The Power of Good-Bye
"The Power of Good-Bye" is a song by American singer Madonna, taken from her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998). It was written by Madonna and Rick Nowels, and was produced by the singer with William Orbit and Patrick Leonard. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on September 22, 1998, being additionally distributed as a double A-Side single in the United Kingdom with "Little Star". Lyrically, the track talks about how free and empowering saying good-bye or ending a relationship can feel. The melancholy electronica ballad features shuffle beats, acoustic guitars and sweeping strings arranged by Craig Armstrong.
"The Power of Good-Bye"
"Little Star" (United Kingdom)
"Mer Girl"
September 22, 1998
1997
4:10
- Madonna
- Rick Nowels
- Madonna
- William Orbit
- Patrick Leonard
"The Power of Good-Bye" received acclaim from music critics, who went on to recognize the song as one of the best on Ray of Light, with praise going to its instrumentation and electronic vibe, as well as Madonna's vocals which were compared to "Frozen" (1998). The song attained commercial success across Europe, reaching the top 10 of the charts in over nine countries, including Austria, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Spain and the United Kingdom, while in the United States it reached number 11, becoming Madonna's 37th top 20 hit and her seventh-highest debut at the time. Its blue-green tinted music video was directed by Matthew Rolston in Malibu, California and features actor Goran Višnjić as her love interest. Madonna has performed the song live on several award shows and during various appearances on television but has never included it in the standard set list on tour.
Recording and composition[edit]
After the songwriting sessions ended with Nowels, Madonna started collaborating with Orbit and Leonard for recording the tracks. However, since Leonard could not delve much studio time, Madonna worked solely with Orbit.[12] Around June 1997, the singer entered the Larrabee North Studio, Universal City, California to record the album, accompanied by Orbit, an engineer and a tape operator. According to Orbit, "Most of the tracks pre-existed, so Madonna would work on vocals and lyrics at home, or driving around in her car." The producer was initially uncomfortable with the singer around the studio checking the recording process, but gradually entered into a work dynamics with her. However, his disorganized nature almost got him fired when he reached Madonna's house to play "The Power of Goodbye" and realized that he had carried the wrong DAT file. Madonna was not impressed and Orbit had to "virtually" remain in the studio for a week and deliver the final track.[1]
"The Power of Good-Bye" features production credit from Madonna, Orbit and Leonard, while Craig Armstrong was responsible for string arrangement.[13] It was written in the time signature of common time, and is composed in the key of F minor with a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals range from G3 to C5 and the song follows a basic sequence of Fm–D♭–A♭–E♭ as its chord progression.[14] It is an electronica melancholy ballad, with its arrangement being "anchored by a crisp shuffle beat and sweetened by occasional orchestral string flourishes and contrasting acoustic guitar strumming.[5][15]
According to Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, "The Power of Good-Bye" begins with a four-chord arpeggio sequence. It has "catchy" melody phrases during the verses and a synth trumpet at the end of the first chorus, as well as Armstrong's strings present in the background. It also contains sustained notes on the instrumental sections, a characteristic for the songs on Ray of Light. Doubled acoustic guitar chords give an organic vibe during the beginning of the second verse, following a brief coda.[16] The song also infuses computer blips and techno effect sounds,[17] which Orbit achieved by using a Korg MS-20 analog synthesizer. The producer explained that "[t]here's something about [the MS-20's] transient peaks that are very spiky. And you can make that machine scream. Its two filters are very severe".[18]
Lyrically, "The Power of Good-Bye" talks the strength that comes in letting go,[19] and it was considered "a sort of sonic sister to 'Frozen'", since both deal with themes of a heart closed towards love.[20] This is emphasized in the lyrics, "Your heart is not open so I must go" as well as "Freedom comes when you learn to let go, Creation comes when you learn to say no".[21][22] The idea for using detachment as the inspiration for the song stemmed from Madonna's interest in Buddhist philosophy, as well as practicing Yoga.[23] Nowels described the lyrics as "stunning" and commended its confessional nature.[20] He also described the track as a "meditation" and "a beautiful poem". Australian music critic and friend of Madonna, Molly Meldrum, claimed the lyrics were about the singer's former husband Sean Penn. The lyrical content was also compared to literary works of William Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton.[3]
Chart performance[edit]
"The Power of Good-Bye" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 24 on the issue for the week ending October 17, 1998, becoming Madonna's 16th single to debut inside the top 40 and also her 38th overall top 40 hit. It also became the seventh-highest debut of her career.[35] It eventually peaked at number 11 on the week ending November 28, 1998.[36] According to Jose F. Promis of AllMusic, what kept the song from reaching the top 10 was because "[its maxi CD], unfortunately, never saw the light of day in the U.S."[11] "The Power of Good-Bye" was present for a total of 19 weeks on the Hot 100.[37] In Canada, the song debuted at number 87 on the RPM Top Singles chart.[38] It reached a peak of number 16 on the chart after 10 weeks.[39]
In the United Kingdom, the song had better chart placement. The A-side with "Little Star" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart, and was present for a total of 11 weeks, selling 175,095 copies as of August 2008, according to the Official Charts Company.[40][41] It became Madonna's 36th best-selling single in that country and in May 2018 was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[42][43] The CD version of the song charted separately, debuting and peaking at number 91.[40]
In countries like Austria, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland "The Power of Good-Bye" was able to reach the top 10.[44] Its high chart placements enabled the track to debut at number two on the pan-Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, behind "Believe" (1998) by singer Cher.[45] It further attained Gold certifications from Austria, Germany and Sweden.[46][47][48] In Spain, "The Power of Good-Bye" was the only single from Ray of Light to not reach number one,[49] meanwhile in Australia the song was her first single since "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" (1996) to miss the top 20 peaking at number 33.[44]
Live performances[edit]
Madonna first performed "The Power of Good-Bye" on October 23, 1998, during the VH1 and Vogue Fashion Awards, dressed in black latex and leather, accompanied by the children of Opus 118 from The Harlem School of the Arts.[59][60] On November 12, the singer performed the song at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards in Italy, dressed in black. John Dingwall from Daily Record noted that Madonna "struggled" on delivering the performance, as she seemed nervous.[61] "The Power of Good-Bye" was also one of the few singles that Madonna has performed on the BBC program Top of the Pops, which aired seven days later.[62] On November 23, 1998, she appeared on the Spanish RTVE show Séptimo de caballería and performed "The Power of Good-Bye", along with her European single, "Drowned World/Substitute for Love".[63]