Secret (Lied)
"Secret" was the first single taken from Madonna's 1994 album Bedtime Stories. It was released in September 1994 and became a top ten hit around the world.
Song
Stylistically, "Secret" marked a significant change in Madonna's sound. A return to her R&B roots, the song was the first of her songs since the Like a Prayer era to prominently feature guitarwork, and in the 2001 reworking of the track for the Drowned World Tour, Madonna herself played acoustic guitar in a startling rendition of the song. The song also incorporated the use of humming, which she would subsequently use time and again throughout her following studio albums.
Lyrically, the song visits the recurring theme of self exploration which appears in many of Madonna's lyrics, and the awe and empowerment of discovering a secret, a theme which she mentioned to Kurt Loder in the MTV behind the scenes special "No Bull: The Making of 'Take a Bow'".
Due to the lyrics such as "My baby's got a secret" some took it as Madonna was pregnant. Of course this later turned out to be false and she didn't get pregnant with her first child until 1996.Vorlage:Fact
In France, "Secret" became Madonna's first single to reach the top 5 of the official singles sales chart since "Like A Prayer".
Production
Originally "Secret" was co-produced by Shep Pettibone, who had produced Erotica. This demo version, known as "Something's Coming Over Me", was never released. The album booklet lists the song as composed, produced, and arranged by Madonna and Dallas Austin.
Music video
The black and white video for this single was directed by photographer Melodie McDaniel; the later remix video was edited by Dan-O-Rama, and is known as the Dan-O-Rama Remix - it includes the remix Junior's Luscious Club Edit by Junior Vasquez. The video was filmed on September 10 1994, in Harlem and is a gritty, story-based narrative, interpreted by some as being an analogy for rebirth, with scenes pointing to drug use, the struggle to repent, and the eventual re-baptising and redemption. Though the video featured these potentially controversial themes, and saw Madonna playing a Harlem club singer in an interracial relationship, the video received widespread airplay.
Tracklisting and formats
- UK CD Single One
- Secret (Edit)
- Let Down Your Guard (Rough Mix Edit)
- Secret (Instrumental)
- Secret (LP Version)
- UK CD Single Two
- Secret (Junior's Luscious Single Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Extended Luscious Club Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Luscious Dub)
- Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Dub)
- UK Cassette Single / UK 7" Picture Disc
- Secret (LP Version)
- Let Down Your Guard (Rough Mix Edit)
- US CD Single / US Cassette Single
- Secret (LP Version)
- Secret (Instrumental)
- US CD Maxi Single / US Cassette Maxi Single
- Secret (Edit)
- Secret (Junior's Luscious Single Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Luscious Club Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)
- Secret (Some Bizarre Mix)
- Secret (Allstar Mix)
- Japanese CD Single
- Secret (Junior's Luscious Single Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Extended Luscious Club Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Luscious Dub)
- Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)
- Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Dub)
- Secret (Some Bizarre Mix)
- Secret (Allstar Mix)
Chart performance
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Secret" | Canada | 1 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Austria | 11 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Switzerland | 1 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Sweden | 12 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | France | 3 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Japan | 2 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Australia | 5 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | UK | 5 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 2 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 1 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 1 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 9 |
| 1994 | "Secret" | Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 3 |
Internet Promotion
Madonna promoted this song on the Internet, something unusual for that era, with a sample of 30 seconds of "Secret" and the cover image of the Bedtime Stories album. Besides, she left a message, with the following words:
"Hello, all you Cyberheads! Welcome to the '90s version of intimacy. You can hear me... You can even see me... But you can't touch me... Do you recognize my voice? It's Madonna. Often imitated, but never duplicated... Or, should I say, often irritated. If you feel like it, you can download the sound file of my new single "Secret," from my new album, Bedtime Stories, which comes out next month. I just shot the video in New York, and will be premiering an exclusive sample of it online. So check back soon. In the meantime, why don't you post me a message and let me know what you think of my new song. And by the way, don't believe any of those online imposters, pretending to be me...ain't nothing like the real thing. Peace, out."
References
- Mad-eyes.net - "Secret" Single Page - last accessed on October 24, 2005