Bad Girl

"Bad Girl"
Single by Madonna
from the album Erotica
B-side	"Fever" (US/Japan) "Erotica" (William Orbit Edit) (Europe)
Released	February 22, 1993
Format	CD single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded	December 1991 (Manhattan, New York) Summer 1992 at Soundworks Recording Studio (Astoria, New York)
Genre	Pop
Length	5:23 (album version) 4:38 (edit)
Label	Maverick, Sire, Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin
Producer	Madonna, Shep Pettibone
Madonna singles chronology
"Deeper and Deeper" (1992) "Bad Girl" (1993) "Fever" (1993)

	"Bad Girl"
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"Bad Girl" is a song by Madonna, released as the third single from her 1992 studio album Erotica in February 1993 by Maverick Records. The single was released a month after the controversial erotic thriller Body of Evidence, which also starred Madonna. The song was a modest success on the charts, reaching number thirty-six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[1] and number ten on the UK Singles Chart, falling off the chart shortly after.^[2] This caused the release of the next UK single "Fever" to be released only four weeks later.^[3]

The music video to accompany the single was directed by David Fincher, who had previously collaborated on Madonna's "Express Yourself", "Oh Father" and "Vogue" videos. It also features the American actor Christopher Walken who plays "a guardian angel (or the angel of death)".^[4]

Madonna has only ever performed the song live once during an appearance on Saturday Night Live in January 1993. In North America the single included remixes of the album track "Fever", which was released independently in Europe as the fourth single from Erotica.

Reception

Critical response

The single was a critical darling and was described by Rolling Stone magazine as "riveting" and describes "the mind of a girl who'd rather mess herself up than end a relationship she's too neurotic to handle, [and] the characters remain faceless. It's as if Madonna recognizes the discomfort we feel when sensing the human character of a woman whose function is purely sexual. A sex symbol herself, she coolly removes the threat of her own personality."^[5] Entertainment Weekly reviewed it as a "lonely-at-the-top, lovesick-victim song."^[6]

Chart performance

In the United States, "Bad Girl" debuted at Billboard Hot 100 at number 75 in the issue dated February 20, 1993.^[7] In its sixth week of charting, the song peaked at number 36, becoming Madonna's first single to miss the top 20 and breaking her streak of 27 consecutive top 20 hits that had begun with "Holiday", in 1983. The single remained on the chart for 11 weeks.^[7] Its sales and airplay were poor, so "Bad Girl" peaked on Hot 100 Singles Sales and Hot 100 Airplay at numbers 36 and 44 respectively.^[7] However, it reached the top spot on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, thanks to the remixes of "Fever", which were included on the maxi single.^[7]

The song fared better in the other countries. In the United Kingdom, "Bad Girl" debuted at number 11 and reached its peak one week later, peaking at number ten on March 13, 1993 and remained on the chart for seven weeks.^[8] The song also entered the top ten in Italy and Canada, where it peaked at numbers eight and five respectively. Although "Bad Girl" was a hit in those countries, in others it failed to enter top ten but reached its peak within the top 40. In Australia, the song also reached the top 40, peaking at number 32.

Music video

Madonna as "Louise Oriole" in the "Bad Girl" music video. Also present in the background is actor Christopher Walken as Madonna's guardian angel.

The video features Madonna as "Louise Oriole" (Madonna's middle name is Louise and Oriole is a street she once lived on), a high-powered Manhattan female executive who is an alcoholic and has a penchant for one-night stands with many different men (from affluent yuppies to shady low-lifes). She behaves this way in order to try to deal with her depression and sadness over a relationship with someone she loves deeply, but ultimately has no future. Through her days, Louise gets distracted by cigarettes, cocktails, and random hook-ups, as lamented in the song's lyrics. Christopher Walken plays her guardian angel, who watches over her activities and delivers Louise with a "kiss of death" before her final encounter with a man, during which she is suggested to have been strangled with pantyhose.^[9]

After Ellen von Unwerth and Tim Burton had rejected the offer to direct the music video, it was eventually directed by David Fincher, who worked with Madonna in her videos for "Express Yourself", "Oh Father" and "Vogue", and filmed on location in New York City from January 12–18, 1993. The video also features an uncredited cameo appearance from Matt Dillon, who plays a crime scene cop.^[9]

• Director: David Fincher
• Producer: Oliver Fuselier
• Director of Photography: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
• Editor: Bob Jenkis
• Production Company: Propaganda Films

Track listing

Official versions

Charts

References

• Mad-eyes.net - "Bad Girl" Single Page - last accessed on October 24, 2005