Don't Tell Me (Madonna song)

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“Don't Tell Me”
Single by Madonna from the album Music
B-side	"Cyberraga" (UK) "Don't Tell Me" (Thunderpuss' 2001 Radio Mix) (US)
Released	November 21, 2000 (non-US) January 16, 2001 (US)
Format	CD single CD maxi single Cassette single 7" single 12" single
Recorded	2000
Genre	Electro Pop, Pop Rock
Length	4:39
Label	Maverick, Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï Joe Henry
Producer	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï
Madonna singles chronology
"Music" (2000) "Don't Tell Me" (2000/2001) "What It Feels Like for a Girl" (2001)
Music track listing
"Nobody's Perfect" (6) "Don't Tell Me" (7) "What It Feels Like for a Girl" (8)
GHV2 track listing
"Ray of Light" (radio edit) (11) "Don't Tell Me" (album version) (12) "What It Feels Like for a Girl" (album version) (13)
Alternate covers
UK CD single 2 cover
Don't Tell Me:Remixes CD cover

"Don't Tell Me" is the second single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on November 21, 2000 by Maverick Records. The release date in North America was postponed to January 16, 2001 due to the huge success of the first single "Music". Audio sample (help·info).

[edit] Song information

The track was originally written by Joe Henry, Madonna's brother-in-law. He recorded the track on its own, simply called "Stop", which was released on his 2001 album Scar. His wife, Melanie, sent a demo of the track to her sister, who recorded her own version with the help of Mirwais Ahmadzaï. Lizz Wright recorded a jazzy take on "Stop" which she included in her 2005 release "Dreaming Wide Awake".

"Don't Tell Me" caused a lot of confusion among customers who bought Music when it was released in 2000; because of its chopped-up guitar instrumentation, many thought it was a disc-malfunction and returned the CD, only to learn later that it was intentional.^{[citation needed]}

Madonna performed "Don't Tell Me" on her 2001 Drowned World Tour and her 2004 Re-Invention Tour.

In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their Top 20 Madonna singles of all-time by Q-Magazine. "Don't Tell Me" was allocated the #13 spot.

In 2005, the song placed at #285 on Blender Magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". [1]

[edit] Chart performance

"Don't Tell Me" peaked at number four on the U.S. charts and spent eight weeks in the top ten. It made gains at radio for three months consecutively (her longest-growing hit since "Take a Bow"), and also spent a long time on the club-play chart. Despite spending only one week at number one (most of her recent dance hits have spent at least two, and "Music" five), it managed fourteen weeks on the chart, out-lasting "Music" and tying with "Ray of Light" as Madonna's longest running club hit since "Bedtime Story" in 1995. In addition, "Don't Tell Me" is Madonna's biggest hit on the Adult Top 40 chart, where it peaked at number four, making it her only top five single on that chart.

Many fans hoped the single would hit #1 in the US and felt that Warner Brothers had ruined the single's chances of becoming a #1 hit due to it being released so late. Some believe if it had been released just a couple weeks earlier it would hit the top spot with its strong airplay and sales. But since "What It Feels Like For A Girl" was released so soon after radio turned their focus to the latest Madonna single which left "Don't Tell Me" to fall on the charts before hitting #1.

In March 2001 the single was certified gold. With this twenty-fourth gold record, Madonna tied with The Beatles for the second spot of most gold records in the United States.

The song was also a huge hit around the world, peaking in the top five in many countries. In the United World Chart "Don't Tell Me" peaked at number one for 2 weeks. It hit the number one spot in Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa, remaining at #1 for 3 weeks in the latter two countries. It also reached the number four slot in the United Kingdom. The single is often referred to as one of the most successful Madonna singles in Ireland.

[edit] Music video

Madonna in "Don't Tell Me" video. (Audio sample of the song (help·info)

The music video for "Don't Tell Me" was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and filmed in October 2000. In it, Madonna walks in a desert, wearing plaid and denim. The camera zooms out at times to show how a music video is really made (green screens, wind machines, etc.). Soon she is accompanied by four male dancers and she dons full a cowgirl costume, executing a choreographed line-dancing routine. The choreography was done by Alex Magno, who also collaborated on the Drowned World Tour. The tour designers Dsquared and Arianne Phillips also designed her cowgirl costume in the video.

• Director: Jean-Baptiste Mondino
• Producer: Maria Gallagher
• Director of Photography: Alex Barber
• Editor: Angus Wall
• Production Company: DNA Inc.

[edit] Legacy

At the MTV Video Music Awards as hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Kirsten Dunst, a parody of the song (and video) were performed by the hosts, as they detailed the anticipated events of the evening. Fallon at one time dropped to the floor to bathe himself in sand, a la Madonna in the video. Fallon, however, got most of it in his pants.

Rock band The Androids recorded a song entitled "Do it With Madonna," where they detail how they would prefer sex with the titular star as opposed to more recently unveiled pop idols. One citation they make to Madonna's appeal is a music video in which she's wearing a "cowboy hat and [...] kicking the dirt", a clear reference to the video for "Don't Tell Me."and she also rolls on the floor and dives in

[edit] Track listings and formats

[edit] Official versions

• Album Version (4:40)
• Radio Edit (4:10)
• Acapella Transfer - Lead Vox (3:10) Unreleased, leaked with added echoes; circulating among collectors
• Acapella Transfer - Back Vox (0:47) Unreleased, unleaked; circulating among collectors
• Thunderpuss Club Mix (7:53)
• Thunderpuss Radio Mix (3:40)
• Thunderpuss' 2001 Hands In The Air Anthem (10:20)
• Thunderpuss' 2001 Hands In The Air Radio Mix (4:26)
• Thunderpuss' 2001 Tribe-A-Pella (8:31)
• Thunderdub (8:53)
• Thunderpuss Beats (5:02) (Unreleased)
• Thunderpuss Anthem (6:00) (Featured on a Thunderpuss compilation)
• Vission Remix/Richard Humpty Vission Remix (7:52)
• Vission Radio Mix / Richard Humpty Vission Radio Mix (3:48)
• Tracy Young Club Mix / Tracy Young Club Mix 1 (11:01)
• Tracy Young Club Mix 2 (11:08)
• Timo Maas Mix (6:56)
• Victor Calderone Sensory Mix (6:48)
• Dave Audé Funk Mix (7:57) (Unreleased)

[edit] Charts

[edit] External links

• Mad-Eyes.net - "Don't Tell Me" Single Page