Music | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 18, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999–2000 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:40 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Madonna chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Music | ||||
|
Music is the eighth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on September 18, 2000, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records. Following the success of her previous album Ray of Light (1998), Madonna found herself in a music scene increasingly influenced by a younger generation of singers such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. This led her to seek a distinctive sound that would set her apart in the evolving musical landscape. Her collaborations with Mirwais Ahmadzaï and William Orbit resulted in a more experimental direction for the album. Music incorporates many different genres into its overall dance-pop and electronica vibe, taking influences from funk, house, rock, country and folk. With the album embracing a western motif, Madonna reimagined her image in the role of a cowgirl.
Music received positive reviews from music critics, with many comparing its production to Ray of Light. The album earned a total of five Grammy Award nominations, winning one for Best Recording Package at the 43rd ceremony. The record was also a commercial success, debuting at number one in 23 countries with four million copies sold in its first ten days of release. In the United States, Music debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 420,000 copies, making it her first album to top the chart in more than a decade. It received multiple certifications in several regions, and became the 19th best-selling album of 2001 with a total of over 11 million copies sold worldwide.
To promote Music, Madonna embarked on a small promotional tour, consisting of televised performances at occasions such as the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards and the 43rd Grammy Awards, and with two free concerts at Roseland Ballroom and Brixton Academy limited to contest winners. It was also supported by the Drowned World Tour in the following year, her first concert tour after eight years; the tour visited North America and Europe, grossing over US$75 million and making it the highest-grossing tour by a solo act of the year and fourth overall.
Three official singles were released from the album. The title track was the lead single, topping the record charts in 25 countries worldwide and became Madonna's 12th and most recent number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was followed with another top-five hit "Don't Tell Me", and "What It Feels Like for a Girl" which attained the top-ten in several countries worldwide. "Impressive Instant" was released as a promotional single in the United States, topping the Dance Club Songs chart. "Amazing" was also briefly released as a promotional single in selected countries before being withdrawn shortly afterwards. Retrospectively, Music has been recognized by music journalists for anticipating a number of musical trends, such as electro-house, vocal manipulation, lyrical gibberish, chopped up acoustics, and the adoption of cowboy kitsch.