God Control
| "God Control" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Madonna | ||||
| from the album Madame X | ||||
| Released | June 26, 2019 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 6:19 | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Madonna singles chronology | ||||
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"God Control" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album, Madame X. On June 26, 2019, a music video directed by Jonas Åkerlund was released, making it the third single from the album.[4][5] The music video depicts a shooting scene in a nightclub that resembles the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, and contains a call to action in favor of gun control.[12]
Critical reception
Jeremy Hellgar of Variety compared "God Control" to "Bohemian Rhapsody", describing it as an "ambitious and sprawling" song that "veers from mournful to hopeful to defiant" and "sets the primary doom-and-gloomy, politicized lyrical mood of Madame X".[13] In The Independent, Alexandra Pollard called the song "an attack on America’s feeble gun-control laws" and remarks that Madonna sings "as though her jaw is firmly clenched".[14] Louise Bruton of The Irish Times stated that the song is "an experimental stand against authoritarianism and gun control through distorted Black Mirror-style pop" that "rattles together a gospel choir, gunshots, vocodered vocals and disco beats to basically shake our shoulders and tell us to wake up, sheeple".[1]
Rich Juzwiak of Pitchfork described the song as having several sections: "Madonna's mumble-rap intro begets a creepy children's chorus, which begets ersatz disco whose strings are in perpetual flights of fancy, which begets Madonna affecting a cheesy I'm Breathless-era accent to rap about not smoking dope using the meter of De La Soul's 'Me, Myself & I.'"[2]
Music video
The eight-minute music video, released on June 26, 2019, was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who worked with Madonna in several of her music videos since 1998, and features drag queen Monét X Change, Hollywood actress Sofia Boutella, and YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous.[4] The video proceeds a time reversal. The opening scene of the video shows a gunman shooting down Madonna and other people in a nightclub, who fall to the ground covered in blood.[11] In a later scene, protesters are shown holding signs criticizing the National Rifle Association.[6] The video concludes with the captions "No one is safe" and "Gun Control. Now".[7]
Shortly after the video's release, Billboard's Sal Cinquemani listed "God Control" as one of Madonna's nine most controversial videos.[15]
References
- ^ a b c Bruton, Louise (June 10, 2019). "Madonna: Madame X review – Big, ballsy and more than a bit bizarre". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ a b "Madonna: Madame X". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. "Madonna: Madame X review – her most bizarre album ever". The Guardian. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^ a b "Madonna features shocking mass shooting scene in 'God Control' music video". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ Reed, Ryan; Reed, Ryan (June 26, 2019). "Madonna Protests Gun Violence in Disturbing 'God Control' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Lejeune, Tristan (June 26, 2019). "Madonna depicts grisly mass shooting in new anti-gun violence music video". The Hill. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ a b France, Lisa Respers. "Madonna makes powerful statement against gun violence in 'God Control' video". CNN. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ "Madonna Revives Nightmarish Imagery of Orlando Nightclub Massacre in New Music Video". June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ "Madonna makes powerful gun control statement in disturbing music video: 'We need to wake up'". Yahoo Music. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (June 26, 2019). "Madonna calls for gun control in violent video that depicts nightclub shooting". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ a b "Madonna Releases New Video to Spotlight Issue of Gun Violence: 'I Can't Take It Anymore'". People. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ [6][7][8][9][10][11]
- ^ Helligar, Jeremy (June 13, 2019). "Album Review: Madonna's 'Madame X'". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ "Madonna's Madame X is an intriguing, often brilliant, occasionally awful record – review". The Independent. June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sal (June 26, 2019). "Madonna's 9 Most Controversial Videos, From 'Papa Don't Preach' to 'God Control'". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
