Sorry (Madonna song)

Background and release

In 2004, after the release of her ninth studio album American Life (2003), Madonna began working on two different musicals: one tentatively called Hello Suckers and the other with Luc Besson, who previously directed the music video for her single "Love Profusion", which would portray her as a woman on her deathbed looking back on her life. Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard, Mirwais Ahmadzaï, and Stuart Price to write new songs, and told Price to pen material that sounded like "ABBA on drugs". However, Madonna found herself dissatisfied with the script written by Besson and scrapped it.

"Sorry" was one of the first tracks developed for Confessions on a Dance Floor, along with lead single "Hung Up" and "Future Lovers". The songs were developed with a remixed perspective in mind. Madonna commented, "Whenever I make records, I often like the remixes better than the original ones. [...] So I thought, screw that. I'm going to start from that perspective." She promoted the album at the dance party named "Misshapes", held at Luke & Leroy's nightclub in Greenwich Village, and was invited by Junior Sanchez to take over the DJ booth, where she mixed "Hung Up" with "Sorry".

"Sorry" was sent to hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States on February 6, 2006, by Warner Bros. Records as the second single from Confessions on a Dance Floor; Madonna later defined "Sorry" as one of her "most retarded songs" during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2009. It was later included on her compilation album, Celebration (2009).

Composition and remixes

"Sorry" was written and produced by both Madonna and Price. Musically, the track mixes dance-pop and disco in its composition. The song is set in common time with a moderately fast dance groove tempo of 132 beats per minute. Composed in the key of C minor, Madonna's vocal range spans from F3 to G4. It follows the chord progression of E–Cm–A–B during the spoken introduction. The range then changes to Fm–Gm-Cm in the chorus, while continuing in A–Cm–A–Fm in the intermediate verses, ultimately ending in repeated lines of "I've heard it all before". "Sorry" starts off with calm, ballad-esque strings, with Madonna apologizing in several languages, but "soon the pounding drums and '80s-inspired synths kick things into overdrive", as noted by Bianca Gracie from Billboard. Around the 2:44 minute mark, a "cracking noise, like a baseball hitting a bat" is heard, which was used in numerous Price productions, including his remix of Gwen Stefani's 2004 single "What You Waiting For?". A writer for Virgin Media website said that the song's musicscape features an "infectious combo of pumping, filtered synths and disco beats". Some reviewers also noted that the bassline of the song resembles the Jacksons' 1980 song "Can You Feel It".

Lyrically, the song talks about personal empowerment and self-sufficiency. This denoted a shift in focus of Madonna as an artist from her previous songs about supremacy, like "Everybody" (1982), "Vogue" (1990), and "Music" (2000), which were centered around the subject of music itself, as noted by Alan Light from Rolling Stone. According to Billboards Fred Sahai, the lyrics do not "ask for forgiveness, but rather rejects an apology: 'Please don't say you're sorry/I've heard it all before and I/Can take care of myself.'" On the chorus, Madonna sings "don't explain yourself 'cause talk is cheap, there's more important things than hearing you speak". Jude Rogers from The Guardian deemed the lyrics as "one of her most unforgiving, reprimanding a serial apologist", while author Lucy O'Brien in her book Madonna: Like an Icon (2007) speculated that the song was written after a row with her then-husband Guy Ritchie. Throughout the track, the singer speaks "I'm sorry", "Forgive me", and "I am sad" in a total of eight different languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, Polish, and Japanese. While all other sentences were referring to someone apologizing, the Dutch sentence used - "Ik ben droevig" - roughly translates to "I am sad" and is a mistranslation, as it is not used to apologize. During an interview on AOL conducted by Red Hot Chili Peppers' vocalist Anthony Kiedis, Madonna justified the usage of other languages on the song by saying that "everything sounds better in another language".

For the single release, several remixers were enlisted to remix the track. English duo the Pet Shop Boys were one of them, as they were cited as one of the inspirations for Confessions on a Dance Floor; it consisted of additional vocals provided by member Neil Tennant saying "I'm sorry… so sorry" and "please forgive me". The duo and Madonna had always mutually admired each other, from the time they wrote the song "Heart" (1988) for Madonna but never delivered it. As Tennant had always wanted to sing a duet with Madonna, he added his own vocals to the song, to which she replied, "That was really cheeky of you but it worked." According to O'Brien on The Quietus, the remix "echoes Giorgio Moroder's work with Donna Summer on 'I Feel Love', where Summer's voice became the robot in the mix"; she also thought, "The Pet Shop Boys re-imagined her and in so doing created a disco classic." In another review for The Guardian, she wrote that the remix "brings out a whole new layer of meaning, emphasising the drama behind Madonna's words", also calling it "thunderous" and "my favorite remix ever". Other remixers included Green Velvet and Paul Oakenfold. On February 10, 2023, Madonna released a remix in collaboration with Blond:ish, Eran Hersh and Darmon. Following this, an two additional remixes featuring production from Miss Monique and Franky Rizardo were released on July 26, 2023, and August 2, 2023. The overall extended play for the Blondish remixes were released on Madonna's 65th birthday, on August 16 2023. The EP includes Eran Hersh and Darmon's remix, alongside TIBASKO.

Critical reception

Upon release, "Sorry" was met with positive responses from music critics. Jennifer Vineyard of MTV considered it the "album's strongest track" and that the song "wistfully evokes the sounds of the '80s-era dance clubs that first lofted her toward stardom". According to a review in the BBC's Collective, "New single 'Sorry' states Queen Madge's unapologetic stance, and though the song is wrapped up in relationship sentiment, one cannot help but hear the subtext, perhaps directed at her more savage critics: 'there are more important things than hearing you speak'." Alan Braidwood from BBC Music called the song "lethally catchy". While reviewing Confessions on a Dance Floor, Keith Caulfield from Billboard called the song "springy", and commented that it "should keep fans hung up on Madonna's ability to create instant radio and club classics", sounding "like a smash no matter how you spin it; no need for apologies here" in a separate review for the single. Ben Williams of New York magazine opined that the song is "propelled by a catchy bass melody". According to Stephen M. Deusner from Pitchfork, "The cascades of sound wash directly into 'Sorry', setting up the song's panlingual apologies and shifting bass tectonics." Alexis Petridis from The Guardian referred to the song's chorus as "triumphant", while Rolling Stones Alan Light classified it as "throbbing".

According to Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani, "Sorry" was a "insanely catchy second single that’s destined to become a Madonna classic". Similarly, the staff of E! Online wrote it was "sure to be a future disco anthem". Joan Morgan from The Village Voice newspaper, in a review of Confessions on a Dance Floor, wrote: "The party continues admirably with the multilingual, kick-your-man-to-the-curb 'Sorry'." Jon Pareles of The New York Times felt that the first half of the album consists of love songs, happy and sad, and included "Sorry" into the mix. According to Caryn Ganz from Spin, Price transformed the track into a "bouncy talk-to-the-hand groovefest". Thomas Inksweep from Stylus Magazine commented that "Sorry" and "Hung Up" may not be as sleazy as Madonna's initial singles "Burning Up" (1983) or "Physical Attraction" (1983), but they have the same modus operandi of being designed for all-night dancing. Johnny Davis of Q magazine said "Sorry" is catchier than "Hung Up", while the staff of Herald Sun newspaper called it Madonna's "most popstatic single" since "Ray of Light" (1998) as well as "brilliant dance-influenced pop, this will be unavoidable once the album is released". Het Nieuwsblads Mark Coppens also complimented the song, calling it "fantastic" and "catchy, even though you could label it 'flat dance.'"

Retrospective reviews also have been positive. A group of writers of Gay Times magazine wrote that "Sorry had a tough act to follow coming after Hung Up, but it truly stood up on its own". According to Jude Rogers from The Guardian, the track was Madonna's 13th best single, pointing out that "a fabulous ascending-then-descending bassline bolsters one of Madonna's most club-ready songs". On Gay Star News ranking, the single came in at number 25, with Joe Morgan stating that "when you're the Queen of Pop, you have to make sure your songs translate. Thumping beats and a killer melody makes sense in any language". Slant Magazine ranked "Sorry" as her 31st best single, writing that it was "more ABBA-esque than the ABBA-sampling 'Hung Up'". Entertainment Weeklys Chuck Arnold considered "Sorry" Madonna's 51st best track, commenting, "Madonna doesn't have any reason to apologize for the second single from Confessions on a Dance Floor", as "no matter how many times we've heard it all before, this still causes a commotion". The song came in the 61st position of Parade magazine's list of Madonna's singles, with Samuel R. Murrian writing that Confessions on a Dance Floor "might be the Madonna album with the most inexhaustible replay value", with "Sorry" being one of its highlights. He called it a "thumping, witty kiss-off set in a '70s roller disco".

Recognition

"Sorry" was considered the third best single of 2006 by Slant Magazine, and was nominated in the categories of PRS Most Performed Work and International Hit of the Year at the 2007 Ivor Novello Awards, eventually winning the latter.

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Sorry" debuted at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the issue dated March 11, 2006, becoming Madonna's last entry in 24 consecutive charting years, a record by a female artist. The following week, it reached a peak position of number 58 on the Hot 100 and number 46 on the Pop 100 chart. Its low chart performance in the region was attributed to limited radio airplay, as according to Billboards Michael Paoletta, it was "barely played" there. A petition titled "End the Madonna U.S. Radio Boycott" was signed by about 3,300 fans at petitiononline.com, and was addressed to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark P. Mays. Additionally, fans posted messages supporting Madonna on Entertainment Weekly and VH1 websites, as well as conspiracy theories about why she was not played on radio. Despite its minimal airplay, the single reached the summit of both the Hot Dance Club Songs and the Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts for two and seven weeks, respectively. As of April 2010, the song has sold 366,000 digital units in the US. "Sorry" was certified platinum by Music Canada (MC) on April 10, 2006, for sales of 80,000 units of paid digital downloads in Canada.

In the United Kingdom, "Sorry" debuted at the top of the UK Singles Chart on February 26, 2006 – for the week ending date March 4, 2006 – surpassing Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" by 10,000 units. The song became Madonna's 12th number one on the UK Singles Chart, as well as the second consecutive single from Confessions on a Dance Floor to reach the top of the chart, after "Hung Up". This made Madonna the female artist with most number one songs in Britain, while placing her in fifth place in overall tabulation. It was listed as the 44th best selling single of 2006 in UK. It was eventually certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on July 21, 2013.

Elsewhere in Europe, "Sorry" reached the top 10 in several countries, including Austria, Belgium's regions of Flanders and Wallonia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. It reached the top of the charts in Italy, Greece, Romania, and Spain. Across the pan-Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, the song debuted and peaked at number one. In Australia, the single peaked at number four, spending a total of 13 weeks on the chart overall. In New Zealand it was less successful, reaching number 12 and also spending a total of 13 weeks on the chart.

Music video

The music video for "Sorry" was directed by Madonna's longtime choreographer Jamie King, who also co-conceptualized her videos for "Human Nature" (1995) and "Don't Tell Me" (2000). It was shot over two days, from January 17–18, 2006, in London. The clip featured choreography from the Talauega Brothers. Madonna wanted the project to be a sequel from the "Hung Up" video, therefore, many of the performers featured in the previous clip were in that of "Sorry". She and all dancers involved had to learn how to roller-skate for the video. "Sorry" was premiered by Channel 4 on February 8, 2006; before its premiere on the channel, the video was edited out to remove a scene where the singer makes an obscene gesture at viewers, upon request by her record company's bosses. However, the unedited version was made available on production designer Marco Puig's website. On March 3, 2006, the clip was digitally released through the iTunes Store, and was later included on Madonna's compilation Celebration: The Video Collection (2009).

The music video features a white van, which was customized on MTV UK's television show Pimp My Ride. The customization was done by Shaun Woodford, owner of auto customization shop; AB Styling, Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Woodford was asked to transform it with disco-themed features, including lilac leather couches, a mirrored disco ball in the ceiling, velvet walls, fake snakeskin columns, and a large stereo system. The work had a total cost of £21,000; according to Woodford, "It was a brilliant experience and by far the biggest job we've ever done - you can't get bigger than Madonna". The special episode titled Pimp Madonna's Ride that chronicled the van from the video aired on February 19, 2006.

The video starts with Madonna standing in front of neon lighted screen in a purple leotard uttering "I'm sorry" in different languages. As the music starts she comes out from the gaming parlour of her "Hung Up" video with the boombox and her three female dancers, leaving the three male dancers, whom Madonna had been passionate with in the previous video, behind protesting. They board a van where Madonna and her dancers strip off their clothes into new ones. As the group move around the city in the van, they pick up different men from the streets to join them. These scenes are interspersed with the scenes of Madonna singing in front of the neon screen. The video progresses like this until the intermediate verse in which Madonna is shown standing in a cage opposite a number of men. As the bridge builds up, Madonna starts fighting with the men. The chorus starts again, and Madonna and everyone else are shown skating in circles around a roller rink. The three male dancers return and join Madonna in doing a dance routine and in a conga line with everyone else. Madonna and her dancers all get back on the van during the outro of the song, leaving the boombox behind on the streets. The video ends with the close-up of Madonna in the purple leotard and fades into her silhouette.

Live performances

"Sorry" was performed live by the singer and was used as a video interlude on the 2006 Confessions Tour; both versions appeared in The Confessions Tour CD and DVD, released in 2007. The performance used the Pet Shop Boys remix version and was part of the second segment. As she finished the performance of the song "Isaac", Madonna wore a jacket given to her by the dancers, greeting them one by one. It had a theme of female empowerment, with the singer and her female dancers "tear[ing] up the stage before finally taking down the guys in a West-Side-Story-like showdown of boys vs. girls", as referred by Alan Ilagan from Edge Media Network. Tom Young from BBC Music called the performance a "delight", while Christopher John Treacy of the Boston Herald said "the bitchy house vibe of Sorry had the entire floor jumping in a unified mass".{{cite web|last=Treacy|first=Christopher John|url=http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=147346|title=Madonna makes her audience 'Feel Love'

The song was also used as a video interlude in a remixed form. The video contained images of many political leaders past and present like Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin Dada, George W. Bush, and Tony Blair. Their images flashed across the screen, with text and footage of war atrocities intermingled in between. Madonna appeared on the screens wearing her "Sorry" video leotard, and uttered the words "talk is cheap" and "don't speak", along with the music and Bush's lips stuttering. Christian John Wikane from PopMatters considered it the singer's "massive 'fuck you'" to those leaders, whereas Corey Moss from MTV News wrote that the montage "managed to knock most of the world's leaders". Gonzalez commented that the remix backdrop "feels ecstatic [...] a collage of Godardian weight you can dance too". Young described it as a "lowlight" of the tour. Similarly, Leslie Gray Streeter of The Palm Beach Post considered the interlude "just seemed out of place", while Kitty Empire, writer for The Observer, called Madonna's political points on the show a "little one-dimensional", assuming its message was: "Bad things are bad. Politicians are making them worse. These are easy, woolly points to score." During the first Mexico City concert of 2008's Sticky & Sweet Tour, on November 29, Madonna did an a capella rendition of "Sorry" per the crowd's request. In February 2022, amid the Russo-Ukrainian War, the singer shared an edit of the video, which went viral, through her social media accounts, while expressing support for Ukraine.

Track listings and formats

• US 2× 12" vinyl

1. "Sorry" (Album Version) – 4:42
2. "Sorry" (Man With Guitar Mix) – 7:25
3. "Sorry" (PSB Maxi Mix) – 8:36
4. "Sorry" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:15
5. "Sorry" (Green Velvet Remix) – 6:06
6. "Let It Will Be" (Paper Faces Remix) – 7:28

• US, European, Australian, and Canadian Maxi-CD

1. "Sorry" (Single Edit) – 3:58
2. "Sorry" (Man With Guitar Edit) – 6:04
3. "Sorry" (PSB Maxi-Mix) – 8:36
4. "Sorry" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:15
5. "Sorry" (Green Velvet Remix) – 6:07
6. "Let It Will Be" (Paper Faces Vocal Edit) – 5:24

• Japanese CD single, Digital single

1. "Sorry" (Radio Version) – 3:57
2. "Let It Will Be" (Paper Faces Remix) – 7:28
3. "Sorry" (Man With Guitar Mix) – 7:25

• UK 12" vinyl

1. "Sorry" (Album Version) – 4:42
2. "Sorry" (PSB Maxi Mix) – 8:36
3. "Sorry" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:15
4. "Sorry" (Green Velvet Extended Remix) – 6:07

• UK CD 1, Digital single

1. "Sorry" (Single Edit) – 3:58
2. "Let It Will Be" (Paper Faces Vocal Edit) – 5:24

• UK CD 2

1. "Sorry" (Radio Version) – 3:57
2. "Sorry" (Man With Guitar Mix) – 7:25
3. "Sorry" (PSB Maxi Mix) – 8:34
4. "Sorry" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:12
5. "Sorry" (Green Velvet Remix) – 6:05

• US CD promo single

1. "Sorry" (Radio Version) – 3:37

• Digital single

1. "Sorry" (Album Version) – 4:41
2. "Sorry" (Man With Guitar Mix) – 7:23
3. "Sorry" (PSB Maxi-Mix) – 8:34
4. "Sorry" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:12
5. "Sorry" (Green Velvet Remix) – 6:05

• Digital single (DJ Version)

1. "Sorry" (Single Edit) – 3:59
2. "Sorry" (Man With Guitar Edit) – 6:03
3. "Sorry" (PSB Maxi-Mix Edit) – 4:32
4. "Sorry" (Paul Oakenfold Remix Edit) – 5:05
5. "Sorry" (Green Velvet Remix Edit) – 4:32

• Digital single (2023)

1. "Sorry" (Single) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 2:41

• Digital single (2023)

1. "Sorry" (Single) (Miss Monique remix) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 3:07
2. "Sorry" (Single) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 2:41

• Digital single (2023)

1. "Sorry" (Single) (Franky Rizardo remix) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 3:15
2. "Sorry" (Single) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 2:41

• Digital EP (2023)

1. "Sorry" (Single) (Franky Rizardo remix) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 3:15
2. "Sorry" (Single) (Miss Monique remix) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 3:07
3. "Sorry" (Single) (TIBASKO remix) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 3:18
4. "Sorry" (Single) (Eran Hersh & Darmon remix) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 2:41
5. "Sorry" (Single) (featuring Blond:ish, Eran Hersh & Darmon) – 2:41

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

• Madonnasongwriter, lead vocals, producer
• Stuart Pricesongwriter, producer, recording at Shirland Road
• Mark "Spike" Stentaudio mixing
• Alex Droomgoleassistant engineer
• David Emerysecond assistant engineer
• Brian "Big Bass" Gardnermastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

Bibliography

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