''Ray of Light'' is the seventh
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American singer-songwriter
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
, released on February 22, 1998, by
Maverick Records. A major stylistic and aesthetic departure from her previous work, ''
Bedtime Stories'', ''Ray of Light'' is an
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
and
techno-pop record which incorporates multiple genres, including
ambient,
trip hop
Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
,
psychedelic music
Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...
and
Middle Eastern music
The various nations of the region include the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, the Iranian traditions of Persia, the Jewish music of Israel and the diaspora, Kurdish music, Armenian music. Azeri Music, the varied traditions of Cyp ...
. Mystical themes are strongly present in the music and lyrics as a result of Madonna embracing
Kabbalah
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...
, her study of
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, and her daily practice of
Ashtanga yoga.
After giving birth to her first child, Madonna started working on the album with producers
Babyface and
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...
. Following failed sessions with them, Madonna pursued a new musical direction with English producer
William Orbit
William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
, which resulted in a much more experimental sound. The recording process was the longest of Madonna's career, and she experienced problems with Orbit's hardware arrangement, which would break down and cause delays until it could be repaired.
''Ray of Light'' was met with universal acclaim upon its release and is often considered Madonna's
''magnum opus''. Critics praised the singer's new musical direction, contemplative songwriting, and mature vocals, alongside Orbit's complex, innovative production. The album has also been credited with introducing electronica into mainstream pop culture and affirming the 39-year-old Madonna's relevance during a period of major teen-marketed artists. Retrospectively, the album has continued to receive acclaim and is considered one of the greatest
pop albums of all time. Madonna has referred to it as her quintessential album. ''Ray of Light'' won four
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
from a total of six nominations at the
41st Annual Grammy Awards
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, recognizing musical achievements from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill led the ceremony with a record-breaking 10 nominations, becoming the first woman ...
.
The album entered the
US ''Billboard'' 200 at number two, with the biggest first-week sales by a female artist at the time. It also peaked at number one in 17 countries,
including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain and on the
United Kingdom Albums Chart, and charted within the top-five in most
musical markets. Worldwide, ''Ray of Light'' has sold over 16 million copies and is one of the
best-selling albums by women. Five
singles were released from the album, including the international top five hits "
Frozen" and "
Ray of Light". The album's promotion was later supported by the
Drowned World Tour
The Drowned World Tour (billed as Drowned World Tour 2001) was the fifth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums, '' Ray of Light'' (1998) and ''Music'' (2000). It began on June 9, 20 ...
in 2001. A remix album entitled ''
Veronica Electronica'' is set for release in July 2025.
Background
Following the release of her compilation album ''
Something to Remember'' (1995), Madonna started taking vocal lessons in preparation for her role as
Eva Perón in ''
Evita'' (1996). She would also give birth to her daughter,
Lourdes Leon, later in 1996. These events inspired a period of introspection. "That was a big catalyst for me. It took me on a search for answers to questions I'd never asked myself before", she said to ''
Q'' magazine, in 2002.
During the same period, she embraced
Kabbalah
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...
and started studying
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
and
yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
, all of which helped her "step outside
yselfand see the world from a different perspective".
Madonna felt that there was a "whole piece" of her voice left unused, which she decided to utilize for the album.
By May 1997, Madonna had started writing songs for the album. She began collaborating with
Babyface, who had first worked with her on her previous album ''
Bedtime Stories'' (1994). The two wrote a couple of songs together before Madonna decided the collaborations were not going in the musical direction she wanted for the album. According to Babyface, the songs "had a '
Take a Bow-ish' kind of vibe, and Madonna didn't want, or need, to repeat herself".
After abandoning the songs she had written with Babyface, Madonna turned to musician
Rick Nowels
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,[Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...]
and
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
. The collaboration produced seven songs in nine days, but those songs also did not display the album's future
electronic musical direction.
Three of the songs, "
The Power of Good-Bye", "To Have and Not to Hold" and "Little Star", appear on the album.
Madonna then began writing songs with
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...
, who had produced many songs for Madonna in the late 1980s. Unlike her previous albums, Leonard's songwriting collaborations were accompanied by very little studio input. Madonna believed that Leonard's production "would have lent the songs more of a
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
vibe", a sound that she did not want for the album.
Guy Oseary, chairman of
Maverick Records, then phoned British electronic musician
William Orbit
William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
, and suggested that he send some songs to Madonna.
Orbit sent a 13-track
digital audio tape
Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette, using 3.81 mm / 0.15" (commonly referred to as 4 mm) magnetic t ...
to Madonna. "I was a huge fan of William's earlier records, ''
Strange Cargo 1'' and ''
2'' and all that. I also loved all the remixes he did for me and I was interested in fusing a kind of futuristic sound but also using lots of Indian and Moroccan influences and things like that, and I wanted it to sound old and new at the same time," Madonna said.
Recording
In June 1997, William Orbit met Madonna at her house in
New York, and she played him the music she had already worked on with other producers, which he felt sounded "slick".
Sessions with Orbit began soon afterwards at
the Hit Factory
The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano.
History
In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...
, where Orbit then gave Madonna a tape of musical snippets he was working on, which were usually eight or sixteen-
bar phrases and stripped-down versions of tracks that would later be heard on the album.
Madonna listened to the samples, over and over again, until she was inspired to write lyrics. Once she had an idea about the lyrical direction of the song, she would take her ideas back to Orbit, and they would expand on the original music ideas.
As most of the instrumental demos pre-existed, Madonna worked on the lyrics and melodies while at home or while travelling.
Recording sessions commenced at Larrabee North Studio in
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...
in the summer of 1997, where the album was predominantly recorded. For most of the recording process, only three other people were in the studio with Madonna: William Orbit, engineer
Pat McCarthy, and his assistant engineer, Matt Silva.
Sessions were initially plagued with machinery problems, as Orbit preferred to work with samples and synth sounds, and not with live musicians. The computers would break down, and recording would have to be delayed until they could be repaired.
Orbit recorded the bulk of the album's instrumentation over a four-month period. Orbit recalls playing the guitar until his fingers bled during the long hours he spent in the studio. Orbit also recalled during an interview with ''Q'' magazine that Madonna recorded "Swim" the day her friend and fashion designer
Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...
was killed in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, Florida. He also commented that this is probably why the track has an emotional impact.
After some errors in her pronunciation of
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
shloka
Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...
"Yoga Taravali" during the song "Shanti/Ashtangi", the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
arranged for Madonna to take telephonic lessons to learn the basic correct pronunciation of Sanskrit words from eminent scholar
Vagish Shastri. She then made the necessary pronunciation corrections on the album. In a 1997 interview with
Kurt Loder for
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, Madonna discussed the impact of giving birth to her daughter Lourdes prior to the album, stating "I think probably having her's set me off on a new way of thinking and... just gone down a different road, period". Regarding the album's creative direction, she stated "It's been really fun, I've never had so much fun really working on... never felt so free to experiment."
Title and artwork
According to spokesperson Liz Rosenberg, Madonna considered titling the album ''Mantra'', which she thought was a "really cool title", and she also considered calling it ''Veronica Electronica''; however, she discarded both of those ideas and called it ''Ray of Light'', as her studio albums up to that point were always titled after one of the songs from each album's tracklist. The artwork was taken from a November 28, 1997, photoshoot with Peruvian photographer
Mario Testino
Mario Eduardo Testino Silva Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer.
His work has featured internationally in ...
. In terms of styling, Madonna and stylist
Lori Goldstein opted for textures evocative of the elements
water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
and
air
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
, which are recurrent themes on the album. For the album cover, Madonna wears a turquoise
Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 1998 vinyl
raincoat. Other pictures from the same shoot serve as the artworks for the "
Ray of Light" and "
Frozen" singles, where Madonna models items from
Prada's Spring/Summer 1998 collection. Madonna and Testino had previously collaborated for a
Versace
Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...
brand collection two years earlier. Madonna was impressed with the natural look Testino had captured, so she booked him again for the album's photoshoot. He recalled, "At 2pm she said, 'OK, I'm tired. We're done'. And I said, 'But I don't have the pictures yet'. She said, 'You're working for me and I say we're done'. I said, 'No, we carry on'. The picture she used on the cover came after that".
Composition
''Ray of Light'' was a notable departure from Madonna's previous work, and has been described as her most "adventurous" record.
An
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
,
trip hop
Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
,
techno-pop, and
new-age album;
it also contains elements of several different types of music, including
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
,
ambient,
drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
,
rock,
new wave,
eastern and
classical music. Vocally, the album was also a marked change from Madonna's previous work; as the singer underwent vocal training lessons for her 1996 film ''Evita'', her vocals exhibited greater breadth and range, as well as a fuller timbre. In many songs, she also abandoned the
vibrato
Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...
which was present in her previous work. Critically, the album is said to have Madonna's most full-bodied vocals.
The opening track and third single, "
Drowned World/Substitute For Love", is a downtempo ballad drawing influences from
jungle
jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
, drum and bass and trip hop music.
The title is inspired by
J. G. Ballard's post-apocalyptic science fiction novel ''
The Drowned World'' (1962).
"Swim", the second song, has a spiritual tone. She sings: "Swim to the ocean floor/So that we can begin again/Wash away all our sins/Crash to the other shore".
"Ray of Light", the third track and second single, is an uptempo electronic
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
song with strong
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
and
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
influences. A "sonically progressive" track,
it also incorporates elements of
rock, with a prominent
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
riff
A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
. Its
sound effect
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media.
In m ...
s include
whistle
A whistle is a musical instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It is a type of Fipple, fipple flute, and may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a s ...
s and
bleeps.
"Candy Perfume Girl" has a
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
intro and continues to pair post-modern beeps and beats with old-fashioned electric guitar flare ups.
In the next song, "Skin", Madonna sings "Do I know you from somewhere?" in a yearning voice over the beats of an electronic orchestra.
The sixth track, "
Nothing Really Matters", is an up-tempo
dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
track which contains influences of techno. "
Sky Fits Heaven" focuses on Madonna's spiritual studies and her daughter Lourdes. Some lyrics include: "Sky fits heaven so fly it, that's what the prophet said to me/Child fits mother so hold your baby tight, that's what my future can see".
Elements of the lyric are taken from the poem ''What Fits?'' by poet
Max Blagg, the poem used for a 1993 advertisement for
Gap Inc. "Shanti/Ashtangi" is a Hindu prayer and up-tempo techno song sung by Madonna in Sanskrit, over a driving dance rhythm.
The techno dance track features Madonna singing the adapted version of
Shankaracharya entirely in Sanskrit with lines such as "Vunde gurunam caranaravinde/Sandarsita svatma sukhavabodhe".
"Frozen", the ninth track and album's first single, is a mid-tempo electronic ballad which has a layered sound enhanced by
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s and
strings.
The song additionally contains
ambient qualities, a moderate dance rhythm during the chorus and techno-influenced beats towards the end. Madonna's vocals throughout the song lack vibrato, and have drawn comparisons to
medieval music
Medieval music encompasses the sacred music, sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the Dates of classical music eras, first and longest major era of Western class ...
. Lyrically, the song is about a cold and emotionless man; nevertheless, subtexts have been noticed.
According to Jarman-Ivens, lyrics such as "You're frozen, when your heart's not open" reflected an artistic palette, "encompassing diverse musical, textual and visual styles in its lyrics." "The Power of Good-Bye" is an emotional ballad which lyrically meditates on loss and longing. It was released as the album's fourth single. "To Have and Not to Hold" is about a distant lover and "Little Star" is about her daughter, Lourdes. Both are superficially vibrant but with underlying subtlety and restrained arrangements prevailing.
"Mer Girl", the album's final track, is a surreal meditation on mortality and the death of Madonna's mother Madonna Fortin Ciccone, in which she sings, "And I smelled her burning flesh/Her rotting bones, her decay/I ran and I ran/I'm still running away."
"She stepped out of the vocal booth," Orbit recalled of its recording, "and everybody was rooted to the spot. It was just one of those moments. Really spooky."
Release and promotion

''Ray of Light'' was released in Japan on February 22, 1998, with an additional Japan-only bonus track "Has to Be".
The album was later released in the United States on March 3, 1998. In New Zealand, a box set of ''Ray of Light'' and the 1990 compilation ''
The Immaculate Collection'' was released to accompany the album. It reached number 12 on the albums chart and was certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
(RIANZ) for shipment of 7,500 copies. A promotional instore VHS compilation titled ''Rays of Light'' was released in the United Kingdom in 1999, compiling all the music videos to all five singles from the album. All five videos were later included on the compilation ''
The Video Collection 93:99'' (1999). "Sky Fits Heaven" was released as a
promotional single
A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...
in the United States. It peaked at number 41 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Dance Club Play
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart.
To promote the album, Madonna made a number of televised appearances and live performances of the album's songs. On February 14, 1998, she debuted "Sky Fits Heaven", "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Ray of Light" at
Roxy NYC nightclub. "Frozen" was performed on ''
The National Lottery Show'' in the UK (February 21), 1998
Sanremo Music Festival
The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...
in Italy (February 24), ''
Wetten, dass..?'' in Germany (February 28) and ''
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety show, variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on June 27, 200 ...
'' in the United States (March 13). On April 27, Madonna made an unannounced appearance at the
Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in New York City to sing "Frozen". She also joined the other stars of the concert, including
Sting,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
, and
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
to perform "
With a Little Help From My Friends" and "
Twist and Shout" with them.
On May 29, Madonna appeared on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...
'' and sang "Little Star" and "Ray of Light" there. On September 10, she opened
1998 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City with the performance of "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Ray of Light" featuring
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...
on guitar. "The Power of Good-Bye" was sung at the
1998 MTV Europe Music Awards in Italy (November 12) and ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' in the UK (November 19). On February 24, 1999, Madonna performed "Nothing Really Matters" at the
41st Grammy Awards ceremony at
Shrine Auditorium
The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, an ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
Madonna performed "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", "Ray of Light", "Candy Perfume Girl", "Sky Fits Heaven", "Frozen" and "Mer Girl" on the
Drowned World Tour
The Drowned World Tour (billed as Drowned World Tour 2001) was the fifth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums, '' Ray of Light'' (1998) and ''Music'' (2000). It began on June 9, 20 ...
, her fifth concert tour, which promoted ''Ray of Light'' and its
successor album. It started in June 2001 and was Madonna's first tour in eight years. The tour was to be started before the new millennium, but she had become pregnant with her son Rocco Ritchie, released the album ''
Music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
'' that year, and married British filmmaker
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films.
Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...
in December 2000. The show was divided into five sections, ''Cyber-Punk'', ''Geisha'', ''Cowgirl'', ''Spanish'' and ''Ghetto''.
The Drowned World Tour received positive reviews.
The tour was a commercial success, grossing a total of US$75 million, and it was the top concert tour of a solo artist in 2001. The concert was broadcast live on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
from
The Palace of Auburn Hills in
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Auburn Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 24,360.
Auburn Hills is home to ...
, on August 26, 2001. The ''
Drowned World Tour 2001'' DVD was released in all regions on November 13, 2001. Like the original airing of the show, the DVD received very good reviews. The photographs used on the DVD packaging were taken by Madonna's friend
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...
.
Singles
"Frozen" was released as the lead
single from the album on February 23, 1998. It peaked inside the top five in most musical markets worldwide, while topping the singles chart in Finland, Italy, Spain and on the
United Kingdom Singles Chart, where it became Madonna's first single to debut at number one.
It became her sixth single to peak at number two on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, setting a record for Madonna as the artist with
most number-two hits in the chart history.
The song received critical acclaim, and was labelled a masterpiece whose sound was described as "cinematic".
However, the
Belgian court in 2005 ruled that the opening four-bar theme to the song was plagiarized from the song "Ma vie fout le camp", composed by Salvatore Acquaviva. The ruling forbade the sale of the single and the entire ''Ray of Light'' album, as well as other compilations that included the track in Belgium. In February 2014, a Belgian court ruled that Madonna did not plagiarize Acquaviva's work for "Frozen". The court spoke of a "new capital offense" in the file: composer Edouard Scotto Di Suoccio and societies Tabata Atoll Music and Music in Paris had also filed a complaint for plagiarism. According to them, both "Ma vie fout le camp" and "Frozen" originated in the song "Blood Night" which they composed in 1983. After all three tracks in the case were compared, the final ruling was that the songs were "not sufficiently 'original' to claim" that any plagiarism had taken place.
This ruling ended the eight-year ban of the song that was in place in Belgium since 2005.
The album's second single, "Ray of Light", was released on April 27, 1998. It peaked at number one in Spain and attained the top five position in Canada, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It entered the Hot 100 at number five, becoming Madonna's highest debut on the chart ever.
The song was also a hit on Hot Dance Club Play chart, remaining at number one for four weeks, and became the "Top Hot Dance Club Play Single" of 1998.
Critically, it also received positive reviews, being praised for its club-perfect, yet "sonically progressive" sound, as well as her powerful vocals.
"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" was released on August 24, 1998, as the third single outside the United States. It reached number one in Spain and the top ten in Italy and the United Kingdom.
The
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, directed by
Walter Stern, caused controversy due to scenes that featured Madonna being chased by
paparazzi
Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...
on motor-bikes, a scenario similar to
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...
's
death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
in 1997.
The fourth single, "The Power of Good-Bye", was released on September 22, 1998. It reached the top-ten peaks in Austria, Canada, Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.
In the United States, the song peaked at number eleven on the Hot 100.
Its music video was directed by
Matthew Rolston. "Little Star" was released as a double A-side single with "The Power of Good-Bye" in the United Kingdom on November 23, 1998.
[ "The Power of Good-Bye" also charted at number 91 as a standalone single.
"Nothing Really Matters" was released as the album's
sixth and final single on March 2, 1999. It became a top-ten hit in Canada, Finland, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.] In the United States, it became Madonna's lowest-charting single on the Hot 100, peaking at number 93, but was a number-one hit on its dance chart. Its music video, directed by Johan Renck, was inspired by Arthur Golden's book '' Memoirs of a Geisha'', and featured Madonna dressed as a geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...
.
Critical reception
''Ray of Light'' received universal acclaim from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
from AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called it Madonna's "most adventurous record" and "most mature and restrained album". Paul Verna of ''Billboard'' commented: "Easily her most mature and personal work to date, ''Ray of Light'' finds Madonna weaving lyrics with the painstaking intimacy of diary entries and wrapping them in hymn-like melodies and instrumentation swathed in lush, melancholy ambience—with forays into classic house, trance, and even guitar pop
Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock and college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The "jangly" guitar sound is characterized by its clean, shimmering and arpeggiated tone, often created using 12-string elect ...
. Of course, she balances the set's serious tone with chewy pop nuggets that allow her to flex her immeasurably widened vocal range to fine effect." He finished the review by calling the album "a deliciously adventurous, ultimately victorious effort from one of pop music's most compelling performers." Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' described the album as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" and stated that: "Its lyrics are uncomplicated but its statement is grand" and "Madonna hasn't been this emotionally candid since '' Like a Prayer''". Rob Sheffield
Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author.
He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...
's review for ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' called the album "brilliant", but was critical of Orbit's production, saying that he doesn't know enough tricks to produce a whole album, and so becomes repetitive. "Until Simply Red
Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...
enlist John Zorn
John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...
, or Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
works with Tortoise
Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...
," Stuart Maconie
Stuart John Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark Radc ...
wrote in ''Q'', "she remains the only pop aristocrat who's keeping her ears open."
David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' wrote: "For all her grapplings with self-enlightenment, Madonna seems more relaxed and less contrived than she's been in years, from her new Italian earth-mother makeover to, especially, her music. ''Ray of Light'' is truly like a prayer, and you know she'll take you there." Roni Sarig, in ''City Pages
''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...
'', was most impressed by Madonna's vocal range, depth, and clarity and called ''Ray of Light'' "her richest, most accomplished record yet". Robert Hilburn
Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As music critic and editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays, and profiles have appeared in publications worldwide ...
of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote: "One reason why her new ''Ray of Light'' is the most satisfying album of her career is that it reflects the soul-searching of a woman who is at a point in her life where she can look at herself with surprising candor and perspective." In ''Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'', Mark Roland drew comparisons with St Etienne and Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
's ''Homogenic
''Homogenic'' is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 22 September 1997 by One Little Indian Records. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell (British musician), Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, and Markus Dra ...
'' album, highlighting ''Ray of Light''s lack of cynicism as its most positive aspect: "It's not an album turned on the lathe of cynical pop manipulation, rather it's been squished out of a lump of clay on a foot-powered wheel. Lovingly teased into life, ''Ray of Light'' is like the ugly mug that doesn't match but is all the more special because of it." Joan Anderman from ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' said ''Ray of Light'' is a remarkable album. He described it as a deeply spiritual dance record, ecstatically textured, a serious cycle of songs that goes a long way toward liberating Madonna from a career built on scavenged images and cultivated identities.[Anderman, Joan (March 1, 1998) "Madonna Captures the Moment and Sees the Spiritual Light". '']Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
''. The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American mass media corporation that publishes ''The New York Times'' and its associated publications such as ''The New York Times International Edition'' and other media properties. The New York Times Company's ...
. Retrieved June 12, 2010. Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
was less impressed in ''Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', deeming it a "great-''sounding''" but average record because enlightenment themes always yield awkward results for pop entertainers. However, he praised sensual songs such as "Skin" and "Candy Perfume Girl".
Commercial performance
Upon its release, ''Ray of Light'' topped the official charts of 17 countries. It broke the record as Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
's album with most shipments before its release at 2.5 million units worldwide, excluding the U.S. The album managed to sell 3 million copies in five days. With over 16 million copies, ''Ray of Light'' is one of the best-selling albums by women.
In the United States, ''Ray of Light'' debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart on the issue dated March 21, 1998. It set the record for biggest first-week sales by a female artist in Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
era at that time with 371,000 copies sold. However, the album was not able to top the soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
of the motion picture ''Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
'', becoming Madonna's fifth album to peak at the runner-up position. During the second week, the album sold 225,000 copies and was still kept off the top spot by the soundtrack. On March 16, 2000, the album was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for shipments of four million units of the album. Madonna became the first female artist to have seven multi-platinum studio albums by RIAA. According to Nielsen SoundScan, ''Ray of Light'' had sold 3,900,000 copies in the United States as of February 2023. This figure does not include units sold through clubs like the BMG Music, where the album sold over 459,000 copies. In Canada, the album debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart
The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...
with first-week sales of 59,900 copies. It was later certified seven-times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
(CRIA) for shipment of 700,000 copies.
''Ray of Light'' achieved commercial success in Latin America, being certified 3× platinum in Argentina for 180,000 copies recognized by Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF) and platinum in Brazil for shipments of over 250,000 units certified by Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD). In Mexico, initial shipments of the album were 30,000 units. The album also achieved commercial success in Oceania, debuting at number one on the albums chart in Australia and New Zealand. It was certified triple platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) and platinum by Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
(RIANZ) for shipments of 210,000 and 15,000 copies respectively. ''Ray of Light'' became the best-selling album from Warner Music in the Asia-Pacific region during 1998, and sold over one million copies in Asia as of June 1999.
''Ray of Light'' achieved its biggest commercial reception in European countries, where it topped the European Top 100 Albums chart and was certified seven times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
(IFPI) for sales of seven million copies, becoming the ninth best-selling album in Europe for the 1998–2007 period. In the United Kingdom, ''Ray of Light'' debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
with opening sales of nearly 139,000 copies and remained at the top spot for two weeks. It was certified six times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) for shipment of 1.8 million copies. As of 2018, the album sold 1,730,000 units in the UK according to Official Charts Company
The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
. In France, ''Ray of Light'' entered the albums chart at number two, staying there for seven weeks before descending the chart. It was certified three times platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...
(SNEP) for shipments of 900,000 copies. In Germany, the album reached number one on the Media Control Charts
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...
and remained there for seven weeks. It remains Madonna's best-selling album in Germany with three times platinum certification from Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipment of 1.5 million copies. In the rest of Europe, ''Ray of Light'' topped the official charts of Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
Accolades
At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, recognizing musical achievements from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill led the ceremony with a record-breaking 10 nominations, becoming the first woman ...
, ''Ray of Light'' received four awards out of six nominations. The album won Best Pop Album and Best Recording Package, and was nominated for Album of the Year, while the title track won Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video, and was nominated for Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
. The album gave Madonna her first musical Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
of her career, as previously she had only won in the video category. Madonna also became the biggest winner of the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, winning six awards from nine nominations. "Frozen" won Best Special Effects; "Ray of Light" won Best Choreography, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Female Video and Video of the Year, and was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
(ASCAP) honored Madonna two awards of Most Performed Song for "Frozen" and "Ray of Light" at the 1999 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, as well as Top Dance Song for "Ray of Light" at the 1999 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.
''Ray of Light'' also gave Madonna several trophies from various international award shows—including two Danish Grammy Awards for Best International Album and Best International Female Vocalist from IFPI Denmark
IFPI Denmark is the Danish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwi ...
, a Fryderyk award for Best Foreign Album from Związek Producentów Audio Video (ZPAV) in Poland, a Golden Giraffe Award for International Pop Album of the Year from Mahasz in Hungary, two Porin awards for Best International Album and Best International Video ("Frozen") in Croatia, and two Rockbjörnen awards for Best International Album and Best International Artist in Sweden.
In Canada, Madonna won Best International Video for "Ray of Light" at the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards
The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos.
Originally debuting in ...
and was nominated for Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) at the 1999 Juno Awards. She also received Best Female and Best Album trophies at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards. At the 14th annual International Dance Music Awards, Madonna won Best Dance Solo Artist and Best Dance Video for "Ray of Light".
Legacy
''Ray of Light'' has been credited for bringing electronica music into global pop culture. The ''Los Angeles Times'' noted that "aside from occasional breakthroughs such as Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
, electronica wasn't totally mainstream fare when Madonna released ''Ray of Light''." Until the album brought the genre to the top of music charts, according to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, "techno and electronica had, for years, been the music played at so-called raves, hugely popular, illegal underground parties taking place in abandoned warehouse and deserted areas on the outskirts of town all around the world." AllMusic editor Liana Jonas stated that the album's title track has "brought mainstream attention to electronica music, which ascended from its underground status to wild popularity in the early 21st century." ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
''s writer Daryl Deino called ''Ray of Light'' "a risk-taking album that helped define mainstream electronic dance music
Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
."
Elliott H. Powell in an American Studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...
study for New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
observed that ''Ray of Light'' made South Asian
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
culture accessible to the American public in the 1990s. Rhonda Hammer and Douglas Kellner in their book ''Media/Cultural Studies: Critical Approaches'' recalled that "the phenomenon of South Asian-inspired femininity as a Western media trend can be traced to February 1998, when pop icon Madonna released her video 'Frozen'." They explained that "although Madonna did not initiate the fashion for Indian beauty accessories ..she did propel it into the public eye by attracting the attention of the worldwide media."
According to Taraborrelli, the album has been hailed as bold and refreshing in music of the late 1990s, which was dominated by boybands and teenage artists such as the Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...
, NSYNC
NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...
, Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
and Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
. Larry Flick
Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...
from ''Billboard'' said that the album "not only provided the chameleon-like artist with her first universally applauded critical success, it has also proved that she remains a vital figure amongst woefully fickle young audiences." Journalists have discussed how the album affected Madonna's career and public perception. According to ''Billboard'''s Kristen S. Hé, ''Ray of Light'' remains the singer's most critically acclaimed album, as of 2020. Music critic Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien (born 13 September 1961)Author Biography, O'Brien, Lucy – She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul, London: Penguin, 1995 is a British author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.
Early musi ...
commented: "1998's ''Ray of Light'' certainly rehabilitated Madonna's image. Up to that point she had still been written off as an average pop glamour girl who got lucky, but with this record she reached a whole new audience, proving that she was a good songwriter with an intensely productive talent." Mary von Aue from ''Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'' stated that "''Ray of Light'' reestablished Madonna as a groundbreaking artist", and Nick Levine of ''Dazed
''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a quarterly British lifestyle magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. ''Dazed'' is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for produ ...
'' said the ''Ray of Light'' era "won Madonna the kind of critical acclaim she’d never enjoyed in the past". For ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'', Peter Piatkowski observed that the album effectively divided Madonna's career into two distinct eras: "those who followed her career from the beginning in 1982 ... would find themselves choosing one camp over the other: the music before ''Ray of Light'' was arguably more accessible and radio-friendly", whereas her subsequent works would contain at least some elements of the experimental electronic dance music she had embraced on ''Ray of Light''.
''Ray of Light'' has been featured on numerous critics' lists of greatest albums of all time. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine placed the album at number 367 on the list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number.
Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs.
Mathematics
5 is a Fermat pri ...
. In September 2020, an updated edition of the Rolling Stone list was published, showing the album rising 145 spots, at number 222. In 2001, a quarter of a million music fans on VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
voted ''Ray of Light'' as the 10th of "100 Best Albums of All Time". In 2003, ''Ray of Light'' was allocated at number 17 on ''Q'' magazine readers' list of "100 Greatest Albums Ever". The album is also included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. '' Mojo'' magazine also listed ''Ray of Light'' at number 29 on "100 Modern Classics: The Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime". In 2013, the album was also included at number 241 on ''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
". ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' ranked ''Ray of Light'' as the 55th best album of the 1990s, "Madonna's trying, with all her might, to evoke the blackest depths and most euphoric joys of the human heart. The album's title track sounds like it was forged inside a meteor; the surreal, pitch-black poem 'Mer Girl' is as still as death itself."
''Ray of Light'' has also been influential on other artists' work. Canadian singer Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado ( , ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 45 million records, including 35 million in album sales worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Critics have noted ...
stated that she used it as a template for her album ''Loose
Loose may refer to:
Places
* Loose, Germany
* Loose, Kent, a parish and village in southeast England
People
* Loose (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Loose'' (B'z album), a 1995 album by B'z
* ''Loose'' (Crazy Horse album ...
'' (2006). Moreover, English singer Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
named the record as "one of the chief inspirations" for her third studio album, '' 25'' (2015). Madonna herself has considered ''Ray of Light'' the most fulfilling evolution of her career, with her referencing it as the "quintessential Madonna album" in a 2013 Reddit
Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
AMA.
Track listing
Additional notes
*"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" contains a sample of "Why I Follow the Tigers", as performed by the San Sebastian Strings.
*"Shanti/Ashtangi" adapted from text by Shankaracharya, taken from the Yoga Taravali. Additional text: Traditional, Translation by Vyass Houston and Eddie Stern.
*"Mer Girl" contains an interpolation and elements from "Space" performed by Gábor Szabó
Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian-American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Music of Hungary, Hungarian music.
Early years
Szabó was born in Budapest, Budapest, Hungary. He bega ...
.
Personnel
Unless otherwise indicated, Information is adapted from the album's liner notes.
*Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
– vocals , producer
* Craig Armstrong – string arrangements
* Mike Bradford – programming
*Pablo Cook – flute
* Mark Endert – engineer
*Fergus Gerrand – drums , percussion
*Kerosene Halo – design
* Niki Haris – background vocals
*Vyass Houston – translation
*Jon Ingoldsby – engineer
*Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Early life ...
– mastering
*Suzie Katayama – conductor
*Patrick Leonard
Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...
– additional music arranger , producer
* Donna De Lory – background vocals
* Patrick McCarthy – engineer
*Marc Moreau – guitar
*William Orbit
William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
– producer, guitar, programming, sound effects
* Kevin Reagan – art direction, design
*Dave Reitzas – engineer
*Steve Sidelnyk – additional drum machine
*Matt Silva – engineer
*Eddie Stern – translation
*Mario Testino
Mario Eduardo Testino Silva Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer.
His work has featured internationally in ...
– photography
* Marius de Vries – keyboard , music programming , producer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
Notes
See also
*
* List of best-selling albums by women
* List of best-selling albums in Europe
* List of best-selling albums in Austria
* List of best-selling albums in Germany
* List of number-one albums of 1998 (Australia)
* List of number-one albums of 1998 (Canada)
* List of number-one hits of 1998 (Europe)
* List of number-one hits of 1998 (Germany)
* List of number-one hits of 1999 (Germany)
* List of number-one albums of 1998 (Spain)
* List of number-one albums of the 1990s (UK)
References
Bibliography
*
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*
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External links
*
*
{{Good article
1998 albums
Madonna albums
Maverick Records albums
Warner Records albums
Albums produced by Patrick Leonard
Albums produced by Madonna
Albums produced by William Orbit
Albums produced by Marius de Vries
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
Electronica albums by American artists
Trip hop albums by American artists
New-age albums by American artists
Techno albums by American artists