Many will be surprised to know that Vogue, one of Madonna's biggest single of her career to date, was originally written as a B-single for Keep It Together. Fortunately her record company realised the song had a lot of hit potential and they released it late March, 1990. They quickly added it to I'm Breathless, though it had nothing to do with Dick Tracy and had a completely different sound from the other tracks. Vogue, a tribute to Hollywood celebs and diva's, became one of her biggest no. 1 hits, topping the charts for several weeks in the US (reaching double platinum), UK, Canada and Japan. In Australia it was released as B-single of Keep It Together, as originally planned, which put this single on the top spot for 5 weeks. Vogue received an American Music Award as 'Favorite Dance Single'.In Buzz Jack's recent rate to find the Greatest No.1 single (from 1990-2006) Vogue topped the list at no.1
The Video
David Fincher directed the magnificent video, which not only pays tribute to famous Hollywood stars, but also to 'vogue-ing', a dance style that until then was typical for the gay scene: it mimicks the poses of the models in Vogue Magazine. The black & white video shows Madonna in a daring see-through shirt, but also in very classy clothes and with different hair styles, while she's surrounded by male dancers 'striking a pose'. Much like the song, the video is a Madonna classic. Originally MTV wanted to cut out the shot where her breasts are clearly visible through her lace blouse. Madonna refused and MTV backed down. Late 1990, there was also a video from the famous VMA performance. On that award show, the original video received 8 nominations and won in the categories 'Best Editing in a Video', 'Best Cinematography in a Video' and 'Best Direction in a Video'. Why she lost in 'Best Video of the Year', 'Best Dance Video' and 'Best Choreography in a Video' to respectively Sinead O'Connor, MC Hammer (who?) and Janet Jackson remains a mystery.
Perfomances
Vogue was released only days before the launch of the Blond Ambition Tour so it got its performance premiere on tour. For the first time fans could see the very particular Vogue moves live. It started out with dancers striking a pose on stage. Then Madonna came on, wearing a black pointy Gaultier bra and black tights, and together they danced the now legendary choreography.
Vogue @ VMA The Blond Ambition Tour was only just finished, when Madonna performed Vogue on the 1990 MTV VMA (sept. 6th, 1990). This performance actually topped the one of the tour. Although she used the same choreogrpahy with her tour dancers, they were now all dressed up in Baroque style, with Madonna as a pale Mary Antoinette with an extravagant Baroque dress and a huge wig.
Vogue @ Girlie ShowOn the Girlie Show Madonna added another memorable version to Vogue's curriculum. The song received an Eastern vibe, especially the beginning. As we can expect from Vogue, the costumes and choreography were again extraordinary. Madonna, Niki and Donna wore black hotpants and dito bra, and sported a tall and very special jewels-encrusted tiara. The dancers wore pants and only an open jacket, easily revealing chests & breasts. Typical were the no-touch handclaps and the amazing solo dances.
Vogue @ Re-Invention Tour During the Ray Of Light era, Madonna implied she wouldn't perform her old songs anymore; "I can 't see my self sing Like A Virgin anymore, even Vogue seems like a million years away." Fortunately she changed her mind later and opened her Re-Invention Tour with Vogue. And after 11 years of absence, this classic was more fabulous than ever. As part of the stage rose up, Madonna appeared in a beautiful golden (in Europe lilac) corset by Christian Lacroix. The crowd went wild as Madonna stood upside down on her head. It wasn't the only stunt: during another amazing but re-invented Vogue choreography, she and her dancers (dressed in Burlesque style) stood backwards on hands and feet and walked on stage like crabs. Like all the previous Vogue performances, Madonna lipsynced throughout the whole song, as she always preferred to concentrate on a perfectly timed choreography.
Vogue @ Re-Invention Tour On top of all that amazing eye candy, the performance also included a hallucinating video backdrop, made by Pusher Media. It used all 4 screens to create a 3D effect, which seemed to enlarge the stage. The video used footage from the Steven Klein shoot for the tour book and was perfectly adapted to the choreography. When they were 'walking like crabs', the room in the video turned upside down as well.
A remix is featured on the soundtrack of The Devil Wears Prada. It is used over the montage in which Anne Hathaway's character starts dressing in fashionable clothing rather than the conservative preppy look she had hitherto been sporting.Vogue appears on the following Madonna albums The Immaculate Collection,I'm Breathless & I'm Going To Tell You A Secret
Here's a video of all the Vogue Performances mixed into one! :cheer:
[flash=450,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku8jkRIaTZQ.swf