was meant to last for a year, an MJ era for 3 years. Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a prayer ROF had legs for at least one other big single. Later her eras became even shorter, Music, Confessions and HC were discarded too soon.

I disagree. Madonna is still a workaholic, but she has simply adjusted her life to make time for her children. The swap happened once she split from Guy, and Rocco eventually leaving probably drove home where her priorities lay.

Warner essentially demanded a new album every 2.5 years from Madonna, which lead to their relationship breaking down. The Music era was cut short because Warner refused to release Impressive Instant, and then they went and released GHV2 against her wishes. Confessions only happened because Warner told her in 2004 they wanted to release an album in 2005.

The touring world changed when album sales dried up, which is also why Madonna eras became shorter - putting a tour on sale alongside the album (or shortly after release) helped drive sales more than subsequent singles would have. The death of the single meant there was no point in a label funding a music video, as it just wouldn’t recoup from additional album sales.

During the first half of her career, Madonna worked really hard on soundtracks, which gave her some big moments, but she had difficulties on timing. WTG killed True Blue in 1987, but by 1988 there was no project running, Im breathless killed Like a Prayer before being killed by TIC, but by 1991 she was already on hiatus. GHV2 could have been supported by BS, AP, or DAD, but was released alone. Masterpiece was never prepared for supporting MDNA or becoming another oscar moment.

I disagree.

If Warner thought an album had more legs, they would have slowed things down. Why would they release a sixth single from an album that had sold tens of millions, when they could release a brand new album and sell millions more? Add on the fact WTG promoted a Warner movie and Warner probably thought they were laughing all the way to the bank.

In someways her 1980s output matches what we saw in the download era with Gaga and in the streaming era with Taylor - the more releases the better.

Like a Prayer went as far as it could and no other single could have added another million or two sales to its total. Adding Vogue to I’m Breathless gave Warner two back to back years of huge Madonna sales, and The Immaculate Collection was a very cheap way of capitalising on Madonna’s infamy and re-selling the same songs to the same people for maximum profit.

It was the same with You Can Dance, where they spent relatively little on remixing existing songs, adding an outtake from True Blue and watching it sell five million copies. It was like printing money.

WE was Madonna’s big movie moment and she didn’t want it overshadowed by her music career. I understand that completely. What is unforgivable is that they ignored Oscar rules and got Masterpiece disqualified from the competition - there were only two qualifying entries that year and I think Madonna would have 100% won (against Elton and The Muppets).

Another group of missed opportunities was the songs that could have been singles but were not even released, for example Like a Flower, History, Triggering, or Across the Sky. There was space on compilations, remixes, or live albums that should have been used as a way to expose the general public to new songs. By that time, her name alone was enough for making some top ten around most of the world.

I think the only real missed opportunity was not adding History to Confessions Remixed and releasing it as a fully fledged remix album. It’s possible this was the plan as the released version of History is actually a remix, and we know Stuart remixed more songs that weren’t included in the version of Confessions Remixed we got - personally I have updated my digital version to include History and Jump, and it’s all the better for it.

[AndiIversen]

Bedtime Stories and American Pie weren’t physically released there as a means of trying to sell more copies of their OSTs.

Beautiful Stranger

[cdeolive]

One thing I never understood with Madonna was why she never released proper live singles to promote the album at the same time as the tour. They usually just release the umpteenth version of holiday and that's it. It would also have been a cheap way of having videos for new singles.

[Forreal]

Glad they scrapped it, lol

Tweet removed

[MDNHAY]

Huh what was removed?

[floridagrl]

Glad they scrapped it, lol

Tweet removed

What?

[Artoo]

For some reason there’s a whole bunch of reports online about Madonna trying to restore her face to her original one ahead of the tour. The world remains obsessed

[Forreal]

For some reason there’s a whole bunch of reports online about Madonna trying to restore her face to her original one ahead of the tour. The world remains obsessed

NY Post started it all……

Trash, trash and trash….

[Forreal]

Tweet removed

[Forreal]

Huh what was removed?

Oh it was a shooting made in her early days meant to promote “Lucky Star” ….. far from flattering stuff, she even looked way older than her age, glad it’s been scrapped

[Artoo]

glad it’s been scrapped

Agreed, the original artwork for her debut was not it.

[Forreal]

Why tweet are removed?

[Artoo]

Why tweet are removed?

Try reading the thread when you visit instead of just posting twitter links.

[Forreal]

Ah ok, sorry I interrupted your interesting duet with the other guy for an whole page……

Now let us know what we have to discuss about….. following your agenda, lol

[Artoo]

We can discuss anything you want.

There’s just no need to post twitter links in order to do so, but you won’t do that for some reason - you just want to regurgitate everything you see on Twitter and don’t engage in the thread. Case in point - on the last page alone you embedded posted three twitter links, two after I had issued the notice (that only twitter links should come from Madonna or an official, creditable and verified source) and didn’t even notice.

You don’t read the thread, you don’t engage, you don’t discuss, and you’re not the only one - and other users are being alienated. I gave you all fair warning that we’d stop social media links in this thread if they kept being posted excessively and without merit. So here we are.

But happy to discuss anything you’d like, if discussion is really what you want.