{edih}}}Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released in early 1998 by Maverick Records. A major stylistic and aesthetic departure from her previous work, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light is an electronica and techno-pop record which incorporates multiple genres, including ambient, trip hop, psychedelic music and Middle Eastern music, while also seeing Madonna singing with greater breadth and a fuller tone. Mystical themes are also strongly present in both the music and lyrics, as a result of Madonna embracing Kabbalah, her study of Hinduism and Buddhism, and her daily practice of Ashtanga yoga.After giving birth to her first child, Madonna started working on the album with producers Babyface and Patrick Leonard. Following failed sessions with them, Madonna pursued a new musical direction with English producer William Orbit, which resulted in a much more experimental sound being produced for the album. The recording process was the longest of Madonna's career, and she experienced problems with Orbit's hardware arrangement which would break down and cause delays until it could be repaired.Considered her best body of work, the album received universal critical acclaim, with reviews praising the singer's new musical direction, Orbit's complex, innovative and experimental production, and Madonna's songwriting skills. Referred to as her "most adventurous" record, Ray of Light has been noted for its introspective, spiritual, and religious nature with Madonna's vocals also being lauded. Retrospectively, the album has continued receiving critical acclaim from contemporary critics and is often considered to be her magnum opus. On top of this, the album is frequently cited by critics as one of the greatest mainstream pop albums of all time.{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2008|pp=535â€“538}} Madonna has retrospectively referenced it as her most quintessential album yet. Ray of Light won four Grammy Awards from a total of six nominations.The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with the biggest first-week sales by a female artist at the time. It also peaked at number one in 17 countries,WEB,weblink 20 Years Later, 'Ray of Light' Is Still Madonna's Most Shocking Reinvention, Glamour (magazine), Glamour, February 12, 2022, Christopher, Rosa,weblink March 3, 2018, March 3, 2018, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, and charted within the top-five in most musical markets. Worldwide, Ray of Light has sold over 16 million copies and is one of the best-selling albums by women. Five singles were released from the album, including the international top five hits "Frozen" and "Ray of Light". The album's promotion was later supported by the Drowned World Tour in 2001. Music critics have noted the album's influence on popular music, and how it introduced electronica into mainstream pop culture in America. They also noted Madonna's musical re-invention which helped the 39-year-old remain contemporary among the teen-marketed artists of the period.

Background

File:Madonna - Wembley Arena 120806 (35).jpg|thumb|upright|Madonna wearing a red string, performing the album's opening track, "Drowned World/Substitute for Love", on the 2006 Confessions Tour Confessions TourFollowing the release of her compilation album Something to Remember (1995), Madonna started taking vocal lessons in preparation for her role in Evita (1996). She would also give birth to her daughter, Lourdes, later in 1996. These events inspired a period of introspection. "That was a big catalyst for me. It took me on a search for answers to questions I'd never asked myself before", she said to Q magazine, in 2002. During the same period, she embraced Kabbalah and started studying Hinduism and yoga, all of which helped her "step outside [myself] and see the world from a different perspective". Madonna felt that there was a "whole piece" of her voice left unused, which she decided to utilize for the album.MAGAZINE, Making of Ray of Light, Johnny, Black, Q (magazine), Q, August 2002, 17, 8, 0955-4955, By May 1997, Madonna had started writing songs for the album. She began collaborating with Babyface, who had first worked with her on her previous album Bedtime Stories (1994). The two wrote a couple of songs together before Madonna decided the collaborations were not going in the musical direction she wanted for the album. According to Babyface, the songs "had a 'Take a Bow-ish' kind of vibe, and Madonna didn't want, or need, to repeat herself".MAGAZINE, Walters, Barry, April 1998, Madonna: The 'Ray of Light' Cover Story, 'Madonna Chooses Dare',weblink Spin (magazine), Spin, March 4, 2016, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304114308weblink">weblink live, After abandoning the songs she had written with Babyface, Madonna turned to musician Rick Nowels, who had previously co-written songs with Stevie Nicks and Celine Dion. The collaboration produced seven songs in nine days, but those songs also did not display the album's future electronic musical direction. Three of the songs, "The Power of Good-Bye", "To Have and Not to Hold" and "Little Star", appear on the album. Madonna then began writing songs with Leonard, who had produced many songs for Madonna in the late 1980s. Unlike her previous albums, Leonard's song writing collaborations were accompanied by very little studio input. Madonna believed that Leonard's production "would have lent the songs more of a Peter Gabriel vibe", a sound that she did not want for the album. Guy Oseary, chairman of Maverick Records, then phoned British electronic musician William Orbit, and suggested that he send some songs to Madonna. Orbit sent a 13-track digital audio tape to Madonna. "I was a huge fan of William's earlier records, Strange Cargo 1 and 2 and all that. I also loved all the remixes he did for me and I was interested in fusing a kind of futuristic sound but also using lots of Indian and Moroccan influences and things like that, and I wanted it to sound old and new at the same time", Madonna said.

Recording

}}In early June before starting recording, Orbit met Madonna at her house in New York, and she played him the music she had worked on with other producers up to May 1997, which he felt sounded "slick". They visited the Hit Factory later that week, where Madonna invited the producer to work on Ray of Light. Orbit then sent her a tape of musical snippets he was working on, which were usually eight or sixteen-bar phrases and stripped-down versions of tracks that would later be heard on the album. Madonna listened to the samples, over and over again, until she was inspired to write lyrics. Once she had an idea about the lyrical direction of the song, she would take her ideas back to Orbit, and they would expand on the original music ideas. As most of the instrumental demos pre-existed, Madonna worked on the lyrics and melodies while at home or while travelling.The album was recorded over four and a half months at Larrabee North Studio in North Hollywood, California, beginning in mid-June 1997, the longest Madonna had ever worked on an album. For most of the recording process, only three other people were in the studio with Madonna: William Orbit, an engineer named Pat McCarthy, and his assistant engineer, Matt Silva. They started recording in Los Angeles, but the recording process was initially plagued with machinery problems, as Orbit preferred to work with samples and synth sounds, and not with live musicians. The computers would break down, and recording would have to be delayed until they could be repaired. Orbit recorded the bulk of the album's instrumentation over a four-month period. Orbit recalls playing the guitar and having his fingers bleed during the long hours he spent in the studio.After some errors in her pronunciation of Sanskrit shloka "Yoga Taravali" during the song "Shanti/Ashtangi", the BBC arranged for Madonna to take telephonic lessons to learn the basic correct pronunciation of Sanskrit words from eminent scholar Vagish Shastri. She then made the necessary pronunciation corrections on the album.WEB,weblink Madonna Considers Signing Up For Sanskrit Lessons, MTV News, December 31, 1998, April 7, 2012, January 5, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140105051836weblink">weblink live, NEWS,weblink weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110811114524weblink">weblink dead, August 11, 2011, Madonna learnt Sanskrit via phone calls, September 8, 2001, The Times of India, April 7, 2012, In an interview with MTV, Madonna recalled the recording of the album, saying her business partner Guy Oseary was a helpful friend, and that after she and Orbit played him the tracks, he, to their dismay, said nothing and left the studio. "He really hates those icy strings. Right when I think the track's done, he sort of pushes us another step further. 'Maybe we should try this', or 'I really don't want to hear that'. And then of course, later on, it creeps in my brain, and I'm like, 'maybe I should have done a background vocal on that'. And then she comes in and happily does it, right?" Madonna said.WEB,weblink MTV Bands â€“ Archive â€“ M â€“ Madonna, MTV. MTV Networks, December 1, 2012, 2, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121213224729weblink">weblink December 13, 2012, Orbit also recalled during an interview with Q magazine that Madonna recorded "Swim" the day her friend and fashion designer Gianni Versace was killed in Miami, Florida. He also commented that this is probably why the track has an emotional impact.

Title and artwork

According to spokesperson Liz Rosenberg, Madonna considered titling the album Mantra, which she thought was a "really cool title", and she also considered calling it Veronica Electronica;{{Citation|title=Madonna â€“ Canadian interview with Sook-Yin Lee (2000)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VWlGrPSjRM|language=en|access-date=2019-12-18|archive-date=January 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123070435weblink|url-status=live}} however, she discarded both of those ideas and called it Ray of Light, as her albums were always titled after one of the songs from each album's tracklist.MAGAZINE, Newsbytes, 1997, 2, 7, 15, Icon, The artwork was taken from a November 28, 1997, photoshoot with Peruvian photographer Mario Testino at the Paris Theater in Miami Beach. In terms of styling, Madonna and stylist Lori Goldstein opted for textures evocative of the elements water and air, which are recurrent themes on the album. For the album cover, Madonna wears a turquoise Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 1998 vinyl raincoat. Other pictures from the same shoot serve as the artworks for the "Ray of Light" and "Frozen" singles, where Madonna models items from Prada's Spring/Summer 1998 collection.WEB, "Ray of Light" Album Photo Shoot by Mario Testino, May 12, 2020,weblink June 4, 2022, September 6, 2022,weblink live, Madonna and Testino had previously collaborated for a Versace brand collection 2 years earlier. Madonna was impressed with the natural look Testino had captured, so she booked him again for the album's photoshoot. He recalled, "At 2pm she said, 'OK, I'm tired. We're done'. And I said, 'But I don't have the pictures yet'. She said, 'You're working for me and I say we're done'. I said, 'No, we carry on'. The picture she used on the cover came after that".WEB, Farndale, Nigel, Mario Testino: 'it's not all glamour',weblink The Daily Telegraph, November 16, 2014, December 6, 2010,weblink live,

Composition

, which is the mystical interpretation of the Torah. I've studied Buddhism and Hinduism and I've been practicing yoga and obviously I know a lot about Catholicism. There are indisputable truths that connect all of them, and I find that very comforting and kind. My spiritual journey is to be open to everything. Pay attention to what makes sense, be absorbed. For me, yoga is the closest thing to our real nature."|source=â€”Madonna talking about the inspiration behind "Sky Fits Heaven" and "Shanti/Ashtangi".}}Ray of Light was a notable departure from Madonna's previous work, and has been described as her most "adventurous" record. An electronica,MAGAZINE,weblink Ray Of Light, Rolling Stone, September 12, 2016, September 19, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110919163803weblink">weblink live, riding the electronica wave with her new collaborator, U.K. beat master William Orbit., MAGAZINE,weblink Ray of Light â€“ EW.com, Entertainment Weekly, September 12, 2016, November 18, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161118062512weblink">weblink live, Madonna has dipped her latest collection of songs in a light batter of electronica., trip hop,WEB, Beaumont-Thomas, Ben, Madonna: Madame X review â€“ her most bizarre album ever,weblink The Guardian, June 4, 2019, 21 July 2019, June 4, 2019,weblink live, she did an about turn, delivering convincing, idiosyncratic trip-hop on Ray of Light (1998), techno-pop,MAGAZINE,weblink Mess Is More, Spin (magazine), Spin, 15, 5, May 1999, June 9, 2016, Walters, Barry, 145â€“46, February 15, 2017,weblink live, After sculpting the user-friendly technopop of Madonna's Ray of Light...., and new-age album;WEB, Pitchfork Staff, The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s, Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork, September 28, 2022,weblink Fusing icy electronica and new-age music...Ray of Light found Madonna trying...to evoke the blackest depths and most euphoric joys of the human heart., April 26, 2023, it also contains elements of several different types of music, including house, ambient, drum and bass, rock, new wave, eastern and classical music.{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=24}} Vocally, the album was also a marked change from Madonna's previous work; as the singer underwent vocal training lessons for her 1996 film Evita, her vocals exhibited greater breadth and range, as well as a fuller timbre. In many songs, she also abandoned the vibrato which was present in her previous work. Critically, it is said to have Madonna's most full-bodied vocals.{{harvnb|Fouz-HernÃ¡ndez|Jarman-Ivens|2004|pp=59â€“61}}The opening track and third single, "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", is a downtempo ballad drawing influences from jungle, drum and bass and trip hop music. The title is inspired by J. G. Ballard's post-apocalyptic science fiction novel The Drowned World (1962). "Swim", the second song, has a spiritual tone. She sings: "Swim to the ocean floor/So that we can begin again/Wash away all our sins/Crash to the other shore".MAGAZINE, 1998, Revolutions: Madonna's "Ray of Light", Vibe (magazine), Vibe, 6, 3, 196, 1070-4701,weblink December 25, 2010, January 1, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140101182051weblink">weblink live, "Ray of Light", the third track and second single, is an uptempo electronic dance-pop song with strong techno and trance influences. A "sonically progressive" track, it also incorporates elements of rock, with a prominent electric guitar riff. Its sound effects include whistles and bleeps. "Candy Perfume Girl" has a grunge intro and continues to pair post-modern beeps and beats with old-fashioned electric guitar flare ups.NEWS,weblink Madonna Opens Heart and Soul on 'Light', Bryan, Lark, The Michigan Daily, University of Michigan, March 10, 1998, November 2, 2011, April 29, 2021,weblink live, In the next song, "Skin", Madonna sings "Do I know you from somewhere?" in a yearning voice over the beats of an electronic orchestra.The sixth track, "Nothing Really Matters", is an up-tempo dance track which contains influences of techno.{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=63}} "Sky Fits Heaven" focuses on Madonna's spiritual studies and her daughter Lourdes. Some lyrics include: "Sky fits heaven so fly it, that's what the prophet said to me/Child fits mother so hold your baby tight, that's what my future can see". Elements of the lyric are taken from the poem What Fits? by poet Max Blagg, the poem used for a 1993 advertisement for Gap Inc.WEB,weblink Madonna Gets Lyrical Help From Gap Ad, Freezes For 'Frozen', March 18, 1998, MTV News, April 1, 2013, December 3, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131203135208weblink">weblink live, "Shanti/Ashtangi" is a Hindu prayer and up-tempo techno song sung by Madonna in Sanskrit, over a driving dance rhythm. The techno dance track features Madonna singing the adapted version of Shankaracharya entirely in Sanskrit with lines such as "Vunde gurunam caranaravinde/Sandarsita svatma sukhavabodhe".{{harvnb|DeRogartis|2003|p=398}}{{harvnb|Gopinath|2005|p=28}}"Frozen", the ninth track and album's first single, is a mid-tempo electronic ballad which has a layered sound enhanced by synthesizers and strings.{{harvnb|Fouz-HernÃ¡ndez|Jarman-Ivens|2004|pp=92}} The song additionally contains ambient qualities, a moderate dance rhythm during the chorus and techno-influenced beats towards the end. Madonna's vocals throughout the song lack vibrato, and have drawn comparisons to medieval music. Lyrically, the song is about a cold and emotionless man; nevertheless, subtexts have been noticed. According to Jarman-Ivens, lyrics such as "You're frozen, when your heart's not open" reflected an artistic palette, "encompassing diverse musical, textual and visual styles in its lyrics."{{harvnb|Fouz-HernÃ¡ndez|Jarman-Ivens|2004|pp=55â€“58}} "The Power of Good-Bye" is an emotional ballad which lyrically meditates on loss and longing. It was released as the album's fourth single. "To Have and Not to Hold" is about a distant lover and "Little Star" is about her daughter, Lourdes. Both are superficially vibrant but with underlying subtlety and restrained arrangements prevailing. "Mer Girl", the album's final track, is a surreal meditation on mortality and the death of Madonna's mother, in which she sings, "And I smelled her burning flesh/Her rotting bones, her decay/I ran and I ran/I'm still running away." "She stepped out of the vocal booth," Orbit recalled of its recording, "and everybody was rooted to the spot. It was just one of those moments. Really spooky."MAGAZINE, Danny, Eccleston, Sexy Mother, Q (magazine), Q, March 1998, 88,

Release and promotion

{{See also|Drowned World Tour}}File:SkyFitsHeavenDionisio.jpg|thumb|Madonna performing promotional single "Sky Fits Heaven", during the Drowned World Tour Drowned World TourRay of Light was released in Japan on February 22, 1998, with an additional Japan-only bonus track "Has to Be". The album was later released in the United States on March 3, 1998. In New Zealand, a box set of Ray of Light and The Immaculate Collection was released to accompany the album. It reached number 12 on the albums chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipment of 7,500 copies.WEB,weblink Top 50 Albums â€“ October 10, 1999, Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, August 10, 2008, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120402164010weblink">weblink April 2, 2012, A promotional instore VHS compilation titled Rays of Light was released in the United Kingdom in 1999, compiling all the music videos to all five singles from the album. All five videos were later included on the compilation (The Video Collection 93:99) (1999).AV MEDIA NOTES, Rays of Light, Madonna, 1999, Maverick, Warner Bros., Warner Music UK, PRO-RAY-VHS, "Sky Fits Heaven" was released as a promotional single in the United States. It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.NEWS,weblink 'Celebration': Madonna's 40 Most Impressive Instants, Trust, Gary, September 15, 2009, Billboard, October 8, 2009, July 28, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130728083555weblink">weblink live, To promote the album, Madonna made a number of televised appearances and live performances of the album's songs. On February 14, 1998, she debuted "Sky Fits Heaven", "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Ray of Light" at Roxy NYC nightclub.WEB,weblink Madonna Lights Up New York's Roxy, Vineyard, Jennifer, MTV News. Viacom, February 16, 1998, February 9, 2014, February 21, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140221050103weblink">weblink live, "Frozen" was performed on The National Lottery Show in the UK (February 21),WEB,weblink Madonna performs at the BBC National Lottery Show, Icon: Madonna Official Website, Madonna.com, February 21, 1998, June 30, 2013, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304111140weblink">weblink live, 1998 Sanremo Music Festival in Italy (February 24),WEB,weblink Madonna 'Frozen' In Place By Music Festival Host, MTV, September 12, 2016, November 10, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20211110053756weblink">weblink live, Wetten, dass..? in Germany (February 28){{harvnb|Vorrath|2011|p=223}} and the Rosie O'Donnell Show in the United States (March 13).WEB,weblink Madonna chats with Rosie O'Donnell, September 12, 2016, December 8, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151208072733weblink">weblink live, On April 27, Madonna made an unannounced appearance at the Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City to sing "Frozen". She also joined the other stars of the concert, including Sting, Elton John, and Billy Joel to perform "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "Twist and Shout" with them.NEWS, Pareles, Jon,weblink POP REVIEW; Meet the Beatles Again, And Their Musical Fans, The New York Times, April 29, 1998, December 8, 2012, September 25, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130925060144weblink">weblink live, On May 29, Madonna appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and sang "Little Star" and "Ray of Light" there.WEB,weblink Madonna Steps Into The Media "Light" With Oprah, Firms Up Film Work, MTV News, May 27, 1998, May 13, 2012, February 2, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140202222425weblink">weblink live, On September 10, she opened 1998 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City with the performance of "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Ray of Light" featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar.WEB,weblink weblink" title="archive.today/20130111124116weblink">weblink dead, January 11, 2013, Kaufman, Gil, Hindu Group Calls Madonna Performance Sacrilege, MTV News, September 14, 1998, April 8, 2012, "The Power of Good-Bye" was sung at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards in Italy (November 12)NEWS,weblink Spice Girls take MTV crown, BBC News, November 13, 1998, April 13, 2012, June 15, 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170615153105weblink">weblink live, and Top of the Pops in the UK (November 19).WEB,weblink Top of the Pops â€“ video archive, BBC, September 12, 2016, December 6, 2004,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20041206004349weblink">weblink live, On February 24, 1999, Madonna performed "Nothing Really Matters" at the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.NEWS,weblink Madonna through the years, The Washington Post, April 13, 2012, March 26, 2012, March 29, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120329161344weblink">weblink live, Madonna performed "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", "Ray of Light", "Candy Perfume Girl", "Sky Fits Heaven", "Frozen" and "Mer Girl" on the Drowned World Tour, her fifth concert tour, which promoted Ray of Light and its successor album. It started in June 2001 and was Madonna's first tour in eight years. The tour was to be started before the new millennium,NEWS,weblink Interview: Madonna reviews life on Larry King Live, January 19, 1999, CNN, December 28, 2009, King, Larry, Larry King, March 3, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160303223319weblink">weblink live, but she had become pregnant with her son Rocco Ritchie, released Music that year, and married British film maker Guy Ritchie in December 2000.NEWS,weblink Madonna, Guy Ritchie Divorce Approved by U.K. Court, Lumley, James, November 21, 2008, Bloomberg Television, December 28, 2009, {{harvnb|Guilbert|2002|p=76}} The show was divided into five sections, Cyber-Punk, Geisha, Cowgirl, Spanish and Ghetto.NEWS,weblink Few Hits, Many Costumes At Madonna Tour Launch, Moss, Cory, June 11, 2001, MTV, December 29, 2009, January 14, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090114045251weblink">weblink live, The Drowned World Tour received positive reviews.NEWS,weblink Madonna, Earls Court, London, Price, Simon, July 9, 2001, The Independent, December 30, 2009, {{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The tour was a commercial success, grossing a total of US$75 million, and it was the top concert tour of a solo artist in 2001.NEWS,weblink U2, 'NSYNC, Backstreet Top List Of 2001's Biggest Concert Grossers, Wiederhorn, Jon, December 21, 2001, MTV News, December 31, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090910074239weblink">weblink September 10, 2009, The concert was broadcast live on HBO from The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on August 26, 2001.NEWS,weblink Madonna Bringing Drowned World To HBO, Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric, May 24, 2001, MTV, July 29, 2012, January 13, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090113180657weblink">weblink live, The Drowned World Tour 2001 DVD was released in all regions on November 13, 2001. Like the original airing of the show, the DVD received very good reviews. The photographs used on the DVD packaging were taken by Madonna's friend Rosie O'Donnell.{{harvnb|Guilbert|2002|p=189}}

Singles

{{listen| filename = FrozenSample.ogg| title="Frozen" (1998)| description = A slow tempo dance track featuring Madonna's voice over layers of string arrangements and synthesizers.| pos = left}}"Frozen" was released as the lead single from the album on February 23, 1998. It peaked inside the top five in most musical markets worldwide, while topping the singles chart in Finland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, where it became Madonna's first single to debut at number one.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Frozen, Ultratop 50. Hung Medien, November 3, 2011, February 21, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160221213419weblink">weblink live, WEB,weblink Madonna, Official Charts Company, September 9, 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121023000141weblink">weblink October 23, 2012, It became her sixth single to peak at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, setting a record for Madonna as the artist with most number-two hits in the chart history.MAGAZINE,weblink Madonna Album & Song Chart History, Billboard, November 3, 2011, November 21, 2021,weblink live, NEWS,weblink weblink" title="archive.today/20120712132240weblink">weblink dead, July 12, 2012, Happy Birthday, Madonna!, John, Mitchell, MTV (MTV Networks), August 16, 2011, August 18, 2011, The song received critical acclaim, and was labelled a masterpiece whose sound was described as "cinematic". However, the Belgian court in 2005 ruled that the opening four-bar theme to the song was plagiarized from the song "Ma vie fout le camp", composed by Salvatore Acquaviva. The ruling forbade the sale of the single and the entire Ray of Light album, as well as other compilations that included the track in Belgium.Songwriter wins case against Madonna {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202154502weblink |date=December 2, 2008 }}. Associated Press via USA Today. November 18, 2005. Retrieved May 22, 2006. In February 2014, a Belgian court ruled that Madonna did not plagiarize Acquaviva's work for "Frozen". The court spoke of a "new capital offense" in the file: composer Edouard Scotto Di Suoccio and societies Tabata Atoll Music and Music in Paris had also filed a complaint for plagiarism. According to them, both "Ma vie fout le camp" and "Frozen" originated in the song "Blood Night" which they composed in 1983.WEB,weblink Belg krijgt ongelijk in plagiaatzaak tegen Madonna over 'Frozen', Rogier, Verschueren, January 4, 2014, January 4, 2014, De Standaard, nl, February 21, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140221231502weblink">weblink live, After all three tracks in the case were compared, the final ruling was that the songs were "not sufficiently 'original' to claim" that any plagiarism had taken place.WEB,weblink Madonna 'Frozen' ban lifted in Belgium after 8 years, Digital Spy, February 5, 2014, February 8, 2014, February 26, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140226111706weblink">weblink live, This ruling ended the eight-year ban of the song that was in place in Belgium since 2005.The album's second single, "Ray of Light", was released on April 27, 1998. It peaked at number one in Spain and attained the top five position in Canada, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray of Light, Ultratop 50. Hung Medien, November 3, 2011, March 13, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160313032327weblink">weblink live, It entered the Hot 100 at number five, becoming Madonna's highest debut on the chart ever. The song was also a hit on Hot Dance Club Play chart, remaining at number one for four weeks, and became the "Top Hot Dance Club Play Single" of 1998.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Awards â€“ Billboard Albums â€“ Billboard Singles, AllMusic. Rovi Corporation, July 30, 2014, November 25, 2017,weblink live, Critically, it also received positive reviews, being praised for its club-perfect, yet "sonically progressive" sound, as well as her powerful vocals."Drowned World/Substitute for Love" was released on August 24, 1998, as the third single outside the United States. It reached number one in Spain and the top ten in Italy and the United Kingdom.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Drowned World (Substitute for Love), Ultratop 50. Hung Medien, November 3, 2011, May 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160504103046weblink">weblink live, The music video, directed by Walter Stern, caused controversy due to scenes that featured Madonna being chased by paparazzi on motor-bikes, a scenario similar to Princess Diana's death in 1997.NEWS, BBC News Entertainment, Madonna: Mad for Success at 40,weblink August 4, 2007, August 15, 1998, June 30, 2003,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20030630024821weblink">weblink live, The fourth single, "The Power of Good-Bye", was released on September 22, 1998. It reached the top-ten peaks in Austria, Canada, Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ The Power of Good-Bye, Ultratop 50. Hung Medien, November 3, 2011, May 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160504103145weblink">weblink live, In the United States, the song peaked at number eleven on the Hot 100. Its music video was directed by Matthew Rolston. "The Power of Good-Bye" was released as a dual single with "Little Star" in the United Kingdom.MAGAZINE,weblink Singles: Releases for 23 Nov–29 Nov, 1998, 23, Music Week, November 21, 1998, October 17, 2023, World Radio History, "The Power of Good-Bye" also charted at number 91 as a standalone single.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}"Nothing Really Matters" was released as the album's sixth and final single on March 2, 1999. It became a top-ten hit in Canada, Finland, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Nothing Really Matters, Ultratop 50. Hung Medien, November 3, 2011, May 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160504103109weblink">weblink live, In the United States, it became Madonna's lowest-charting single on the Hot 100, peaking at number 93, but was a number-one hit on its dance chart. Its music video, directed by Johan Renck, was inspired by Arthur Golden's book Memoirs of a Geisha, and featured Madonna dressed as a geisha.WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Nothing Really Matters video, MTV, July 23, 2009, March 28, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160328073036weblink">weblink live,

Critical reception

{{Music ratings| rev1 = AllMusic4.5|5}}| rev2 = Chicago Tribune3.5AUTHOR-LINK=GREG KOTURL=HTTP://ARTICLES.CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/1998-03-01/NEWS/9803010300_1_SHEP-PETTIBONE-POP-STARS-WILLIAM-ORBITNEWSPAPER=CHICAGO TRIBUNEARCHIVE-DATE=MARCH 4, 2016URL-STATUS=LIVE, | rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music5AUTHOR-LINK=COLIN LARKINTITLE=THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSICPUBLISHER=MUZEYEAR=2006PAGE=427, | rev4 = Entertainment Weekly| rev4Score = Aâˆ’| rev5 = The Guardian4TITLE=MADONNA: RAY OF LIGHT (WEA)THE GUARDIAN>DATE=FEBRUARY 27, 1998ISSN=0261-3077, | rev6 = NMELAST=MOODYMAGAZINE=NMEDATE=FEBRUARY 28, 1998ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20000817192218/HTTP://WWW.NME.COM/REVIEWS/REVIEWS/19980101000248REVIEWS.HTMLURL-STATUS=DEAD, Pitchfork (website)>PitchforkLAST=FRANKDATE=AUGUST 16, 2017PITCHFORK (WEBSITE)>PITCHFORKARCHIVE-DATE=SEPTEMBER 26, 2020URL-STATUS=LIVE, | rev8 = Rolling Stone4|5}}| rev9 = Slant Magazine4|5}}| rev10 = USA Today4LAST=GUNDERSENAUTHOR-LINK=EDNA GUNDERSENUSA TODAY>DATE=MARCH 3, 1998ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20130317033332/HTTP://PQASB.PQARCHIVER.COM/USATODAY/ACCESS/26894142.HTML?DIDS=26894142:26894142&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&TYPE=CURRENT&DATE=MAR+03%2C+1998&AUTHOR=EDNA+GUNDERSEN&PUB=USA+TODAY&DESC=HER+%27RAY+OF+LIGHT%27+SHINES+EARNESTLY+IN+NEW+DIRECTION&PQATL=GOOGLEURL-STATUS=DEAD, }}Ray of Light received universal acclaim from critics.WEB,weblink Lauryn: Grammy Whammy, People (magazine), People, April 19, 1999, November 5, 2012, March 3, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160303223437weblink">weblink live, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called it Madonna's "most adventurous record" and "most mature and restrained album".WEB,weblink Ray of Light â€“ Madonna, AllMusic, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, July 23, 2009, June 2, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120602180113weblink">weblink live, Paul Verna of Billboard commented: "Easily her most mature and personal work to date, Ray of Light finds Madonna weaving lyrics with the painstaking intimacy of diary entries and wrapping them in hymn-like melodies and instrumentation swathed in lush, melancholy ambienceâ€”with forays into classic house, trance, and even guitar pop. Of course, she balances the set's serious tone with chewy pop nuggets that allow her to flex her immeasurably widened vocal range to fine effect." He finished the review by calling the album "a deliciously adventurous, ultimately victorious effort from one of pop music's most compelling performers."MAGAZINE, Reviews & Previews â€“ Spotlight: Madonna, Ray of Light,weblink Paul, Verna, March 14, 1998, November 4, 2011, Billboard, 0006-2510, 110, 11, 20, March 5, 2017,weblink live, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the album as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" and stated that: "Its lyrics are uncomplicated but its statement is grand" and "Madonna hasn't been this emotionally candid since Like a Prayer".WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light â€“ Music Review, March 9, 2003, July 17, 2009, Cinquemani, Sal, Slant Magazine, June 2, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130602003946weblink">weblink live, Rob Sheffield's review for Rolling Stone called the album "brilliant", but was critical of Orbit's production, saying that he doesn't know enough tricks to produce a whole album, and so becomes repetitive.MAGAZINE,weblink Madonna: Ray of Light, Sheffield, Rob, Rob Sheffield, April 2, 1998, Rolling Stone, December 8, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090503115214weblink">weblink May 3, 2009, dead, "Until Simply Red enlist John Zorn, or Mariah Carey works with Tortoise," Stuart Maconie wrote in Q, "she remains the only pop aristocrat who's keeping her ears open."MAGAZINE, Stuart, Maconie, Stuart Maconie, Expressing herself, Q (magazine), Q, 139, April 1998, 105, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "For all her grapplings with self-enlightenment, Madonna seems more relaxed and less contrived than she's been in years, from her new Italian earth-mother makeover to, especially, her music. Ray of Light is truly like a prayer, and you know she'll take you there."MAGAZINE,weblink Ethereal Girl, Browne, David, David Browne (journalist), March 6, 1998, Entertainment Weekly, July 23, 2009,weblink January 11, 2017, dead, Roni Sarig, in City Pages, was most impressed by Madonna's vocal range, depth, and clarity and called Ray of Light "her richest, most accomplished record yet".NEWS,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray of Light, Roni, Sarig, City Pages, March 25, 1998, November 2, 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100930183811weblink">weblink September 30, 2010, Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "One reason why her new Ray of Light is the most satisfying album of her career is that it reflects the soul-searching of a woman who is at a point in her life where she can look at herself with surprising candor and perspective."NEWS,weblink Madonna, Only More So, Hilburn, Robert, Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times, March 1, 1998, November 22, 2010, January 27, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120127104220weblink">weblink live, In Melody Maker, Mark Roland drew comparisons with St Etienne and BjÃ¶rk's Homogenic album, highlighting Ray of Light{{'}}s lack of cynicism as its most positive aspect: "It's not an album turned on the lathe of cynical pop manipulation, rather it's been squished out of a lump of clay on a foot-powered wheel. Lovingly teased into life, Ray of Light is like the ugly mug that doesn't match but is all the more special because of it."MAGAZINE, Mark, Roland, Review: Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light, Maverick, Melody Maker, February 28, 1998, 42, 0025-9012, Joan Anderman from The Boston Globe said Ray of Light is a remarkable album. He described it as a deeply spiritual dance record, ecstatically textured, a serious cycle of songs that goes a long way toward liberating Madonna from a career built on scavenged images and cultivated identities.Anderman, Joan (March 1, 1998) "Madonna Captures the Moment and Sees the Spiritual Light". Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 12, 2010. Robert Christgau was less impressed in Playboy, deeming it a "great-sounding" but average record because enlightenment themes always yield awkward results for pop entertainers. However, he praised sensual songs such as "Skin" and "Candy Perfume Girl".NEWS, Christgau, Robert, Robert Christgau, March 1998,weblink Madonna, Buster Poindexter, Billy Swan, Percy Sledge, Playboy, September 22, 2015, September 12, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150912213848weblink">weblink live,

Commercial performance

File:OliverMadonnaFrozen.jpg|thumb|Madonna performing the album's lead single "Frozen" on the Re-Invention World Tour Re-Invention World TourUpon its release, Ray of Light topped the official charts of 17 countries. It broke the record as Warner Music Group's album with most shipments before its release at 2.5 million units worldwide, excluding the U.S.NEWS,weblink Madonna's MUSIC Sets New WMI Shipment Record, September 26, 2000, Time Warner, March 31, 2017, August 8, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120808011138weblink">weblink dead, The album managed to sell 3 million copies in five days.WEB,weblink 40 anos de Michael, Prince e Madonna, Folha de S.Paulo, Pedro Alexandre, Sanches, August 7, 1998, April 11, 2022,weblink April 11, 2022, pt, subscription, With over 16 million copies,{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2002|p=303}}WEB,weblink Orbit switches from Madonna to Tennyson with live Radio 3 epic, The Guardian, Vanessa, Thorpe, July 5, 2009, January 4, 2012,weblink October 2, 2013, Ray of Light is one of the best-selling albums by women.In the United States, Ray of Light debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart on the issue dated March 21, 1998.MAGAZINE,weblink Between the Bullets, November 14, 1998, July 11, 2010, Billboard, 0006-2510, 110, 46, 100, March 6, 2017,weblink live, It set the record for biggest first-week sales by a female artist in Nielsen SoundScan era at that time with 371,000 copies sold. However, the album was not able to top the soundtrack album of the motion picture Titanic, becoming Madonna's fifth album to peak at the runner-up position.NEWS,weblink First day sales put Madonna on track for 7th No. 1, Billboard, Keith, Caulfield, April 30, 2008, May 7, 2008, May 29, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130529025444weblink">weblink live, During the second week, the album sold 225,000 copies and was still kept off the top spot by the soundtrack.NEWS,weblink Madonna Once Again Rules The World, Rolling Stone, March 21, 1998, August 19, 2011, June 27, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120627173658weblink">weblink live, On March 16, 2000, the album was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of four million units of the album. Madonna became the first female artist to have seven multi-platinum studio albums by RIAA.MAGAZINE, Titanic Hits 10 Million Mark In April RIAA certifications,weblink Carrie, Bell, May 16, 1998, March 22, 2017, Billboard, 0006-2510, 110, 20, 10, May 2, 2021,weblink live, According to Nielsen SoundScan, Ray of Light had sold 3,900,000 copies in the United States as of February 2023.MAGAZINE,weblink Madonna's 'Ray of Light' Turns 25: Songs Ranked From Worst to Best, O'Brien, Jon, February 22, 2023, Billboard (magazine), Billboard, February 22, 2023, This figure does not include units sold through clubs like the BMG Music, where the album sold over 459,000 copies.WEB, Barry David, Shania, Backstreet, Britney, Eminem and Janet Top All-Time Sellers, Music Industry News Network, February 18, 2003,weblink September 21, 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090817152522weblink">weblink August 17, 2009, In Canada, the album debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 59,900 copies.NEWS,weblink Madonna dances to No. 1 in Canada, Jam!, November 23, 2005, Williams, John, August 5, 2009, usurped,weblink" title="archive.today/20121209143528weblink">weblink December 9, 2012, It was later certified seven-times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipment of 700,000 copies.Ray of Light achieved commercial success in Latin America, being certified 3Ã— platinum in Argentina for 180,000 copies recognized by CÃ¡mara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF) and platinum in Brazil for shipments of over 250,000 units certified by AssociaÃ§Ã£o Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD). In Mexico, initial shipments of the album were 30,000 units.NEWS,weblink Son 30 mil 'rayos de luz' para Mexico, March 3, 1998, December 29, 2021, Reforma, {{ProQuest, 311602202, |language=es|url-access=subscription|via=ProQuest|archive-date=September 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923071326weblink|url-status=live}}NEWS,weblink Caeran hoy 30 mil 'rayos de luz', March 3, 1998, December 29, 2021, El Norte (Monterrey), El Norte, es, Carlos, Vega, {{ProQuest, 316275324, |url-access=subscription|via=ProQuest|archive-date=September 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923071327weblink|url-status=live}} The album also achieved commercial success in Oceania, debuting at number one on the albums chart in Australia and New Zealand. It was certified triple platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and platinum by Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipments of 210,000 and 15,000 copies respectively. Ray of Light became the best-selling album from Warner Music in the Asia-Pacific region during 1998,MAGAZINE,weblink HONG KONG OPTIMISTS, October 24, 1998, February 5, 2021, Billboard, 0006-2510, APQ-4, January 27, 2021,weblink live, and sold over one million copies in Asia as of June 1999.WEB,weblink Oped, Los Angeles Business Journal, Sara, Fisher, June 21, 1999, February 6, 2021,weblink February 6, 2021, live, Ray of Light achieved its biggest commercial reception in European countries, where it topped the European Top 100 Albums chart and was certified seven times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales of seven million copies, becoming the ninth best-selling album in Europe for the 1998â€“2007 period.WEB, IFPI Platinum Europe Awards: Best-selling albums in Europe over the past decade (1998â€“2007), IFPI,weblink August 18, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130725051454weblink">weblink July 25, 2013, dead, In the United Kingdom, Ray of Light debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with opening sales of nearly 139,000 copies and remained at the top spot for two weeks.WEB,weblink CHART COMMENTARY, Music Week, Alan, Jones, September 26, 1998, January 24, 2021, 22, March 9, 2021,weblink live, It was certified six times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 1.8 million copies. As of 2018, the album sold 1,730,000 units in the UK according to Official Charts Company.NEWS,weblink William Orbit reflects on Madonna's Ray Of Light: 'It broke all the rules', Copsey, Rob, February 22, 2018, February 22, 2018, Official Charts Company, December 31, 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20171231033504weblink">weblink live, In France, Ray of Light entered the albums chart at number two, staying there for seven weeks before descending the chart. It was certified three times platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Ã‰dition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipments of 900,000 copies.WEB,weblink Les Albums Triple Platine, Syndicat National de l'Ã‰dition Phonographique, November 30, 2010, fr, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111223203021weblink">weblink December 23, 2011, In Germany, the album reached number one on the Media Control Charts and remained there for seven weeks. It remains Madonna's best-selling album in Germany with three times platinum certification from Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipment of 1.5 million copies. In the rest of Europe, Ray of Light topped the official charts of Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.

Accolades

File:Adi Madonna Houston.jpg|thumb|left|Madonna performing "Ray of Light" during the 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour. The song won an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year and a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.]]At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, Ray of Light received four awards out of six nominations.NEWS,weblink General Categories, Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1999, July 30, 2014, February 22, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140222153618weblink">weblink live, The album won Best Pop Album and Best Recording Package, and was nominated for Album of the Year, while the title track won Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video, and was nominated for Record of the Year.WEB,weblink Multiple Grammy Nods for 'City of Angels,' Madonna, Faith Hill, Pat Metheny And More as Warner Bros. and Reprise Artists Shine, Warner Bros. Records, January 5, 1999, July 30, 2014, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304091942weblink">weblink live, The album gave Madonna her first musical Grammy of her career, as previously she had only won in the video category. Madonna also became the biggest winner of the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, winning six awards from nine nominations.WEB,weblink Madonna, Prodigy, Will Smith, Aerosmith Win Big At Video Music Awards, MTV News, September 10, 1998, July 30, 2014, February 2, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140202222420weblink">weblink live, "Frozen" won Best Special Effects; "Ray of Light" won Best Choreography, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Female Video and Video of the Year, and was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) honored Madonna two awards of Most Performed Song for "Frozen" and "Ray of Light" at the 1999 ASCAP Pop Music Awards,MAGAZINE, Waren Big ASCAP Winner: Songwriter Of The Year For the 5th Time, Newman, Melinda, May 29, 1999, Billboard, 0006-2510, 111, 22, 8, as well as Top Dance Song for "Ray of Light" at the 1999 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.NEWS, Flash! / The latest entertainment news and more..., Hazelwood, Darrell T., Newsday, May 28, 1999, 0278-5587, A.16, Ray of Light also gave Madonna several trophies from various international award showsâ€”including two Danish Grammy Awards for Best International Album and Best International Female Vocalist from IFPI Denmark,NEWS,weblink Den Gale Pose nabs four Dansk Grammys, Charles, Ferro, The Hollywood Reporter, February 9, 1999, January 25, 2012, a Fryderyk award for Best Foreign Album from ZwiÄ…zek ProducentÃ³w Audio Video (ZPAV) in Poland,WEB,weblink Nominowani i laureaci 1998, pl, Polish Music Charts, ZwiÄ…zek ProducentÃ³w Audio Video, December 17, 2010, March 26, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160326063049weblink">weblink live, a Golden Giraffe Award for International Pop Album of the Year from Mahasz in Hungary,WEB,weblink A 1999-es Arany ZsirÃ¡f DÃj jelÃ¶ltjei, hu, Hungarian Music Awards, December 17, 2010, March 5, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160305192038weblink">weblink live, two Porin awards for Best International Album and Best International Video ("Frozen") in Croatia,WEB,weblink Institut Hrvatske Glazbene Industrije â€“ Dobitnici Porin 1999, hr, Porin (music award), Porin, December 17, 2010, February 1, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140201193135weblink">weblink live, and two RockbjÃ¶rnen awards for Best International Album and Best International Artist in Sweden.NEWS,weblink RockbjÃ¶rnsvinnare sedan 1979 â€“ hÃ¤r Ã¤r hela listan, sv, Aftonbladet, Schibsted, January 16, 2006, December 13, 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110206021351weblink">weblink February 6, 2011, dead, In Canada, Madonna won Best International Video for "Ray of Light" at the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards and was nominated for Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) at the 1999 Juno Awards.WEB,weblink 1998 Much Music Video Awards â€“ Winners, MuchMusic Video Awards, December 15, 2010, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080601044647weblink">weblink June 1, 2008, WEB,weblink Juno Awards Database: Madonna, Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, November 26, 2010, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110723180559weblink">weblink July 23, 2011, She also received Best Female and Best Album trophies at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards.MAGAZINE,weblink MTV Europe Music Awards Winners 1994â€“2000, November 10, 2001, September 26, 2023, Billboard, 0006-2510, 113, 45, 50, At the 14th annual International Dance Music Awards, Madonna won Best Dance Solo Artist and Best Dance Video for "Ray of Light".WEB,weblink 14th Annual International Dance Music Awards, Winter Music Conference, December 6, 2010,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110306094122weblink">weblink March 6, 2011, dead,

Legacy

Ray of Light has been credited for bringing electronica music into global pop culture. The Los Angeles Times noted that "aside from occasional breakthroughs such as Fatboy Slim, electronica wasn't totally mainstream fare when Madonna released Ray of Light."NEWS,weblink weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140421090736weblink">weblink dead, April 21, 2014, Madonna, Ray of Light, Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2014, Until the album brought the genre to the top of music charts, according to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, "techno and electronica had, for years, been the music played at so-called raves, hugely popular, illegal underground parties taking place in abandoned warehouse and deserted areas on the outskirts of town all around the world."{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2002|p=301}} AllMusic editor Liana Jonas stated that the album's title track has "brought mainstream attention to electronica music, which ascended from its underground status to wild popularity in the early 21st century."WEB,weblink Ray of Light â€“ Madonna, AllMusic. Macrovision Company, Liana, Jonas, July 30, 2014, November 20, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151120174739weblink">weblink live, The Observer{{'}}s writer Daryl Deino called Ray of Light "a risk-taking album that helped define mainstream electronic dance music."NEWS,weblink 10 Albums That Defined the 1990s, Daryl, Deino, The Observer, July 17, 2017, December 12, 2017, December 13, 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20171213091054weblink">weblink live, Elliott H. Powell in an American Studies for New York University observed that Ray of Light made South Asian culture accessible to the American public in the 1990s.WEB, Powell, Elliott H., I Don't Really Know What She's Sayin': (Anti)Orientalism and Hop Hop's Sampling of South Asian Music,weblink University of Pennsylvania, March 19, 2017, March 4, 2016,weblink live, Rhonda Hammer and Douglas Kellner in their book Media/cultural Studies: Critical Approaches recalled that "the phenomenon of South Asian-inspired femininity as a Western media trend can be traced to February 1998, when pop icon Madonna released her video 'Frozen'." They explained that "although Madonna did not initiate the fashion for Indian beauty accessories [...] she did propel it into the public eye by attracting the attention of the worldwide media."BOOK,weblink Media/cultural Studies: Critical Approaches â€“ Google Books, 978-0-8204-9526-2, August 22, 2014, Hammer, Rhonda, Kellner, Douglas, 2009, March 5, 2017,weblink live, According to Taraborrelli, the album has been hailed as bold and refreshing in music of the late 1990s, which was dominated by boybands and teenage artists such as the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2002|p=327}} Larry Flick from Billboard said that the album "not only provided the chameleon-like artist with her first universally applauded critical success, it has also proved that she remains a vital figure amongst woefully fickle young audiences."MAGAZINE,weblink Awards Ceremony To Feature A Circus Theme, December 5, 1998, 87, Billboard, 131, December 3, 2020, May 3, 2021,weblink live, Music critic Lucy O'Brien commented: "1998's Ray of Light certainly rehabilitated Madonna's image. Up to that point she had still been written off as an average pop glamour girl who got lucky, but with this record she reached a whole new audience, proving that she was a good songwriter with an intensely productive talent."BOOK,weblink She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul, Lucy O'Brien, October 16, 2003, 978-0-8264-3529-3, August 22, 2014, O'Brien, Lucy, March 5, 2017,weblink live, Mary von Aue from Stereogum stated that "Ray of Light reestablished Madonna as a groundbreaking artist."WEB,weblink Madonna Albums From Worst To Best, March 11, 2015, November 6, 2015, Stereogum,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150430093421weblink">weblink April 30, 2015, Ray of Light has been featured on numerous critics' lists of greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone magazine placed the album at number 367 on the list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.MAGAZINE,weblink 500 Greatest Albums: Ray of Light â€“ Madonna, Rolling Stone, February 23, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101220144803weblink">weblink December 20, 2010, In September 2020, an updated edition of the Rolling Stone list was published, showing the album rising 145 spots, at number 222.NEWS,weblink 500 Greatest Albums: Ray of Light â€“ Madonna (2020 edition), Rolling Stone, September 22, 2020, September 25, 2020, October 21, 2020,weblink live, In 2001, a quarter of a million music fans on VH1 voted Ray of Light as the 10th of "100 Best Albums of All Time".NEWS,weblink U2 crush Beatles in top album poll, The Guardian, Tania, Branigan, November 22, 2001, July 29, 2012, London, November 2, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131102123345weblink">weblink live, In 2003, Ray of Light was allocated at number 17 on Q magazine readers' list of "100 Greatest Albums Ever".WEB,weblink Rocklist.net...Q Magazine Lists, Rocklistmusic.co.uk, August 22, 2014, October 17, 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131017152207weblink">weblink live, The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.WEB,weblink 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Quintessence Editions Ltd, 2003, November 25, 2010, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101119080055weblink">weblink November 19, 2010, Mojo magazine also listed Ray of Light at number 29 on "100 Modern Classics: The Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime".MAGAZINE, 100 Modern Classics, May 2006, 64, Mojo (magazine), Mojo, 1351-0193, In 2013, the album was also included at number 241 on NME magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".WEB,weblink The Top 500 Albums of All Time, according to NME, Consequence of Sound, Ben, Kaye, October 25, 2013, July 30, 2014, November 30, 2015,weblink live, Canadian singer Nelly Furtado stated that she used Ray of Light as a template for her album Loose (2006).NEWS,weblink The Magical Story Of How Nelly Furtado And Timbaland Made Loose, Mistry, Anupa, The Fader, November 23, 2016, February 24, 2021, March 28, 2021,weblink live, English singer Adele named Ray of Light as "one of the chief inspirations" for her third studio album, 25 (2015).NEWS,weblink Adele: Inside Her Private Life and Triumphant Return, Brian, Hiatt, Rolling Stone, November 3, 2015, November 4, 2015, 2,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160921164401weblink">weblink September 21, 2016, dead, In September 2022, Pitchfork ranked Ray of Light as the 55th best album of the 1990s, "Madonna's trying, with all her might, to evoke the blackest depths and most euphoric joys of the human heart. The album's title track sounds like it was forged inside a meteor; the surreal, pitch-black poem 'Mer Girl' is as still as death itself."WEB,weblink The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s, Pitchfork, September 28, 2022, September 30, 2022, Madonna herself has considered Ray of Light the most fulfilling evolution of her career, with her referencing it as the "quintessential Madonna album" in a 2013 Reddit AMA.NEWS, April 5, 2012, Madonna Back on Twitter,weblink live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120621122638weblink">weblink June 21, 2012, July 17, 2012, ABC News, WEB, September 16, 2013, Madonna, AMAA - Ask Madonna Almost Anything,weblink March 17, 2023, Reddit, yes. ray of light,

Track listing

{{track listing| extra_column = Producer(s)Ray of Light {{nobold>â€“ Standard edition}}| total_length = 66:42| title1 = Drowned World/Substitute for Love

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length1 = 5:08| title2 = Swim

Madonna
Orbit{edih}

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length2 = 5:00Ray of Light (song)>Ray of Light

Madonna
Orbit
Clive Muldoon
Dave Curtiss
Christine Leach{edih}

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length3 = 5:20| title4 = Candy Perfume Girl

Madonna
Orbit
Susannah Melvoin{edih}

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length4 = 4:36| title5 = Skin

Madonna
Patrick Leonard{edih}

Madonna
Orbit
Marius de Vries

{edih}| length5 = 6:21| title6 = Nothing Really Matters

Madonna
Leonard{edih}

Madonna
Orbit
Vries

{edih}| length6 = 4:26| title7 = Sky Fits Heaven

Madonna
Leonard{edih}

Madonna
Orbit
Leonard

{edih}| length7 = 4:47| title8 = Shanti/Ashtangi

Madonna
Orbit{edih}

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length8 = 4:29Frozen (Madonna song)>Frozen

Madonna
Leonard{edih}

Madonna
Orbit
Leonard

{edih}| length9 = 6:12| title10 = The Power of Good-Bye

Madonna
Rick Nowels{edih}

Madonna
Orbit
Leonard

{edih}| length10 = 4:12| title11 = To Have and Not to Hold

Madonna
Nowels{edih}

Madonna
Orbit
Leonard

{edih}| length11 = 5:22| title12 = Little Star

Madonna
Nowels{edih}

Madonna
Vries

{edih}| length12 = 5:18| title13 = Mer Girl

Madonna
Orbit{edih}

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length13 = 5:31| all_writing = }}{{track listingRay of Light {{nobold>â€“ Japanese bonus track}}| extra_column = Producer(s)| total_length = 71:58| title14 = Has to Be

Madonna
Orbit
Leonard{edih}

Madonna
Orbit

{edih}| length14 = 5:16}}Additional notesAV MEDIA NOTES, Madonna, Ray of Light, 1998, Maverick Records, 9362-46847-2, liner notes,

"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" contains a sample of "Why I Follow the Tigers", as performed by the San Sebastian Strings.
"Shanti/Ashtangi" adapted from text by Shankaracharya, taken from the Yoga Taravali. Additional text: Traditional, Translation by Vyass Houston and Eddie Stern.
"Mer Girl" contains an interpolation and elements from "Space" performed by GÃ¡bor SzabÃ³.

Personnel

Unless otherwise indicated, Information is adapted from the album's liner notes.{{div col}}

Madonna â€“ vocals {{small|(2â€“5, 7â€“13, lead on 1, 6)}}, producer
Craig Armstrong â€“ string arrangements {{small|(9â€“10)}}
Mike Bradford â€“ programming
Pablo Cook â€“ flute {{small|(2)}}
Mark Endert â€“ engineer
Fergus Gerrand â€“ drums {{small|(1â€“2)}}, percussion {{small|(13)}}
Kerosene Halo â€“ design
Niki Haris â€“ background vocals {{small|(6)}}
Vyass Houston â€“ translation
Jon Ingoldsby â€“ engineer
Ted Jensen â€“ mastering
Suzie Katayama â€“ conductor
Patrick Leonard â€“ additional music arranger {{small|(9)}}, producer
Donna De Lory â€“ background vocals {{small|(6)}}
Patrick McCarthy â€“ engineer
Marc Moreau â€“ guitar {{small|(5)}}
William Orbit â€“ producer, sound effects
Kevin Reagan â€“ art direction, design
Dave Reitzas â€“ engineer
Steve Sidelnyk â€“ additional drum machine {{small|(6, 12)}}
Matt Silva â€“ engineer
Eddie Stern â€“ translation
Mario Testino â€“ photography
Marius de Vries â€“ keyboard {{small|(9)}}, music programming {{small|(9)}}, producer

Charts

{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}Ray of Light">

Weekly charts {| class"wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style"text-align:center"|+Weekly chart performance for Ray of Light

! scope="col"| Chart (1998â€“1999)! scope="col"| Peakposition{{album chart|Australia|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017|refname=hungmedien}}{{album chart|Austria|2|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{album chart|Flanders|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{album chart|Wallonia|2|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}!scope="row"|Brazilian Albums ((:pt:Nelson Oliveira Pesquisa e Estudo de Mercado|NOPEM)/ABPD)JOURNAL,weblink CDs Mais Vendidos, O Globo, 5, May 12, 1998, August 9, 2023, pt, |6{{album chart|Canada|1|chartid=3488|rowheader=true|access-date=October 30, 2020}}{{album chart|BillboardCanada|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}!scope="row"|Czech Albums (ÄŒNS IFPI)MAGAZINE,weblink Top National Sellers: Czech Republic, Music & Media, 15, March 28, 1998, March 26, 2018, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 2!scope="row"|Danish Albums (Hitlisten)MAGAZINE,weblink Hits of the World, April 4, 1998, November 22, 2010, Billboard, 0006-2510, 110, 14, 45, July 5, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140705102043weblink">weblink live, | 2{{album chart|Netherlands|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}!scope="row"|Estonian Albums (Eesti Top 10)WEB,weblink Kassetid ja CD-d: EESTI TOP 10, SÃµnumileht, March 14, 1998, 14, March 18, 2023, et, | 1!scope="row"|European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)MAGAZINE,weblink Hits of the World, March 28, 1998, July 11, 2010, Billboard, 0006-2510, 110, 13, 39, March 6, 2017,weblink live, | 1{{album chart|Finland|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{album chart|France|2|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{album chart|Germany4|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017|id=2711|refname=germany}}!scope="row"|Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)MAGAZINE,weblink Top National Sellers: Greece, Music & Media, 12, April 4, 1998, March 26, 2018, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 1{{album chart|Hungary|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|year=1998|week=12|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017|refname=hun}}!scope="row"|Icelandic Albums (TÃ³nlist)WEB,weblink Ãsland plÃ¶tur og diskar, DagblaÃ°iÃ° VÃsir, 28, March 20, 1998, December 30, 2021, is, December 30, 2021,weblink live, | 4!scope="row"|Irish Albums (IRMA)| 2!scope="row"|Israeli Albums (IFPI)| 1!scope="row"|Italian Albums (FIMI)| 1!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)WEB,weblink ja:ãƒ¬ã‚¤ãƒ»ã‚ªãƒ–ãƒ»ãƒ©ã‚¤ãƒˆ, Madonna 'Ray of Light', Oricon, ja, February 22, 1998, July 10, 2010, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120711202543weblink">weblink July 11, 2012, | 7!scope="row"|Malaysian Albums (RIM)| 4{{album chart|New Zealand|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{album chart|Norway|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}!scope="row"|Portuguese Albums (AFP)MAGAZINE, Hits of the World, Billboard, 110, 12, 58â€“59, March 21, 1998, 0006-2510,weblink November 1, 2011, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 6{{album chart|Scotland|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|date=19980314|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}!scope="row"|Singaporean Albums (SPVA)NEWS,weblink Top 10 Albums of the Week, The Straits Times, 9, National Library Board of Singapore, March 28, 1998, | 1!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)BOOK, Salaverri, Fernando, SÃ³lo Ã©xitos: aÃ±o a aÃ±o, 1959â€“2002, 1st, September 2005, FundaciÃ³n Autor-SGAE, Spain, 8480486392, | 1{{album chart|Sweden|2|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{album chart|Switzerland|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=December 24, 2018}}!scope="row"|Taiwanese International Albums (IFPI)NEWS,weblink IFPI Taiwan International Top 10, March 16, 1998,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/19980519073933weblink">weblink February 10, 2021, May 19, 1998, |4{{album chart|UK|1|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017|refname=uk}}{{album chart|Billboard200|2|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"|+2000â€“2018 weekly chart performance for Ray of Light! scope="col"| Chart (2000â€“2018)! scope="col"| Peakposition! scope="row"| Croatian International Albums (HDU)WEB,weblink (19 November 2018. - 25 November 2018.), November 2018, Top of the Shops, HDU, August 27, 2022, hr, August 27, 2022,weblink live, |1{{album chart|Poland|37|id=723|rowheader=true|access-date=July 30, 2014}}{{album chart|Spain|76|artist=Madonna|album=Ray of Light|rowheader=true|access-date=September 22, 2012|refname="spa"}}{{album chart|BillboardCatalog|50|artist=Madonna|rowheader=true|access-date=September 22, 2023|refname="catalog"}}{{album chart|BillboardTastemaker|19|artist=Madonna|rowheader=true|access-date=September 22, 2023|refname="tastemaker"}}{{col-2}}Ray of Light">

Year-end charts {| class"wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style"text-align:center;"|+1998 year-end chart performance for Ray of Light

! scope="col"| Chart (1998)! scope="col"| Position!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)WEB,weblink ARIA Charts â€“ End Of Year Charts â€“ Top 100 Albums 1998, Australian Recording Industry Association, November 6, 2011, March 3, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160303175804weblink">weblink live, | 10!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ã–3 Austria)WEB,weblink Jahreshitparade 1998, Ã–3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, de, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304001953weblink">weblink live, | 7!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)WEB,weblink Jaaroverzichten 1998, Ultratop. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, nl, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304044733weblink">weblink live, | 5!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)WEB,weblink Rapports annuels 1998, Ultratop. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, fr, May 30, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160530030243weblink">weblink live, | 11!scope="row"|Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)WEB,weblink RPM's Top 100 CDs of '98, RPM, November 6, 2011,weblink February 1, 2014, | 10! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)WEB,weblink TOP20.dk Â© 1998, Hitlisten, April 8, 2021, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141216152141weblink">weblink December 16, 2014, | 5!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)WEB,weblink Jaaroverzichten â€“ Album 1998, MegaCharts 100. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, nl, March 6, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160306204133weblink">weblink live, | 4!scope="row"|European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)WEB,weblink European Top 100 Albums 1998, December 19, 1998, December 24, 2018, 51, 15, 29800226, Music & Media, 8, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 3!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)WEB,weblink Classements Albums â€“ annÃ©e 1998, Syndicat National de l'Ã‰dition Phonographique, November 6, 2011, fr, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120309164653weblink">weblink March 9, 2012, | 10!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)WEB,weblink Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts 1998, de, GfK Entertainment, offiziellecharts.de, August 24, 2015, March 15, 2016,weblink live, | 4!scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)MAGAZINE,weblink MAJORS' GLOBAL REACH REFLECTED IN IFPI CHARTS: Int'l Outreach Pays Of, Billboard, April 17, 2022, August 14, 1999, February 8, 2022,weblink live, | 9!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)WEB,weblink 1998å¹´ ã‚¢ãƒ«ãƒãƒ å¹´é–“TOP100, Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 1998, ja, January 1, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080108235837weblink">weblink January 8, 2008, | 94!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)WEB,weblink Top Selling Albums of 1998, Recorded Music NZ, February 25, 2016, February 10, 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150210184811weblink">weblink live, | 16!scope="row"|Norway Russetid Period (VG-lista)WEB,weblink VG-Lista â€“ Topp 40 Album Russetid 1998, VG-lista, April 22, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170920142935weblink">weblink September 20, 2017, dead, no, | 2!scope="row"|Norway Winter Period (VG-lista)WEB,weblink VG-Lista â€“ Topp 40 Album Vinter 1998, VG-lista, April 8, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140819130051weblink">weblink August 19, 2014, dead, no, | 17!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)WEB,weblink LOS 50 TÃTULOS CON MAYORES VENTAS EN LAS LISTAS DE VENTAS DE AFYVE EN 1998, Anuarios Sage â€” PROMUSICAE, AFYVE, es, 213, January 16, 2021, If necessary, click in mÃºsica moderna, January 21, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210121021054weblink">weblink live, | 26!scope="row"|Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)WEB,weblink Year list Album (incl. Collections), 1998, Sverigetopplistan, sv, December 19, 2020, January 10, 2021,weblink live, | 2!scope="row"|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)WEB,weblink Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1998, Swiss Music Charts. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, de, April 20, 2021,weblink live, | 4!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)WEB,weblink End of Year Album Chart Top 100 â€“ 1998, Official Charts Company, February 23, 2020, August 18, 2020,weblink live, | 7!scope="row"|US Billboard 200MAGAZINE, 1998 The Year in Music, Billboard, December 26, 1998, 110, 52, 0006-2510,weblink November 6, 2011, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 18{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"|+1999 year-end chart performance for Ray of Light! scope="col"| Chart (1999)! scope="col"| Position!scope="row"|Australian Albums (ARIA)WEB,weblink ARIA Charts â€“ End Of Year Charts â€“ Top 100 Albums 1999, Australian Recording Industry Association, November 6, 2011, September 12, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090912162022weblink">weblink live, | 61!scope="row"|Austrian Albums (Ã–3 Austria)WEB,weblink Jahreshitparade 1999, Ã–3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, de, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304090910weblink">weblink live, | 21!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)WEB,weblink Jaaroverzichten 1999, Ultratop. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, nl, January 9, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160109155905weblink">weblink live, | 55!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)WEB,weblink Rapports annuels 1999, Ultratop. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, fr, March 4, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304025231weblink">weblink live, | 72! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)WEB,weblink TOP20.dk Â© 1999, Hitlisten, April 8, 2021, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150113024328weblink">weblink January 13, 2015, | 42!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)WEB,weblink Jaaroverzichten â€“ Album 1999, MegaCharts 100. Hung Medien, November 6, 2011, nl, March 6, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160306031124weblink">weblink live, | 19!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)WEB,weblink Classements Albums â€“ annÃ©e 1999, Syndicat National de l'Ã‰dition Phonographique, November 6, 2011, fr, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120225043255weblink">weblink February 25, 2012, | 58!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)| 14!scope="row"|Norway Winter Period (VG-lista)WEB,weblink VG-Lista â€“ Topp 40 Album Vinter 1999, VG-lista, April 8, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170920142758weblink">weblink September 20, 2017, dead, no, | 16!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)WEB,weblink End of Year Album Chart Top 100 â€“ 1999, Official Charts Company, February 26, 2021, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 29!scope="row"|US Billboard 200MAGAZINE, 1999 The Year in Music, Billboard, December 25, 1999, 111, 52, 0006-2510,weblink November 6, 2011, November 10, 2021,weblink live, | 98{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"|+2000 year-end chart performance for Ray of Light! scope="col"| Chart (2000)! scope="col"| Position!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)WEB,weblink Jaaroverzichten â€“ Album 2000, MegaCharts 100. Hung Medien, February 26, 2021, nl, March 15, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160315053115weblink">weblink live, | 89! scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)WEB,weblink The Top 200 Artist Albums of 2000, Chartwatch: 2000 Chart Booklet, Zobbel.de, 39â€“40, June 13, 2021, January 30, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210130151258weblink">weblink live, |115{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"|+2001 year-end chart performance for Ray of Light! scope="col"| Chart (2001)! scope="col"| Position! scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)WEB,weblink The Top 200 Artist Albums of 2001, Chartwatch: 2001 Chart Booklet, Zobbel.de, 36, June 19, 2021, June 24, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210624203513weblink">weblink live, |191Ray of Light">

All-time charts {| class"wikitable plainrowheaders" style"text-align:center;"|+All-time chart performance for Ray of Light

! scope="col"| Chart! scope="col"| Position!scope="row"|Irish Women Albums (IRMA)WEB,weblink The Top 50 biggest female artist albums of all time in Ireland, Official Charts Company, April 7, 2021, Jack, White, March 6, 2019, March 6, 2019,weblink |50!scope="row"|UK Female Albums (OCC)WEB, Griffiths, George, October 16, 2021, The Official best-selling female albums of all time in the UK revealed,weblink January 28, 2021, Official Charts Company,weblink October 21, 2021, |30{{col-end}}

Certifications and sales

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for Ray of Light}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Argentina|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1998|certref=WEB,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080214144253weblink">weblink February 14, 2008,weblink Argentinian album certifications â€“ Madonna â€“ Ray of Light, CÃ¡mara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas, es, }}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna |type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|refname="aria"|certyear=1999|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Austria|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|relyear=1998|award=Platinum|number=2|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Belgium|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|relyear=1998|certyear=1998|award=Platinum|access-date=December 23, 2016|salesamount=100,000|salesref=Claimed sales for Ray of Light in Belgium:

WEB,weblink Kleine componist uit Bergen doet Madonna's hit Frozen verbieden, Het Nieuwsblad, April 13, 2021, November 19, 2005, nl, April 13, 2021,weblink live,
WEB,weblink Wat nu, Madonna?, De Standaard, April 13, 2021, November 19, 2005, nl, April 13, 2021,weblink live, Peter, Vantyghem, subscription, none, }}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna |type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1998|certyear=2005|access-date=August 21, 2012|refname="ABPD"}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna |type=album|award=Platinum|number=7|relyear=1998|refname="cria"|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=1998|certyear=2006|id=35|source=chart|access-date=January 14, 2021}}{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|relyear=1998|region=Finland|award=Platinum|salesamount=50,604|access-date=August 17, 2010}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna |type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|certyear=2001|relyear=1998|salesamount=1,000,000|access-date=January 27, 2014|salesref=*Claimed sales in France for Ray of Light

WEB,weblink Madonna : le titre rare "Has To Be" exhumÃ© pour les 25 ans de l'album "Ray of Light", PuremÃ©dias, Charts in France, March 4, 2023, fr, March 23, 2023, Yohann, Ruelle, none,

(Over 900,000 units):

WEB,weblink MADONNA: AVEC " MUSIC ", LOUISE RÃ‰ATTAQUE..., La DÃ©pÃªche du Midi, December 3, 2021, fr, November 6, 2015,weblink dead, October 10, 2000, B.-L., none,
WEB,weblink Madonna, Le Parisien, December 3, 2021, fr, February 6, 2021,weblink dead, April 21, 2003, }}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna |type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1998|refname="german ifpi"|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Hong Kong|type=album|artist=Madonna|title=Ray of Light|award=Platinum|relyear=1998|refname="IFPI Hong Kong"|access-date=January 31, 2013|certyear=1998}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Israel|nocert=true|salesamount=55,000|salesref=MAGAZINE,weblink he, ××œ×‘×•×ž×™× ×•×ž×›×™×¨×•×ª ×‘××¨×¥, Albums and sales in Israel, LaIsha, 56, August 13, 2001, August 10, 2023, }}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|award=Platinum|number=5|salesamount=600,000|salesref=Claimed sales for Ray of Light in Italy:

WEB,weblink MUSICA: MADONNA, SUONA DANCE IL NUOVO 'MUSIC', Adnkronos, February 16, 2021, September 12, 2000, it, April 1, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210401210118weblink">weblink live,
WEB,weblink MADONNA: NEL NUOVO VIDEO INSEGUITA DAI PAPARAZZI COME LADY D, Adnkronos, August 10, 2022, July 28, 1998, it, February 2, 2014,weblink live, |certref=WEB,weblink Madonna, video-choc su Diana, La Stampa, February 21, 2021, July 28, 1998, it, 30, Luca, Dondoni, [...] disco Â«Ray of lightÂ» che nel nostro Paese Ã¨ giÃ arrivato a cinquecentomila copie vendute (cinque volte platino), May 3, 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210503175519weblink">weblink live, }}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|type=album|artist=Madonna|title=Ray of Light|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1998|certyear=1998|certmonth=5|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|type=album|artist=Madonna|title=Ray of Light|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1998|certyear=1998|access-date=October 16, 2012}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=album|artist=Madonna|title=Ray of Light|award=Platinum|relyear=1998|certyear=1999|refname="rianz"|id=1020|access-date=November 3, 2021}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1998|certyear=1999|salesamount=115,000|salesref=NEWS,weblink Primadonna, Verdens Gang, September 19, 2000, August 17, 2023, no, registration, Madonna har beholdt William Orbit som samarbeidspartner fra to og et halvt Ã¥r gamle Â«Ray Of LightÂ» (115 000 solgte i Norge), }}{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|relyear=1998|certyear=2002|region=Poland|award=Platinum|number=2|certmonth=3|date=March 29, 2002|access-date=August 10, 2008}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Russia|nocert=true|salesamount=123,000|salesref=NEWS,weblink weblink ÐŸÐµÑ€Ð²Ñ‹Ð¹ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾ÐµÐºÑ‚ Warner Ð² Ð Ð¾ÑÑÐ¸Ð¸ Ð¿Ñ€Ð¾Ð²Ð°Ð»Ð¸Ð»ÑÑ, 91, May 23, 1998, January 23, 2021, January 24, 2021, Kommersant, ru, }}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Singapore|award=Platinum|relyear=1998|certyear=1998|certref=MAGAZINE, Competition with Compilations,weblink Billboard, May 16, 1998, 0006-2510, 110, 20, 54, April 20, 2017, May 3, 2021,weblink live, |type=album}}{{Certification Table Entry | region=South Africa|nocert=true|salesamount=43,000|salesref=}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=album|artist=Madonna|title=Ray of Light|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1998|certref=|access-date=October 16, 2012}}{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|relyear=1998|region=Sweden|award=Platinum|number=3|certyear=2000|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1998| certyear=2000|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna |type=album|award=Platinum|number=6|refname="bpi"|access-date=January 27, 2014|id=5371-2003-2}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|artist=Madonna|title=Ray of Light|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1998|refname="riaa"|salesamount=4,359,000|salesref=|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry | region=Zimbabwe|nocert=true|salesamount=3,000|salesref=NEWS,weblink Africa: A law unto itself, One to One, 73, March 1, 1999, Paul, Gorman, subscription, ProQuest, March 1, 2024, Warner's biggest selling African releases in the first three quarters of last year were Madonna's Ray Of Light, which sold just 3,000 copies in Zimbabwe [...] big sales can be achieved in South Africa: Madonna's Evita sold 50,000 in the country in 1997 while Ray of Light sold 43,000 last year., }}{{Certification Table Summary}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Asia|nocert=true|salesamount=1,000,000|salesref={{efn|Sales for Ray of Light in Asia, as of June 1999}}}}{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Ray of Light|artist=Madonna|relyear=1998|certyear=2002|region=Europe|award=Platinum|number=7|refname="euro ifpi"|access-date=January 27, 2014}}{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|nocert=true|salesamount=16,000,000|salesref=}}{{Certification Table Bottom}}Ray of Light">

Release history {| class"wikitable plainrowheaders"|+Release history and formats for Ray of Light

! scope="col"| Region! scope="col"| Date! scope="col"| Format(s)! scope="col"| Edition(s)!scope="row"|JapanWEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light #WPCR-2000, discogs, July 23, 2009, March 6, 2016,weblink live, WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light #WPJR-2003/4, discogs, July 23, 2009, March 5, 2016,weblink live, |February 22, 1998Compact Disc>CD, LP|Standard!scope="row"|United KingdomWEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light #9362 46847 4, discogs, July 23, 2009, March 5, 2016,weblink live, WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light #9362 46847 8, discogs, July 23, 2009, November 7, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121107062600weblink">weblink live, March 2, 1998CD, LP, cassette, mini-albumStandard, limited edition!scope="row"|Germany!scope="row"|United StatesWEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light #9 46847-2, 9 46847-2, discogs, July 23, 2009, March 5, 2016,weblink live, WEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light #9 46884-2, discogs, July 23, 2009, March 6, 2016,weblink live, March 3, 1998CDStandard, limited edition!scope="row"|CanadaWEB,weblink Album Releases: March 1998, Jam!, October 2, 2023, August 30, 2000,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20000830082723weblink">weblink dead, !scope="row"|JapanWEB,weblink Madonna â€“ Ray Of Light / Words + Music #WPCR-10556/7, discogs, July 23, 2009, November 7, 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121107062933weblink">weblink live, |September 8, 1998|CD|Double edition

Notes

References

Bibliography

BOOK, Turn On Your Mind : Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock, DeRogartis, Jim, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2003, 978-0-634-05548-5, Jim DeRogatis,
BOOK, Madonna's Drowned Worlds, Fouz-HernÃ¡ndez, Santiago, Jarman-Ivens, Freya, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2004, 0-7546-3372-1, registration,weblink
BOOK, Impossible Desires: Queer Diasporas and South Asian Public Cultures, Gopinath, Gayatri, Duke University Press, 2005, 978-0-8223-3513-9,
BOOK, Guilbert, Georges Claude, Georges Claude Guilbert, Madonna As Postmodern Myth: How One Star's Self-Construction Rewrites Sex, Gender, Hollywood and the American Dream, McFarland & Company, 2002, 0-7864-1408-1,
BOOK, The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary, Metz, Allen, Benson, Carol, Music Sales Group, 1999, 0-8256-7194-9,
BOOK, Madonna: An Intimate Biography, Madonna: An Intimate Biography, Taraborrelli, Randy J., Simon & Schuster, 2002, 0-7432-2880-4,
BOOK, Vorrath, Armin, Eine auÃŸersinnliche Odyssee zu Madonna, 2011, Books on Demand, 978-3-8423-8112-4, An Extraordinary Odyssey to Madonna,

External links

{{Discogs master|67803|Ray of Light|type=album}}
{{YouTube|p=OLAK5uy_mLiMT3gmghnluUT76rtTZ_QMGzlPmjXJ4|Ray of Light}}

{{Madonna}}{{Navboxes|title = Awards for Ray of Light|titlestyle = background: lightblue|list1 ={{Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album}}{{MTV Europe Music Award for Best Album}}}}{{Authority control}}{{Good article}}

- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "Ray of Light" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 9:19am EDT - Sat, May 18 2024

[ this remote article is provided by Wikipedia ]

CONNECT