Мадоннаның «Жарық сәулесі» әні туралы

1998 single by Madonna

"Ray of Light" is a song by American singer Madonna. It is the title track from her seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998), and was released as the album's second single on April 27, 1998, by Maverick Records. The song was also included on the compilation albums GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009). Written by Madonna, William Orbit, Clive Maldoon, Dave Curtiss, Christine Leach, and produced by Madonna and Orbit, "Ray of Light" is based on Curtiss Maldoon's "Sepheryn" and is an electronic dance song with techno, trance, Eurodance, and disco influences. "Ray of Light" consists of a main synth sound oscillating on the primary musical note and an electric guitar riff. Lyrically, the song has a theme of freedom. The song has received critical acclaim by music critics for its club friendly, electronic sound, lyrics, and "emotional warmth". The song was also nominated for three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best Dance Recording, and Best Short Form Music Video, winning the last two. "Ray of Light" debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Madonna's highest debut on the chart to date. It also reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Internationally, the song reached the top five in Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom, and peaked at number one in Greece, Scotland, and Spain. An accompanying music video for "Ray of Light" was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and shows scenes from different cities around the world, with Madonna singing the song in front of them. The video was critically acclaimed, receiving the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video, as well as winning five awards at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. Later, Stefano Salvati accused her of plagiarizing the concept of a music video he directed for Biagio Antonacci in 1994. The song has been performed in three of Madonna's concert tours, the last being the Celebration Tour (2023–24). It has been covered by a number of artists, and has been featured in several elements of popular culture, such as on the FOX show Glee, as well as different advertising campaigns.

Since 1996, Madonna went through a number of "life changing experiences" which included giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, gaining interest in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah, as well as earning the title role on the film adaptation of the musical Evita (1996). A year later she started working on Ray of Light, her seventh studio album. Madonna wrote songs with William Orbit, Patrick Leonard, Rick Nowels and Babyface. The album would reflect the singer's changed perspectives about life. Author Carol Benson noted that it was a "deeply spiritual dance record", with the crux of it based on Madonna's career, her journey and the many identities she had assumed over the years. Motherhood had softened the singer emotionally, which was reflected in the songs. She started talking about ideas and used words which implied deep and personal thoughts, rather than the regular dance floor anthemic tunes she had composed. Madonna worked primarily with Orbit after Guy Oseary, Maverick Records's partner, phoned Orbit and suggested that he send some songs to the singer. He sent a 13 track digital audio tape (DAT) to Madonna, and "Ray of Light" was among these tracks. It is based on the track "Sepheryn" (1971), by English folk music duo Curtiss Maldoon (consisting of Dave Curtiss and Clive Maldoon). In 1996, English singer and songwriter Christine Leach, Maldoon's niece, had recorded her version of the track. Leach said she had always loved the duo's work and "Sepheryn" was her favorite. She worked for a time with Orbit and recorded a demo of "Sepheryn" over a melody on which he was working. Leach rewrote the chorus and also removed a few bits from the original composition. Orbit included it in the DAT thinking that Leach had written the song. In the United States, the single was released to retail on June 23, 1998, along with 40,000 copies of the song's music video. Curtiss was not aware of the fact that Madonna had recorded "Sepheryn" as "Ray of Light" and heard it for the first time being played on the radio. He "couldn't believe it" and was initially a bit annoyed, but became pleased when he learned that he would receive 15% of the royalties, as he had a songwriter credit. Madonna took 30% of the royalties, another 15% was given to Maldoon's estate and the rest was earned by Madonna's record company. The singer said about the song: "It's totally out of control. The original version is well over 10 minutes long. It was completely indulgent, but I loved it. It was heartbreaking to cut it down to a manageable length." The original version was to be included on a compilation album titled Veronica Electronica, but it was not released. Curtiss confirmed in an interview with The Australian in January 2017, that he recorded a contemporary jazz version of "Sepheryn". The DAT contained the main portion of the song recordings, as well as preliminary demo sessions in Madonna's house in New York, as well as Hit Factory Studios where Madonna first sang the song. Like most of the album, the synth sounds recorded for "Ray of Light" were played on a Roland Juno 106. Madonna and Orbit had conducted a drummer session in Los Angeles, but it did not work out. So he contacted Fergus Gerrand who played drum samples for him in London. Orbit fed them in his workstation and cut them manually, instead of using auto editing software like ReCycle. An electronic dance music song, "Ray of Light" has stylistic influences from acid electronica. According to biographer Lucy O'Brien who wrote in Madonna: Like an Icon, Orbit created a sensurround like atmosphere in the track, which sees Madonna deepen her dance roots and go for a more electronic sound. According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes. com, the song is set in common time, with a moderately fast groove tempo of 126 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of B major, with Madonna's vocals on the song spanning 2 octaves and 1 semitone from B3 to B5, the sharp high note being belted on the word 'feel' near the end of the song. "Ray of Light" has a basic sequence of B–E–B–E–B as its chord progression. The song starts with an electric guitar riff comparable to the music of English alternative rock band Oasis. While recording, Orbit kept "Ray of Light" a semitone higher than the singer's limit, resulting in a strain added to the vocals. "She got frustrated when we were recording but you want that bit of edge with singers, that thing of reaching. You can't fake it, and you can hear it when she cracks it on the record," he recalled. Lyrically, the track is upbeat, keeping in theme with the music. According to Madonna the verses are a mystical look at the universe and how small we are compared to it.

"Ray of Light" received acclaim from music critics. In a review of the album as a whole, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as "swirling". In a review of the maxi CD single, Liana Jonas of the same website called the track a "wickedly good club song" and "sonically progressive yet listener friendly". She also praised Madonna's vocals, comparing them to those of a "club diva to celestial goddess". "The title track builds from another incongruously pretty guitar arpeggio into thumping rave anthem mode," Stuart Maconie wrote in a Q review of Ray of Light, "but always underscored with keen musical intelligence. It could be a lighter, less one dimensional Chemical Brothers." Larry Flick of Billboard described it as Madonna at her best, calling it a "spiritually charged, often poetic song". He especially mentioned the flexible vocals and Madonna's progression as a recording artist. British Music Week named it Single of the Week, adding, "Madonna is bang on form and this brilliant, anthemic, stand out dance track [ ] is further confirmation that motherhood and experience have only refuelled her creative ambition and commercial wisdom." Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone in his review for the album as a whole, wrote that, alongside other tracks such as "Swim" and "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", Madonna is "positively ferocious" sounding on "Ray of Light". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the song was a "celebratory tech frenzy", and noted Madonna's elated singing. In a review of Madonna's second hits compilation, GHV2 (2001), Cinequemani wrote:
Like no other Madonna hit in recent memory, the frenetic "Ray of Light" found the singer in a celebratory tech frenzy. Whether it was an epiphany of the spiritual or sonic kind, her elation was unmistakable. Orbit's cycles of analog synths and electric guitar licks perfectly supplemented the elasticity of Madonna's newly trained vocal chords. Not since "Deeper and Deeper" had she reached such dizzying heights. A reviewer from Sputnikmusic listed the track as a recommended listen from Ray of Light. O'Brien found the track to be an "ecstatic hymn to the skies". J. D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun noted that Madonna's "newfound strength is particularly apparent in pulsing, rhythm driven tracks like ['Ray of Light'], which finds her soaring confidently at the top of her register on the busily percolating chorus, then whispering breathily on the brief, dream like bridge". David Browne, while reviewing Ray of Light for Entertainment Weekly, deemed the song a "sirenlike techno glitter ball". Idolator's Stephen Sears explained that Madonna's vocals throughout the album were a "game changer", including on the song, as she strengthened her voice while working on her film Evita. He ends his review by stating "Indeed, no choir is needed to lift 'Ray Of Light' into disco heaven. Madonna supplies the highs herself in some perfect moments: the extended, spiraling way she wails 'yea ea ears' at 3:27 or how her vocal spins out of control at 4:14, matched by Orbit's frenzied guitar work". Ranking Madonna's singles in honour of her 60th birthday, The Guardians Jude Rogers called it one of her "most joyous electronic pop singles".

In the United States, "Ray of Light" premiered at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, for the issue dated July 11, 1998 with 72,000 units. It was her highest debuting single, surpassing previous best debuts with "You'll See" (1995) and "Frozen" (1998), both of which opened at number eight. The track became the singer's then 37th top 40 hit, moving her past Connie Francis on the list of women with most top 40 chartings on Hot 100. "Ray of Light" was present for a total of 20 weeks on the Hot 100, and placed at number 75 on the year end chart. In Australia, "Ray of Light" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at its peak of number six on May 24, 1998, staying there for one week. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it gold for sales and streams of 400,000 units. The track debuted at its peak of number nine on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart, for the issue dated May 16, 1998. In Belgium, "Ray of Light" was moderately successful in both territories, peaking at number 25 in Flanders and 33 in Wallonia.

The music video for "Ray of Light" was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who had previously shot the controversial clip for the song "Smack My Bitch Up" (1997) by The Prodigy. Madonna stated that when she makes an album, she "puts [her] soul on it", but a music video is a lot more working with a director. With the Ray of Light album, she wanted to have videos with fresh expression, and hence wanted to collaborate with new directors. She liked Åkerlund's "special way of working" and spoke with him over the telephone. Their conversations continued for over six months, and most of the time was spent coming with a final concept for the clip. Test shots taken in Stockholm were presented to Madonna, for conveying the idea behind the clip, but they were deemed good enough to be used in the final product.

During filming Åkerlund was accompanied by three of his Swedish employees, photographer Henrik Halvarsson, production designer Mattias Lindgren, and editor Max Vitali. Madonna's daughter Lourdes was also present on set. The clip starts with the rising of the sun and a man opening the curtains in his house, until it progresses into the Koyaanisqatsi inspired section, featuring time lapse images of daily life, from people riding a subway, ordering food, bowling, and children in a classroom to sped up city scapes and freeways at night. Interspersed in the scenes is Madonna dancing and singing the track, her image partially merged with the backdrop of the fast sped cityscape. During the intermediate verse the high speed motion stops with the camera focusing on Madonna only against a sunset backdrop but quickly speeds up again. As the clip continues into nightfall, high speed images of Madonna dancing in a discothèque is shown, with the camera focusing on the revelers. She suddenly starts screaming. After that she is seen falling asleep on the dance floor, and a revolving shot of planet Earth. On June 23, 1998, the clip was released on VHS as a limited edition of 40,000 copies by Warner Music Vision. It had sold 7,381 copies of the following month after its release, becoming the best selling video singles of the Nielsen SoundScan era. The video charted on Billboards Music Video Sales chart for a total of 13 weeks. A few days after its release, Italian director Stefano Salvati accused Madonna's Warner Bros. Records imprint Maverick Records for plagiarizing the concept of a music video he directed for Biagio Antonacci's 1994 single "Non è Mai Stato Subito". According to Salvati, copies of his videos were submitted to Maverick before the "Ray of Light" video was shot and requested it to be pulled from distribution. Both clips featured the respective singers performing at regular speed against a backdrop of high speed images. However, he did not sue the singer or her companies. With "Ray of Light", Madonna debuted her "Earth Mother" look, complete with long strawberry blond hair and bronzed body. Author Georges Claude Guilbert wrote in his book, Madonna as Postmodern Myth, that her "straggly, expensively unwashed look" was comparable to that of singer Alanis Morissette and to Venetian paintings. According to Madonna, she went for an Italian Renaissance look, invoking work of painter Raphael and Botticelli. Guilbert found the singer's description as catering to postmodernism, in tune with the zeitgeist, and noted that it was just one of her "many reinventions". The book recalled how Madonna "quickly grew tired of the Botticelli Earth Mother phase" with subsequent singles being promoted with a new Asian inspired look. In the book Ex foliations: Reading Machines and the Upgrade Path, author Terry Harpold commented about the time lapse sequences, especially the image of a clock and its hands rotating past the hours. He felt that the clip portrays the daily life as a futile attempt for survival, enhanced by another shot showing the sonogram of a fetus in utero, and a hamster running on a wheel. Santiago Fouz Hernández, one of the authors of Madonna's Drowned Worlds, described Madonna as esoteric in the clip, as well as "skin deep Beverly Hills spiritualism". The video can be found on the Madonna compilations, The Video Collection 93:99 (1999) and Celebration: The Video Collection (2009).

+Release dates, formats and versions for "Ray of Light" Region Date Format(s) Version Label(s) Ref. (Reference) United Kingdom April 27, 1998 12 inch vinyl, CD single, CD, cassette tape, cassette Original Maverick (company), Maverick, Warner Music Group, Warner United States May 15, 1998 Contemporary hit radio United Kingdom May 18, 1998 CD Remixes United States May 22, 1998 Hot adult contemporary radioOriginal Canada May 26, 1998 CDMaverick, , Warner United States June 23, 1998 Video single Warner Reprise Video Various March 3, 2023 Music download, Digital download, streaming media, streaming Single Remixes Warner