Today in Madonna History: March 19, 1989

March 19, 2026 By in 1989, March Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On March 19 1989, Madonna’s Like A Prayer stormed on to Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart, entering at #3. It would hit ARIA’s top spot the following week, nudging out The Fine Young Cannibal’s She Drives Me Crazy.

The two songs entered into an extended dance for the pole position, with Crazy reclaiming its spot for two weeks before handing it back again to Prayer. Then back to Crazy. Then Prayer.

Dizzy yet?

Our Aussie mates may be a tad indecisive with their hits – but they sure know how to pick ’em!

Today in Madonna History: March 18, 2005

March 18, 2026 By in 2005, March Tags: , , , 1 Comment

On March 18 2005, a resolution was reached in a UK copyright lawsuit (Coffey v Warner/Chappell Music Ltd. & Others) which alleged that elements of the Madonna & Patrick Leonard composition, Nothing Really Matters, had infringed on the copyright of claimant Elizabeth Coffey and her song, Forever After, performed by Peter Twomey.

The case took almost four years to reach the court and went under a considerable number of amendments by the plaintiff during that time. Coffey eventually alleged that the recording of Forever After included an original musical work, which consisted of the combination of vocal expression, pitch contour, and syncopation of or around the words “does it really matter,” but did not extend to the melody or lyrics surrounding those words.  She pleaded that the words “does it really matter” comprised the song’s lyrical hook and alleged that the copyright in Forever After was infringed by the defendants’ activities in relation to Nothing Really Matters.

In turn, the defendants moved to have the claim struck out as the method the plaintiff had identified the alleged copied elements was contrary to copyright law in general. Another defense offered was that, in any event, no copying had occurred.

The case was dismissed on the legal grounds that, in copyright, one cannot cherry pick the elements of the song that are the most similar in an attempt to build a stronger case. In his findings, the presiding Judge Blackburn, noted:
“The three somewhat elusive features identified by the claimant as her musical work cannot by any stretch of the imagination be said to be sufficiently separable from the remainder of the song as themselves to constitute a musical work. […] What the copyright work is in any given case is not governed by what the claimant alleging copyright infringement chooses to say that it is. Rather, it is a matter for objective determination by the court.”
A summary analysis and MIDI clip of the claimant’s song (which, incidentally, bears no perceivable resemblance to Nothing Really Matters) can be found here. The complete judgement in the lawsuit can be viewed here.

 

Today in Madonna History: March 17, 1998

March 17, 2026 By in 1998, March Tags: 1 Comment

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On March 17 1998, the maxi-single for Madonna’s Frozen single was released in North America.

The maxi-single included:

  • Album Version
  • Stereo MC’s Remix
  • Extended Club Mix
  • Meltdown Mix

Today In Madonna History: March 16, 2001

March 16, 2026 By in 2001, March Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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On March 16 2001, MTV and VH1 networks announced that Madonna’s new video for What It Feels Like For A Girl would be broadcast only once on March 20 at 11:30 pm because of the controversy over its violent content.

Today In Madonna History: March 15, 1995

March 15, 2026 By in 1995, March Tags: , , 1 Comment

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On March 15 1995, Madonna signed on to star as the late Eva Peron in film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical Evita.

Today in Madonna History: March 14, 1998

March 14, 2026 By in 1998, March Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On March 14 1998, Madonna’s Ray of Light album was reviewed in Billboard magazine.

The Ray of Light album would debut at #2 in the U.S. the following week, being held back from the top spot by the blockbuster soundtrack for the film, Titanic.

Meanwhile in Canada, the album would enter the chart at #1, pushing Titanic into the runner-up position.

Today in Madonna History: March 13, 1999

March 14, 2026 By in 1999, March Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

On March 13 1999, Nothing Really Matters spent the first of two weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart in the U.S.

Despite being a successful club hit, many have cited Warner’s unusual marketing choices for the single as the primary reason for its poor placement on the Hot 100, where its peak of #93 remains the lowest of her charting singles.

The delayed release of the commercial single – which came long after the song had peaked at radio – was clearly a blunder, while other aspects of the song’s promotion seemingly started too early. After declining to release the experimental remixes for The Power Of Good-Bye in the U.S. (the remixes were issued commercially in Canada & abroad), Warner jumped the gun by beginning to service remixes of Nothing Really Matters promotionally to clubs as early as September of 1998 – over six months ahead of the maxi-single release.

An alternative might have been to service the Sky Fits Heaven remixes promotionally in the U.S. during the interim, considering that it managed to enter the Dance/Club Play chart based solely on spins from the imported Drowned World/Substitute For Love single, with no push from the label domestically.

Chart positions and marketing decisions aside, the maxi-single for Nothing Really Matters, with its wonderfully varied set of remixes by Peter Rauhofer, Kruder & Dorfmeister and Talvin Singh, remains one of Madonna’s best, in our opinion. Together with its visually stunning music video, the single marked an artistically pleasing closing chapter to the epic Ray Of Light era.