Nothing Really Matters
"Nothing Really Matters" is a song by American singer Madonna for her seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998). It was written by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, and was produced by the singer with William Orbit and Marius De Vries. The song was released as the sixth and final single from the album on February 9, 1999, by Maverick Records and Warner Bros. Records. An electronic dance track on which Madonna experiments with different musical genres, "Nothing Really Matters" includes ambient music and electronic noise frequencies that were added by De Vries. Lyrically, the recording delves on the singer's first daughter Lourdes Leon, having also themes of selfishness, affection, and motherhood.
For other uses, see Nothing Really Matters (disambiguation)."Nothing Really Matters"
"To Have and Not to Hold"
February 9, 1999
1997
4:27
- Madonna
- Patrick Leonard
- Madonna
- William Orbit
- Marius De Vries
The song was critically appreciated for its lyrical content and composition, and was declared by reviewers as one of Madonna's most personal efforts; however, some critics felt it was tepid and lacklustre compared to other tracks from Ray of Light. In the United States, the song remains Madonna's lowest entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 93. Its low chart peak was due to lack of airplay and the delay in releasing it in CD single formats, to which the singer's fans protested against Warner Bros. The song became her 23rd number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart, reaching the top spot in Hungary and Spain, and entering the top ten in countries including Canada, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Scotland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
An accompanying music video was directed by Swedish director Johan Renck, and was released on February 13, 1999. Inspired by Arthur Golden's 1997 novel Memoirs of a Geisha, the video portrays Madonna as a geisha, dancing in a small room. The red kimono worn by her in the video was designed by French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. It was worn by the singer during her performance of the song at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. "Nothing Really Matters" is cited as one of Madonna's most underrated singles to date. The costume and music video has been cited by journalist and academics as one of Madonna's most iconic and best re-inventions.
Recording and composition[edit]
"Nothing Really Matters" was recorded alongside the rest of the album at Larrabee North Studio in North Hollywood, California. Only three other people were in the studio with Madonna during the recording of the song and album: Orbit, recording engineer Pat McCarthy, and his assistant engineer, Matt Silva.[1] The track featured no live instrumentation, and was part of a machinery issue that delayed initial recording as Orbit preferred working with sample loops and synth-based instrumentation. As a result, it took a while to finish production of the song, until the computers were repaired.[3] The song was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Studios in New York, and included background vocals from Donna De Lory and Niki Haris.[1]
"Nothing Really Matters" is a mid-tempo EDM song[6] which contains influences of techno, downtempo pop, and house music.[7] It is set in time signature of common time, and is composed in the key of F major, with a moderate tempo of 117 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals range from the lower octave of F3 to the higher note of A♭4.[8] Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune labelled the production as a "worldly, and weary Madonna".[9] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly noticed that the "hard-step beats and synth washes make the romantic-physical yearnings (and hooks) of 'Skin' and 'Nothing Really Matters' even tauter [...]".[10] J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun felt the song was a "smart, groove-intensive tune".[11] Chuck Taylor from Billboard compared the composition of "Nothing Really Matters" to the "disco-encrusted" "Vogue" (1990). However, he found that the "core" important part of the song was its "sweetly-spiritual" and "simple" lyrical content.[12]
The song begins with a "strange, electronic, slightly broken noise" that spans between the start of the song up until 54 seconds.[4] The ambient-influenced beginning gives the impression that "Nothing Really Matters" would be a ballad, but in the minute mark, it changes to a mid-tempo dance-pop song. The ambient music becomes restrained, although a cursory bleeping sound can be heard from the right to the left. The background has a number of faint strings in it, which signifies the depth of the stereo field.[13] The chorus starts with a fast-pacing dance sound, over which Madonna sings, "Nothing really matters / love is all we need / everything I give you / all comes back to me." Throughout the entire song, it includes two verses, three choruses, one bridge section, and an outro.[1] The bridge is backed by piano sounds with a descending sequence by a couple of bars.[13] Madonna sings the same lyrics in the outro, but is slowed down and echoed longer until the music fades out.[1]
The lyrics are about the birth of Madonna's daughter Lourdes, and the realization of motherhood. In an interview with the Wesleyan University Press, the singer stated: "There's a song on the album called 'Nothing Really Matters', and it is very much inspired by my daughter. it's just realizing that at the end of the day, the most important thing is loving people and sharing love. The birth of my daughter has been a huge influence. It's different to look at life through the eyes of a child, and suddenly you have a whole new respect for life and you kind of get your innocence back. It's this realisation which I incorporated in 'Nothing Really Matters', 'Little Star' and 'Mer Girl'."[14][15] Based on the lyrical content, Bryan Lark from The Michigan Daily reviewed the parent album, and concluded that as the single "Ray of Light" was about confronting the past, "Nothing Really Matters" conversely is about "moving onward."[16]
Release[edit]
"Nothing Really Matters" was selected as the sixth and final single from Ray of Light.[17] On February 9, 1999, Warner Bros. Records issued the song to top 40 and rhythmic contemporary radio formats in the United States.[18] It was released in six major formats, including a 12 inch vinyl, two CD singles, one maxi CD, a cassette tape, and was made available for digital download. A promotional 7 inch vinyl was issued to several clubs in North America, and included the original album version, along with the B-side and parent album track "To Have and Not To Hold".[19] Two 12 inch vinyl formats were released in North America; one included four vinyls that incorporate two tracks on each, while the second was re-issued with new artwork and track list placement.[20][21] The maxi CD included the album version, and two remixes by the Austrian disc jockey Peter Rauhofer (under the alias Club 69).[22] Two CD singles were issued worldwide except for North America; the first CD includes the album version, one remix by Rauhofer, and one remix by Peter Kruder & Richard Dorfmeister, whilst the second includes three remixes by Rauhofer.[23][24] In Canada, the CDs were issued on May 4, 1999.[25] A cassette tape was released in the United Kingdom; this includes the album version and one remix by Rauhofer, presented on both sides of the recording tape.[26]
Critical reception[edit]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic, Kevin C. Johnson from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Chris Gernard from Metro Weekly highlighted "Nothing Really Matters" as one of Ray of Light's best tracks.[27][28][29] Erlewine, who also wrote Madonna's biography for the website, cited the song as one of her career standouts.[30] Chuck Taylor from Billboard labeled the song as a "gem" and commended the "irresistible hook".[12] From the same publication, Jason Lipshutz commented, "What if the suave dance of 'Nothing Really Matters', the eye-popping 'Ray of Light' music video or the stark beauty of 'Frozen' never existed? Luckily, we never need to find out."[31] Paul Moody from NME noted that the song "floats by almost as if it's asleep, a knowing return to the disco diva-effortlessness of 'Vogue', but with Madonna free from the narcissistic outer-shell of old, free to announce: "I've realised/No-one wins...""[32] Rolling Stone said, "Songs like the title track and 'Nothing Really Matters' are filled with warmth and wonder."[33] "A bubbly, infectious piece of shufflebeat…" Stuart Maconie wrote in a Q review of Ray of Light, "but aberrant items continually swim into view, like a tumbling, atonal piano solo right out of Schoenberg."[34] Sunday Mirror said it is the "best pop tune" from the album.[35] Stephen Thompson from The A.V. Club was positive, stating that the "chugging" chorus and composition "should ring across dance floors for years to come[...]"[36] Nathan Smith from the Houston Press was also positive, stating, "Few singles illustrated [Madonna's change in musical approach] better than 'Nothing Really Matters'". He concluded, "It's a great, bouncy dance track that never received the love it deserved, and its family-friendly themes are a good fit for the event."[37]
However, Enio Chiola from PopMatters felt the song's commercial appeal and production was inferior to other album tracks, and stated that "Skin"—another song from Ray of Light—would have been a better release.[38] Jose F. Promis from AllMusic reviewed the single and awarded it two-and-a-half stars out of five. He suggested that the original album version was somewhat "tepid", and commented, "This single is a case of where the production supersedes the song, which in and of itself is among Madonna's simplest and least interesting tunes." However, he commended the remixes, including the "Eastern Asian", "chillout" and "several club cuts".[39] Medium's Richard LaBeau opined that it was a "perfectly fine cut from her best album, but there are several other songs on the album that are better and would have made more interesting singles".[40] Billboard's Nolan Feeney noted, "She keeps the platitudes from sounding empty by taking her younger self to task [...] Dance music is often a tool for artists and listeners to build their identities; here, Madonna uses pulsing beats to shed her skin".[41] Ranking Madonna's singles in honor of her 60th birthday, The Guardian's Jude Rogers placed "Nothing Really Matters" at number 39, calling it a "heavenly ode to motherhood".[42]
At the 2000 ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Awards, "Nothing Really Matters" was nominated for the Award-Winning Dance Song award; this was Madonna's first nomination in that category, and was her second nomination at the awards since the previous year, when her song "Ray of Light" was nominated, and eventually won the Top Dance Song award.[43] "Nothing Really Matters" eventually won the award, becoming her first win in that category; she won it again in 2002 for "Don't Tell Me".[44][45]
Chart performance[edit]
In the United States, "Nothing Really Matters" debuted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her lowest entry on the chart.[46] It reached a peak of number 93 the following week, and was present for two weeks overall.[47] "Nothing Really Matters" topped the Dance Club Songs chart and stayed there for two weeks, whilst peaking at number 25 on the Pop Songs chart.[48][49] Jose F. Promis from AllMusic believed the single's lack of charting success in North America was due "to the terrible timing of the single's release, which was much after radio and club airplay had peaked."[46][50] Many fans in North America blamed Warner Bros. Records' marketing strategy for the song's poor charting.[27] "Nothing Really Matters" was also the first time since 1994's Bedtime Stories that Madonna charted four singles from her album on the Hot 100.[46] In Canada, the song reached a peak of number seven on the RPM Singles Chart.[51]
In the United Kingdom, "Nothing Really Matters" entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven on March 13, 1999.[52] It was later certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 200,000 units.[53] According to Official Charts Company, the song has sold 128,137 copies as of August 2008.[54] In Belgium's Flanders region, the song debuted and peaked at number 43 on March 13, 1999,[55] while in the Wallonia region it had a similar performance, spending a sole week on the chart.[56] In the Netherlands, the song debuted at number 73 on the Single Top 100 chart, and reached a peak of 34 on March 13, 1999.[57] The recording peaked at number 38 in Germany, spending a total of nine weeks on the chart.[58] In Finland, the song debuted at number six on the Finnish Singles Chart, and spent two weeks overall.[59] In Spain, it was number one on the Spanish Singles Chart and stayed there for three consecutive weeks.[60]
In Australia, "Nothing Really Matters" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at its peak of number 15 on March 4, 1999. The next week, it descended to number 22, and continued down to its final appearance at number 49, being present for a total of six weeks on the chart.[61] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number seven on the New Zealand Singles Chart on April 11, 1999. It stayed there for two weeks, until descending to number 45. It rose to number 26 on its final peaking week, and was present for a total of nine weeks on the chart.[62]
Music video[edit]
Background and inspiration[edit]
An accompanying music video for "Nothing Really Matters" was directed by Johan Renck and filmed on January 9, 1999, at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, New York.[63] According to a behind-the-scenes interview with Entertainment Tonight, Madonna stated that the inspiration behind the video was from the 1997 Arthur Golden novel Memoirs of a Geisha. She later stated, "The whole idea of a geisha is a straight metaphor for being an entertainer because, on one hand you're privileged to be a geisha, but on the other hand you're a prisoner [...]" Madonna choreographed her own moves in the video, since she "[did not] like how other people say how I should move, I'm my own best choreographer."[64] In an interview with American broadcaster and journalist Larry King, Madonna commented about the geisha depiction, "[...] there was a character in the book called Hatsumomo and she's been my muse for the past six months. So I don't know."[65] She stated that her daughter, at the time, called Madonna the novel's character, Hatsumomo, which the singer found intriguing yet bizarre.[64]
The red kimono that Madonna wore in the music video was created by French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.[1] Her main look for the video consisted of heavy eye make-up and a pale face with dark, straight hair, as well as a pair red ankle high boots to accompany the kimono. The kimono was tailored by a large red leather belt.[66] Madonna wore the kimono again for her performance at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. The look was then re-designed by Gaultier and the Italian fashion duo Dean and Dan Caten for Madonna's 2001 Drowned World Tour.[67] The visual for "Nothing Really Matters" premiered on MTV on February 13, 1999.[68] The video can be found on Madonna's 1999 compilation, The Video Collection 93:99.[69]