Madonna singles that didn't chart or break the Top 10 (in the US)

what a collapse

These songs are amazing:

Burning Up (-)
Oh Father (20)
Bad Girl (36)
Bedtime Story (42)
Human Nature (46)
The Power Of Goodbye (11)
Nothing Really Matters (93)
Beautiful Stranger (19)
What It Feels Like For A Girl (23)
Nothing Fails (-)
Love Profusion (-)
Sorry (58)
Get Together (-)

She does have 38 US Top 10 singles. A record. (x-post)

Rihanna's nibbling at her heels.

With how many guest features though?

I looked it up, it's 20 as lead and 5 as guest.

Those first three singles are amazing, it's true. But I have this massive soft spot for Beautiful Stranger, I know it's such a throwaway, but it's just a huge burst of nostalgia - I don't even know that I've seen the film it comes from, but it's just such perfect 60s bubblegum.

What It Feels Like For A Girl has a huge personal meaning for me, but... aaahhh, there are so many good tracks here really. I just can't separate out any of the individual songs from Confessions, because it was such a whole piece to me.

But I think I'm going with Beautiful Stranger.

voted 'jump' over 'love profusion' but purely on the only way this is possible for me is if i disqualify everything pre-american life (and then giving 'failed to chart at all' some weight). somewhat surprised by 'beautiful stranger' and 'you must love me' barely cracking the top twenty, they felt like much bigger hits.

"Beautiful Stranger" was a bigger hit, it just didn't receive a single release:

In the US, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 78 and peaked at number 19 on the strength of radio airplay only, a considerable achievement at the time for a song that did not receive a commercial release. By not releasing a single, fans in the US had to purchase the soundtrack, which has sold two million copies in the US alone.

it's crazy how "Oh Father" is the only option here in the almost 10 years between "Holiday" and "Bad Girl" -- good lord she was bulletproof for so long

beyond fucked up making ppl buy an austin powers soundtrack to get a madonna single

"The Power of Goodbye" was #11 on my Madonna ballot from last year, and "Oh Father" was #13. I'm gonna stick with the former. I also like these:

Everybody (-)
Burning Up (-)
Holiday (16)
Bad Girl (36)
Rain (14)
Bedtime Story (42)
Human Nature (46)
Nothing Really Matters (93)
What It Feels Like For A Girl (23)
Sorry (58)
Get Together (-)
Jump (-)
Turn Up The Radio (-)

"oh father" was also her only song to miss the top 10 in the uk all the way from "lucky star" to "take a bow"! which is o_0

i'm surprised it did so poorly comparatively - too heavy and dark for radio listeners, perhaps?

in fact if this was a poll based on the uk you'd only have 5 pre-2008 songs to poll

Perfectly positioned failure imo, a "serious" tune before the peak of her imperial phase.

I remember the figurative drawing of breaths on Bilboard when "Oh Father" barely cracked the top twenty, but I also don't remember anyone thinking "She's finished."

I was going to complain "But Beautiful Stranger *was* a single! I own it!" but then stupidly realised it was UK only. Duh.

no doubt if "Beautiful Stranger" would've had a physical release it would've sailed into the American top ten at least.

I remember when I was 16 being really surprised by "Oh Father"'s failure. I loved the song, the video was phenomenal, she'd just had 3 huge hits from a hit album, she'd had hit ballads before, even a serious one ("Live To Tell"). I still don't understand why. Then she went back to the Top 10 with "Keep It Together", a song with no video, like nothing happened.

Burning Up. Not even close but I am a rockist.

This is impossible. No sensible way of weighing up Everybody vs Oh Father vs Bad Girl vs the Confessions singles.

The first three are great. Then it nosedives.

1. "Beautiful Stranger," 2. "Holiday," 3. "Bad Girl," 4. "Miles Away," 5. "Oh Father," 6. "What It Feels Like for a Girl"

Haven't heard a few of the later ones.

"The Power of Goodbye" was #11 on my Madonna ballot from last year, and "Oh Father" was #13. I'm gonna stick with the former.

four of these were in my top eight. "holiday" edging out "burning up," "the power of good-bye" and "rain."

beyond fucked up making ppl buy an austin powers soundtrack to get a madonna single

meet the record industry.

beyond fucked up making ppl buy an austin powers soundtrack to get a madonna single

it wasn't a single

ok then. beyond fucked up making ppl buy an austin powers sdtk to get a madonna hit that was all over the radio.

whatever happened to tape recorders?

I bought it, but in addition to it containing my favorite Madonna (not a) single to date, it had the BBC recording of "My Generation" which I didn't have.

That said, voting "Holiday."

Also, "Beautiful Stranger" totally rips off Love's "She Comes In Colors," but that's a point in its favor.

yeah there's all kinda of late 60s hippy/psych references in her songs around then

i love "beautiful stranger"

Very close between Beautiful Stranger and What it Feels Like, went with the latter. I really like that album.

yeah, yeah, lot's of songs to discuss and all but this is Holiday 100% right?

i thought so

No, that's second to 'bad girl'.

where they placed in the madonna poll

burning up - 8
holiday - 9
human nature - 17
beautiful stranger - 20
oh father - 21
bad girl - 22
what it feels like for a girl - 26
everybody - 29
get together - 36
bedtime story - 38
rain - 39
the power of goodbye - 48

everything else finished outside the top 50

i love her, but she has produced some tripe

sure, so has everyone

but she had a better brilliance to tripe ratio for a longer amount of time than just about anyone

i think i might really enjoy "Beautiful Stranger" if someone else had done it but the overenunciated delivery/accent she was doing at that time and that corny William Orbit production, i have a real kneejerk hatred towards the sound of it.

Get Together in a heartbeat.

"Beautiful Stranger" gets points docked for having one of the worst couplets of all time: "If I'm smart then I'll run away. But I'm not, so I guess I'll stay."

new board description imo

I believe that Oh Father was the highest on my ballot followed closely by Bedtime Story and Human Nature

xxxxp oh fuck off, that William Orbit production is fantastic

Beautiful Stranger is ridicuously calculated compared to the 80s early 90s primetime

One thing I dont get - people are always talking about the William Orbit effect

Were people talking about Jellybean Benitiez in 1989 in the same way, and if not, why not? See also - Patrick Leonard

I never understood the William Orbit hate, in relation to Madonna's career. But then again, it might just be my personal favourite era of her music; I'm a sucker for all the 60s bubblegum allusions. But I do recognise this doesn't come from objectivity, it comes from personal circumstance. Maybe 80s Madonna is more classic and quintessential and all that, but the thing is, I *haaaaated* Madonna during that era, at that point in my life she represented (perhaps mistakenly) everything I was not. So of course I'm going to rate the stuff from the era when I finally came round on her - and also when her music become intertwined with "important moments in my life" - over the stuff that reminds me of unhappy times and unhappy associations. Even if I might recognise them as musically superior or more quintessential, they're not *my* Madonna, in the way that Orbit era is.

"Bad Girl", which is maybe my favourite of her ballads.

"Burning Up" and "Holiday" next.

I voted holiday.

Thought this might've been an old thread and was being bumped because of madge's recent racist instagram behaviour.

"Beautiful Stranger" gets points docked for having one of the worst couplets of all time: "If I'm smart then I'll run away. But I'm not, so I guess I'll stay."

I feel compelled to come the defence of this couplet, it's one of my favourite Madonna lyrics

it doesn't look that impressive out of context admittedly, but it's great in the song

I'm with ship re Madonna's singing, particularly the horrible "I fell in love with a beautiful strangerrrrrrrr" verse.

can't tell what's bad about any of these things

I suppose Amy Adams' fake British accent could handle it.

i prefer green day's english vocals

"Holiday" is definitive. One of the decade's best singles. Also love the mood that is "Oh Father". "Power of Goodbye" and "Beautiful Stranger" rate high, too.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

rmde so hard if "Holiday" wins

Running this poll without the first three pre-fame singles would be interesting.

I'll throw a bone to Beautiful Stranger, which I heard enough that I'm surprised it wasn't in the top 10.

rmde so hard if "Holiday" wins

Can't not vote "Bad Girl," but these are also amazing.

Everybody (-)
Oh Father (20)
Human Nature (46)
Nothing Really Matters (93)
What It Feels Like For A Girl (23)
Get Together (-)
Jump (-)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

shoulda voted for "Sorry"

I knew "Miles Away" wouldn't get any votes. I think that's such a beautiful, overlooked song.

^^^^ on this.

Totally surprised "Beautiful Stranger" (my vote) got so many and "Rain" and "Human Nature" got so few.

correct winner, but what the hell is everybody doing on one vote with american frickin' pie?

can only assume fans of early period madonna went for holiday or burning up instead, so this is not a true refection of its standing.

Wait, are you serious

for those of us who hate Madonna's post-training pipes, "American Pie" is ground zero.

She improved by 2005 but, oof, "American Pie" is painful.

deadly serious

I'm assuming that O.Fish is repping for the song "Everybody" rather than suggesting "everybody" should have voted for American Pie?

That would make more sense but this is ILM, I am certain someone out there is shocked "American Pie" didn't run the table

This is why punctuation/capitalisation is important.

if you read it properly it wouldn't have mattered if it was capitalised or not

Too late, you are now American Pie Fan #1

hahaha thanks

shameless challop: I quite like "American Pie" (why bcz Orbit)