Jump (Madonna song)
"Jump" is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Written by and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price with additional writing by Joe Henry, the song was supposed to be released as the third single of the album. However, since "Get Together" was decided as the third single based on its digital sales, "Jump" was sent to hot adult contemporary radios in the United States as the fourth and final single from the album on September 11, 2006, by Warner Bros. Records. The song incorporates pop, synth-pop, techno and disco music with tributes to Pet Shop Boys. Madonna sings in her lower register in the song. Its lyrics talk about self-empowerment and sufficiency while looking for the prospects of a new relationship.
"Jump"
"History"
September 11, 2006
2005
3:58 (album version)
3:22 (radio edit)
- Madonna
- Stuart Price
- Joe Henry
- Madonna
- Stuart Price
Upon release, "Jump" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the club anthem-like quality of the song. Commercially, "Jump" peaked inside the top ten of the charts of some European countries, topping the charts in Italy and Hungary. In the United States, "Jump" placed in several Billboard dance charts, although it did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The music video for the song was shot in Tokyo during Madonna's 2006 Confessions Tour stopover. It portrayed Madonna in a blond bob wig and a leather ensemble singing the song in front of a number of neon signs. The video also featured dancers who performed the physical discipline parkour. It was also performed on her Confessions Tour, where Madonna and her dancers jumped around the stage actively, while singing the song. The song was used in the movie The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and the Ugly Betty season 2 finale in 2008.
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"Jump" was written and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price.[13] Musically, the song is a pop,[8] synth-pop,[14] techno[15] and disco[16] song which finds Madonna singing in her lower register.[17] The song is set in common time with moderately fast tempo.[18] It is set in the key of E minor. Madonna's voice spans from D3 to A4.[18] The track follows in the chord progression of E–D–C–D in the verses, and C–D–E in the chorus, with an E synth drone playing continually.[18] Some reviewers observed that the opening synth line of "Jump" was similar to that of English duo Pet Shop Boys' 1984 single "West End Girls".[19][20][21][22][23][24] For Slant Magazine's Ed Henderson, the song is "paced about a half-dozen BPMs slower than a disco gallop—giving the impression of a DJ pitch-shifting a familiar chestnut to give it a blue, after-hours glow".[25]
Lyrically "Jump" talks about empowerment and the urge to move on from one situation to another.[26][27] For Alan Light from Rolling Stone, the lyrics reflected Madonna's change of style from her previous singles about supremacy like "Everybody" (1982), "Vogue" (1990) and "Music" (2000), which were centered around the subject of music itself, and shifting her focus on self-sufficiency. The line "I can make it alone" in the song demonstrated the shift.[28] Keith Caulfield of Billboard believed that the song has a "positive universal message about believing in yourself, not wasting time and taking a chance in life",[8] whereas according to Samuel R. Murrian from Parade, on the track, Madonna "sings about the possibilities of finding new love, and appears to reflect upon the move to NYC she made as a teen".[20] Idolator's Stephen Sears observed that "Jump" became "a fine addition to a long line of Madonna songs extolling both the power of family and her belief that you won’t get anywhere in life if you don’t take chances".[21] The lyrics were also compared to the lyrics of Madonna's 1990 single "Keep It Together" by some critics, as they shared a similar theme surrounding family.[16][21][29]
Critical reception[edit]
Upon release, "Jump" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Keith Caulfield from Billboard complimented the song's "empowerment" theme,[26] while Margaret Moser of The Austin Chronicle called it "slinky and sexy".[30] City Pages' Peter S. Scholtes considered the track "very pretty".[31] While reviewing the album, Alan Braidwood from BBC Music called the song as "lethally catchy" and one of the album's highlights.[32] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly called "Jump", along with "Get Together", as fluid in nature.[15] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that Madonna's "somber side sounds best in 'Jump', about the urge to move on".[27] On his review for People, Chuck Arnold stated that "a new wavish energy drives pulsating tracks like 'Jump'".[33] Writing for Salon, Camille Paglia shared her opinion that on the album "there are only two truly strong songs, 'Hung Up' and 'Jump' -- especially the latter, with its magnificent, hymnlike ascensions".[34] Reut R. from New University wrote, "At this point, you are hoping that the album picks up, because only two or perhaps three titles are worthy listens from the first seven tracks. Your prayers are answered with 'Jump.'"[35] Similarly, for David Byrne from RTÉ, the song "comes out of nowhere and we go for one last boogie".[36] From The Times, Mike Pattenden said that "Jump" and "How High" perform a "breathless one-two".[37] Folha de S.Paulo commented that "with a catchy chorus, it sounds like it was made to lift stadiums".[24]
Diego Costa of UWM Post wrote that "Jump" is a "bossy, slightly sadistic spoken intro by Madonna, just like in 'Erotica', so who can resist? A knock-yourself-out, club-tailored take on the wasteful nature of inertia."[38] Similarly, Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani commented that the song is a "gritty club anthem that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Erotica".[17] Isabel Mohan from Heat stated that "Jump" should join the likes of "Vogue" and "Into the Groove" as a Madonna classic.[39] Matt Zakosek of The Chicago Maroon wrote that the stand-out tracks on the album were "Jump" and "Push", which "sound as close to the 80s Madonna as we're probably ever going to get again. The lyrics of Jump' are joyous, recalling the fun, community-minded Madonna of True Blue and Like a Prayer."[40] A negative review came from newspaper Herald Sun, which called it "a little 80's-ish, more bleeps and beats with a smooth dance sheen, but still feels like filler".[41] In another negative review, Johnny Davis of Q magazine stated, "Jump, likewise isn't quite the copper-bottomed pop song it thinks it is".[42] Het Nieuwsblad's Mark Coppens was also negative, observing that "this song already begs for a remix, because this version sounds a bit lame in our opinion. Technopop might be trendy again, but trendwatchers don't mean this plastic melody".[43]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, "Jump" reached number five on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, failing to progress further and chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] The song also reached a peak of 21 on the Adult Contemporary chart on the issue dated January 27, 2007.[44] It reached the top of the Hot Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated November 18, 2006, becoming Madonna's 37th number-one single on the chart.[45] "Jump" also became Madonna's seventh number-one single on the Hot Singles Sales chart,[46] as well as her fourth consecutive number-one single on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart.[47] The song sold 31,000 digital downloads and 8,000 physical singles in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[7] In Canada, the single reached numbers 38 and 39 on the Adult Contemporary and CHR/Top 40 charts, respectively.[48][49]
In the United Kingdom, "Jump" debuted at number 59 on the singles chart for the week ending November 11, 2006 and reached a peak of number nine the next week, thus becoming Madonna's fourth top ten single from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album there.[50][51] According to Music Week magazine, 52,038 copies of the single have been sold in the United Kingdom as of August 2008, thus becoming Madonna's 63rd best selling single in the region.[52] In other European nations, the track reached number one in Hungary[53] and Italy,[54] as well peaking inside the top ten in countries like Denmark,[55] Finland,[56] Netherlands[57] and Spain,[58] and the top 40 of the rest of the countries such as Austria,[59] Belgium's Flanders and Wallonia,[60][61] Germany,[62] Ireland,[63] Sweden[64] and Switzerland.[65] Across the pan-Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, it reached a peak of number 19.[66] In Australia, "Jump" debuted and peaked at 29 on the national chart.[67]
Personnel are adapted from the album's liner notes.[13]