The performance of "Secret" on the charts was very strong, as the song is one of Madonna longest-running top ten hits, although unfortunately it was unable to hit the top spot. It set the stage for Madonna's biggest chart hit yet, "Take A Bow." "Secret" also had the unfortunate fate of being stuck at #2 for six weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart. #2 seems to be a number Madonna's singles are all-too familiar with!

The video for "Secret" is also noteworthy. While many dismiss the video as Madonna looking "ugly," in fact she is vividly presenting a character. She is a night club singer in Harlem, and director Melodie McDaniel skillfully shows that there is beautiful even in what many consider the "ugly." Madonna is even baptised during the video, a strong metaphor for her post-Sex/Erotica era cleansing. Another intriguing aspect of the video is that we're never quite sure of what Madonna's "secret" is. The end of the video shows Madonna with a muscular black man (presumably her lover) and a young child. Is this Madonna's child as well? As enigmatic as always, Madonna leaves it up to us to figure it out. Overall, this low-key single is one of Madonna's finest.

TRIVIA: The remix video for "Secret" is one of Madonna's most often played remix videos. Although remix videos were released for numerous Madonna singles since, including "Bedtime Story," "Frozen," "Ray of Light," "Nothing Really Matters," "American Pie" and more, they were rarely aired, but MTV played the "Secret" remix almost as often as they played the original. Note that the video calls the song the "Dan-O-Rama" mix -- this is actually the name of the guy who re-edited the video, not the name of the remix itself, which is actually Junior's Luscious Single Mix.