Мадоннаның "Erotica" әні туралы

1992 single by Madonna
the song by Madonna

"Erotica" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album of the same name (1992). It was written and produced by both Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's lead single on September 29, 1992; in the United States, it was set to be released the following day, but after being leaked and played on several radio stations, the release date was held back until October 13. The song continued Madonna's exploration of spoken word vocals, which she had introduced in "Justify My Love" (1990). A pop hip hop and dance song with Middle Eastern influences, its lyrics talk about sadomasochism, with the singer using the alter ego Dita and inviting her lover to be submissive while she makes love to him. Upon release, "Erotica" was generally well received by music critics, with some deeming it one of Madonna's darkest and most experimental songs; in retrospective reviews, the song is now considered one of her best singles. It performed well commercially, debuting at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100―becoming one of the highest debuts on the chart history at the time―and peaking at number three. It also saw success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it reached the top position. Overseas, the song was also successful, peaking in the top 10 of several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, and Portugal. In Finland, Hungary, Italy and Greece, it peaked at number one. The accompanying music video was directed by Fabien Baron, and features scenes of Madonna dressed as a masked dominatrix interspersed with footage of the making of her Sex book; it is combined with appearances by Naomi Campbell and Isabella Rossellini, among others. The video was highly controversial, being aired by MTV only three times, all after the 10pm watershed, before being completely banned. Madonna has included "Erotica"on four of her concert tours, the most recent being the Celebration Tour of 2023—2024. It was also included on Madonna's compilations, GHV2 (2001), and Celebration (2009), and has been covered and parodied by several artists, including Julie Brown and Sandra Bernhard.

Upon release, "Erotica" was generally well received by music critics. For Billboard, Larry Flick referred to it as a "sensual slice of aural sex" that "twists the vibe of 'Justify My Love'", and highlighted the "deep and complex" arrangement. Allen Metz and Carol Benson, authors of The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary, said the track was "a bondage update on 'Justify My Love'". Similarly, while reviewing GHV2, Cinquemani called it a sequel to "Justify My Love", that is "as distantly icy as it was erotic", and a "creative high for a career on the verge of public turmoil". In less favorable comments, Anthony Violanti from The Buffalo News said the track was the album's weakest, and dismissed it as a "carbon copy" of "Justify My Love". Cashboxs Randy Clark said that, musically, the single did not offer anything new, and called it a "melody less 'Vogue'". Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters was also negative on her review; she felt the song did not age well, and referred to it as a "cold, dispassionate sexual fantasy" with "adolescent" lyrics intended to shock. Jude Rogers, writing for The Guardian, opined "Erotica" is an "oddly sexless Sex era single, not helped by awkward synthesised sighs". Finally, Entertainment Weeklys David Browne panned it as "depressingly trite [ ] between its frigid melody and your scary 'My name is Dita' spoken bits, it’s about as sexy as an episode of the Shelley Hack era Charlie's Angels". Retrospective reviews have been positive. In 2011, Slant Magazine placed the song at number 34 on their list of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s"; Ed Gonzalez praised Madonna's "throaty" vocals for making the song's "taunting, aggressive lyrics —an elaborate exploration of sex, from seduction to disease— feel unmistakably honest". On Gay Star News ranking, the single came in at number 17; Joe Morgan called it "daring, sexy, and unabashed". Entertainment Weeklys Chuck Arnold considered "Erotica" Madonna's 10th greatest song, and PinkNews Nayer Missim her sixth; the former opined it was "the boldest move she could have made at the height of her career", while the latter said the song was among the "most carefree, unpretentiously sexy music ever released". Morgan Troper, for Portland Mercury, named "Erotica" an example of "scary sexy" Madonna, and one of her "five sexiest songs that aren't 'Like a Virgin'". Scott Kearnan from Boston. com wrote that, "No pop star of her fame has been this sexually transgressive before or since [ ] Rihanna sings about 'S&M' like it’s a song about My Little Pony, but [Madonna] dishes on pain, pleasure, and power with the conviction of a whip crack"; he named "Erotica" the singer's sixth best. The song came in the 22nd position of Billboard magazine's list of Madonna's singles, with Lynch hailing it "the boldest, riskiest reinvention in a career full of them [ ] An icy declaration that it was time to kick open the doors on kinks and own them without shame". El Hunt from NME wrote: "Defined by sleazy Shep Pettibone beats, orgasmic gasps, and choice lyrics [ ] ['Erotica'] makes 50 Shades of Grey look tamer than a fully domesticated alpaca". From the Official Charts Company, Justin Myers considered the Sex version of "Erotic" to be one of Madonna's "hidden gems". WatchMojo's Lisa Yang placed "Erotica" among Madonna's most underrated songs, adding that it "has aged gracefully thanks to its progressive lyrics and seductive sound".

On October 17, 1992, "Erotica" debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There" as the highest debuting single in the chart since 1970. nonetheless, it was also Madonna's first lead single to not top the chart since 1983. By October 31, 1992, sales took a dip and the single dropped two positions in the chart. Jose F. Promis pointed out that "Erotica" was one of the fastest rising singles in the chart's history, but also had one of the biggest drops; he attributed this to a backlash the singer faced from the general public, who decided she had gone "too far" following the release of the Sex book. Overall, "Erotica" spent eighteen weeks on the chart, and received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 10, 1992, for shipment of 500,000 copies. "Erotica" came in at number 48 on the Dance Singles Sales year end chart for 1993. In Canada, the single debuted in the 58th position of RPMs Top Singles chart on the week of October 17; it peaked at number 13 the week of November 21, 1992. In Australia, "Erotica" entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 16 on the week of October 25, 1992, eventually peaking at 4 and lasting 11 weeks on the chart. The single was less successful in Austria and France, peaking at numbers 15 and 23, respectively. Madonna later explained that she visualized the clip by closing her eyes and thinking of what was erotic to her, though not necessarily having experienced such things. Inspired by the films of Andy Warhol and The Factory, the video intercalates scenes of Madonna dressed as a masked dominatrix with a gold tooth, with actual footage of the making of the Sex book; in these scenes, the singer is seen sitting topless in the lap of an older man, kissing model Naomi Campbell, wearing BDSM gear, and riding a bicycle in the nude. Vanilla Ice, Big Daddy Kane, and Isabella Rossellini all make appearances. Richard Harrington from The Washington Post gave a description of the visual:
"In the video, [Madonna] becomes Dita Parlo, a masked, gold toothed dominatrix from an indeterminate age, ready to help us cross the street at the corner of Pleasure and Pain [ ] assuming different dominatrix roles and investigating assorted bondage scenarios before finishing up with some nude hitchhiking on a street remarkable free of pile ups. Shot in grainy black and white, 'Erotica' has the feel of a stag film, though its quick cuts keep the viewer from seeing all that much". The video had its world premiere on MTV, on midnight October 2, 1992; following a "mercifully short" lecture on BDSM, host Kurt Loder explained that because some people may find the video's content "repellent", it would only be shown at night and not in regular rotation. "Erotica" was shown a total of three times on MTV, all three after midnight, before being completely retired from airing; it became Madonna's second video to be banned by the channel, following "Justify My Love". MTV spokesperson Carole Robinson said that the video would never air in its entirety during days or evenings, but selected parts would air on afternoon dance show The Grind;

Other networks such as NBC and the Times Square screens also refused to air the visual after finding its content "too racy"; Pearl Liebermen, a producer of NBC's Friday Night Videos, found "Erotica" to be "very stimulating", and said that although the network would not air the video, they would report on it.

Initial reaction to the music video ranged from mixed to negative; Rolling Stones Anthony DeCurtis noted it was "pretty much normal Madonna fare", but wondered how much longer would she be able to "continue mining sexuality", concluding: "At what point does it just stop being interesting?" "['Erotica' is] another example of her video overkill [ ] [Madonna] has hyped sex to the point of boredom and has become a caricature of herself", Violanti wrote. Virtel and Idolators Mike Nied both considered "Erotica" to be Madonna's 17th best video; the former deemed it a "seedy sight, but one that forces you to wonder: Would you let yourself go wild? ", while according to the latter, the visual "brought soft porn to the mainstream". For MTV's Kyle Anderson, "[the video] still feels controversial all these years". At the 1993 Billie Awards, "Erotica" was nominated in three categories: Consumer print, trade print (music) and consumer print (retail), the most for a single entry; it was also included on VH1's 50 Sexiest Video Moments at number 16. Rolling Stones Eric Harvey named "Erotica" one of "The 15 Most NSFW Music Videos of All Time". Finally, for Eric Henderson from Slant Magazine, "Erotica" is Madonna's 15th greatest music video. In Justify My Love: Sex, Subversion, and Music Video (2019), Ryann Donnelly wrote that the music video "expands and proliferates" the queer imagery from "Justify My Love"; this can be seen in scenes where Madonna kisses and gropes Campbell and Rossellini, two "classic objects of desire for heterosexual men", according to Donnelly. then, Madonna emerged dressed as a short haired dominatrix, wearing a domino mask, sequined black hotpants and bra, long gloves, knee high boots, and brandishing a riding crop. She rubbed the crop between her legs as she sang, while dancers posed and danced suggestively in the background. The performance recorded on November 19, 1993, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, was included on The Girlie Show: Live Down Under home video release (1994). For 2006's Confessions Tour, "Erotica" was used on an introduction video that led to "Music" (2000), along with "Borderline" (1984), "Dress You Up" (1985), and "Holiday" (1983). On that same tour, Madonna sang a remix of the song, based on one of the unreleased demos known as "You Thrill Me". She wore a one shouldered unitard with ribbons of purple Swarovski crystals across the torso, similar to the one worn by the singers of ABBA, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, and was joined by five couples dancing "mild mannered steps lifted from a Broadway ballroom scene". Slant Magazines Ed Gonzalez opined that, "her performance of Stuart Price's 'You Thrill Me' remix of 'Erotica' is a smash: She disco fies the song but keeps its sex appeal, choreographing it to simple, Latin infused dance maneuvers that are ecstatic". The performance from the August 15–16 London concerts was included on the singer's second live album The Confessions Tour (2007). Madonna sang as a male dancer groped her. The Jerusalem Posts Niv Elis highlighted the performance, which he felt showcased the singer "at her visual best"; on the contrary, Emrah Güler from the Hürriyet Daily News said it was one number that "could have been left out". The performances at the November 19–20 shows in Miami were recorded and released in the MDNA World Tour live album (2013). Four 2023–2024's the Celebration Tour, "Erotica" was given a boxing theme. The stage had a ring crafted from lasers, while Madonna―who donned a slip dress underneath a boxing robe―cavorted around shirtless dancers wearing glittery gloves. The performance ended with the singer masturbating on a red velvet, flanked by a drag queen dressed in the Jean Paul Gaultier designed gold corset from 1990's Blond Ambition World Tour.

The Sex book, the single and its music video, have been parodied several times: in the October 1992 edition of Paper, actress Ann Magnuson said she was going to release a Sex book to accompany her album, Neurotica; "Neurotica" was also the name used to spoof the song and its video on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color. In The Edge, also from Fox, Julie Brown―who had previously parodied Madonna's 1991 film Truth or Dare―played the singer discussing Sex on a talk show, and did a spoof of the "Erotica" video; when Sandra Bernhard brought her stand up show Giving Til It Hurts to New York, she did a short spoof of the song, also called "Neurotica", about a woman who obsessively cleans her house. Of the latter, AllMusic's Al Campbell said it was one of the album's "more attention grabbing cuts". In 2005, a cover by Adam Marano was recorded for Tribute to Madonna (Golden Sound); three years later, "Erotica" was covered by Clueless and The Sunset Lounge. "Erotica" was featured in a scene of Madonna's directorial debut Filth and Wisdom (2008).