Katana VentraIP

Turn Up the Radio (Madonna song)

"Turn Up the Radio" is a song recorded by American recording artist Madonna for her twelfth studio album, MDNA (2012). It was written by Madonna, Martin Solveig, Michael Tordjman and Jade Williams, and produced by Madonna and Solveig. The song was released as the fourth and final single from the album on June 29, 2012. The single was also released as a digital EP, and included a remix featuring the group Far East Movement. "Turn Up the Radio" is a dance-pop, electropop and Euro house song with a French house-inspired chorus.

"Turn Up the Radio"

June 29, 2012 (2012-06-29)

3:46

  • Madonna
  • Martin Solveig

"Turn Up the Radio" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Some reviewers believed that the song should have been the lead single from the album. In the United States, the song became Madonna's 43rd number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. However, "Turn Up the Radio" had minor placements in other markets, peaking at number 175 on the UK Singles Chart.


An accompanying music video was shot in Italy, and directed by Tom Munro. It shows Madonna escaping the paparazzi on the back of a convertible. She travels throughout the city and the Italian countryside, picking up men from the roadside and having a party on the car. The video received general acclaim from critics, who commended the simplicity of the video and labeled it as Madonna's most fun video in years. The song was included on the setlist of the MDNA Tour where she performed it while playing a guitar.

Recording and composition[edit]

"Turn Up the Radio" was recorded at MSR Studios and Sarm West Studios. It was produced by both Madonna and Solveig, the latter also working on the synth arrangement, the drums and the instrumentation for the song. Tordjman assisted Solveig on the synth arrangement. Demacio "Demo" Castellon, who represented The Demolition Crew group, was responsible for recording and mixing the track. Philippe Weiss and Graham Archer assisted Castellon on the recording, and Angie Teo assisted on the mixing. Lastly Jason "Metal" Donkersgoed did the additional editing of the song.[12] According to Solveig, "Turn Up the Radio" was his first composition which Madonna approved for the album. On the first day of recording, the singer prepared all the things she wanted to change in the song and how she wanted to have the final version. She wanted to change the top lines and the melodies from the demo sung by Williams. During recording, Solveig muted the vocals and just played the instrumentals, then Madonna sang the song. The producer added that among all the songs they recorded, "Turn Up the Radio" was the most characteristic of a Madonna track.[13]


The song begins with a keyboard, then turned into a midtempo, 1980s-inspired dance-pop,[14][15] electropop[16] and Euro house[17] number. Reminiscent of Solveig's hit single "Hello", the song has a "catchy" hook and French house-inspired chorus, inline with Madonna's 2006 single "Get Together".[3][18] According to Brad O'Mancey from Popjustice, the music continues to grow after the keyboard introduction and then crashes loudly.[11] John Mitchell from MTV News described that there was a "propulsive" energy in the track that felt "authentic and alive". He added that "the calculated perfectionism" of other club tracks by Madonna might appear to be chilly, but the composition of "Turn Up the Radio" instead was "effervescent" and "happy".[15] According to the sheet music of the song published by Guitar Tabs, "Turn Up the Radio" is set in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 127 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of D major with Madonna's vocals ranging from C to A. The song follows a sequence of D–B–Amin–G in the verses and D–G–B–Emin during the chorus.[19]


Lyrically, Madonna pleads the listener to stop for a moment, to get away from the world through music,[20] with the lines going as: "I don't know how I got to this stage / Let me out of my cage cause I'm dying / Turn up the radio, turn up the radio / Don't ask me where I wanna go, we gotta turn up the radio."[15] It also talks about the need to relax as well as the need to have fun.[21] According to NME's Priya Elan, "the song continues [Madonna's] career-spanning themes of getting into the groove, of uniting the bourgeoisie and rebelling."[22] O'Mancey called it an "escapist anthem" and the ability of the lyrics to leave real life behind and accept freedom.[11]

Chart performance[edit]

In the United States, "Turn Up the Radio" debuted at number 39 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, and reached number 19 the following week, earning the title of "Greatest Gainer".[45] In its third week, the song once again earned the title of "Greatest Gainer" and reached number eight.[46] It was Madonna's 57th top-ten song on the chart, and her 28th top-ten in a row, starting from "Beautiful Stranger" in 1999. It was the sixth song in the history of Hot Dance Club Songs to jump into the chart's top-ten in its third week; others being two songs by Madonna ("Give Me All Your Luvin'" and "Girl Gone Wild") and three songs by Lady Gaga ("Marry the Night", "You and I" and "Alejandro").[47]


For the week ending August 30, 2012, the song jumped to the top position, earning Madonna her record-extending 43rd number-one single on the chart.[10] With this feat, Madonna pulled further away from runner-up Janet Jackson, who has 19 number-one songs. Keith Caulfield from Billboard noted that with one more number one on Hot Dance Club Songs, Madonna would be able to claim another honor, that of having the most number ones on any single Billboard chart. Madonna broke this record in 2015, her single "Ghosttown" reached number one on this chart, giving her 45 number ones. With "Turn Up the Radio" reaching the top, Madonna also had her 156th overall number-one song on an active and current tabulated charts for Billboard, the most for any artist.[10] Along with Hot Dance Club Songs, the song also debuted and peaked at number two on the Hot Dance Singles Sales and number three on the Hot Singles Sales charts.[48][49]

Music video[edit]

Background and synopsis[edit]

The music video for "Turn Up the Radio" was shot in Florence, Italy on June 18 and 19, 2012. The director was Tom Munro, who previously directed Madonna's music video for "Give It 2 Me" (2008).[50] Madonna was on The MDNA Tour, which supported the album, and decided to shoot the video at Florence, where she had a performance at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Fashion house Balmain provided the costumes for the video.[51] It was released on July 16, 2012, with a preview having been released on July 13, 2012.[52][53]


The video begins with Madonna getting picked up by her chauffeur amidst a crowd of paparazzi] She appears to be irritated and exhausted. The chauffeur turns on the radio and she gradually calms down. Along the drive, the singer picks up several men who are scantily dressed with whom she sets off on a long ride through the town and country as the crowd continue to chase her. Madonna also picks up street dancers and exotic women in her car as the journey continues. By the end of the video, Madonna has a whole group of people with whom she parties on the car, and throws out her chauffeur on the street, with his pants down. Interspersed throughout are scenes of Madonna actually filming the music video, with the film crew seen in front of the convertible. The ending features an exhausted Madonna laying down in the backseat of the convertible as the chauffeur says in Italian: "La festa è finita, adesso allacciati la cintura stronzetta!," which means in English: "The party is over, now fasten the seat-belt, bitch!".

Digital Remixes EP

[75]

Recorded at , New York City and Sarm West Studios, London

MSR Studios

Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. (), EMI Music Publishing France (SACEM)

ASCAP

Artists with the most number-ones on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart

List of Billboard Dance Club Songs number ones of 2012

at Idolator

Madonna's "Turn Up The Radio" Video: Review Revue