American Life

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"American Life"
Single by Madonna
from the album American Life
B-side	"Die Another Day" Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix
Released	March 24, 2003 (digital download) April 8, 2003 (US) April 14, 2003 (Europe)
Format	Digital download CD single Vinyl single
Recorded	London, England
Genre	Pop rap, electropop
Length	4:58
Label	Maverick, Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Producer	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Certification	Gold (ARIA)
Madonna singles chronology
"Die Another Day" (2002) "American Life" (2003) "Hollywood" (2003)
Audio sample file info · help

"American Life" is a song performed by American singer and songwriter Madonna, which was released as the lead single off her ninth studio album, American Life, in March, 2003. It was written and initially produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, who produced the majority of the album as well. The song is a mid-tempo electro-pop song, which features a rap performed by Madonna in the bridge of the song. Lyrically, the song conveys some of Madonna's political and religious views.

"American Life" was universally panned by music critics, who said that the song was "lifeless" and "cheap", and many critics also listed it in their worst list category as well. Despite mostly negative reviews by critics, "American Life" achieved charting success worldwide, charting within the top-ten in most countries. The song reached number one in Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan and Switzerland, and the top ten in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the U.S. the single was only moderately successful, peaking at number thirty-seven.

Two music videos were shot for the single. One was the uncensored version, which featured Madonna at a military-themed fashion show, while the second video featured Madonna in front of a backdrop of flags from around the world. The uncensored version received some controversy, regarding political, racial, violence and religious views. The song did not air worldwide, but was released online worldwide. The song was performed at her Re-Invention World Tour in 2004.

Background and composition

"American Life" was one of the first tracks created for the project of American Life. The single cover that was released on April 8 was different from the original cover artwork. Initially, an image of the single was released to the media showing Madonna holding a machine gun. The doctored single cover featured the same picture, but without Madonna holding the gun. The physical single includes a Parental Advisory warning on the front because of multiple instances of profanity immediately before and during the song's rap. This is also the sole reason why the album carrys the warning.^{[citation needed]}

Madonna performed "American Life" during the American Life Promo Tour, which included an MTV special, On Stage And On Record. She also performed it on the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. She also briefly performed a few lines of the song on the North American leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour in Boston, during the request segment of the show.

The song, in F minor, was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï. It was first released on April 8, 2003 in the U.S. and on April 14 in Europe. The song premiered on radio worldwide on March 24, the same day that it was sent out as an official digital single by mail to American fans who purchased the MP3 on Madonna's official website. The song received remixes by Missy Elliott, Peter Rauhofer, Felix da Housecat and Paul Oakenfold.

Reception

Critical reception

"American Life" was universally panned by music critics around the world. In 2004, Blender magazine listed the song at #9 on the list of the 50 Worst Songs Ever, stating that Madonna "updates the 'Material Girl'-era satire of commercialism and spiritual emptiness... with what is hands-down the most embarrassing rap ever recorded. Nervous and choppy, she makes Debbie Harry sound as smooth as Jay-Z." The worst moment comes when, "[a]fter rapping, Madonna sings, 'Nothing is what it seems,' in a manner drained of all profundity."^[1] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine labeled it a "trite, self-aggrandizing and often awkward song about privilege" and a "dour and robotic" track.^[2] Stylus Magazine commented negatively: "When one of the world's richest women complains about commercialism and the emptiness of entertainment culture ... it just comes across as hypocritical rather than insightful; here, she's raging against the life she herself is leading."^[3] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian was disappointed by the lyrics saying: "What on earth might her extreme point of view involve? That the world is ruled by a shadowy cabal of super-intelligent lizards? ... Sadly not. Her extreme point of view turns out to be that money can't buy you happiness and that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be."^[4] Entertainment Weekly called the song "a yammered list of celeb perks: trainer, butler, assistant, three nannies, a bodyguard or five – seems, at first, not like the clever self-twitting she clearly intended, but rather a facile confirmation of her haters' most knee-jerk conviction: that middle-aged Madge does not have a worldview beyond her next Pilates appointment."^[5] Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club considered the song to be "jittery, tuneless, and shallow to the point of self-parody".^[6]

Most recently, in 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio labeled the song at #58 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating that "Madonna tries to get serious by pairing her stiffest beat ever with a high-school-level political rant."^[7]

Chart performance

"American Life" achieved chart success worldwide. The song had debuted at number one on the Swiss Singles Chart, until it descended to number ninety. The song also debuted at number one on the Danish Singles Chart, staying on the charts for seven weeks, and number one on the Italian Singles Chart, staying on that chart for nine weeks.^[8] The song also peaked at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart, and number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. However, in the U.S. the song received poor charting expectations for a lead single, as the song debuted and peaked at number thirty-seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, until descending, staying in the charts for eight weeks.

In the Oceania region, the song debuted and peaked at number seven on the Australian Singles Chart, and was eventually certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 35,000 units.^[9] On the New Zealand Singles Chart it peaked at number thirty-three for one week, becoming Madonna's most unsuccessful single since "Human Nature", which was released in 1995.^[10] The song also managed to peak within the top ten in Spain, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.^[11] In the United Kingdom the single was also successful, peaking at number two on the charts.

Music videos

Original version

Background

Madonna in the original version of "American Life" video.

The controversial music video was shot on February 6–7, 2003 at Los Angeles Center Studios in Los Angeles, California by Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, who worked with Madonna in her videos for "Ray of Light" and "Music". It involves a military-influenced Madonna and several male and female legion troops at a fashion show. Madonna had made many controversial videos with themes such as sex and religion in the 1980s and 1990s before incorporating violent images in her videos such as Die Another Day and What It Feels Like for a Girl in the 2000s. For "American Life", she took it to a different level by focusing on war, politics and the then-upcoming invasion of Iraq.

Concept and synopsis

The video begins with several male and female models dressed as soldiers on a fashion runway, inter-cut with scenes of Madonna singing in front of a black background. During the second verse, she is shown in a restroom with four women, each aggressively preparing to enter the fashion show. In the second chorus, middle-eastern children are seen walking on the runway, and being bullied by the soldier models. During the bridge, Madonna and her group are angrily walking down a hallway, then seen dancing in front of surveillance cameras. When the rap section starts, Madonna is seen crashing into the show driving a Mini Cooper, then rapping and dancing on top of the car with her gang, after-which she starts spraying water on the audience and numerous paparazzi using a water cannon, inter-cut with scenes of injured and maimed soldier-models, war scenes, footage of poverty, hunger, death and explosions. Nearing the end of video, Madonna frantically drives out of the runway into the amused audience, and throws a hand grenade. In the original cut, the grenade lands in George Bush's hand, and the video ends with him using it to light up his cigar.

A director's cut of the video has surfaced in recent years. It maintains most of the footage in the original but the ending is different and more graphic. In the middle of the scenes in the fashion show where Madonna hoses down the paparazzi, numerous war-injured models are carried on-stage by groups of nurses, their clothes soaked with blood. In the midst of these scenes are fast-moving war images and scenes of the crowd at the show reacting to the sights. At the very end, Madonna throws the grenade, but instead of landing in George Bush's hand like the original, the crowd gasps as the grenade lands on an empty part of the catwalk. The director's cut ends with a close-up of the grenade hitting the stage and Madonna's image on the big screen putting her hands on her ears.

Criticism, reactions and reception

In the heat of the attention surrounding the video, Madonna issued the following statement: "I feel lucky to be an American citizen for many reasons – one of which is the right to express myself freely, especially in my work. I understand that there have been reports about my upcoming video "American Life" in the media – much of which is inaccurate. I am not Anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro Peace. I have written a song and created a video which expresses my feelings about our culture and values and the illusions of what many people believe is the American dream – the perfect life. As an artist, I hope that this provokes thought and dialogue. I don't expect everyone to agree with my point of view. I am grateful to have the freedom to express these feelings and that's how I honor my country".^[12]

Due to the political climate of the country at the time, most notably the backlash on the Dixie Chicks after they made some anti-war comments, Madonna later changed her mind on that "freedom of speech". On April 1, 2003 one day after the video was first shown on a few European and Latin American music channels, and on a prime time special on the Nine Network in Australia, Madonna pulled the video and released a statement explaining why: "I have decided not to release my new video. It was filmed before the war started and I do not believe it is appropriate to air it at this time. Due to the volatile state of the world and out of sensitivity and respect to the armed forces, who I support and pray for, I do not want to risk offending anyone who might misinterpret the meaning of this video."^[13]

Madonna in the edited version singing in front of flags.

In 2010 Slant Magazine placed the director's cut of the original video on the 19th place of decade's fifty best music videos list, stating: "It isn’t like either the video’s message about viewing war as a form of popular entertainment or its striking, loaded images leave much room for misinterpretation. Prescient? Yes. Relevant? Surely. Subtle? Not so much."^[14]

Edited version

After pulling the original video, Madonna then released an edited version that premiered on April 16, 2003 on VH1. This version features Madonna singing in front of a backdrop of ever-changing flags of different countries.

Track listings and formats

UK 2 x 12" vinyl (W603T2),^[15] US 2 x 12" vinyl (0-42614)^[16]

• A1 "American Life" (Missy Elliott's American Dream Remix) – 4:49
• A2 "American Life" (Oakenfold Downtempo Remix) – 5:32
• B1 "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem Part 1) – 10:41
• C1 "American Life" (Felix Da Housecat's Devin Dazzle Club Mix) – 6:10
• C2 "Die Another Day" (Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix) – 8:52
• D "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem) (Part 2) – 9:06

UK Promo CD (The Remixes) (16658-2),^[17] European Maxi CD (The Remixes) (W603CDX 9362 42614-2)^[18]

1. "American Life" (Missy Elliott's American Dream Remix) – 4:49
2. "American Life" (Oakenfold Downtempo Remix) – 5:32
3. "American Life" (Felix Da Housecat's Devin Dazzle Club Mix) – 6:10
4. "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem Part 1) – 10:41
5. "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem) (Part 2) – 9:06
6. "Die Another Day" (Richard Humpty Vission Electrofried Mix) – 6:01

UK CD 1 (W603CD1 9362 42615-2),^[19] AU CD 1 (9362-42615-2)^[20]

1. "American Life" (Radio Edit) – 4:27
2. "American Life" (Missy Elliott's American Dream Remix) – 4:49
3. "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem Part 1) – 10:41

UK CD 2 (W603CD2 9362 42616-2),^[21] AU CD 2 (9362-42616-2),^[22] JP CD single (WPCR-11541)^[23]

1. "American Life" (Radio Edit) – 4:27
2. "American Life" (Oakenfold Downtempo Remix) – 5:32
3. "American Life" (Felix Da Housecat's Devin Dazzle Club Mix) – 6:10

US Maxi-Single (42614-2)^[24]

1. "American Life" (Missy Elliott's American Dream Mix) – 4:49
2. "American Life" (Oakenfold Downtempo Remix) – 5:32
3. "American Life" (Felix Da Housecat's Devin Dazzle Club Mix) – 6:10
4. "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem) (Part 1) – 10:41
5. "American Life" (Peter Rauhofer's American Anthem) (Part 2) – 9:06
6. "Die Another Day" (Richard Humpty Vission Electrofield Mix) – 6:01

US Enhanced CD single (16658-2),^[25] EU CD single (5439-16658-2),^[26]

1. "American Life" (Radio Edit) – 4:27
2. "Die Another Day" (Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix) – 8:52

EU 12" vinyl (W603T)^[27]

1. "American Life" (Edit With Rap) – 4:27
2. "Die Another Day" (Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix) – 8:52

Official versions

Charts and certifications

References

For charts and certifications:

• "Chart Performance of Madonna Records A Compiled History – last accessed on December 19, 2005.
• "Charts". Mad-Eyes Discography. – last accessed on December 19, 2005.
• "American Life". Top40-Charts. – last accessed on December 19, 2005.

For official versions:

• "Remix Index". Madonna Nation. link – last accessed on December 19, 2005.
• Mad-Eyes.net – "American Life" Single Page

External links

• "American Life" Original music video YouTube
• "American Life" Edited music video YouTube