Get Together (Madonna song)

"Get Together" is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Produced by Madonna and Stuart Price, the song was released as the third single from the album by Warner Bros. Records on June 6, 2006. The decision was spurred by the fact that "Get Together" was the third most downloaded song from the album. It was also released to coincide with the start of Madonna's Confessions Tour. Inspired by Stardust's single "Music Sounds Better with You", "Get Together" is a disco-influenced electropop, trance, techno and dance anthem about the possibility of finding love on the dancefloor.

"Get Together"
Single by Madonna
from the album Confessions on a Dance Floor
B-side"I Love New York"
ReleasedJune 6, 2006 (2006-06-06)
Recorded2005
Genre
Length5:31
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Madonna
  • Stuart Price
Madonna singles chronology
"Sorry"
(2006)		 "Get Together"
(2006)		 "Jump"
(2006)
Music video
"Get Together" on YouTube

Contemporary critics appreciated the song, calling it fluid in nature and a wonderful dance track. They complimented Madonna's ability to turn cliché comments into pop slogans with the song. After its worldwide release, the song became a success on the dance charts of the United States but failed to enter the official Billboard Hot 100 chart, only peaked at six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It reached the top ten in countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and Italy and topped the chart in Spain.

The accompanying music video incorporated Madonna's performance of the song at London's Koko Club, but it was animated to make it different visually. The video showed Madonna singing the song amongst graphical visuals portraying volcanoes erupting and a cityscape. Madonna performed the song on her Confessions Tour where she was accompanied by two dancers wearing horse reins around their head. In 2007, the song was nominated in the category of Best Dance Recording at the 49th Grammy Awards.

Background

"Get Together" is written by Madonna, Anders Bagge, Peer Åström and Stuart Price with production credits from Madonna and Price.[1] It was inspired by the 1998 dance hit "Music Sounds Better with You" by Stardust.[2] Initially the song "Jump" was to be released as the third single from the album. However, "Get Together" was chosen as the third single to coincide with the start of Madonna's 2006 Confessions Tour.[2] The decision was also spurred by the fact that "Get Together" was the third best-selling digital single from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album. Its digital sales stood at 20,000 at that time, whereas digital sales for "Jump" were only 9,000. Hence, "Get Together" was finally chosen as the third single.[3] The cover artwork for the single features Madonna and her Confessions Tour crew members, including the song's producer Stuart Price. The photo alternatively can also be found on the inlay cover of the I'm Going to Tell You a Secret DVD.[4]

Composition

"Get Together" is a disco-influenced[6] electropop,[7] trance,[8] techno[9] and dance[10] song with "an irresistible wave of filtered synths and thumping house beats"[11] and incorporates elements from Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You"[2] which also contain samples of Chaka Khan's song "Fate".[12] It also refers to Madonna's own songs like "Holiday" (1983) and "Secret" (1994).[13] The song is set in common time with moderately fast dance groove tempo and a metronome of 126 beats per minute. It is set in the key of C major with Madonna's vocals spanning from A3 to A4. The song follows in the chord progression of Em–F–G–Am throughout.[14] The song is an anthem about the possibility of finding love on the dance floor. It includes an allusion to The SOS Band's 1980 single "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" in the line "Baby we can do it, we can do it all right." The lyrics comes off as a conversation or an internal dialogue taking place between the listener and the singer.[12]

Critical reception

Keith Caulfield from Billboard complimented the song's "enlightment" theme.[15] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the song turned cliché comments like "Love at first sight" into a pop slogan.[13] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly said that it was fluid in nature and called Madonna as a "restless soul aching to connect" in the song.[9] Jason Shawhan from About.com also complimented the song by describing it as a "weird and wonderful number."[12] Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork wrote: "On 'Get Together', as Price's synths ebb and flow moodily, Madonna asks the eternal question, 'Do you believe in love at first sight?', over a tripping vocal melody."[16] Joan Morgan of The Village Voice wrote: "The momentum builds rapidly with a seamless transition into the wicked alchemy of 'Get Together', where Madge and Price offer up an irresistible manipulation of rather sweet vocals laced over thumping percussion, seductive synthesizers, and a few subtle soul-claps thrown in for good measure."[17]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian admitted that the chorus of the song is triumphant.[18] Chris Norris of Blender wrote that the song "evokes both early-'80s dance giants the S.O.S. Band and early-'80s dance giant Madonna."[19] In 2007, the song was nominated in the category of Best Dance Recording at the 49th Grammy Awards but lost to Justin Timberlake's 2006 single "SexyBack".[20]

Chart performance

In the United States, the song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.[21] Its low chart performance in America was attributed to limited radio airplay. A petition was signed by about 3,300 fans at petitiononline.com. Known as the "End the Madonna U.S. Radio Boycott", it was addressed to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark P. Mays. Fans posted on Entertainment Weekly and VH1 websites with messages supporting Madonna, as well as conspiracy theories about why she was not played on radio.[22] It also reached a peak of number 84 on the Pop 100 chart.[23] The song was a success on Billboard's dance charts, topping the Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts.[23] It reached a peak of 18 on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart.[24]

In Canada, the song debuted and peaked at four on the Canadian Singles Chart.[25] In Spain, the song debuted at the top of the chart in the issue dated June 25, 2006 and was on the top for one week.[26] In Australia, "Get Together" debuted at number 13 which became its final peak.[27] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at seven in the issue dated July 23, 2006.[28] In mainland Europe, the song reached the top ten of the Finnish and Italian charts and the top 40 in countries like Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.[29][30]

Music video

The two music videos featured Madonna's live performance at the Koko Club in London on November 15, 2005 during her promotional tour for the album. It was directed by Logan and his production team.[31] The animations and designs were done by artist Nathaniel Howe.[32] Howe was contacted by Logan Studios executive producer Kevin Shapiro and booked as a 3D/2D animator. The conceptualization and work on the video began on May 1, 2006.[32] It was inspired by the work of Italian comic-book artist Milo Manara and retro science fiction. Different software like Maya, After Effects and RealFlow were used to bring out the different environments in the video.[32] Howe explained further about the creative process in an interview with the Madonna fansite "Drowned Madonna". He said,

During the initial phases of the video we focused on testing different looks in 3D to see how the color, environment and cinematography complemented the song. While this was happening the edit of the raw footage was being assembled. As the edit evolved we narrowed down the techniques and look of the worlds. Before we even had picture lock we were dropping in rendered 3D shots; this really allowed us to fine tune both the edit and the effects to work together with the song. As this progressed we regularly sent tests to Warner Bros. and the Madonna camp.[32]

Madonna was involved with watching the previews of the work done and passed her comments through Shapiro to the development team.[32] After the fluid effects in the video were completed, Logan and Howe fine-tuned and revisited the shots and eliminated any discrepancies while incorporating Madonna's comments.[32]

The video starts with showing the world evolving from its genesis. Images of volcanoes erupting, dinosaurs and tidal waves flash by to show Madonna and her two backup dancers singing the song while standing on a hill.[31] It continues in this fluid motion up to the intermediate verse when Madonna is shown crawling under the waves and spirals.[31] As the song moves towards the bridge again, the scene changes from the mountains to a cityscape. Madonna and her dancers are shown dancing and singing the song on a skyscraper. The video ends with Madonna standing on the building and the camera autofocusing out of the panel.[31]

In 2009, an alternate version of the video was included on Madonna's compilation, Celebration: The Video Collection.[33]

Live performances
Madonna singing "Get Together" on the Confessions Tour while caressing her dancer, who poses like a horse on the stage.

In November 2005, Madonna first performed "Get Together" on TV shows such as Parkinson in England and Star Academy in France, as well as during the Children in Need 2005 telethon in London.[34][35][36] Another performances came during concerts at Koko and G-A-Y nightclub in London, respectively on November 15 and 18, and Studio Coast in Tokyo, Japan on December 7.[37][38][39]

In the Confessions Tour, the song was the second performance of the evening and was part of the equine segment of the show.[40] Madonna wore a skin-tight, full body black leotard. She opened her hat from the previous performance of "Future Lovers", as the background changed from the video of the horses to a red, geometric patterned kaleidoscope shot by Steven Klein.[41] Madonna started singing the song. Two male backup dancers appeared behind her wearing horse reins around their heads to convey the feeling of oppression.[42] The song continued in their choreographed performance, with Madonna sometimes pulling the harness around her dancers as if they were horses.[41] During the intermediate musical interlude, Madonna moved to the front of the stage and lay down on the screen attached to it. As she continued singing the music increased and she started to twirl in the center of the stage.[41] The performance continued with Madonna and her dancers moving to the back of the stage singing the words "get together" repeatedly. It ended with the music of the next song "Like a Virgin" starting.[41]

Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine, while reviewing The Confessions Tour video album, commented that, "A great song like 'Get Together' is splendidly sung (whoever tweaks the levels on her mic is a genius), but its celebratory, keep-it-together message is compromised by the contradictory feelings of bondage (oppression) conveyed by having two backup dancers equipped with reins around their heads."[43] In the live video album release, "Get Together" was excluded from the CD package but was included in the track listing of the DVD.[44]

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel
  • Lead vocals – Madonna
  • Recording – Stuart Price at Shirland Road
  • Assistant engineer – Alex Dromgode
  • Audio mixing – Mark "Spike" Stent
  • Master recording – Brian "Big Bass" Gardner

Charts

Certification and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy — 10,000[83]
Sweden (GLF)[84] Gold 10,000^
United Kingdom — 67,163[85]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References
  1. Madonna Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) liner notes Warner Music
  2. MTV News staff (April 27, 2006). "For The Record: Quick News On Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shyne, Jennifer Lopez, 50 Cent & More". MTV. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. Caulfield, Keith (April 4, 2006). "Ask Billboard: Sorry Get Together". Billboard. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  4. Madonna (2005). I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (DVD+CD). Warner Home Video.
  5. Deusner, Stephen M. (November 14, 2005). "Madonna: Confessions on a Dance Floor". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  6. Baltin, Steve (May 22, 2006). "Madonna Launches Tour With Disco Crucifixion". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  7. Wass, Mike (August 16, 2017). "From "Bad Girl" To "Ghosttown," Madonna's 10 Most Underrated Singles". Idolator. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  8. Stern, Bradley (March 26, 2012). "Madonna - 'MDNA' (Album Review)". MuuMuse. Retrieved August 11, 2020. ...and the dark, hypnotic trance of Confessions' "Get Together."
  9. Browne, David (November 11, 2005). "Confessions on a Dance Floor". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  10. Zakosek, Matt (November 22, 2005). "Madonna's Confession: My new album could be so much more". The Chicago Maroon. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  11. O'Brien, Jon (September 12, 2017). "The 10 Best Madonna Songs of the 21st Century". Paste Magazine. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  12. Shawhan, Jason (November 15, 2005). "Madonna – Confessions on a Dancefloor". About.com. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  13. Cinquemani, Sal (November 4, 2005). "Madonna: Confessions on a Dance Floor music review". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  14. "Madonna 'Get Together' Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Alfred Publishing. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  15. Caulfield, Keith (November 19, 2005). "Album review: Confessions on a Dance Floor". Billboard. New York. 117 (47): 72. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  16. Deusner, Stephen M. (November 14, 2005). "Madonna: Confessions on a Dance Floor". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  17. Morgan, Joan (December 6, 2005). "Madge's House". The Village Voice. New Times Media. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  18. Petridis, Alexis (November 11, 2005). "Madonna, Confessions on a Dancefloor". The Guardian. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  19. Norris, Chris (November 15, 2005). "Confessions on a Dance Floor". Blender.
  20. "FOX Facts: Complete List of Grammy Award Nominations". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. December 7, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  21. Trust, Gary (February 19, 2012). "Ask Billboard: The Whitney Houston, Madonna Edition". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  22. Caulfield, Keith (June 29, 2006). "U.S. Radio Hangs Up on Madonna". Billboard. New York. 118 (30): 76. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  23. Pietroluongo, Silvio (June 24, 2006). "Aguilera Nails Career-Best Bow". Billboard. New York. 118 (25): 84. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  24. "Get Together – Madonna: Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  25. "Canadian Top 50 Singles". Nielsen SoundScan. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  26. "Spanishcharts.com – Madonna – Get Together" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  27. "Australian-charts.com – Madonna – Get Together". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  29. "Ultratop.be – Madonna – Get Together" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Madonna – Get Together". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  31. "Madonna Get Together Music Video on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  32. "Interviews: Nathaniel Howe". Drowned Madonna. August 2, 2006. Archived from the original on July 20, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  33. Greenblatt, Leah (August 26, 2009). "Madonna's 'Celebration' track list revealed: Are the greatest hits all there?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  34. Madonna makes an appearance on the Parkinson TV show (UK)
  35. Madonna appears on the "Star Academy" French TV show and performs 2 songs live.
  36. £17m raised by BBC Children in Need so far.
  37. Hand, John (November 16, 2005). "Entertainment | Madonna's intimate night with her fans". BBC News. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  38. "News > Madonna performs live from the G-A-Y Astoria in London". Madonna.com. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  39. "News > Madonna performs live from the Studio Coast club in Tokyo". Madonna.com. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  40. Inksweep, Thomas (February 2, 2007). "Stylus: The Confessions Tour". Stylus. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  41. Timmerman, Dirk (2007). Madonna Live! Secret Re-inventions and Confessions on Tour. Maklu. ISBN 978-90-8595-002-8. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  42. Bellafonte, Ginia (November 24, 2006). "Listen for the Music, Look for the Muscles". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  43. Gonzalez, Ed (December 12, 2006). "Madonna: Confessions Tour". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  44. Madonna (2006). The Confessions Tour (CD+DVD). Warner Home Video.
  45. "Madonna – Get Together – European CD Single". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  46. "Madonna – Get Together – Australian CD Single". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  47. "Madonna – Get Together – UK 12" vinyl". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  48. "Madonna – Get Together – UK 12" vinyl". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  49. "Madonna – Get Together – European Maxi CD". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  50. "Madonna – Get Together – US Maxi CD". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  51. "Madonna – Get Together – Canadian Maxi CD". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  52. "Madonna – Get Together – UK Promo CD". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  53. "Madonna – Get Together – UK CD single". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  54. "Madonna – Get Together – US 12" vinyl". discogs. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  55. "Austriancharts.at – Madonna – Get Together" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  56. "Ultratop.be – Madonna – Get Together" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  57. "Madonna Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  58. "Madonna Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  59. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200631 into search. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  60. "Danishcharts.com – Madonna – Get Together". Tracklisten. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  61. "Madonna: Get Together" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  62. "Lescharts.com – Madonna – Get Together" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  63. "Madonna Chart History: Global Dance Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  64. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  65. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  66. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Get Together". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  67. "Italiancharts.com – Madonna – Get Together". Top Digital Download. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  68. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Madonna" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  69. "Dutchcharts.nl – Madonna – Get Together" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  70. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  71. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200636 into search. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  72. "Swedishcharts.com – Madonna – Get Together". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  73. "Swisscharts.com – Madonna – Get Together". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  74. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  75. "Madonna Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  76. "Madonna Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  77. "Madonna Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  78. "Pop Rock" (in Spanish). Record Report. July 15, 2006. Archived from the original on July 16, 2006.
  79. "Musica: Classifiche Annunali 2006 FIMI-AC Nielsen" (in Italian). FIMI. Archived from the original on January 12, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2021. Click on Scarica l'allegato.
  80. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2006". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  81. "2006 Year-End UK Singles Chart" (PDF). UKChartsplus. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  82. "2006 Year-End Charts" (PDF). Billboard. 118 (51): YE-76. December 23, 2006. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  83. "LE CIFRE DI VENDITA 2006" (PDF). Musica e dischi. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  84. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  85. Jones, Alan (August 19, 2008). "The immaculate guide to 50 years of Madonna". Music Week. Archived from the original on August 25, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.