Today in Madonna History: September 18, 1999

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On September 18 1999, Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger spent its final week on the Adult Contemporary chart in the USA. The hit single debuted at #30 on the AC chart on July 17, and peaked at #23 on August 14.

Today in Madonna History: May 1, 1999

beautiful-stranger-video

On May 1 1999, the music video for Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger was shot at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.

Beautiful Stranger was directed by Brett Ratner, and went on to win an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film.

Today in Madonna History: November 2, 1999

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On November 2 1999, the Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99 was released on home video and DVD.

Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99 was released as a collection of Madonna’s favourite videos from 1993-1999. The collection contains 14 videos: Bad Girl, Fever, Rain, Secret, Take A Bow, Bedtime Story, Human Nature, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Frozen, Ray Of Light, Drowned World, The Power of Goodbye, Nothing Really Matters, and Beautiful Stranger.

Today in Madonna History: July 26, 1999

On July 26 1999, Beautiful Stranger hit #1 for the first of two weeks on the Top 100 Canadian Singles chart published by RPM.

In the U.S. a commercial single had been withheld for Beautiful Stranger to drive sales of Maverick Records’ Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack album, limiting the song’s chart potential on the Hot 100 despite favorable support from radio. In a rare move, Warner Music Canada opted against following the lead of its U.S. counterpart and instead released the song as a CD maxi-single on July 20th, 1999.

During the week of its release, Beautiful Stranger was spending a second week at #4 on the Canadian singles chart based on the strength of its airplay alone, however the loss of its bullet indicated that it had likely peaked at radio. Fortunately, the added boost from sales of the domestic maxi-single was enough to earn Madonna her 17th #1 single in Canada – her first since 1995’s Take A Bow, despite having achieved three Canadian top-5 hits in the interim between 1996 and 1998.

Today in Madonna History: May 21, 2021

On May 21 2021, a new digital album or remix EP for Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger single was loaded to digital platforms. 

The digital single was loaded with 5 remixes:

  • Beautiful Stranger (Calderone Club Mix)
  • Beautiful Stranger (Calderone Dub Mix)
  • Beautiful Stranger (Calderone Mix)
  • Beautiful Stranger (New Club Edit)
  • Beautiful Stranger (William Orbit Radio Edit)

Download or stream the remixes now!

Today in Madonna History: July 24, 1999

beautiful stranger single

On July 24 1999, Beautiful Stranger reached its peak position of #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was based on the strength of airplay alone, as Maverick Records opted to boost sales of the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack album by not releasing the song as a physical single in the US. Had it been issued commercially, it would have easily given Madonna another Top 10 hit. The single was released in most major markets outside the US including Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Today in Madonna History: June 26, 1999

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On June 26 1999, Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger debuted at #5 on the Billboard Hot Dance Play chart in the USA.