Bad Girl (song)

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“Bad Girl”
Single by Madonna from the album Erotica
B-side	"Fever" (US/Japan) "Erotica" (William Orbit Edit) (Europe)
Released	February 28, 1993 (U.K.) March 11, 1993 (U.S.)
Format	CD, 7", 12"
Recorded	1992
Genre	Pop
Length	5:23
Label	Maverick, Sire, Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna Shep Pettibone Anthony Shimkin
Producer	Madonna Shep Pettibone
Madonna singles chronology
"Deeper and Deeper" (1992) "Bad Girl" (1993) "Fever" (1993)
Erotica track listing
"Where Life Begins" (5) "Bad Girl" (6) "Waiting" (7)

"Bad Girl" was the third single from Madonna's 1992 album Erotica.

[edit] Song information

The single marked a shift in fortunes for Madonna, as it was only her second single since 1984 not to chart in the top twenty in the US, stalling at thirty-six on the Billboard 100. In the UK, it managed to reach number ten, and it peaked at number five in Canada. The B-side of the US 7" release was Madonna's cover of "Fever" while the B-side of the UK 7" release was a William Orbit dub of "Erotica".

Madonna performed "Bad Girl" live on Saturday Night Live in January 1993. At the end of the song she tore up a picture of Joey Buttafuoco, telling the audience to "fight the real enemy!" This was a spoof of Sinéad O'Connor's controversial SNL appearance a few months earlier in which she had done the same to a picture of Pope John Paul II.

A demo version of the song (titled "Cheat") leaked on the internet in late November 2007 - see The Rain Tapes.

[edit] Music video

The storyline in the video was influenced by the book and film Looking for Mr. Goodbar. It featured Madonna as "Louise Oriole," a high-powered Manhattan female executive who is an alcoholic and has a penchant for one-night stands with many different men. (From affluent yuppies to shady low lifes.) She behaves this way in order to try to deal with her depression and sadness over a relationship with someone she loves deeply, but ultimately has no future. Through her days, Louise gets distracted by cigarettes, cocktails, and random hook-ups, as lamented in the song's lyrics. Christopher Walken plays her guardian angel, who watches over her activities and delivers Louise with a "kiss of death" (constituting another instance of Walken performing the character of Angel of Death, a role he would later reprise yet again in the film Click) before her final encounter with a man who strangles her with her pantyhose.

Negative reception of the video criticises the topic of misogynistic murder of women as too extreme for a pop video that is about a doomed relationship, highlighting America's obsession with serial killers and violence.

It was directed by David Fincher and filmed in New York City from January 12-18, 1993. Madonna's look in the video is reminiscent of her character in the film Body of Evidence, which had just been released.

• Director: David Fincher
• Producer: Oliver Fuselier
• Director of Photography: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
• Editor: Bob Jenkis
• Production Company: Propaganda Films

It is worth noting that the name "Louise" is Madonna's middle name. She previously had gone by the nickname "Lulu" as well, which she stated in an interview with Carrie Fisher that she used to register for hotel stays.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] US Maxi-Single

1. Bad Girl (Edit)
2. Fever (Murk Boys Miami Mix)
3. Fever (Extended 12")
4. Bad Girl (Extended Mix)
5. Fever (Murk Boys Deep South Mix)
6. Fever (Hot Sweat 12")

[edit] Versions

1. "Bad Girl" (Edit)
2. "Bad Girl" (Album Version)
3. "Bad Girl" (Extended Mix)
4. "Bad Girl" (Video Instrumental)
5. "Bad Girl" (Video Version)

[edit] Charts

[edit] References

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