Causing a Commotion
"Causing a Commotion" is a song by American singer Madonna from the soundtrack album to the 1987 film Who's That Girl. It was released as the album's second single on August 25, 1987, by Sire Records. Its Silver Screen Single Mix later appeared on the EP The Holiday Collection (1991). Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the song was inspired by her relationship with then-husband Sean Penn, and his abusive and violent nature. Containing a dance-oriented, up-tempo groove, the song begins with the chorus and is accompanied by a four-note descending bassline and staccato chords in the verses.
"Causing a Commotion"
Since its release, "Causing a Commotion" has received mixed reviews from music critics. The song was a commercial success, peaking within the top-ten in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Madonna performed the song on the Who's That Girl World Tour in 1987 – which was transmitted via satellite to the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards – and the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. She also performed a brief snippet in selected shows on The Celebration Tour in 2023 and 2024. The performances were included in the home video release of the tours.
Recording and composition[edit]
"Causing a Commotion" was recorded and mixed by Stephen Bray along with Shep Pettibone, who also did additional production on the track. Junior Vasquez was the mixing engineer along with Steve Peck, the former also did the audio editing. Background vocals were provided by Donna De Lory and Niki Haris.[5] "Causing a Commotion" has a dancey, up-tempo groove in it.[6] The musical arrangement consists of a number of hooks interpolating with each other. It begins with the chorus, where Madonna sings the line "I've got the moves baby, You've got the motion, If we got together we'd be causing a commotion". The verses are accompanied by a four-note descending bassline and interjecting staccato chords.[6]
The lyrics make reference to Madonna's 1985 hit single "Into the Groove" and have three parts to the vocal harmony. Andrzej Ciuk, one of the editors of the book Exploring Space noted that the proverbial status of the phrase "opposites attract" as a defining key ingredient of cultural concept of "love" and this was evident also in the song with the lyrics: "You met your match when you met me, I know that you'll disagree it's crazy, But opposites attract you'll see, And I won't let you get away so easy".[7]
Chart performance[edit]
"Causing a Commotion" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 41 the week of September 12, 1987, as "Who's That Girl" was descending from the top-ten.[18] The song quickly climbed up the chart, ultimately peaking at number two the week of October 24, 1987, blocked from the top position by Michael Jackson's "Bad" and Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now." It remained in the runner-up position for three consecutive weeks, before descending the chart.[19] The song reached the top 40 of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and hit number one on the Dance Club Songs chart.[20][21] In Canada, the song debuted at number 90 on the RPM Top 100 chart on September 19, 1987.[22] After six weeks, the song reached a peak of number two on the chart.[23] It was present for a total of 31 weeks and ranked at number 47 on the RPM year-end chart for 1987.[24][25]
In the United Kingdom, "Causing a Commotion" entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven and peaked at number four. The song was present for a total of nine weeks.[26] According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 230,000 copies there.[27] In Germany, the song debuted on the Media Control Charts at number 66 on September 29, 1987, reaching a peak of number 14 in its third week and spending 12 weeks on the chart.[28] The song reached the top-ten in Australia and the European Hot 100 Singles, peaking at number seven and three, respectively.[29][30] Elsewhere, the song reached the top-ten in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland, and the top 20 in Austria, Norway and Sweden.[31][32][33]
Credits adapted from the Who's That Girl soundtrack and 12" single liner notes.[5][48]