Die Another Day (song)

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"Die Another Day"

Single by Madonna
from the album Die Another Day OST / American Life
Released	October 22, 2002
Format	12", CD
Recorded	2002
Genre	Electro
Length	4:38
Label	Maverick Records Warner Bros. Records WEA International
Writer(s)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Producer(s)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Chart positions
#1 (Latvia, Canada, Croatia, Italy, UWC) #3 (UK Singles Chart) #8 (US Billboard Hot 100)
Madonna singles chronology
"What It Feels Like For A Girl" (2001)	"Die Another Day" (2002)	"American Life" (2003)
James Bond theme chronology
"The World Is Not Enough" (1999)	"Die Another Day" (2002)	"You Know My Name" (2006)
American Life track listing
"Mother and Father" (9)	"Die Another Day" (10)	"Easy Ride" (11)

"Die Another Day" was the theme to the James Bond film of the same name recorded by Madonna. The single, released in late-2002, peaked at #8 in the United States and #3 in the United Kingdom, making it the most successful Bond theme since "A View to a Kill." The song was later included on the singer's 2003 album, American Life.

1 Song information
2 Music video
3 Charts
4 Official versions

[edit] Song information

The song was co-written and co-produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzai in the scale of C minor. String arrangements of the song were written by Michel Colombier. The single spent 11 weeks at number one on the United States Billboard Singles Sales Charts and is her most successful title on the sales chart to date; Thanks to the success on the U.S. Single Sales Chart, the single was certified gold that same year. Die Another Day was the most successful Bond theme-song since the 1980s. Critical opinion of the song widely varies as evidenced by the fact that it was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song as well as for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song (2002). In an official MORI poll in the UK for the Channel 4 program James Bond's Greatest Hits, the song was voted 9th most popular James Bond theme by the general public. Those polled ages 24 and under voted it their number 1 favourite Bond song.

None of Die Another Day's melody was employed by David Arnold in the development of the motion picture score. Instead, the string section of the song's Dirty Vegas mix can be heard during one scene of the film.

[edit] Music video

Madonna in the single's video. (Audio sample of "Die Another Day" (help·info))

The music video was directed by Traktor, Swedish directing team. Continuing with the violent trend of her recent music videos ("What It Feels Like For A Girl") The video shows a Madonna that is beaten and tortured, her head is shoved underwater, and she is strapped into an electric chair, all while sporting bloody clothing, bruises, a split lip and various other signs of extreme physical wear, a recreation of the opening scene of the eponymous film. Meanwhile, in her subconscious, black (evil) and white (good) versions of herself battle each other with weapons (similar to the fight scene in the movie between James Bond and Gustav Graves at the fencing school) that pay homage to past James Bond movies, fencing foils and eventually swords, axes, razor-rimmed hats (a homage to Oddjob from 1964's Goldfinger), and harpoon guns before the good Madonna triumphs in one fatal blow (Evil Madonna dies in a way that is very similar to Miranda Frost in the movie). The scene also includes a statue of a gold woman (a reference to Shirley Eaton's character in Goldfinger) It could also be interpreted on a much simpler level: the evil Madonna represents her ego and her negative past self. This entire sequence is inspired by the Venice glass museum fight scene in Moonraker. The very end of the video has sparked some discussion as Madonna appears to escape Houdini-like from the electric chair, leaving behind only a smouldering chair with a Hebrew expression "לאו" (can be interpreted as "great escape" or "freedom", one of the "72 Names of God", used in the Kabbalah).

On the video and its direction, directors Tracktor said: "The video required two very distinct looks. One, for the fencing sequences, was a glossy, stylish look that needed to be as bright as possible while retaining all of the details. The second was a raw, dirtier look for the torture chamber and the electric chair room."

The video is one of Madonna's most expensive and epic videos, costing more than $6 million US due to the heavy use of special effects. Traktor explained that "for various reasons, there are effects in almost every shot. It is a testament to the skills of the merry artisans of MPC that you think there are none. As with modern underwear, the best effects are always the ones that don't show through your slacks."

[edit] Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak Position
Australia ARIA Top 50 Singles	5
Austria Top 75 Singles	2
Brasil Top 100 Singles	6
Canada Top 50 Singles	1
Croatia Top 50 Singles	1
Dutch Top 40 Singles	4
Finland Top 20 Singles	4
France Top 100 Singles	15
Germany Top 100 Singles	4
Italy Top 50 Singles	1
Latvian Airplay Top	1
Netherland Mega Top 100 Singles	5
New Zealand Top 50 Singles	22
Spain Los 40 Principales	2
Sweden Top 60 Singles	4
Switzerland Top 100 Singles	4
Tokio Hot 100	9
UK Top 75 Singles	3
USA Billboard Hot 100	8
USA Adult Top 40	23
USA Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	1
USA Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	1
USA Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	22
USA Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	4
USA Billboard Top 40 Tracks	8
USA Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales	1

Preceded by "The Ketchup Song" by Las Ketchup	United World Chart number one single December 14, 2002 - January 4, 2003	Succeeded by "Lose Yourself" by Eminem