Secret (Madonna song)

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“Secret”
Single by Madonna from the album Bedtime Stories
B-side	"Let Down Your Guard" (Rough Mix Edit) (U.K.) "Secret" (Instrumental) (USA)
Released	September 28, 1994 October 2, 1994 (U.K.)
Format	CD, Cassette, 7"
Recorded	1994
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	5:04
Label	Maverick, Sire, Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna, Dallas Austin, Shep Pettibone
Producer	Madonna, Dallas Austin
Certification	Gold (US) Silver (France)
Madonna singles chronology
"I'll Remember" (1994) "Secret" (1994) "Take a Bow" (1994)
Bedtime Stories track listing
"Survival" (1) "Secret" (2) "I'd Rather Be Your Lover" (3)
GHV2 track listing
"Human Nature" (radio version) (3) "Secret" (edit version) (4) "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (radio edit) (5)

"Secret" was the first single taken from Madonna's 1994 album Bedtime Stories. It was released in September 1994 and became a top ten hit around the world, most importantly reaching number three in the US and five in the UK.

[edit] Song

Stylistically, "Secret" marked a significant change in Madonna's sound. A return to her R&B roots, the song was the first of her songs since the Like a Prayer era to prominently feature guitarwork, and in the 2001 reworking of the track for the Drowned World Tour.

Musically, "Secret" is in the key of E-flat minor.^[1]

[edit] Production

Originally "Secret" was co-produced by Shep Pettibone, who had produced Erotica. This demo version, known as "Something's Coming Over Me", was never released. The album booklet lists the song as composed, produced, and arranged by Madonna and Dallas Austin. In the inlay of the remix compilation album GHV2 Remixed: The Best of 1991-2001, it lists Shep Pettibone as co-writer.

[edit] Music video

The black and white music video was directed by photographer Melodie McDaniel and was filmed on September 9, 1994 at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem, New York. It is a gritty, story-based narrative, interpreted by some as being an analogy for rebirth, with scenes pointing to drug use, a transvestite, the struggle to repent, and the eventual re-baptising and redemption. Though the video featured these potentially controversial themes, and saw Madonna playing a Harlem club singer in an interracial relationship, the video received widespread airplay.

An official remix video was edited by Dan-O-Rama and is known as "Secret (Dan-O-Rama Remix)" - it includes the remix "Junior's Luscious Club Edit" by Junior Vasquez.

• Director: Melodie McDaniel
• Producer: Tim Harbert
• Director of Photography: Pascal Lebègue
• Production Company: Palomar Pictures Inc.

[edit] Tracklisting and formats

• UK CD Single One

1. Secret (Edit)
2. Let Down Your Guard (Rough Mix Edit)
3. Secret (Instrumental)
4. Secret (LP Version)

• UK CD Single Two

1. Secret (Junior's Luscious Single Mix)
2. Secret (Junior's Extended Luscious Club Mix)
3. Secret (Junior's Luscious Dub)
4. Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)
5. Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Dub)

• UK Cassette Single / UK 7" Picture Disc

1. Secret (LP Version)
2. Let Down Your Guard (Rough Mix Edit)

• US CD Single / US Cassette Single / US 7" Single

1. Secret (LP Version)
2. Secret (Instrumental)

• US CD Maxi Single

1. Secret (Edit)
2. Secret (Junior's Luscious Single Mix)
3. Secret (Junior's Luscious Club Mix)
4. Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)
5. Secret (Some Bizarre Mix)
6. Secret (Allstar Mix)

• Japanese CD Single

1. Secret (Junior's Luscious Single Mix)
2. Secret (Junior's Extended Luscious Club Mix)
3. Secret (Junior's Luscious Dub)
4. Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Mix)
5. Secret (Junior's Sound Factory Dub)
6. Secret (Some Bizarre Mix)
7. Secret (Allstar Mix)

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Internet Promotion

Madonna promoted this song on the Internet, something unusual for that era, with a sample of 30 seconds of "Secret" and the cover image of the Bedtime Stories album. Besides, she left a message, with the following words:

"Hello, all you Cyberheads! Welcome to the '90s version of intimacy. You can hear me... You can even see me... But you can't touch me... Do you recognize my voice? It's Madonna. Often imitated, but never duplicated... Or, should I say, often irritated. If you feel like it, you can download the sound file of my new single "Secret," from my new album, Bedtime Stories, which comes out next month. I just shot the video in New York, and will be premiering an exclusive sample of it online. So check back soon. In the meantime, why don't you post me a message and let me know what you think of my new song. And by the way, don't believe any of those online imposters, pretending to be me...ain't nothing like the real thing. Peace, out."

[edit] References

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