| "Hollywood" | ||||
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| Single by Madonna | ||||
| from the album American Life | ||||
| Released | May 27, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Studio | Olympic Recording (Barnes, London) | |||
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| Length | 4:24 (album version) 3:42 (edit) | |||
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| Madonna singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Hollywood" on YouTube | ||||
"Hollywood" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï for her ninth studio album, American Life (2003). On May 27, 2003, it was released as the second single from the album by Maverick Records. It later appeared on the greatest hits album, Celebration (2009). "Hollywood" is a folk rock, synth-pop, electro-folk, electropop and psychedelic folk song that lyrically discusses American culture and greed, focusing on Hollywood, California, as a place of pop stars and illusory dreams. Ahmadzaï did the main programming for the track and kept the track as simple as possible, without using too many instruments.
Several remixes of "Hollywood", done by DJs such as Jacques Lu Cont, The Micronauts, Paul Oakenfold, Deepsky and Victor Calderone, were included on physical releases of the single around the world. Music critics applauded the song's catchiness but criticized its lyrics. The song topped Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs and Hot Dance Singles Sales component charts. The debut of the "Hollywood" remixes on the Dance Singles Sales chart gave Madonna her longest stretch of chart-topping titles on this chart, "Hollywood" being her sixth in a row. It also reached the top ten in Canada, Finland, Italy, Romania and number two in the United Kingdom and Spain on the commercial charts.
An accompanying music video, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, portrays Madonna highlighting the highs and lows of Hollywood. After the video was released, French photographer Guy Bourdin's son filed a federal lawsuit that accused Madonna of ripping off the work of his father, showing sequences of the video to be similar to his father's photographs taken in the 1980s. "Hollywood" was first performed in an acoustic version along with "American Life" and "Mother and Father" on a promotional tour for the album. In August 2003, Madonna opened the MTV Video Music Awards performing a medley of "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott. During the performance, Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera on the lips, generating strong reactions from the media. "Hollywood" was later used as a dancers' interlude on the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour.