Nothing Really Matters
Encyclopedia
"Nothing Really Matters" is a pop
-dance music
song written by American
singer Madonna
and Patrick Leonard
for Madonna's seventh album
Ray of Light
(1998). The song was released as the final single
from the album in the spring of 1999. It was produced
by Madonna, William Orbit
and Marius De Vries
and received a positive reception from music critics.
's book Madonna: An Intimate Biography, she said that the main inspiration behind "Nothing Really Matters", and "The Power of Good-bye" from the same album, was other people judging and dissecting her creative process. Elaborating on the statement, she added: "I don't really want to [allow others] to dissect my creative process too much. What's the point, really? In 'Nothing Really Matters' and 'The Power of Good-bye', I want people to have a visceral and emotional reaction to things, rather than to have in their mind where all my stuff comes from. With the songs, I wanted to say that it does not matter really what you think or do, just think by yourself, and not judge and dissect others. You know if I see a bug crawling across the floor and it inspired me to write the most incredible love poem, I don't want people to be thinking about their relationship, and then think of my bug crawling across the floor. It's then that the power of good-bye becomes better than the power of acceptance." The other important inspiration behind the song was her daughter Lourdes, whom she gave birth in 1996. Madonna stated,
, the song debuted at number 25 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Chart, before appearing on the Billboard Hot 100
six weeks later, peaking at number 93, becoming Madonna's lowest peak position on the Hot 100. Many fans in the U.S. blamed Warner Bros. Records' marketing strategy for the song's poor charting. Warner released the music video in early February 1999 and then released a commercial single almost two months later. "Nothing Really Matters" was a hit on the Billboard Dance Charts though, reaching number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play Chart and number three on the Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart
. Internationally, the single was a modest success, reaching the top ten in countries such as the UK (where it is certified Silver), Canada, New Zealand, and Finland. In Spain, "Nothing Really Matters" debuted at number one on the AFYVE singles chart on the issue date March 10, 1999, staying at the top spot for three weeks. According to The Official Charts Company, "Nothing Really Matters" has sold 128,137 copies in the United Kingdom, as of August 2008.
was directed by Johan Renck
and filmed on January 9–10, 1999 at Silvercup Studios
in Long Island City
, New York
. The video shows Madonna in a geisha-inspired look (reportedly from "Memoirs of a Geisha
") carrying what looks like a baby but is actually a bag of water meant to symbolize all that is materialistic, and alternately in a red and black kimono dancing to the song. Another part, featuring white-clad Swedes of Asian heritage performing butoh
dance moves, was shot in the decommissioned R1 Reactor below the Royal Institute of Technology
in central Stockholm.
The kimono Madonna wore in the video had been created by Jean-Paul Gaultier
, who would later design Madonna's geisha-inspired costumes on her Drowned World Tour
in 2001. Madonna later re-used the look of the video for her performance at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in February 1999.
US CD single (9 17102-2)
US 12" promo vinyl (PRO-A-9665-A)
US 12" promo vinyl (PRO-A-9700-A)
US 2 x 12" vinyl (9 44613-0)
EU 12" vinyl (9362 44625 0)
EU CD single (9362 44622 2)
AU CD single (93624 46202)
UK 12" promo vinyl (GFL 001)
UK 12" vinyl (9362 44624 0)
UK cassette single (5439 16997 4)
UK promo CD single (A5721 13)
UK CD single 1 (W471CD1)
UK CD single 2 (W471CD2)
JP Maxi-CD (WPCR-10298)
US Maxi-CD (9 44613-2)
{| class="wikitable"
!Country
!Certification
!Sales/Shipments
|-
|United Kingdom
|Silver
|200,000
|}
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
song written by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Patrick Leonard
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Raymond Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist and music producer, known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna on many different recordings....
for Madonna's seventh album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
(1998). The song was released as the final single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album in the spring of 1999. It was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Madonna, William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
and Marius De Vries
Marius de Vries
Marius Van Wyk de Vries is an English music producer and composer. He has been behind some of the key albums and soundtracks of recent times, gathering five Grammy nominations, two BAFTAs, and an Ivor Novello award along the way.-Music Producer:...
and received a positive reception from music critics.
Background
In J. Randy TaraborrelliJ. Randy Taraborrelli
John Randall Taraborrelli is an American journalist and biographer.Taraborrelli is an author known for biographies of contemporary entertainers and political figures. He is a featured writer in several entertainment magazines in Canada, England, and Australia...
's book Madonna: An Intimate Biography, she said that the main inspiration behind "Nothing Really Matters", and "The Power of Good-bye" from the same album, was other people judging and dissecting her creative process. Elaborating on the statement, she added: "I don't really want to [allow others] to dissect my creative process too much. What's the point, really? In 'Nothing Really Matters' and 'The Power of Good-bye', I want people to have a visceral and emotional reaction to things, rather than to have in their mind where all my stuff comes from. With the songs, I wanted to say that it does not matter really what you think or do, just think by yourself, and not judge and dissect others. You know if I see a bug crawling across the floor and it inspired me to write the most incredible love poem, I don't want people to be thinking about their relationship, and then think of my bug crawling across the floor. It's then that the power of good-bye becomes better than the power of acceptance." The other important inspiration behind the song was her daughter Lourdes, whom she gave birth in 1996. Madonna stated,
Chart performance
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the song debuted at number 25 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
Chart, before appearing on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
six weeks later, peaking at number 93, becoming Madonna's lowest peak position on the Hot 100. Many fans in the U.S. blamed Warner Bros. Records' marketing strategy for the song's poor charting. Warner released the music video in early February 1999 and then released a commercial single almost two months later. "Nothing Really Matters" was a hit on the Billboard Dance Charts though, reaching number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play Chart and number three on the Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart
Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...
. Internationally, the single was a modest success, reaching the top ten in countries such as the UK (where it is certified Silver), Canada, New Zealand, and Finland. In Spain, "Nothing Really Matters" debuted at number one on the AFYVE singles chart on the issue date March 10, 1999, staying at the top spot for three weeks. According to The Official Charts Company, "Nothing Really Matters" has sold 128,137 copies in the United Kingdom, as of August 2008.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Johan Renck
Johan Renck
Bo Johan Renck is a Swedish director of music videos, TV and film. He is an occasional recording artist using the moniker Stakka Bo.-Music videos:...
and filmed on January 9–10, 1999 at Silvercup Studios
Silvercup Studios
Silvercup Studios is the largest film and television production facility in New York City. Located in the neighborhood of Long Island City, in the borough of Queens, the studio complex has been operating since 1983 in the former Silvercup Bakery building...
in Long Island City
Long Island City, Queens
Long Island City is the westernmost neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City. L.I.C. is notable for its rapid and ongoing gentrification, its waterfront parks, and its thriving arts community. L.I.C. has among the highest concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The video shows Madonna in a geisha-inspired look (reportedly from "Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha is a novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the fictional story of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II...
") carrying what looks like a baby but is actually a bag of water meant to symbolize all that is materialistic, and alternately in a red and black kimono dancing to the song. Another part, featuring white-clad Swedes of Asian heritage performing butoh
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
dance moves, was shot in the decommissioned R1 Reactor below the Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
in central Stockholm.
The kimono Madonna wore in the video had been created by Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
, who would later design Madonna's geisha-inspired costumes on her Drowned World Tour
Drowned World Tour
The Drowned World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums Ray of Light and Music. It was also her first tour in eight years, following The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993...
in 2001. Madonna later re-used the look of the video for her performance at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in February 1999.
- Director: Johan Renck
- Producer: Nicola Doring
- Director of Photography: Gosta Reiland
- Editor: Max Vitali
- Production Company: Pettersson Akerlund Filmproduktion
Track listings and formats
US 7" vinyl (7-17102)US CD single (9 17102-2)
- A "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- B "To Have and Not to Hold" — 5:23
US 12" promo vinyl (PRO-A-9665-A)
- A "Nothing Really Matters" (Vikram Cybercut) — 13:44
- B "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
US 12" promo vinyl (PRO-A-9700-A)
- A "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Speed Mix) — 10:35
- B "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Speed Dub) — 10:25
US 2 x 12" vinyl (9 44613-0)
- A1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Vocal Club Mix) — 7:51
- A2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- B1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- B2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
- C1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Funk Mix) — 8:00
- C2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Vikram Radio Remix) — 7:43
- D1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Dub) — 5:48
- D2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
EU 12" vinyl (9362 44625 0)
- A1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- A2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Vocal Club Mix) — 7:51
- B1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- B2 "Nothing Really Matters"(Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
EU CD single (9362 44622 2)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Funk Mix) — 8:00
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Vikram Remix) — 8:37
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Mix Show Mix) — 5:40
AU CD single (93624 46202)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Vocal Club Mix) — 7:51
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
UK 12" promo vinyl (GFL 001)
- A "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Dub) — 11:36
UK 12" vinyl (9362 44624 0)
- A1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- A2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Dub) — 5:48
- B1 "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
- B2 "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
UK cassette single (5439 16997 4)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
UK promo CD single (A5721 13)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Edit) — 4:11
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
UK CD single 1 (W471CD1)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
UK CD single 2 (W471CD2)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Dub) — 5:48
JP Maxi-CD (WPCR-10298)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Funk Mix) — 8:00
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Vikram Radio Remix) — 7:42
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Mix Show Mix) — 5:40
US Maxi-CD (9 44613-2)
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Album Version) — 4:27
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Vocal Club Mix) — 7:51
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Mix) — 8:19
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Funk Mix) — 8:00
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Speed Mix) — 10:35
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Kruder & Dorfmeister Remix) — 11:10
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Vikram Remix) — 8:37
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Future Dub) — 5:48
- "Nothing Really Matters" (Club 69 Radio Mix) — 3:45
Credits and personnel
- Lead vocals — Madonna
- Background vocals — Donna DeLoryDonna DeLoryDonna De Lory is an American singer, dancer and songwriter. Part of a musical family, De Lory has been performing since a young age. Her voice can be heard on albums by Carly Simon, Ray Parker, Jr., Kim Carnes, Santana, Laura Branigan, Belinda Carlisle, Mylène Farmer and Madonna...
, Niki HarisNiki HarisNiki Haris is an American actress, dancer, and singer of pop, R&B, Dance music and jazz, perhaps best known for having been one of Madonna's backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001.-Early life and family:... - DrumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
programming — Steve Sidelnyk - Audio engineers — Mark EndertMark EndertMark Endert is an American music producer, mixer, arranger and musician.-Biography:Since the early 1990s - present, he is credited on albums spanning a wide array of musical genres with sales totaling more than 90...
, Jon Ingoldsby, Patrick McCarthy, Dave Reitzas, Matt Silva - MasteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
— Ted Jensen - Art directionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
& design — Kevin Reagan - PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
— Luis Sanchez
Charts and certifications
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... Singles Chart |
15 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 29 |
| Belgian Flemish Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
43 |
| Belgian Wallonie Ultratop 40 Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
39 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
6 |
| Dutch Top 100 Mega Single Top 100 The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is... |
34 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
16 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 6 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 48 |
| German Singles Chart | 38 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
28 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 7 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 7 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 41 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
26 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
93 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales | 27 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
7 |
{| class="wikitable"
!Country
!Certification
!Sales/Shipments
|-
|United Kingdom
|Silver
|200,000
|}
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
March 2, 1999 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
April 13, 1999 |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
April 21, 1999 |