She's Madonna

"She's Madonna"
Robbie Williams in a white blazer looking to his left. He is wearing white nail polish in his left hand.
Single by Robbie Williams and Pet Shop Boys
from the album Rudebox and Fundamental
B-side"Never Touch That Switch"
Released5 March 2007
StudioSarm West (London, England)
GenreSynth-pop
Length4:16
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pet Shop Boys
Robbie Williams singles chronology
"Lovelight"
(2006) 		"She's Madonna"
(2007) 		"Close My Eyes"
(2009)
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Numb"
(2006) 		"She's Madonna"
(2007) 		"Integral"
(2007)
Music video
"She's Madonna" on YouTube

"She's Madonna" is a song by British singer Robbie Williams with the duo Pet Shop Boys, from his seventh studio album, Rudebox (2006). The track was released as its third and final international single on 5 March 2007 by Chrysalis Records. The subject matter of the song is a reference to the conversation Williams had with his ex-girlfriend Tania Strecker, over the reason her former boyfriend Guy Ritchie gave, for leaving her for American singer Madonna. Williams had played the recording to Madonna shortly after writing it, receiving a positive reaction.

Musically, "She's Madonna" was inspired by Kraftwerk's 1983 single, "Tour de France". The composition consists of a "gurgling" electro backing, over which Williams sings the lyrics, talking about his fascination with Madonna. It received positive feedback for its musical aspects and the production by Pet Shop Boys. The song had minor chart placement in Williams' home turf United Kingdom, but reached the top five of the record charts in many European nations, attaining Gold certifications in Denmark and Germany. A music video for the track was released in April 2007, directed by Johan Renck whose main inspiration behind it was to portray the paranoia one faces onstage. It features a plethora of well-known drag queens, and showed Williams himself in full drag queen regalia. The video received mostly negative reception from critics.

Background

"She's Madonna" is a collaboration between Williams and Pet Shop Boys, and served as the fifth and final single from Williams' seventh studio album, Rudebox (2006). By the time the single was supposed to be released, he had just come out from rehab following his addiction problems. "She's Madonna" was inspired by a conversation Williams had with his ex-girlfriend Tania Strecker, who told the story of how her boyfriend, British director Guy Ritchie, left her for American singer Madonna. Strecker quoted Ritchie as saying, "Look, you know I really love you, but she's Madonna."[1] Williams considered the song to be one of Rudebox's lighter moments, clarifying that the track did not have a tongue in cheek connotation about it. Rather it literally spoke about his fantasies for Madonna and he was happy with the song's outcome.[2] According to Contactmusic.com, Williams had played the song to Madonna shortly after writing it, receiving a positive reaction.[3]

Composition

Kraftwerk performing onstage, standing on two separate dais.
Inspiration for "She's Madonna" came from Kraftwerk's 1983 single, "Tour de France"

Musically, the song was inspired by Kraftwerk's 1983 single, "Tour de France". After playing the track, Williams asked Pet Shop Boys if they can include something inline in "She's Madonna", following which the latter song was composed.[4] The track starts with a "gurgling" electro backing over which Williams sings the lyrics, talking about his fascination with Madonna, "We're having drinks with Kate and Stella, Gwyneth's here and she's brought her fella".[5] Michael Hubbard from musicOMH described the lyrics as a "wannabe anthem/love letter" to Madonna.[6]

According to the sheet music of the song, it is composed in common time with a temp of 124 beats per minute. Williams' vocals range from C4 to G♭5 and the track has a s basic sequence of F–A♭–Gm7–C as the chord progression.[7] "She's Madonna" was the subject of a controversy after singer Ashley Hamilton claimed that he came up with part of the song with Williams.[8]

Critical reception

Upon its release in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2007,[9] "She's Madonna" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Nick Levine from Digital Spy awarded it three out of five stars, noting that the track was a kind of "damage control" for Williams' fallen public image following his rehabilitation. "Who'd have guessed he'd sound so comfortable—his most convincing in years, actually—singing about one of the few people in the world who's more famous than him [Madonna]?", Levine concluded.[5] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian described the track as a "brilliant, icy meditation on fame's corrupting power".[10] NME's Priya Elan listed "She's Madonna" as one of Williams' most "bonkers song ever", along with three other songs from Rudebox: "The 80's", "The 90's" and "The Actor".[11] Hubbard explained that the Pet Shop Boys brought an "added spray of sheen to the glacially excellent" song, and working with them brought some "credibility" to it.[6] Julie Broadfoot from BBC Music described "She's Madonna" as a "weird but fun tune".[12] Lauren Murphy from Entertainment website noted that Pet Shop Boys' own musical influence was prevalent in the track, with its "sparse, spacey glow and not least on synth-laden tongue-in-cheek homage" of the song.[13]

In an overall negative review for Rudebox, Ed Power from Hot Press magazine wrote that it was not until as the "album lurches towards its midpoint does some calm descend. 'She's Madonna', coasting on a glossy Pet Shop Boys production job, is a misty eyed ballad in the tradition of Williams' finest—i.e. slushiest—work".[14] The song received further negative feedback from David Hutchison of Attitude magazine, during a retrospective review for the album. He theorized that Williams' random choice of cover version of songs gave it a feeling of being an old mixtape. This was vividly noticeable in the "outrageous break-up fantasy played out over icy synths and euphoric hand-claps" of "She's Madonna".[15]

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, "She's Madonna" debuted outside the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, at number 16. It was Williams' lowest-peaking single since "Sin Sin Sin" (2006) peaked at number 22. "She's Madonna" quickly descended down the charts, being present only for three weeks in total.[9] It had a better chart placement in Scotland, where it entered the top 10 at number 9.[16] In Ireland it debuted at number 38 and was present only for one week on the chart.[17]

Across Europe, the song had better chart placements, and reached the top five of the charts in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, remaining on the charts for multiple weeks.[18] It received Gold certifications from Denmark and Germany, for shipment of 15,000 and 150,000 copies of the single, respectively.[19][20] Although the song was not released in the United States, promotional CDs were sent to DJs and hence it charted on Billboard's Dance Club Songs, reaching a peak of number 12.[21]

Music video

Alexis Arquette looking to the camera, in heavy eye makeup.
Alexis Arquette appeared as one of the drag queens in the video

The music video features Williams as a professional drag queen in full regalia, as well as performing with drag queens in a nightclub, dressed in a white jacket. His hairstyle and the wig was compared to those of Lily Allen and Uma Thurman's wig in the film Pulp Fiction (1994).[22] Alexis Arquette appeared as one of the drag queens, along with RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Tammie Brown.[23] The video was directed by Johan Renck. Despite media speculation, Williams did not imitate Madonna in the video, nor did she appear in it.[24] Renck explained that the main inspiration behind the video was to portray the paranoia one faces onstage.

With a past as a musician, I remember sometimes feeling like the audience was against me while I was on stage [...] Even if that wasn't noticeable in any way, I still felt as if they all disliked me, or at least, misunderstood me, deep inside. That paranoia was kind of firmly rooted inside of me—the fear of being the wrong artist in front of the wrong audience. Thus, the idea for 'She's Madonna' deals with that.[25]

The video opens with an interview with Williams, where he is asked about his real persona and his stage one. Then it cuts to him dressing up in a suit and going onstage to sing the song in front of an audience of drag queens. Thomas Rogers from Salon criticized the video for portraying drag queens like "patients in a mental ward" as well as the interview sequence, which he felt equated drag queens as people with multiple personality disorder.[26] A writer for Metro questioned "Is Robbie trying to send us a message? Or has he just got extremely carried away playing dress up in his mother's wardrobe."[22]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the Rudebox album booklet.[27]

Studios

Personnel

  • Robbie Williams – writing, lead vocals
  • Pet Shop Boys – production
    • Neil Tennant – writing
    • Chris Lowe – writing, programming
  • Pete Gleadall – programming
  • Tim Weidner – mixing, engineering
  • Tony Cousins – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "She's Madonna"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[19] Gold 7,500^
Germany (BVMI)[20] Gold 150,000^
Italy (FIMI) — 15,000[61]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Scott, Paul (2011). Robbie and Gary: – It's Complicated – The Unauthorised Biography. Pan Macmillan. p. 210. ISBN 9780283071560.
  2. ^ a b c d "She's Madonna: Robbie Williams Discography". Official website of Robbie Williams. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Williams Worried About Madonna Tribute". Contactmusic. 15 July 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Rudebox: Robbie Williams Track by Track". Official website of Robbie Williams. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b Levine, Nick (5 March 2007). "Robbie Williams: 'She's Madonna'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b Hubbard, Michael (23 October 2006). "Robbie Williams – Rudebox". musicOMH. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Robbie Williams: She's Madonna: Piano, Vocal, Guitar". Sheet Music Direct. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  8. ^ Cummins, Fiona; Simpson, Eva (14 February 2007). "Torment of Robbie". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Robbie Williams: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  10. ^ Petridis, Alexis (20 October 2006). "Robbie Williams, Rudebox". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  11. ^ Elan, Priya (23 October 2006). "Robbie Williams: Rudebox". NME. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  12. ^ Broadfoot, Julie (23 October 2006). "Robbie Williams Rudebox Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  13. ^ Murphy, Lauren (23 November 2006). "Robbie Williams – Rudebox". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  14. ^ Power, Ed (27 October 2006). "Rudebox: Robbie Williams' seventh album is everything a pop record should not be". Hot Press. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  15. ^ Hutchison, David (23 August 2014). "Shoulda been huge: Robbie Williams' 'Rudebox'". Attitude. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Irish-charts.com – Discography Robbie Williams". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  19. ^ a b "Danish single certifications – Robbie Williams – She's Madonna". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  20. ^ a b "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Robbie Williams; 'She's Madonna')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  21. ^ a b "Robbie Williams Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  22. ^ a b "Robbie's new video is a real drag". Metro. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  23. ^ "About Tammie". TammieBrown.net. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  24. ^ "Robbie Williams encarna drag queen em novo clipe". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). 16 January 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  25. ^ "She's Madonna: Music Video". Official website of Robbie Williams. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  26. ^ Rogers, Thomas (5 June 2007). "Music Videos: 'Listen Up!' the Gossip; 'She's Madonna', Robbie Williams". Salon. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  27. ^ Rudebox (UK CD album booklet). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 2006. 00946 3770442 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  29. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  30. ^ Robbie Williams — She's Madonna. TopHit. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija" (in Croatian). Croatian Radiotelevision. 9 June 2007. Archived from the original on 21 April 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  32. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200716 into search. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  33. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna". Tracklisten. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  34. ^ "Hits of the World: Eurocharts". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 12. 24 March 2007. p. 75.
  35. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys: She's Madonna" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  36. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  37. ^ "Nielsen Music Control Airplay - Germany Top 5". Nielsen Music Control on behalf of BVMI. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Top 50 Singles: Εβδομάδα 15/2007". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  39. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  40. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  41. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 03-11 2016.
  42. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  43. ^ "Roamian Top 100" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. 23 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007.
  44. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  45. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  46. ^ "Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys – She's Madonna". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  47. ^ "Jahrescharts 2007" (in Dutch). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  48. ^ "Jaahroverzichten 2007" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  49. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2007" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  50. ^ "CIS Year-End Radio Hits (2007)". TopHit. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  51. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  52. ^ "Single Jahreshcarts 2007" (in German). Offizielle Charts. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  53. ^ "Radios Top 40 2007" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  54. ^ "FIMI Mercato 2007" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI). 10 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2021. Click SCARICA L'ALLEGATO and later Mix_Singoli2007
  55. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2007". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  56. ^ "Jahrescharts 2007" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  57. ^ "Airplay Detection TOPHIT 200 Yearly 2007". Tophit. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  58. ^ "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 2007" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008.
  59. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2007" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  60. ^ "Swiss Music Charts for 2007". Schweizer Hitparade. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  61. ^ "LE CIFRE DI VENDITA: SINGOLI" (PDF). Musica e dischi (in Italian). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=She%27s_Madonna&oldid=1209846505"