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Borderline (Madonna song)
1984 single by Madonna From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Borderline" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her 1983 self-titled debut album. Written and produced by Reggie Lucas, the track was developed during the album’s recording sessions at Sigma Sound Studios in New York City. It was one of two new songs Lucas brought to the project. Musically, "Borderline" is a pop and post-disco song influenced by 1970s soul. Its lyrics express frustration with a partner's inconsistent behavior and emotional control.
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Released by Sire Records as the fourth single from the album in the United States on February 15, 1984, and as the fifth single in the United Kingdom on June 2, "Borderline" became Madonna's first top-ten hit in the US, reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. A re-release in early 1986 led to renewed success in Europe, where the song reached number one in Ireland and the top three in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It was critically lauded, with reviewers highlighting Madonna's vocal delivery. Retrospective commentary has frequently cited it as her breakout hit.
The music video for "Borderline" was directed by Mary Lambert and depicts Madonna caught between a Hispanic boyfriend and a British photographer who offers her a modeling opportunity. The visual drew attention for its depiction of an interracial relationship and has been the subject of academic discussion for its themes related to gender, race, and identity. "Borderline" was performed in Madonna's Virgin (1985) and Sticky & Sweet (2008) concert tours. It has also been covered by several artists, including Jody Watley, the Flaming Lips, and Kelly Clarkson.
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Background and recording
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In 1982, Madonna was living in a New York City rehearsal studio with her former boyfriend Stephen Bray, where they recorded a demo tape featuring four dance tracks, including "Everybody", "Burning Up", and "Ain’t No Big Deal".[1] Without a label, Madonna began promoting the tape herself at local clubs.[1][2] She met DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub. After hearing "Everybody," Kamins introduced her to Seymour Stein, president of Sire Records, who signed Madonna for two twelve-inch singles.[3] Produced by Kamins and released in October 1982, "Everybody" became a hit in the club scene, leading the label to approve the recording of a full-length album.[4][5] The singer declined to work with Bray or Kamins on the album, instead selecting Warner Bros. producer Reggie Lucas, who had been recommended by Sire executive Michael Rosenblatt to give the record a more R&B-oriented sound.[5][6] Upon meeting her, Lucas was not impressed by Madonna's "boho-punk style", and thought she "didn't seem particularly avant-garde".[6][7]
Recording took place at the Sigma Sound Studios.[8] Prior to entering the studio, Madonna had written three new songs: "Lucky Star", "Think of Me", and "I Know It".[9] However, with only six songs available, including the earlier demos, there was not enough material for a complete album.[3] Lucas contributed two of his own compositions, "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline", which he developed with Madonna while she was staying at artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's apartment.[3][7][10] Personnel on the recordings included Lucas on drum machine, Fred Zarr and Dean Gant on keyboards and synthesizers, alongside Ed Walsh; Anthony Jackson played bass, Bobby Malach handled tenor saxophone, and background vocals were provided by Gwen Guthrie, Brenda White, and Chrissy Faith.[8] "Borderline" marked Lucas's first use of a drum machine, and he compared its style to Stephanie Mills' "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (1980).[6] Upon hearing the final version of "Borderline," Stein expressed strong confidence in Madonna’s potential, citing the track’s emotional delivery and commercial appeal.[6]
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Composition and release
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Musically, "Borderline" has been noted a pop song with post-disco influences that marked a shift in Madonna's vocal approach, showcasing a more refined and expressive tone.[12][13] Lyrically, it has been described as a "flirty, confectionery complaint from one lover to another".[14] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., the song is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute, and is composed in the key of D major.[15] Madonna's vocals span from F♯3 to B4, and the song follows a chord progression of D–C–G in the first verse, Bm–Em–A–F♯ in the pre-chorus, and G–D–A in the refrain.[15] Musicologist Rikki Rooksby noted that the chord structure evokes Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (1974), while its inversions are reminiscent of 1970s disco, Philadelphia soul, and Elton John's work.[3]
"Borderline" was released as the fourth single from Madonna in the United States on February 15, 1984, and as the fifth single in the United Kingdom on June 2, 1984.[9][16][17] A second release followed in parts of Europe in January 1986.[16][18] The song was later included on Madonna's compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).[19][20]
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Critical reception
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"Borderline" has been acclaimed since its release. Rikky Rooksby described it as the "most harmonically complex track on the album," while author Dave Marsh called it "too damn good to be denied, no matter whose value system it disrupts".[3][21] Author Marc Andrews referred to it as the album's "sweetest" song, and Maury Dean praised its "saucy-style and come-hither magnetism".[22] On AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine labeled it "effervescent," and Stewart Mason wrote that it "proved Madonna was more than a pretty face, a dancer's body and a squeaky voice," calling it "a pure treasure" and highlighting it as "the best vocal performance of her early career, when her limitations were at their most obvious".[23][24] Jill Mapes of Pitchfork noted that "Borderline" helped Madonna "resituate electronic dance-pop at Top 40's apex," and that her "passionate performance takes it over the top".[25]
Critics frequently highlighted the track's soulful quality. Entertainment Weekly's Chuck Arnold wrote that Madonna "has never sounded more genuinely soulful than on the divine 'Borderline'", while The Arizona Republic's Ed Masley named it the best track on the album, noting that although it features the same "girlish pout" as her other early hits, she "invests with way more soul".[26][27] Slant Magazine' Sal Cinquemani also called it soulful, and Eric Henderson described it as "tender," asking, "Has there ever been an opening refrain more winsome and instantly nostalgic?"[28][29] The Quietus' Matthew Lindsay listed it among Madonna's "most enduring" songs.[30] For Billboard, it's "not [Madonna's] biggest '80s pop hit, but likely her purest", and Rolling Stone credited it with propelling her "from urban-radio contender to pop queen".[7][31]
Retrospective commentary has continued to emphasize the song’s importance in Madonna's early career. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli cited it, along with "Holiday", as one of the "key recordings" that helped establish her presence in pop music.[32] Mark Elliott of website This is Dig! called it a "landmark song" that positioned her as both a mainstream star and a compelling dance act.[16] People magazine described it as "catchy" and a "promise of even better things to come", while Time magazine noted that although Madonna would go on to release "more-clever songs ('Material Girl'), more-showy songs ('Like a Prayer') [and] more-sexy songs ('Justify My Love'), 'Borderline', her first top-10 hit, captures the essence of her pop appeal, its freshness, simplicity and vitality".[20][33] In a 2023 Billboard retrospective on Hot 100 hits, the song was described as "pure pop bliss," elevated by Madonna's vocal performance —"an overpowering mixture of aching naïveté and teasing vitality".[34] One critical review came from the Observer–Reporter's Terry Hazlett, who described the song as "inoffensive, danceable [but] ultimately forgettable".[35]
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Chart performance
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"Borderline" debuted at number 107 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart the week of March 3, 1984, following increased radio airplay.[36] It entered the Hot 100 at number 76 one week later and eventually peaked at number 10 on June 16, marking Madonna's first top-ten single in the United States.[37][38][39] The song remained on the chart for 30 weeks and began a streak of 17 consecutive top-ten hits for the singer through 1989.[39] On Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, "Borderline" entered at number 67 on March 24 and climbed to a peak of number 4.[40][41] It also reached number 23 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[42]
At the end of the year, Billboard ranked the song at number 35 on its year-end Hot 100 chart.[43] On October 22, 1998, "Borderline" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over 500,000 copies.[44] Cash Box ranked "Borderline" slightly higher than Billboard, peaking at number 9 on the Cash Box Top 100 and placing it at number 67 on their year-end list for 1984.[45][46] In Canada, the song debuted at number 56 on RPM's Top Singles chart during the week of August 4, 1984, and peaked at number 25 one month later.[47][48]
In the United Kingdom, "Borderline" was initially released in June 1984, peaking at number 56 after five weeks on the singles chart.[17] Following a re-release in early 1986, the single reached a new peak of number 2, held off the top spot by Billy Ocean's "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going".[17] It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and became the 50th best-selling single in the UK that year, with over 298,000 copies sold as of 2008.[49][50][51] The 1986 release also saw success in Europe, becoming Madonna's second number-one in Ireland, and reaching the top three in Belgium and the Netherlands.[a] It charted at number 29 on the European Hot 100 Singles and number 25 on the European Airplay Top 50.[57][58] In Australia, "Borderline" peaked at number 12, while in New Zealand it had more modest success, narrowly entering the top 40.[59][60]
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Music video
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Background and synopsis
The music video for "Borderline" was directed by Mary Lambert and filmed on location in Los Angeles from January 30 to February 2, 1984.[61][62] Production was overseen by Lambert, Bruce Logan, and Michele Ferrone, with Simon Maskell handling art direction, Andrea Dietrich as cinematographer, and Glenn Morgan as editor.[63] The storyline follows Madonna as a young woman caught between her Hispanic boyfriend and a British photographer who launches her modeling career.[64] Louis "Louie Louie" Cordero portrayed the boyfriend, while John Leguizamo appeared as an extra.[65][66] Lambert noted that the video had "no formula" and that they were "inventing it as we went along".[62]
In Rolling Stone, Lambert summarized the plot as a girl tempted by fame, who ultimately returns to her true love after realizing the cost of ambition.[11] The video contrasts scenes of Madonna's vibrant life in a barrio —shot in full color— with black-and-white footage of her modeling in a sterile photo studio.[64] She is styled in layered jewelry, dramatic makeup, and street-inspired fashion, including a denim jacket with "boy toy" on the back.[64] When modeling, she wears elegant gowns, some of which were later used in runway shows by designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Lacroix.[67] "Borderline" premiered on MTV the week of March 24, 1984, and was later included in The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration: The Video Collection (2009).[40][63][19]
Analysis and reception
The visual has been the subject of academic and critical analysis for its representation of race, gender, and identity. According to Douglas Kellner, Madonna challenged social taboos by casting a Hispanic man as her love interest, breaking with mainstream representations of interracial relationships at the time.[68] He also viewed this as a marketing strategy aimed at appealing to white, Hispanic, and other non-white audiences by encouraging identification and desire.[68] Kellner emphasized how Madonna's contrasting outfits throughout the video suggested identity as fluid and performative, noting that she used fashion and sexuality to construct an image that was both desirable and transgressive.[68] In one scene, she sprays graffiti over classical sculptures—specifically covering their genitals —a gesture that, according to Leah Perry, created a "female sexuality that was independent of patriarchal control [...] that defied rather than rejected the male gaze".[64] Perry further argued that the video's significance lay in its engagement with issues at the forefront of 1980s US politics: "['Borderline'] was significant not only because of its then-controversial representation of an interracial relationship and female sexual assertiveness [...] but because [it] played out —and with— struggles over immigration, gender roles, and multiculturalism".[64]
In Madonna's Drowned Worlds, scholars Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens wrote that the two male leads —the Hispanic boyfriend and British photographer— embodied the dualities in Madonna's early life and career: the gritty, multiracial club scene versus the polished world of commercial success.[11] Kellner echoed this by highlighting the "contrasting fashion codes" between urban and elite cultures, concluding that Madonna projected "the fantasy that one can have it all, crossing borderlines from one culture to another [and] appropriating the pleasures of both".[68] Critics have also highlighted the video's cinematic qualities. Matthew Lindsay likened it to a "mini-movie", comparing it to Mahogany (1975) and the films of John Hughes.[30] Eric Henderson called it "as simple and direct as the song's message", while TheBacklot.com's Louis Virtel praised Madonna's "contagious yearning", despite her "chartreuse socks and yellow heels".[69][70] Out magazine's Julien Sauvalle considered it one of the singer's "most stylish" videos, even influencing Rihanna's "We Found Love" (2011).[71] The video earned Madonna a nomination for Best New Artist at the inaugural 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.[72]
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Live performances
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In February 1984, Madonna performed "Borderline" on The Dance Show, accompanied by her brother Christopher Ciccone and dancer Erika Belle.[16][73] The song was later included in two of her concert tours: Virgin (1985) and Sticky & Sweet (2008). On the first one, Madonna emerged from behind a silhouette and wore a crop top beneath a vest with a silver cross pattée, a matching fringed miniskirt, leggings, low-heeled leather boots, and crucifix earrings.[74][75] Despite its inclusion in the tour, "Borderline" was one of three performances omitted from the Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour video release.[76] During the Confessions Tour (2006), the song was briefly sampled in an introductory montage for "Music" (2000), alongside "Holiday", "Dress You Up" (1985), and "Erotica" (1992).[77]
Madonna performed an arena rock version of "Borderline" on the Sticky & Sweet Tour, playing a purple Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.[78][79] She wore 1980s-inspired gym shorts, while graffiti and Keith Haring–inspired visuals were projected in the background.[78] Chris Gray of the Houston Press described the number as a "stunner" and praised Madonna for proving that "her guitar was far more than a prop".[80] The performance was featured on the 2010 Sticky & Sweet Tour live album, recorded during her shows in Buenos Aires.[81] On March 10, 2016, she gave an acoustic rendition during her Madonna: Tears of a Clown show in Melbourne, dressed as a clown in a pink wig and striped tights, joking: "I don’t have bipolar disorder, but I am a little borderline".[82][83] Later that year, on June 9, she delivered a slowed-down, soulful version of the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, joined by the Roots and watched by then–president of the United States Barack Obama.[84]
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Cover versions and usage
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"Borderline" has been covered by a wide range of artists across genres. In 2000, Canadian musician Nivek Ogre recorded an electro-industrial version for Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, Vol. 2, which AllMusic's Heather Phares criticized as having "missed the mark".[86] A pop punk version by American band Showoff followed in 2002 for the compilation Punk Goes Pop.[87] In 2006, Jody Watley included a slowed-down, minimalist rendition on her album The Makeover, featuring piano, percussion, and synths.[88][85] Billboard praised its "beautifully chilled-out rhythms," while Watley noted she was drawn to the song's "melancholy side".[89][90] The Chapin Sisters contributed a version for the tribute album Through the Wilderness (2007), and Welsh singer Duffy performed it live at Radio 1's Big Weekend in 2008, later admitting she had been "terrified" to cover Madonna.[91][92][93]
The song continued to inspire diverse reinterpretations. In 2009, the Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs recorded a version for the compilation Covered, A Revolution in Sound, which Stephen Thomas Erlewine said turned the original "inside out".[94] That same year, Counting Crows] performed a "strangely country" version at London's Royal Albert Hall, later released digitally.[95] On television, actors Cory Monteith and Lea Michele performed a mashup of "Borderline" and "Open Your Heart" (1986) in the Glee episode "The Power of Madonna" (2010).[96] Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel and singer Amanda Shiresoffered a waltz-style take on Accomplice One (2018), with Rolling Stone noting it "retains little of its original feel".[97] Kelly Clarkson delivered a "stirring" version on her talk show in 2021, and the Manic Street Preachers performed it at the 2022 BBC 6 music festival, later releasing a studio recording.[98][99][100] The song was also referenced in Will and Grace (2017), when the character Will Truman (Eric McCormack) credited it with helping him through a breakup.[101]
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Track listings and formats
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Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the album and seven-inch single liner notes.[8][102]
- Madonna – lead vocals
- Reggie Lucas – writer, producer, guitars, drum programming
- Fred Zarr – synthesizers, electric and acoustic piano
- Dean Gant – synthesizers, electric and acoustic piano
- Ed Walsh – synthesizers
- Anthony Jackson – electric bass
- Ira Siegal – guitars
- Bobby Malach – tenor saxophone
- Gwen Guthrie – background vocals
- Brenda White – background vocals
- Chrissy Faith – background vocals
- Glenn Parsons - artwork
- Jeri McManus - artwork
- George Holz - photography
Charts
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Certifications
Notes
References
Bibliography
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