Today in Madonna History: November 9, 1990

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On November 9 1990, Madonna began filming the Justify My Love video at the Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris, France, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

During a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) segment in September 2013, Madonna told her fans that she considers Justify My Love to be her favourite Madonna music video.

Is Justify My Love the steamiest music video that you’ve ever seen?

Today in Madonna History: October 10, 2002

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On October 10 2002, the music video for Die Another Day premiered on MTV. Helmed by Swedish directing team Traktor, the action-packed short for Madonna’s James Bond theme remains the second most expensive music video of all-time, with production costs surpassing the six-million dollar mark. The clip made its debut as part of an episode of MTV’s Making The Video – Madonna’s first appearance on the series.

Traktor’s Ole Sanders spoke to Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet about Madonna’s involvement in the clip’s development:

“We received daily e-mails with feedback that was concise, unambiguous and occasionally entertaining. She works extremely hard with gumption and detail, and it was clear to us how she has remained on top for twenty years. It was no use being unprepared with vague ideas disguised as creativity, as there was no place to hide.”

The video was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California between August 22 and August 27, 2002 – an atypically lengthy shoot by Madonna’s standards, likely due to the complexities of capturing the special effects and stunts featured throughout the Bond-influenced clip.

Today in Madonna History: October 9, 1991

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On October 9 1991, Madonna’s Truth Or Dare documentary was released on VHS for the home video rental market across North America as well as on laserdisc in the United States.

Today in Madonna History: September 29, 2009

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On September 29 2009, Warner Bros. Records released Madonna’s Celebration: The Video Collection to accompany the greatest hits collection, Celebration.

The DVD Track Listing:

01) Burning Up
02) Lucky Star
03) Borderline
04) Like A Virgin
05) Material Girl
06) Crazy For You
07) Into The Groove
08) Live To Tell
09) Papa Don’t Preach
10) True Blue
11) Open Your Heart
12) La Isla Bonita
13) Who’s That Girl
14) Like A Prayer
15) Express Yourself
16) Cherish
17) Vogue
18) Justify My Love
19) Erotica
20) Deeper and Deeper
21) Rain
22) I’ll Remember
23) Secret
24) Take A Bow
25) Bedtime Story
26) Human Nature
27) I Want You
28) You’ll See
29) Frozen
30) Ray Of Light
31) The Power Of Good-Bye
32) Beautiful Stranger
33) American Pie
34) Music
35) Don’t Tell Me
36) What It Feels Like For A Girl
37) Die Another Day
38) Hollywood
39) Love Profusion
40) Hung Up
41) Sorry
42) Get Together
43) Jump
44) 4 Minutes
45) Give It 2 Me
46) Miles Away
47) Celebration

Today in Madonna History: September 28, 2005

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On September 28 2005, Madonna’s official website confirmed that Johan Renck would direct the music video for Hung Up, the lead single from Confessions On A Dance Floor.

Photographer David LaChapelle had initially signed on to direct but dropped out of the project during pre-production after a disagreement with Madonna over the video’s creative direction.

Renck had previously collaborated with Madonna in 1999 when he directed the video for Nothing Really Matters.

Today in Madonna History: September 26, 1988

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On September 26 1988, Madonna began recording the Like A Prayer album in Los Angeles, California with collaborators Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.

Madonna had begun writing for the album during down time of her Broadway run in David Mamet’s Speed-The-Plow, for which she gave her final performance in late August.

With her marriage to Sean Penn on the rocks, Madonna found herself at a personal and creative crossroads, with plenty to express.

Today in Madonna History: August 25, 1990

On August 25 1990, Hanky Panky peaked at #18 on the Canadian Top 100 Singles chart (RPM). At the time it was Madonna’s lowest charting Canadian single since Borderline‘s peak of #25 in September, 1984. A handful of later releases would subsequently peak lower on the same chart, however, including Bad Girl (#20 – 1993), Bedtime Story (#46 – 1995) and Human Nature (#64 – 1995).