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}} "Die Another Day" is the first single from the Die Another Day soundtrack and from Madonna's American Life album. Released in 2002, the single peaked at #8 in the USA and #3 in the UK. The song is notable for being the most successful Bond theme song since "A View to A Kill".
Song information
The song was co-written and co-produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzai in the scale of C minor. String arrangements of the song were written by Michel Colombier. The single spent 11 weeks at number one on the United States Billboard Singles Sales Charts and is her most successful title on the sales chart to date. "Die Another Day" was the most successful Bond theme-song since the 1980s and earned a "Best Original Song"-nomination at the Golden Globes in 2003.
Music video
The music video was directed by Traktor, Swedish directing team. Continuing with the violent trend of her recent music videos ("What It Feels Like For A Girl") The video shows a Madonna that is beaten and tortured, her head is shoved underwater, and she is strapped into an electric chair, all while sporting bloody clothing, bruises, a split lip and various other signs of extreme physical wear, a recreation of the opening scene of the eponymous film. Meanwhile, in her subconscious, black (evil) and white (good) versions of herself battle each other with weapons that pay homage to past James Bond movies, fencing foils and eventually swords, axes, razor-rimmed hats (a homage to Oddjob from 1964's Goldfinger), and harpoon guns before the good Madonna triumphs in one fatal blow (Evil Madonna dies in a way that is very similar to Miranda Frost in the movie). It could also be interpreted on a much simpler level: the evil Madonna represents her ego and her negative past self. This entire sequence is inspired by the Venice glass museum fight scene in Moonraker. The very end of the video has sparked some discussion as Madonna appears to escape Houdini-like from the electric chair, leaving behind only a smouldering chair with a Hebrew expression (can be interpreted as "great escape" or "freedom"). The video remains one of Madonna's darkest and most unsettling.
On the video and its direction, directors Tracktor said: "The video required two very distinct looks. One, for the fencing sequences, was a glossy, stylish look that needed to be as bright as possible while retaining all of the details. The second was a raw, dirtier look for the torture chamber and the electric chair room."
The video is one of Madonna's most expensive and epic videos, costing more than $6 million US due to the heavy use of special effects. Traktor explained that "for various reasons, there are effects in almost every shot. It is a testament to the skills of the merry artisans of MPC that you think there are none. As with modern underwear, the best effects are always the ones that don't show through your slacks."
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Top 50 Singles | 5 |
| Austria Top 75 Singles | 2 |
| Brasil Top 100 Singles | 6 |
| Canada Top 50 Singles | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 Singles | 4 |
| France Top 100 Singles | 15 |
| Germany Top 100 Singles | 4 |
| Italy Top 50 Singles | 1 |
| Netherland Mega Top 100 Singles | 5 |
| New Zealand Top 50 Singles | 22 |
| Sweden Top 60 Singles | 4 |
| Switzerland Top 100 Singles | 4 |
| Tokio Hot 100 | 9 |
| UK Top 75 Singles | 3 |
| USA Billboard Hot 100 | 8 |
| USA Adult Top 40 | 23 |
| USA Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 1 |
| USA Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 1 |
| USA Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 22 |
| USA Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 4 |
| USA Billboard Top 40 Tracks | 8 |
| USA Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales | 1 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Position |
Official versions
- Album Version (4:27)
- Radio Edit (3:30)
- Dirty Vegas Main Mix (10:10)
- Dirty Vegas Main Dub (9:10)
- Dirty Vegas Radio Edit (4:24) Promo Only
- Thunderpuss Club Mix (9:26)
- Felix da Housecat/Thee RetroLectro Mix (7:00)
- Felix da Housecat/Thee RetroLectro Radio Edit (3:41) Promo Only
- Felix da Housecat/Thee Die Another Dub (8:33) Promo Only
- Brother Brown Bond-Age Club (7:51)
- Brother Brown Bond-Age Dub (7:19) Promo Only
- Brother Brown Bond-Age Radio Edit (3:36) Promo Only
- Deepsky Mix (7:29)
- Deepsky Dub (7:35) Promo Only
- Deepsky Radio Edit (4:12) Promo Only
- Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix (8:52)
- Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Dub (10:08) Promo Only
- Richard "Humpty" Vission Electrofried Mix (6:02)
- Richard "Humpty" Vission Electrofried Radio Edit (3:36) Promo Only
- DJ Tiësto Mix (10:13) Unreleased
2002 singles | Madonna songs | James Bond music | Theme music | Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one singles | Canadian number one singles
Die Another Day | Die Another Day | Die Another Day (chanson)
"Die Another Day (song)"