Borderline (Madonna song)
"Borderline" is a song by American singer Madonna from her debut self-titled studio album (1983), written and produced by Reggie Lucas. In 1982, Madonna was signed on by Sire Records for the release of two 12-inch singles; after the success of first single "Everybody", the label approved the recording of an album, and the singer decided to work with Lucas. "Borderline" is a pop song with post-disco elements whose sounds recall the music of the 1970s, while the lyrics find a woman complaining of her lover's chauvinism.
"Borderline"
- "Think of Me"
- "Physical Attraction"
February 15, 1984
February 1983
- 5:18 (album version)
- 3:58 (single version)
- 6:55 (12” version)
Reggie Lucas
In the United States, it was released as single on February 15, 1984, whereas in Europe it was published twice: first in June 1984, and then in January 1986. Upon release, "Borderline" was acclaimed by music critics, who lauded the singer's vocals; in retrospective reviews, it has been referred to as Madonna's breakout song, and as one of the best songs from the 1980s. It was commercially successful: in 1984, it gave Madonna her first top-ten hit in the US Billboard Hot 100. The 1986 release saw success across Europe: it became the singer's second number one in Ireland, and reached the top 3 in the United Kingdom, Belgium and The Netherlands.
The song's music video was directed by Mary Lambert; in it, Madonna portrays the girlfriend of a Hispanic man, to whom she returns after being enticed to pose and model for a white British photographer. Authors pointed out that with the visual, the singer broke the taboo of interracial relationships. "Borderline" has been performed in the singer's Virgin (1985) and Sticky & Sweet (2008) concert tours. It has also been covered by artists like Jody Watley, the Flaming Lips, and Kelly Clarkson, among others.
Background[edit]
In 1982, Madonna was living with her former Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray in an unused rehearsal studio in New York City.[1] Since "funky dance records were in style on the radio and dance floor", she and Bray created a demo tape with four dance tracks, including "Everybody", "Burning Up", and "Ain't No Big Deal".[2] While pitching the tape, she met and befriended DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub.[3] After listening to "Everybody", Kamins took her to Sire Records, where Seymour Stein, the label's president, signed Madonna for two 12-inch singles.[3] Produced by Kamins and released in October, "Everybody" became a hit in the dance scene.[4][5] The single's success led to the label approving the recording of an album, but Madonna chose not to work with either Bray or Kamins, opting instead for Warner Bros. producer Reggie Lucas; Lucas was hired by Sire executive Michael Rosenblatt to give the album "an R&B feel".[4][6] Upon meeting her, Lucas wasn't impressed with the singer's "boho-punk style", and thought she "didn’t seem particularly avant-garde."[7][6]
Prior to entering the studio, Madonna had written three new songs: "Lucky Star", "Think of Me", and "I Know It".[8] However, she soon realized that there was not enough material for a full-length album ― the only tracks available were "Everybody", "Burning Up", "Lucky Star", "Think of Me", "I Know It", and "Ain't No Big Deal".[3] Lucas then brought two compositions of his own to the project: "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline", which he wrote specifically for Madonna.[3][9] Him and the singer worked on "Borderline" while she was staying at artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's apartment; "I'd write songs and put them on a little cassette player [...] I’d ask Madonna if she liked them [...] I did the demos for 'Physical Attraction' and 'Borderline' [...] and we did what we did to them", the producer recalled.[7][9] Upon hearing the final version, Stein declared, "I dared to believe this was going to be huge beyond belief, the biggest thing I'd ever had, after I heard 'Borderline'... The passion that she put into that song, I thought, there's no stopping this girl".[6]
Composition and release[edit]
Recording took place at the Sigma Sound Studios in New York.[10] Personnel working on the song included Lucas on the drum machine, Fred Zarr and Dean Gant on keyboards and synthesizers, alongside Ed Walsh; the bass was played by Anthony Jackson, while Bobby Malach played tenor saxophone. Background vocals were provided by Gwen Guthrie, Brenda White, and Chrissy Faith.[10] Lucas compared "Borderline"'s style to that of Stephanie Mills' "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (1980), which he also produced. It is also the first song where he used a drum machine instead of a drummer.[6] According to Rikki Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, the chord progression evokes Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (1974), while the inversions are similar to the sound of the 1970s, specifically disco, Philadelphia soul, and the work of Elton John.[3]
"Borderline" is a pop song with post-disco elements.[12] It saw a change in Madonna's usual vocal tone, as she sings in a more "refined and expressive" way.[13] Lyrically, it has been described as a "flirty, confectionery complaint from one lover to another".[14] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., "Borderline" is set in the time signature of common time with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of D major, with Madonna's vocal range spanning from F♯3 to B4. The song follows the chord progression of D–C–G in the first verse, and changes to Bm–Em–A–F♯ in the pre-chorus. The refrain has a progression of G–D–A.[15]
In the United States, "Borderline" was released on February 15, 1984, as the fourth single from the Madonna album, following "Holiday";[16] in the United Kingdom, it was published as the album's fifth single on June 2, 1984.[8][17] To "keep the Madonna mania going on", a second European release was done in January 1986.[18][16] "Borderline" was then included on Madonna's compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).[19][20]
Music video[edit]
Background and synopsis[edit]
Mary Lambert directed the music video for "Borderline", which was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California from January 30 to February 2, 1984.[72][73] Production was in charge of Lambert, Bruce Logan, and Michele Ferrone; Simon Maskell was on art direction, Andrea Dietrich on cinematography, while Glenn Morgan did the editing.[74] In the video, Madonna plays a young woman emotionally torn between her Hispanic boyfriend and a white British photographer, for whom she models and who publishes her pictures on a magazine cover.[75][76] Lambert recalled that there was "no formula" used when making the video and that they were simply "inventing it as we went along".[73] The role of the singer's boyfriend was played by Louis "Louie Louie" Cordero, while actor John Leguizamo appeared as an extra.[77][78]
Lambert herself described the video's plot to Rolling Stone: "[A] Boy and [a] girl enjoy simple pleasures of barrio love; girl is tempted by fame, boy gets huffy, girl gets famous, but her new beau's out-of-line reaction to a behavioral trifle (all she did was to spray-paint his expensive sports car) drives her back to her true love".[11] Throughout the clip, the singer is seen with her boyfriend and his "multiethnic break-dancing entourage", hanging out on rooftops; the scenes with the photographer depict a luxury sports car and take place in a "sanitized, colorless" private studio.[76] Madonna herself is shown with messy hair, "dramatic" make-up, jewelry, and a punk studded belt. In one particular scene with the boyfriend, she dons a denim jacket with "boy toy" emblazoned on the back.[76] When she models, she wears a couple of evening gowns.[75] These clothes were later used in fashion shows by designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Lacroix.[75]
Footage with the photographer was shot in black-and-white, while the scenes in the barrio with her boyfriend were shot in full color.[76] "Borderline" was added to MTV the week of March 24, 1984.[53] Years later, it was added to Madonna's video compilations The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration: The Video Collection (2009).[74][20]