The Power of Good-Bye

"The Power of Good-Bye"
Single by Madonna
from the album Ray of Light
A-side	"Little Star" (UK only)
B-side	"Mer Girl"
Released	September 22, 1998 (See Release history)
Format	CD single, vinyl, cassette
Genre	Trip hop, adult contemporary
Length	4:11
Label	Maverick, Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Madonna, Rick Nowels
Producer	Madonna, William Orbit, Patrick Leonard
Certification	(see charts and certifications)
Madonna singles chronology
"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" (1998) "The Power of Good-Bye" (1998) "Nothing Really Matters" (1999)

"The Power of Good-Bye" (released as double A-side single with "Little Star" in the UK) is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Madonna, for her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998). It was written by Madonna and Rick Nowels, and was additionally produced by Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard, who also help out for the album. The song was used as the fourth single off the album in 1998. "The Power of Good-Bye" was additonally released as a A-Side single in the United Kingdom with "Little Star". The songs composition was noted a similarity of "Nothing Really Matters". Lyrically, the song talks about a painful break-up. Musically, the song is a trip-hop inspired song, with a ballad tone.

"The Power of Good-Bye" received generally positive review from music critics, who took the song as more serious than her previous ballads. The song was a worldwide success, although it failed to match the success of her previous singles from the album, "Frozen" and "Ray of Light". It managed to peak at number one in Mexico, number four in Austria (only her sixth and also her last top 10 she scored there in the 1990s), Finland and Germany, while reaching the top ten in the majority of the territories where it has charted, including Canada and the United Kingdom; in the United States, it peaked just outside the top ten, at eleven, becoming Madonna's thirty-seventh top twenty hit.

Background

"The Power of Good-Bye" is a ballad featuring numerous string instruments and an electronic music sound, with lyrics reflecting on a painful breakup. Australian music critic and friend of Madonna, Molly Meldrum, claimed the lyrics were about Sean Penn. The version that was released as a single and included on the album Ray of Light is quite different from the original demo version. In the summer of 2002, demos recorded during the Ray of Light recording sessions were leaked to the Internet, with one of the demos being for "The Power of Good-Bye". The demo version features a stronger rhythm and more drum and bass. The lyrics are also different, including the sentence 'Walk away' instead of 'Do you wanna go higher' (in the album's booklet, the lyrics 'Walk away' were never changed) and the final message: 'God help me, learn to say goodbye, please give me the power of goodbye'.

In the UK, "The Power of Good-Bye" was released as a double A-side with "Little Star", a track from Ray of Light. In the rest of Europe, the song was included on the major single releases as a B-side. Also notable is that the European releases included several experimental remixes of the song by Luke Slater plus one remix by Dallas Austin, who previously worked with Madonna on her Bedtime Stories (1994) album.

Critical reception

"The Power of Good-Bye" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who noted the song was more serious for a ballad. As a review from PopMatters, he had said along with "Frozen", "Drowned World/Substitute for Love", "Ray of Light" and "Beautiful Stranger" that they were "testament to [William Orbit's] ability to use gadgets and electronic wizardry not to alienate listeners, but to draw them in." Slant Magazine gave it a positive review, saying "Structured like your average Adult Contemporary ballad with enough electronic sheen to sound edgy, "The Power of Goodbye" was the ultimate in electronica-lite." They continued "Perhaps better left within the aural context of Ray of Light, the song peaked just outside the Top 10."

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number six and stayed on the singles chart for nine weeks, selling 180,000 copies.

Elsewhere the song was also a success, usually charting within the top twenty. Among the countries where the song charted in the top twenty are Mexico, Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States (peaking at number eleven). "The Power of Good-Bye" debuted and peaked at number two on the Spanish Singles Chart, making it the only single from Ray of Light not to reach number one in Spain.

The success of the song brought Ray of Light back into the top ten on many album charts more than seven months after its release.^{[citation needed]} The success of the single was also influenced by Madonna's one-month European promotional tour,^{[citation needed]} which took her across Europe promoting the album and the song on a variety of music television shows. "The Power of Good-Bye" is one of the few singles that Madonna has performed on the BBC program Top of the Pops.^{[citation needed]}

Music video

Background and sypnosis

Madonna in the music video for "The Power of Good-Bye"

The music video for "The Power of Good-Bye" was directed by Matthew Rolston, and was filmed from August 8–10, 1998 at Silvertop House in Los Angeles, California and Malibu Beach. The video shows Madonna and her lover playing chess and ultimately Madonna destroying the chess board, symbolizing an end to their relationship. Madonna also goes walking by the sea, but it is unclear whether she drowns herself in the last scene. Throughout the video, there are the scenes of Madonna sitting, singing and slowly dancing in front of the curtain. Madonna's lover in the video is played by Croatian actor Goran Višnjić. The video is mostly colored blue.

Release

The video premiered on MTV on September 10, 1998, a few minutes before the MTV Video Music Awards show began. The video was occasionally played on The WB Network after the television show Felicity, which played the song as the background music during its TV ads.

Controversy

The video created some controversy due to its ending. It is debatable, but many Madonna's fans believe she commits suicide at the end of the video, drowning herself in the ocean. Just before the music video ends, Madonna is shown on the beach again, happier than before. Therefore, the drowning of her character may represent the element water, which represents rebirth. The use of water-images – as well as the use of the other three elements – was an important part of the album, with the theme appearing in songs, such as "Swim".

The music video recreates the famous chess playing scene from 1968's The Thomas Crown Affair (with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway). The video was also influenced by the 1946 Joan Crawford film Humoresque, recreating the beach scenes where Crawford roams the ocean shore and passes a man walking his dog. Can also be related to section ii of The Wasteland, A Game Of Chess by T.S. Eliot resembling a relationship between a man and woman, struggling with their relationship.

• Director: Matthew Rolston
• Producer: Nicola Doring
• Director of Photography: Pascal Lebegue
• Editor: Dustin Robertston
• Production Company: HSI Productions

Track listings and formats

US 7" vinyl (7-17160)

US cassette single (9 17160-4)

• A "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) – 4:10
• B "Mer Girl" – 5:32

US promo CD single (PRO-CD-9499-R)

1. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) – 4:34
2. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) – 4:10

US CD single (9 17160-2)

1. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) – 4:10
2. "Mer Girl" – 5:32

JP Maxi-CD (WPCR-2297)

AU Maxi-CD (9362 44591 2)

1. "The Power Of Good-Bye" – 4:13
2. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) – 4:34
3. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Luke Slater's Super Luper) – 8:45
4. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Luke Slater's Filtered Mix) – 6:07
5. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Fabien's Good God Mix) – 8:22

EU 12" vinyl (9362 44590 0)

• A1 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) – 4:34
• A2 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Luke Slater's Super Luper) – 8:45
• B1 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Fabien's Good God Mix) – 8:22
• B2 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) – 4:10

EU CD single (9362 17121 9)

1. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) – 4:10
2. "Little Star" – 5:18

UK promo CD single (W459CDDJ)

1. "Little Star" – 5:18

UK Maxi-CD (9362 44598 2)

GR CD single (9362 44592-2)

1. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) – 4:10
2. "Little Star" – 5:18
3. "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) – 4:34

Charts and certifications

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	33
Austrian Singles Chart	4
Belgian Flemish Ultratop 50	31
Belgian Wallonie Ultratop 40	20
Canadian Singles Chart	6
Dutch Top 40	6
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	2
Finnish Singles Chart	4
French SNEP Singles Chart	21
German Singles Chart	4
Irish Singles Chart	23
Italian Singles Chart	8
Japanese Oricon International Singles	7
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	25
Spanish Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	3
Swiss Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	26
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales	13
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	14

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)	Position
Dutch Top 40	89
German Singles Chart	44

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales/Shipments
Austria	Gold	20,000
Germany	Gold	250,000
Sweden	Gold	20,000

Release history

Country	Date
United States	September 22, 1998
Europe	November 16, 1998
Japan	November 26, 1998