After Frozen just
missed the top, peaking at #2, many
placed Madonna's hopes for her twelfth
number one single on the energetic title
track to Ray of Light. The song won
special praise for its video, which MTV
declared a breakthrough video and in late
1998 gave it five MTV Video Music Awards
out of eight nominations.
On the charts, Ray of Light was both an
under- and over-achiever. Radio did not
take to the track as many had expected,
stopping it at a disappointing #26 (even
You Must Love Me charted higher).
However, when the single was finally
released after a month of delays, it
broke two Madonna records, selling
roughly 73,000 copies in its first week
and debuting at #5 on the Hot 100. The
song also performed fantastically on the
dance charts, clinging to the top spot
for an almost unheard-of four weeks,
making it the #1 Dance / Club Play single
of 1998.
Ray of Light also got the attention of
the Grammy awards, earning nominations
for Record of the Year (it lost to Celine
Dion's "My Heart Will Go On,"),
Dance Record of the Year (which it won),
and Best Music Video/Short Form (which it
also won).
Overall, while Ray of Light made a strong
impression on a lot of people, it could
have done signficantly better on the
charts. Had this been the lead track from
the ROL album, would it have been
Madonna's twelfth number one?
The song "Ray
of Light" is essentially a re-write
of the folk song "Sepheryn"
written by Curtis Muldoon and Dave
Curtis. William Orbit re-recorded the
song with Christine Leach before meeting
Madonna, and then Madonna brought it to
its third and final incarnation, the
lyrics only slightly changed. It is
reported that Madonna's delivery is
nearly identical to Christine Leach's
version. All five are credited with
writing Madonna's version. Also, some
have wondered if the ultrasound images
shown in the video are of Lourdes --
they're not, they're actually of director
Jonas Akerlund's child in utero.
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