Madonna

The artist releases her song, What It Feels Like for a Girl, from Music.

Our generation certainly has been encouraged to grab life by the balls, be super-independent, get a great education, follow our dreams, kick ass, all that stuff, and I feel like I work up one day holding the golden ring and realized that smart, sassy girls who accomplish a lot and have their own cash and are independent are really frightening to men. I felt like, ‘Why didn’t somebody tell me? Why didn’t somebody warn me?’ And that’s also what that song is about – swallowing that bitter pill. It was a combination of that, and also just feeling incredibly vulnerable that inspired the song.

The artist releases her song Music from her album with the same title. The artist says that the songs on this album reflect her life.

Everything in life moves in cycles… there’s a period where you’re quiet, and there’s a period where you explode. In the time leading up to Ray of Light, I was in a quiet space – making lots of discoveries and going through lots of changes. It was an introspective, questioning time. Then, almost without warning, I felt like I needed to explode. I didn’t feel the need to be so introspective. I felt like dancing. And that’s reflected in these songs.

The artist releases Nothing Really Matters. The song is featured on her album Ray Of Light.

I started studying the Kabbalah, which is a Jewish mystical interpretation of the Old Testament. I also found myself becoming very interested in Hinduism and yoga, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to step outside myself and see the world from a different perspective. In this song, that perspective shows how small humans are in the vast universe.

The artist releases her song, The Power Of Goodbye, from her album, Ray Of Light. 

The artist releases her song, You’ll See, from her album Something To Remember.

 It’s about empowering yourself. As much as I like a song like Take A Bow, lyrically it only reflects one side of my personality. I have that side which is completely masochistic and willing to, literally, do anything for love. But there’s another side too which is – ‘Don’t f–k with me, I don’t need anybody. I can do what I want’ and You’ll See reflects that.

The artist releases her song Secret from the album Bedtime Stories. The single is a collaboration between Madonna and writers Dallas Austin and Shep Pettibone.

Madonna releases Vogue. The song is featured on her album I’m Breathless.

I wrote it when I was making Dick Tracy. After we shot the movie, Warren Beatty asked me if I could write a song that would fit my character’s point of view, that she could have conjured up. She was obsessed with speakeasies and movie stars and things like that. The idea for the lyrics came through that request.