Bad Girl (Madonna song)

"Bad Girl" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna from her fifth studio album, ''Erotica'' (1992). It was written and produced by both Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's third single on February 2, 1993; in the United States, a release was issued on March 11, 1993. "Bad Girl" is a pop and R&B ballad with lyrics that describe a woman trying to escape her reality through self-destructive behaviors, such as drinking and chain smoking.

Upon release, "Bad Girl" received positive reviews from music critics, with some noting a departure from Madonna's highly sexual image of the time; in retrospective reviews, it is now considered one of her best and most underrated singles. Commercially, "Bad Girl" saw a lukewarm reception. In the United States, it reached number 36, becoming Madonna's first single to not reach the top 30 or top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, breaking a streak of 27 consecutive top 20 singles that began with " Holiday" (1983) and ended with "Deeper and Deeper" (1992). "Bad Girl" fared better in the United Kingdom, where it reached the top-ten, and in Ecuador, Iceland and Italy, where it reached the charts' top-three spots.

The accompanying music video for "Bad Girl" marked Madonna's final collaboration with director David Fincher; the singer plays Louise Oriole, a successful but promiscuous Manhattan businesswoman who engages in one-night stands with multiple men, until one of them murders her. Christopher Walken played the role of her guardian angel. The music video received positive reviews, with critics deeming it one of Madonna's best, as well as noting tropes and references Fincher would go on to use in his future works. Madonna has only performed "Bad Girl" live once, during a visit to ''Saturday Night Live'' in January 1993.

Background and recording

In 1992, Madonna founded her own multi-media entertainment company Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing, and merchandising divisions. The first two projects from the venture were her fifth studio album ''Erotica'' and a coffee table book of photographs featuring Madonna, entitled ''Sex''. For ''Erotica'', Madonna primarily collaborated with American producer Shep Pettibone; Pettibone first began working with the singer during the 1980s, providing remixes for several of her singles. Pettibone would build the base music of the songs in a style similar to his remixes, while Madonna wrote the melodies and lyrics. According to the producer in an article titled "Erotica Diaries", published on Madonna's ''Icon'' magazine, he created a tape of three tracks for Madonna to listen to; he traveled to Chicago, where she was filming ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), played the songs for her and she liked all of them. In October 1991, Madonna met with Pettibone in New York City to start working on demos. According to Mark Bego, the first batch of songs they worked on were "Erotica", "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Thief of Hearts", and "Rain". Anthony Shimkin, who also worked on the album, recalled that Madonna had with her a "book full of lyrics and melody ideas". Recording took place at Astoria's Sound Work Studios from November 1991 to October 1992. For the singer's vocals, an older style SM57 microphone was used; Pettibone believed that "sometimes, older is better".

The producer recalled how, as the recording sessions progressed, the melodies became more melancholic; he noted that Madonna's stories made the songs "a lot more serious and intense", leading them into a "deeply personal territory". Similarly, Shimkin said that "Bad Girl", along with fellow album track "In This Life", was a song that the singer had a "really deep personal attachment" to, but didn't notice this until the album was completed. He added: " Bad Girl' isone of those songs, like ' Oh Father' or 'Papa Don't Preach', where she really calls on her own emotions and experiences. She's never afraid to expose herself emotionally." Pettibone, however, said that he never thought of "Bad Girl" as autobiographical, but as a song people could relate to.

Composition and lyrics

"Bad Girl" was written and produced by both Madonna and Pettibone, with additional lyrics by Anthony Shimkin. Personnel working on the song included Pettibone on the sequencing, keyboard arrangement, and programming, alongside Shimkin; Dennis Mitchell and Robin Hancock were the song's recording engineers, while Goh Hotada was in charge of mixing, and Ted Jensen of mastering.

Musicallly, "Bad Girl" is a melancholic, "somber, guilt-ridden" ballad that talks about a woman experiencing extreme sadness due to a failed relationship. Madonna's vocal range spans from F₃ to C₅. According to Carol Benson and Allan Metz, authors of ''The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary'', the song highlights the main theme explored throughout ''Erotica'' of "the pain and torment of the heart and the perils of romance".

Speaking to the BBC
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