40 Years of Ballads

[Donna 16,631]

While Madonna is known for her dance songs, she also has had a string of great ballads, starting with her #1 hit song Crazy For You.  To further commemorate the 40th Celebration of her career, let's see which ballad is her best.  I'm including the obvious released ballads that have been released officially, but there are a several left off due to the limitations of only allowing 18 choices for the polll.  Songs like "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" ,"Another Suitcase in the Hall" "Frozen"  and a few other officially released ballads world-wide deserve to be part of this poll as well.  An "other" option allows you to vote for something I couldn't list even beyond the official singles released.  Feel free to share that song whether it's on the list or not, to help fans see which ballad is the most popular among Infinity fans.

 

 

[MikeyK 693]

I picked You’ll See. Though I’d consider Live To Tell a better song overall, YS is my personal favorite and gets my strongest emotional reaction. Those vocals.

Thought about going w/other bc Something To Remember is another personal fave, but meh I’ll just stick w/one of the hits.

[Voguerista 11,868]

So hard but I’m going with I’ll Remember. (Edit: I almost picked Masterpiece or The Look Of Love. It’s so hard. I love them all for different reasons). 

[Donna 16,631]

18 minutes ago, Voguerista said:

So hard but I’m going with I’ll Remember. (Edit: I almost picked Masterpiece or The Look Of Love. It’s so hard. I love them all for different reasons). 

Those tough choices! 

[Michael_Py 235]

I wanted to pick at least 5 but i went for The Power of Goodbye…

 

 

[RUADJAI 15,070]

I stared at this list for too damn long. I went with Take a Bow. I remember how I felt when I first heard it. It's so different than any other song I know. Before I knew it was Babyface singing I was super intrigued with this mysterious lower female vocal on the song. Who was it? The ornate strings. The dramatic climax that resolves to a somber ending. It's a masterpiece like many others on the list. 

[scion 3,123]

I Want You, either version. 

[chaosmen1984mk 806]

All of Madonna's ballads are beautiful. However, Arioso is my favorite and the one I can listen to over and over again without being fed up. This thanks to its unique sounds that remind me of Japanese culture, its unconventional structure and the song's message that thank God it doesn't deal with the boring and soporific topic of love/heartbreak but about the frivolity of the world of fame.

Do I think the same when these ballads are performed live on TV or on some of her tours?

Unfortunately not. I feel that a lot of the original magic is lost, since Madonna almost always sings her ballads playing her guitar or sitting down, causing the audience's boredom. Secret (Drowned World Tour), In this life (Girlie Show), Paradise (Confessions Tour), Bad Girl (SNL) are some examples.

Madonna should be more creative when it comes to interpreting her ballads by performing them in a theatrical or interactive way with her dancers and respecting the original sounds and not transforming them into simple acoustic versions. Nobody's perfect on the Drowned World Tour should be the perfect example of what I'm talking about.

In conclusion, Madonna should not use ballads as a moment of rest or a pause to recover energy, since the goal of an artist will always be to keep their audience captive from beginning to end, and maintaining creativity until the end of the show is decisive for this.

 

[patrice1711 2,084]

the POWER of GOODBYE (my song,...losing my boyfriend, RIP )...HARD one

 

You'll See (giving me strenght, to keep going....) 

[Cyberraga 663]

16 minutes ago, patrice1711 said:

the POWER of GOODBYE (my song,...losing my boyfriend, RIP )...HARD one

 

You'll See (giving me strenght, to keep going....) 

Did he die?

[itzjak 138]

Falling Free❤

[xavier 4,796]

So hard. Too many greats. 

[Ayham 5,493]

Hard to choose… but here’s my top 5:

1. Take A Bow
2. Live To Tell
3. You'll See
4. The Power of Goodbye
5. What it Feels Like For A Girl

I would add Falling Free as a bonus favorite. Too bad it’s not a single. 😞

[Donna 16,631]

7 hours ago, Ayham said:

Hard to choose… but here’s my top 5:

1. Take A Bow
2. Live To Tell
3. You'll See
4. The Power of Goodbye
5. What it Feels Like For A Girl

I would add Falling Free as a bonus favorite. Too bad it’s not a single. 😞

I know what you mean.  So many great ballads.  I was really struggling between Take A bow, I'll Remember, Live to Tell and Ghosstown.  I chose Take a Bow for similar reasons @RUADJAIstated.  The moment I heard a teaser for the song on an MTV special back in the day, it captivated me.  Those luscious strings and the lullaby vibe it had.  I fell in loved with it.

[Andreo 5,333]

So hard to choose I panicked lol

At the end, I chose The Power of Goodbye because it's beautiful and also the most unique among these ballads imo. It's something you would never ever feel an other artist would come up with. Period 

[patrice1711 2,084]

12 hours ago, Cyberraga said:

Did he die?

RIP.....means  .............yes

[Tony Fortin 1,794]

For song, vocals, bridge and surprising look

only one choice in the list is impossible

Crazy For You

The Look of Love

This Used to Be My Playground

I Want You

You'll See 

Drowned World/Substitute For Love

Where is Love Don't Live Here Anymore?

Intervention...Inside Of Me....Promise To Try....Nothing Fails.....X-Static Process....Mer Girl...Paradise (Not For Me)...Gone....Evita...Sooner Or Later...Something To Remember....What Can You Lose

and many more

 

 

 

[Ayham 5,493]

Fact about me, I don’t know the song The Look Of Love… should I listen to it? 🙃🤣

[Ayham 5,493]

The one song from this list that is my least favorite is Ghosttown. 

[Ayham 5,493]

3 hours ago, tscott said:

I know what you mean.  So many great ballads.  I was really struggling between Take A bow, I'll Remember, Live to Tell and Ghosstown.  I chose Take a Bow for similar reasons @RUADJAIstated.  The moment I heard a teaser for the song on an MTV special back in the day, it captivated me.  Those luscious strings and the lullaby vibe it had.  I fell in loved with it.

Wasn’t already in BS album? I mean when the album was released and you played it for the first what was your reaction when TAB came? Damn I wish I was there at the time of Erotica and BS.. 😍

[Donna 16,631]

16 minutes ago, Ayham said:

Wasn’t already in BS album? I mean when the album was released and you played it for the first what was your reaction when TAB came? Damn I wish I was there at the time of Erotica and BS.. 😍

I personally love BS album.  I actually enjoyed it more than Erotica.  I still remember sitting in my apartment listening to Erotica for the first time, and feeling disappointed by a lot of it.  However, over time, my opinion of it has adjusted greatly, especially regarding the writing on the album.  It's still not my favorite album, so when BS came along I was pleasantly surprised how soft and mellow it was.  Most of it, is definitely music of that time. TAB stood out the most to me, and I can see how some may not like it as much as it was tapping into the Babyface sound that was so popular at the moment.  I just thought the song was utterly beautiful.  But I'm a sucker for her ballads.  I remember feeling the same way with I'll Remember and Live to Tell.  All great ballads.  BS is probably her most underappreciated album.  For me, to be qualified to be "underappreciated", it has to be an album almost never brought up among her catalog by the mass majority.  I know a lot of people say American Life is underappreciated or underrated, but not as much as BS album. If anything, AL is more misunderstood, but it's not really forgotten.  BS is just merely forgotten among her catalog.  BS is mostly lush and includes some of the most beautiful vocals from her.  It was a perfect time for that album, even though the sounds she was exploring was not too different to what everyone else was doing at the time. The title track and Sanctuary are probably the two tracks least like what was going on at the time. 

[JustinTimes 762]

Crazy For You is my favourite Madonna song, I never get bored of hearing it. I think her voice is beautiful in it.

[SweetMadonna 1,644]

Ghosttown . It's such  a amazing song. I just love it  a lot.

[Voguerista 11,868]

2 hours ago, SweetMadonna said:

Ghosttown . It's such  a amazing song. I just love it  a lot.

Ditto! I love it so much. I wish I had voted for it now. Funny how songs from Madonna can touch you different every day. And that’s why I love her, her music, and her artistry so much! 

[Donna 16,631]

3 minutes ago, Voguerista said:

Ditto! I love it so much. I wish I had voted for it now. Funny how songs from Madonna can touch you different every day. And that’s why I love her, her music, and her artistry so much! 

I know what you mean. Ghosttown was definitely one I was weighing on to vote for as well.  It's a great song!