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"I'll Remember"
Song
B-side"Secret Garden"

"I'll Remember" (shortened from I'll Remember [Theme from With Honors]) is a song by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack single of the film With Honors. The song was a radical change in image and style for Madonna, who had received negative feedback, both critically and commercially, for the prior two years due to the release of her book Sex, the studio album Erotica and the film Body of Evidence. Warner Bros. decided to use Madonna as the vocalist for the song after noting that most of her previous soundtrack singles had achieved commercial success.

"I'll Remember" has characteristics of late Seventies styled songs. It utilizes a synthesized keyboard arrangement to bring about a continuously reverberating sound of heartbeat. Madonna's voice is supported by backing vocals. Contemporary critics praised the song, hailing it as one of her best work. After its release, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her fifth song to do so. It reached the top of the charts in Canada and Italy. In other nations it reached the top-ten. The accompanying music video portrayed Madonna singing the song in a stylized recording studio. Her look and style was compared to the imagery of the music video of previous single "Rain". The androgynous portrayal of Madonna smoking in the last shot was appreciated critically for breaking gender barriers.

Background

The year 1992 saw the release of the book Sex by Madonna. However, the book, which contained explicit sexual imagery and pictures of voyeuristic fantasies, was negatively accepted by the critics as well as her fans.[1] Madonna's fifth studio album Erotica and the film Body of Evidence were released at the same time; both failed to garner critical and commercial acclaim. Hence she decided to re-invent her image, to connect with her fans and replenish the damage that her provocative image had caused to her career.[1] "I'll Remember" was one of the songs that was developed for this purpose. It was included in the soundtrack of the film With Honors. Madonna's own label, Maverick, was entitled with the task of putting together the soundtrack album. They decided to have Madonna sing the song "I'll Remember", after noticing that all of her soundtrack releases have been commercially successful.[1] The ballad was co-written by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Richard Page. "I'll Remember" did not appear on any Madonna album, but was included in the ballads collection Something to Remember (1995). Regarding her feelings for the song, Madonna commented,

"I think most of the time when my records come out, people are so much distracted by so much fanfare and controversy that nobody pays attention to the music. [...] I can't tell you how painful the idea of singing 'Like a Virgin' or 'Material Girl' (1984) is to me now. I didn't write either of those songs, and wasn't digging very deep then. I also feel more connected emotionally to the music I'm writing now, so it's more of a pleasure to do it."[2]

Composition

According to author Rikky Rooksby, the song is written in the style of Album-oriented rock (AOR) by bands like Boston or Foreigner. It is slowed down from the tempo of rock songs and utilizes a steadily reverberating synth keyboard to bring on the effect of a heartbeat.[3] "I'll Remember" has characteristics of late Seventies song apart from the arrangement and the low bass.[3] Madonna sings in a low-key voice which is almost overshadowed by the synth arrangement. The song starts with a C major chord sequence and is used on the flattened seventh key of the sequence. But the actual key of the song is D major. It is set in a time signature of common time with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute.[4] Madonna's voice spans from F3 to G4.[4] A much stronger arrangement of drums are used in the second verse.[3] The chorus uses the chord sequence of D–G–Bm–A while the first two lines of each verse uses the chord progression of D–Bm–A–Bm and G–D–G–A. During the intermediate line "I learned to let go of the illusion that we can possess", the structure changes to D–Bm–G–D–A–G–A.[4] Backing vocals are used on the later choruses for support with the strings, cascading down to a minor arrangement before the third one.[3] The song ends with fading out and devoid of any musical climax. Lyrically the song talks about Madonna looking back on a good love affair.[3]

Reception

Critical response

Author Christopher Feldman in his book, Billboard book of number 2 singles, described the song as a "tender ballad."[1] Billboard music editor Timothy White called the song as lilting and one of Madonna's classics in his book Music to my ears: the Billboard essays : portraits of popular music in the '90s An owl book.[2] He also complimented the song for talking about a dead relationship.[5] Author Rikky Rooksby called the song as one of Madonna's biggest ever singles and a stronger cut.[3] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the song as a "soundtrack gem".[6] Author J. Randy Taraborrelli in his biography of Madonna called the song a beautiful one. According to him, "it sounds like a flick theme too, equipped with smart chords and big emotion. It is reminiscent of another movie theme of Madonna's, 'Live to Tell' (1986)."[7] Music critique Peter Buckley noted that the song was atmospheric and one of Madonna's best works, showing her ability to stay in touch with and adapt to musical developments.[8] At the 37th Grammy Awards, "I'll Remember" received a nomination for "Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television."[9]

Chart performance

In the United States, the song debuted at number thirty-five on the Hot 100 chart for the Billboard issue dated April 2, 1994.[10] After seven weeks, the song reached a peak of number two on the chart.[11] It stayed there for four weeks, being blocked from the top spot by All-4-One's "I Swear". The song became the fifth single by Madonna to reach the top two position and tied her with Elvis Presley for the most number-two songs. However, this record was broken by Madonna in 1998, when her single "Frozen" peaked at two.[12] The song also reached number-one on the adult contemporary chart, becoming Madonna's fourth number-one for this chart following "Live To Tell", "La Isla Bonita", and "Cherish". "I'll Remember" remained atop the adult contemporary chart for four weeks.[13]

In Canada, the song debuted at fifty-two on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart.[14] After seven weeks it reached the top of the chart for the RPM issue dated May 16, 1994.[15] The song was present on the chart for twenty-four weeks.[16] In the United Kingdom it debuted at ten on the chart and reached seven the next week. It was present for a total of eight weeks on the chart.[17] Across Europe, the song became a top forty hit in Belgium, France, Netherlands and Switzerland. The song reached the top-ten in Australia, Ireland and Sweden and peaked the chart in Italy. It peaked just outside the top-forty in Germany.[18][19][20][21][22]

Music video

A woman sporting black, cropped hair and wearing a large necklace around her neck, singing in a recording studio.
Madonna sporting black, cropped hair and wearing a large necklace around her neck, sings the song in a recording studio. Her look for the video was compared with that in the video of the song "Rain".

The music video was directed by Alek Keshishian who had previously directed the live performance versions of "Like a Virgin" (1984) and "Holiday" (1983) from the Truth or Dare documentary and also the music video of her single "This Used to Be My Playground" (1992).[23] The video featured production credits by Diane Greenwalt, editing by Patrick Sheffield and photography by Stephen Ramsey.[24] It featured Madonna in a stylized recording studio singing the song with back up singers. The video was compared to the music video of Madonna's single "Rain" (1993).[25] Her look in the video, consisted of blue-black icy hair, bright blue eyes and a long dark dress with a beaded necklace around her neck.[25] Madonna's face was mainly shot above her head, with her face looking up just ahead of the camera focus. Sometimes she looked to a video screen behind her which played the scenes from the film, as if to take inspiration for her singing.[25] Other times she was accompanied by her back-up singers, mainly during the chorus, and sometimes she sang alone.[26] In front of the studio, the producers are shown deciding which part of the song should be put in lower bass.[25] It continued in this way and ended with a shot of Madonna watching herself recording the song. In this last scene she was dressed in a long black coat and held a cigarette in her hand.[26] Scholars noted that this last shot clearly illustrated the gender paradox of Madonna, as she watched her female form singing the song, while she herself was dressed in an androgynous way, holding a cigarette, which is associated as one of the symbolic forms of male supremacy.[27] Feminist writer Martha Leslie Allen lauded the video, as well as Madonna, "for breaking free of the conventional portrayal of women yet again, and displaying their duality."[28]

Tracklisting and formats

Credits and personnel

Charts

Preceded by Italian Singles Chart number-one single
May 7, 1994
Succeeded by
"Steets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen
Preceded by
"Love Sneakin' Up On You" by Bonnie Raitt
Canadian RPM chart number-one single
May 16, 1994 – June 13, 1994
Succeeded by
Preceded by U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
June 11, 1994 – July 9, 1994
Succeeded by

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Feldman 2000, p. 255
  2. ^ a b White 1997, p. 303
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rooksby 2004, p. 86
  4. ^ a b c "Madonna Ciccone – I'll Remember – Sheet Music (Digital Download)". Music Notes. Alfred Publishing. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ^ White, Timothy (1995-09-30). "Album Review: Soemthing to Remember". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  6. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (2001-11-09). "Madonna: GHV2 music review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  7. ^ Taraborrelli 2002, p. 242
  8. ^ Buckley 2003, p. 625
  9. ^ "The 37th Grammy Nominations". Los Angeles Times. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 1995-01-06. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  10. ^ "The Billboard Hot 100: Week Ending April 2, 1994". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1994-04-02. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  11. ^ a b "The Billboard Hot 100: Week Ending May 28, 1994". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1994-05-28. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  12. ^ Bronson, Fred (2008-04-04). "Chart Beat Chat: You Are There". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  13. ^ a b "Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks: Week Ending June 18, 1994". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1994-06-18. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  14. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 59, No. 10, March 28, 1994". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1994-03-28. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  15. ^ a b "Top Singles – Volume 59, No. 17, May 16, 1994". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1994-05-16. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  16. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 60, No. 7, September 05 1994". RPM. RPM Library Archives. 1994-09-05. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  17. ^ a b "Chartstats – Madonna – I'll Remember". The Official Charts Company. Chartstats.com. Retrieved 2009-08-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  18. ^ a b "Madonna – I'll Remember". VRT Top 30 (in Dutch). Radio 2. 1994-04-23. Retrieved 2009-08-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Madonna – I'll Remember (European Charts)". Ultratop 50. Hung Medien. 1994. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  20. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irish Recorded Music Association. irishcharts.ie. 1994-03-30. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  21. ^ a b "Madonna: Discografia Italiana" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. 1984–1999. Retrieved 2010-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  22. ^ a b "Chartverfolgung > Madonna > I'll Remember". Media Control Charts. Musicline.de. 1994-05-09. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  23. ^ Cross 2007, p. 290
  24. ^ Madonna (1990). The Immaculate Collection (VHS). Warner Music Vision.
  25. ^ a b c d Clerk 2002, p. 112
  26. ^ a b "I'll Remember – Madonna". MTV. MTV Networks. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2009-08-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ Association, Michigan Sociological (1999). "Michigan sociological review". 13–15. Michigan: University of Michigan. Retrieved 2009-08-18. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  28. ^ Allen, Martha Scott (1996). "Media report to women". University of California. 24. California: University of California. Retrieved 2009-08-17. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  29. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Retrieved 2010-08-27.

References