Saturday, April 30, 2011

STRYKER's Artist of the Month: Madonna

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone (Italian pronunciation: [tʃik̚ˈkoːne]); August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983. She followed it with a series of albums in which she found immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Throughout her career, many of her songs have hit number one on the record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes". Critics have praised Madonna for her diverse musical productions while at the same time serving as a lightning rod for religious controversy.
Her career was further enhanced by film appearances that began in 1979, despite mixed commentary. She won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in Evita (1996), but has received harsh feedback for other film roles. Madonna's other ventures include being a fashion designer, children's book author, film director and producer. She has been acclaimed as a businesswoman, and in 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million contract with Live Nation.
Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, behind Barbra Streisand, with 64 million certified albums. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the Billboard chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry.

Madonna singles discography

A young brunette standing on a bridge. A channel of water is visible behind her. The girl wears a light green see-through top with a black bustier underneath it and a black pant. She has a number of necklaces and bangles on her hand. Her coiffeured hair is tied back and she looks to the right. On the image, grey colored star like symbols are pasted, one of which has the word "Madonna" and "Like a Virgin" written in small letters."Like a Virgin" is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her second album of the same name. It was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records, as the first single from the album. The song appears on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009). It was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and produced by Nile Rodgers; Steinberg said that the song was inspired by his personal experiences of romance. It was chosen for Madonna by Michael Ostin of Warner Bros. Records after listening to a demo sung by Kelly. However, Rodgers initially felt that the song did not have a good enough hook and was not suitable for Madonna, but subsequently changed his opinion after the hook was stuck in his mind.
Musically "Like a Virgin" is a dance-oriented song, composed of two hooks. Madonna's voice is heard in a high register while a continuous arrangement of drums are heard along the bassline. The lyrics of the song is ambiguous and consists of hidden innuendo. In sexual terms, the lyrics can be interpreted in different ways for different people. "Like a Virgin" received positive reviews from contemporary as well as old critics, who frequently called it as one of the defining songs for Madonna. It became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching the top of the charts in Australia, Canada and Japan and the top-ten of the other countries.
The music video portrayed Madonna sailing down the riverways of Venice in a gondola, as well as roaming around a palace wearing a white wedding dress. With the video, scholars noted Madonna's portrayal of a sexually independent woman, the symbolism of the appearance of a man with lion's mask to that of Saint Mark, and compared the eroticism of the video to the vitality of the city of Venice. Madonna has performed the song in five of her concert tours, most recent being the Confessions Tour in 2006. Majority of the time, her performances of "Like a Virgin" has been associated with strong reaction and uproar from the media.
"Like a Virgin" has been covered by a number of artists and has appeared in feature films such as Reservoir Dogs, Moulin Rouge! and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. The song is noted for its profound effect on society. Family groups sought to ban it as they believed that the song promoted sex without marriage. On the other hand, Madonna's public persona of an indomitable, sexually unashamed, supremely confident woman was widely accepted by the younger generation who emulated her style and fashion. Scholars have credited "Like a Virgin" as the song which cemented her place in the pop music scene.

 

A blond female sits on a bed partially wrapping a mauve colored silk cloth around her. Her short hair is arranged roughly on her head. Above her image, the words "Madonna" is written in blue lowercase. Beneath the word, "Material Girl" is written on the right hand side."Material Girl" is a song by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on January 30, 1985, by Sire Records, as the second single from her second album Like a Virgin. It also appears slightly remixed on the 1990 greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, and in its original form on the 2009 greatest hits compilation, Celebration. The song was written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans, while Nile Rodgers produced the track. Madonna explained that the concept of the song was similar to her life's situation at that time. According to her, the song was provocative, hence she was attracted to it.
"Material Girl" incorporated New Wave music and consists of synth arrangements with a robotic voice repeating the hook. The lyrics identify with materialism, with Madonna asking for a rich and affluent life, rather than romance and relationships. Contemporary and old critics have frequently noted "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin" as the songs that made Madonna an icon. "Material Girl" was a commercial success, reaching the top-five in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan and United Kingdom. It reached the position two of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming her third top-five single there.
The music video was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The mimicked scenes are interspersed with scenes of a Hollywood director trying to win the heart of an actress, played by Madonna herself. Discovering that, contrary to her song, the young woman was not impressed by money and expensive gifts, he pretended to be penniless and succeeded in taking her out on a date. Scholars noted the symbology of the video and deduced it as a medium for promoting Madonna's image. She has performed the song in four of her world tours, most of them being mimicry of the song and the video.
"Material Girl" has been covered by a number of artists, including Britney Spears, The Chipettes and Hilary Duff. It has appeared in films like Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). Madonna has often remarked that she regrets recording "Material Girl" as the name became a pseudonym for her in mainstream media. The song has been labelled an empowering influence for women, and was

Three-fourth of the image consists of the picture of the left profile of a young blond woman. She has unkempt hair and wears a number of bangles on her left hand. A crucifix hangs from her left ear and a thin chain is visible on her neck. The other one-fourth of the image is black and on it the words "Madonna" and "Crazy For You" are written in yellow color, in between straight green lines."Crazy for You" is a song by American recording artist Madonna for the 1985 film Vision Quest. It was released on March 2, 1985 by Geffen Records as the first single from the soundtrack album of the film, and later included on the ballads compilation Something to Remember (1995). The song also appears as a remix on the greatest hits albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009), and was re-released as a single in the form of this remix on February 24, 1991 by Sire Records to promote the former of these two albums. Producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber, along with music director Phil Ramone, decided to use Madonna after listening to her previous recordings. They employed John Bettis and Jon Lind to write the song. After reading the script of the film, Bettis and Lind wrote the song about the situation in which the lead characters meet at a nightclub. Initial recording sessions did not impress Bettis and Lind, and they felt that "Crazy for You" would be dropped from the soundtrack. However, a new version was recorded which did impress them and was added to the album.
John "Jellybean" Benitez was the producer for the song, and it was a challenge for him, as previously he was associated with recording dance-pop songs only. Initially Warner Bros. Records did not want the song to be released as a single, since they believed that "Crazy for You" would take away the attention from Madonna's sophomore release Like a Virgin. In the end, Peters and Guber convinced Warner officials to greenlight the release of the single. "Crazy for You" ushered a new musical direction for Madonna, as previously she had not recorded any songs in the ballad genre. It features instrumentation from snare drums, harp, bass synthesizer and electric guitar. Lyrically the song talks about sexual desire between two lovers and consists of innuendos. It received positive reception from contemporary critics and scholars, and earned a Grammy Award nomination in 1986 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
The song became Madonna's second number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as well as reaching the peak position in the charts of Australia and Canada. It also reached number-two in the charts of Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, where it was released twice, once in 1985 and again in 1991. Madonna has performed "Crazy for You" in two of her concert tours – The Virgin Tour in 1985 and the Re-Invention World Tour in 2004. The performances were included in the home video releases of the tours. The song has been covered by a number of artists.

Portrait of a young blond woman against a black background. Only her face is highlighted. She sports flowing blond hair and blue eyes. Her face looks sombre and she looks a little to the right of the camera. Below her image, the word "Madonna" is written in capital letters across the length of the photo. On the bottom-right, the word "Live to Tell" is written in flowing pink color."Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range. It was produced by Leonard and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in mid-1986, later appearing as a remix on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection, in its original form on the 1995 ballads compilation album Something to Remember, and most recently on her third compilation album Celebration (again in its original form), released in September 2009.
The song includes instrumentation from guitars, keyboards, drums and a synthesizer, and its lyrics deals with deceit, mistrust and childhood scars. It is also about being strong, which Madonna recalled in an interview that she thought about her relationship with her parents, while writing the lyrics. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows Madonna's first image makeover, featuring her with a cleaner look, shoulder-length wavy golden blond hair, conservative wardrobe and subtle make-up. This toned down blond appearance was again inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
Released as the album's first single in March 1986, the song was a commercial success. It became Madonna's third number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and her first number-one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was generally well-received by music critics, who frequently referred to it as the best ballad of her career. The song faced controversy when Madonna performed it on her 2006 Confessions Tour wearing a crown of Thorns while hanging on a giant mirrored cross. The performance at Rome's Olympic Stadium was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church by religious leaders.


"Papa Don't Preach" is a dance-pop song by American singer and songwriter Madonna. The song was written by Brian Elliot with additional lyrics by Madonna, and produced by Stephen Bray and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in June 1986. The song also appears remixed on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection and in its original form on the 2009 compilation album Celebration. The song's musical style combines pop and classical rhythms, and its lyrics deal with teenage pregnancy and abortion. It was based on teen gossip he heard outside Elliot's studio, which has a large front window that doubles as a mirror where schoolgirls from the North Hollywood High School in Los Angeles regularly stopped to fix their hair and chat.
Released as the album's second single in mid-1986, the song was a commercial success. It became Madonna's fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and performed well internationally, reaching the top position in the United Kingdom and Australia. It was well-received by music critics and was frequently cited as a highlight in the album. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows Madonna's second image makeover, featuring her with a more toned and muscular body, and cropped platinum blonde hair. It portrayed a storyline, where Madonna is trying to tell her father about her pregnancy. The images are juxtaposed with shots of Madonna dancing and singing in a small, darkened studio, and spending a romantic evening with her boyfriend.
Shortly after its release, the song caused heated discussions about its lyrical content. Women's organizations and others in the family planning field criticized Madonna for encouraging teenage pregnancy, while groups opposed to abortion saw it as a positive pro-life message. Madonna has performed "Papa Don't Preach" in three of her world tours. The song also caused her first conflict with the Vatican, as she dedicated it to Pope John Paul II, who urged Italian fans to boycott her concerts during the Who's That Girl World Tour in 1987. In 2002, the song was recorded as a hard rock version by British singer Kelly Osbourne, and was included as a bonus track on her debut album Shut Up.

"Who's That Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from the soundtrack album Who's That Girl of the motion picture of same name. It was released on June 30, 1987, by Sire Records as the first single from the album. It later appeared on the 1991 UK compilation EP The Holiday Collection, which was released to accompany the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection, and has since been included on the two-disc edition of her 2009 greatest hits album Celebration. While shooting for the film, then called Slammer, Madonna had requested Patrick Leonard to develop an uptempo song that captured the nature of her film persona. She later added the lyrics and vocals to the demo tape developed by Leonard, and decided to call both the song and the movie "Who's That Girl".
Featuring instrumentation from drums, bass, and stringed instruments, "Who's That Girl" continued Madonna's fascination with Hispanic culture by incorporating Spanish lyrics and using the effect of double vocals. Although it received mixed reactions from reviewers, the song became Madonna's sixth single to top the Billboard Hot 100, while peaking atop the charts in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium. It was also nominated for "Best Song From A Motion Picture" at the 1988 Grammy Awards and "Best Original Song" at the 1988 Golden Globe Awards.
The music video portrayed a different persona of Madonna, rather than her film character for which it was released. Like the song, it incorporated Hispanic culture and portrayed her dressed in Spanish style as a young lady in search of a treasure. It was criticized for not depicting her real self. Madonna performed the song once on the Who's That Girl World Tour in 1987. The song has been covered by many artists and has appeared in compilations and tribute albums.

"Like a Prayer" is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her fourth album of the same name. It was released on February 28, 1989 by Sire Records, as the first single from the album. An extended play entitled Remixed Prayers was released in Japan later that year. The song appears on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009). Written and produced in collaboration with Patrick Leonard, "Like a Prayer" emphasized a more artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, much like the rest of the album.
Musically "Like a Prayer" is a power pop song which incorporates funk and gospel themes. The lyrics of the song were inspired by Madonna's own Catholic upbringing. She described it as "the song of a passionate young girl so in love with God that it is almost as though He were the male figure in her life." The lyrics have also been seen as a metaphor for sexual intercourse, containing ambiguous innuendo referring to fellatio and orgasming. "Like a Prayer" received widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised Madonna's skilled songwriting and improved vocals. It became her seventh number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching the top of the charts in Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, among others, and the top-five of many other countries.
The accompanying music video led to a media storm of controversy. The video features Madonna as a woman who witnesses a murder and flees to church for safety. The clip incorporates many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses, and a dream about making love to a saint. The Vatican condemned the music video, while family and religious groups protested it. The song was featured in a television advertisement for soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, which was later removed from television following the controversy surrounding the music video. Madonna's contract with Pepsi was subsequently canceled. The song has been featured on three of Madonna's concert tours, most recently on the Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2009, and performed at charity events such as Live 8 and Hope for Haiti.
"Like a Prayer" has been covered by a number of artists and has appeared in feature films and television series such as Absolutely Fabulous, Never Been Kissed, and Glee. The song is noted for its profound effect on society, due to the controversy surrounding the music video. Alongside its respective album, "Like a Prayer" has been marked as a turning point in Madonna's career, as she began to be viewed as an artist rather than a mere pop singer.

"Express Yourself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the second single from her fourth studio album Like a Prayer on May 9, 1989 by Sire Records, and later appeared remixed on the 1989 Japanese mini-album Remixed Prayers and the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection. An abridged version of the video remix version of the song also appears on her 2009 greatest hits collection Celebration.






"Cherish" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the third single from her fourth studio album Like a Prayer on August 1, 1989 by Sire Records. It has since appeared in a shorter form on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection (also slightly remixed in this case) and the two-disc edition of her 2009 compilation of hits titled Celebration. The single included the previously unreleased track "Supernatural".


 

 "Keep It Together" is a funk/R&B song by American recording artist, song-writer, composer Madonna, it was released on January 30, 1990, by Sire Records as the 6th and final single of her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer.

 

 

 

 

"Vogue" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her soundtrack album I'm Breathless (Music from and Inspired by the film Dick Tracy) and was released on March 20, 1990, by Sire Records. Madonna was inspired by vogue dancer and choreographers Jose and Luis Xtravaganza from the Harlem "House Ball" community, the origin of the dance Vogue, and they introduced "Vogueing" to her at the New York City club "Sound Factory". Jose Xtravaganza is featured in the Historic Art Documentary How Do I Look, director Wolfgang Busch. It also appears in a slightly remixed and extended form on the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and Madonna's third greatest hits album, Celebration. "Vogue" has become one of Madonna's biggest worldwide hits by topping the charts in over 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. It also became Madonna's first multi-platinum single in the United States and has sold over six million copies worldwide.

"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit and even banned by MTV. This outraged Madonna and she appeared on ABC's Nightline to defend it. The single was also released as a video-single and became the highest selling video single of all time. When released, the single rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (her ninth number one) and many other worldwide charts. The single made number two in the UK Christmas charts, selling 228,683 copies.

"This Used to Be My Playground" is a song performed by Madonna. It is the theme for the film A League of Their Own, which starred Madonna as well as Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnell. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, and recorded as one of the last songs during the sessions for her 1992 studio album Erotica. Released in the summer, the single was a worldwide hit, spending one week at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in August 1992, and became Madonna's tenth chart topper, breaking her tie with Whitney Houston to become the female artist with the most number one singles at that time. It entered the charts in the UK top five, peaking at number three for two weeks and was another top five hit for Madonna in numerous other markets. The song earned Madonna a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Original Song".
Though featured in the film, it was not available on the soundtrack album, due to licensing restrictions that prohibited Madonna material from mixed or compiled with other singers on albums. It was originally available on the Olympics-inspired Barcelona Gold compilation album released that summer, but in a shorter edit than any of the versions on the commercial singles. It would later be featured on Madonna's 1995 ballads compilation, Something to Remember.
In spite of its commercial success, Madonna has never performed it in any of her concerts or media appearances. It also does not appear on succeeding greatest hits albums GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009). According to The Official Charts Company, the song has sold 275,000 copies there.


 

"Erotica" is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Madonna's fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). The single was released in October 1992 by Maverick Records, and later included on her greatest hits albums GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009). Released amidst a blaze of publicity and hype for the single and other projects at the time, "Erotica" became her first lead single from an album not to hit number one in the U.S. since her debut album in 1983. Fourteen years after its original release, the song received renewed attention with its inclusion in the set list for the Confessions Tour. The song, along with "Secret Garden", were the only Madonna songs used in her feature film debut as a director, Filth and Wisdom (2007).
"Erotica" continued Madonna's exploration of potent spoken-word vocals (as introduced in "Justify My Love") and was highly controversial when it was released due to its sexual theme and suggestive lyrics. Upon the song's release, the Vatican banned Madonna from entering the state and her music was banned on its radio stations. The song and its accompanying album are also banned in Lebanon.

Fever. In 1992, Madonna recorded a cover version of "Fever" for her fifth studio album Erotica. She was in the studio putting down tracks for her the album and had just recorded a song called "Goodbye to Innocence". She was going through the final stages of production on it when she suddenly started singing the lyrics to "Fever" over the top of it. Madonna liked the way it sounded so much that she recorded it. "Goodbye to Innocence" was never released on a Madonna album, although it did appear on Just Say Roe, a charity record, and a dub mix of it titled "Up Down Suite" was a bonus track to the "Rain" maxi-single.



"Rain" is a single by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was the fifth single release (fourth in U.S.) from her fifth studio album Erotica. It was released as the fourth and final American single on July 17, 1993 and on July 25, 1993 in the United Kingdom.









"I'll Remember" (shortened from "I'll Remember [Theme from With Honors]") is a song by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack single of the film With Honors. The song was a radical change in image and style for Madonna, who had received negative feedback, both critically and commercially, for the prior two years due to the release of her book Sex, the studio album Erotica and the film Body of Evidence. Warner Bros. decided to use Madonna as the vocalist for the song after noting that most of her previous soundtrack singles had achieved commercial success.
"I'll Remember" has characteristics of late Seventies styled songs. It utilizes a synthesized keyboard arrangement to bring about a continuously reverberating sound of heartbeat. Madonna's voice is supported by backing vocals. Contemporary critics praised the song, hailing it as one of her best work. It was nominated for "Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television" at the 37th Grammy Awards and "Best Original Song" at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards. After its release, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her fifth song to do so. It also reached number one in Canada and Italy. The accompanying music video portrayed Madonna singing the song in a stylized recording studio. Her look and style was compared to the imagery of the music video of previous single "Rain". The androgynous portrayal of Madonna smoking in the last shot was appreciated critically for breaking gender

"Secret" is a song by Madonna, released as the first single from her 1994 album Bedtime Stories. It was released in September 1994 and became a top ten hit around the world, including reaching number three in the United States and five in the UK. It was later included on her greatest hits compilations GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009).





"Take a Bow" is a song by American singer Madonna from her 1994 studio album Bedtime Stories. It has since also appeared on her compilation albums Something to Remember (1995), GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009). Released as a single in December 1994, it became her longest-running number-one hit in the United States. Madonna performed "Take a Bow" with Babyface at the 1995 American Music Awards. It was her first single to reach number one in the United States after 1992's "This Used to Be My Playground" and it was her last number 1 song in the United States in the 1990's.





"Human Nature" is the fourth and final single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories, released on June 6, 1995 by Maverick Records.










"You'll See" is a song by pop singer Madonna, from the ballads compilation Something to Remember. It was released on October 23, 1995 by Warner Bros. Records as the first single from the album.












"One More Chance" is a pop ballad song by American singer Madonna from the ballads compilation Something to Remember. It was released on March 7, 1996 by Maverick Records as the second single from the album. It was not released as a single in the U.S.









"You Must Love Me" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna from the soundtrack album Evita of the motion picture of the same name. It was released in October 1996 by Warner Bros. as the first single from the album. Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the song won an Academy Award in 1997. It was seen by critics as her "new adult, matriarchal image".
Featuring a simple, elegantly arranged melody, the single sold roughly 1.5 million copies worldwide and entered the top twenty in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The music video shows her while being eight months pregnant with her first child and scenes from the film Evita, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for best actress in a musical.

"Frozen" is a trip hop song by American singer Madonna from her 1998 album Ray of Light, written and produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard, and William Orbit. The song was released as the album's first single in February 1998.









"The Power of Good-Bye" (released as double A-side single with "Little Star" in the UK) is a pop ballad written by American singer Madonna and Rick Nowels for Madonna's seventh album Ray of Light (1998). It was produced by Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard, and received a positive reception from music critics. The song was released as a single in the fall of 1998 (see 1998 in music), and although it failed to match the chart success of its predecessor "Ray of Light", which reached the top five in several countries, it reached number one in Mexico, number four in Germany, the top ten in the United Kingdom and Canada, and the top twenty in the United States, where it became Madonna's thirty-seventh top-twenty single. It also peaked at #10 on Casey Kasem's American Top 40 and made it to #2 on Pat's Top 40 With Pat Buchanan, which was also a pop music countdown that was popular from 1993-2007.

Image shows Madonna sitting beside Justin Timberlake in front of a white background. She is wearing tight black leather pants and a T-shirt. Timberlake is similarly dressed. He has thin lines of beard around his face. The word "4 Minutes" is written in blue bold font on their picture."4 Minutes" (originally known as "4 Minutes to Save the World"), is a song by American singer–songwriter Madonna from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. The song's development was motivated by a sense of urgency to save the planet from destruction, and how people can enjoy themselves in the process. According to Madonna, the song inspired her to produce the documentary I Am Because We Are.
The song features vocals by American musicians Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. An uptempo dance song with an urban, hip hop style, it also incorporates Timbaland's bhangra beats. The instrumentation used in the song includes brass, foghorns and cow bells. The song's lyrics carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed.
"4 Minutes" has been praised by many contemporary critics. Some have noted, however, that Madonna rather than Timberlake appeared as more of a featured artist in the song. "4 Minutes" achieved worldwide success by reaching number one in twenty-one countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, "4 Minutes" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Madonna her 37th top-ten single, breaking the record previously held by Elvis Presley as the artist with most top-ten hits.
In the song's accompanying music video, Madonna and Timberlake sing and run away from a giant black screen that devours everything in its path. At the end of the video, Madonna and Timberlake are consumed by the screen. "4 Minutes" was performed by Madonna on the promotional tour for Hard Candy and the Sticky & Sweet Tour. In the latter, the song served as the opener of the rave segment, where Madonna wore a futuristic robotic dress. During performances of the song, Timberlake and Timbaland appeared on video screens and sang their lines. The song received two Grammy Award nominations for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" and "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical."