On September 5 1991, Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection won Best Long-Form Video at the 8th annual MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.
Tag Archives: Music Videos
Today in Madonna History: August 24, 2014
On August 24 2014, Madonna was featured in a Forbes Magazine piece written by Hugh McIntyre examining the Most Expensive Music Videos Of All Time.
Of all the expensive music videos made over time (and there are quite a few), the top five are created by only two artists: Michael Jackson and Madonna. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as those two legends are some of the only ones who would have enough clout to rustle up millions for a four-minute movie. While other artists typically use music videos as a way of selling more copies of a certain song or album, these two turned the music video into an art form, attempting to top themselves with each new project. (*Adjusted for inflation to 2013 dollars.)
5. Michael Jackson — “Black or White,” $6.9 million* (originally $4 million)
The lead single from Jackson’s Dangerous needed a video that would be many things all at once—fun, meaningful, and above all else, memorable.4. Madonna — “Bedtime Story,” $7.7 million* (originally $5 million)
“Bedtime Story” is the first of three Madonna music videos on this list, though the single it was made to promote is not one of the singer’s greatest successes. Directed by Mark Romanek, who would also direct the music video that ends up surpassing “Bedtime” as the single most expensive of all time. Not one to miss a publicity opportunity, Madonna premiered the video at movie theatres in New York City, Chicago, and Santa Monica. These days, it is housed permanently in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.3. Madonna — “Die Another Day,” $7.9 million* (originally $6.1 million)
While the song received mixed reviews from critics, Madonna’s Bond song went on to be the best-selling dance song of 2002 and 2003, and its video was nominated for a Grammy. The James Bond-inspired video has the legendary pop star fighting herself, which was a mixture of green screens and intricate and expensive special effects. A few years ago, Billboard ranked the song the #6 song from the Bond franchise.2. Madonna — “Express Yourself,” $9.4 million* (originally $5 million)
Madonna’s “Express Yourself” video cost $5 million to make back in 1989, making it the most expensive video ever made at the time. The clip, which was inspired by 1927 German science fiction film Metropolis was directed by David Fincher, who would go on to be nominated for Academy Awards for also directing both The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network. The video sees the singer dressing in a masculine fashion, yet being as sexual as ever.1. Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — “Scream,” $10.7 million* (originally $7 million)
The video for “Scream,” the first single off Michael’s HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album is really one for the books, and one of the few videos that everybody remembers seeing for the first time.
(Source: Forbes Magazine – The Most Expensive Music Videos of All Time)
Today in Madonna History: August 21, 1989
On August 21 1989, the music video for Cherish premiered on MTV in the U.S. The video was the directed by Madonna’s frequent collaborator and friend, photographer Herb Ritts.
While the single from the Like A Prayer album went on to become another hit single, it’s interesting to note that Madonna had previously written an entirely different song using the title Cherish. Her handwritten lyrics for the unreleased track – along with several others that have yet to surface in musical form – turned up at an auction in 2011.
Today in Madonna History: August 7, 2012
On August 7 2012, Turn up the Radio was released in North America.
Written by Madonna, Martin Solveig, Michael Tordjman and Jade Williams, and produced by Madonna and Solveig, the song was released as the third and final international single from the MDNA album.
Today in Madonna History: July 28, 1990
On July 28 1990, Hanky Panky hit its peak position of number-ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.
The rarely seen official video for Hanky Panky was recorded at the May 27th 1990 concert in Toronto, Canada. Rather than use live audio from the tour, Warner opted to overdub the live performance with the album version. The video was broadcast for a few weeks and then withdrawn from rotation in most countries. Although no official reason was given, it is assumed that due to the low-budget nature of the video, it was only ever intended to serve as an initial promotional push for the song, with its subsequent withdrawal from rotation being part of the plan.
Today in Madonna History: June 16, 2007
On June 16 2007, the Live Earth website premiered a video for Madonna’s charity song, Hey You. It featured a series of images from all over the world, related to energy consumption and global warming, with natural catastrophes and world leaders.
Recorded during early sessions for Madonna’s Hard Candy album and co-produced by Madonna and Pharrell Williams, Hey You is registered in both the Warner/Chappell and ASCAP publishing databases with Madonna as its sole songwriter, making it the first entirely self-written song Madonna had released since 1985’s Gambler (with the exception of The Funny Song – an interlude from the Drowned World Tour DVD, which is credited to Madonna alone). The demo version of I Love New York (as featured in the I’m Going To Tell You A Secret documentary and CD) is credited solely to Madonna in the release’s liner notes – however, in separate entries from the Confessions on a Dance Floor version, the ASCAP and Warner/Chappell databases both credit the “movie version” to Madonna and Stuart Price.
Madonna adapted some of the lyrics for Hey You from two unreleased (at the time) tracks, Keep The Trance and It’s So Cool (the latter was later officially released as a bonus track for Celebration, although both songs had previously leaked in demo form).
Today in Madonna History: May 19, 1995
On May 19 1995, the music video for Human Nature premiered on MTV.
Madonna had initially planned to have friend and collaborator Alek Keshishian direct the video for Human Nature. Keshishian had even been named as the director in ICON Magazine, but for unknown reasons this shoot was cancelled during pre-production. Madonna later called in another recurring collaborator – Jean-Baptiste Mondino – to direct the clip instead.
The video marked Madonna’s first collaboration with Jamie King, who can be spotted as a dancer in the video.
Today In Madonna History 