10 Best Madonna Singles You’ve Forgotten About
By Eric Grigs | August 16, 2021
Soon embarking on her fifth decade of music-making, Madonna turns 63 this year. According to official chart performance history, the Queen of Pop’s staggering 88 (to-date) radio-released singles makes her second only to the Beatles in overall success on Billboard’s Hot 100.
Twelve of Madonna’s monster jams topped the charts, but we thought it’d be fun to take a tour through her distinguished career and revisit some of her most under-appreciated singles you may have forgotten all about. And it’s still a group of certifiable hits—only two on our list didn’t crack the top ten in the United States!
So, in honor of the birthday girl, “come join the party; it’s a celebration!” Let’s count ’em down.
10. Angel
U.S. chart position: #5
This heavenly confection from her sophomore album Like a Virgin is the Rodney Dangerfield of Madge hits: it gets no respect. Co-penned by Stephen Bray, it wasn’t well received by critics compared to the four top 5 singles that preceded it. And then there’s some debate on whether its B-side “Into the Groove” was what really propelled it up the charts. (Stunningly, would you believe that burner was never officially released as a single in North America?) History course-corrected and “Groove” ultimately won the day, being included in Madonna’s first greatest hits collection which left off—you guessed it—“Angel.”
9. Hanky Panky
U.S. chart position: #10
America had no idea this cheeky (pun intended) ode to the joys of spanking would be the lighthearted, comedic sister to Erotica’s darker themes of S/M that Madonna would unleash only two years later. Written with long-time collaborator Patrick Leonard and included on the Dick Tracy themed album I’m Breathless, critics called the song everything from a silly and catchy romp to glorifying violence against women. We love it for being a crazy mix of naughty innuendo paired with brassy, big band throwback sounds—the likes of which you’ll probably never hear at the top of the charts again.
8. Rescue Me
U.S. chart position: #9
Everyone remembers the lead single from 1990’s The Immaculate Collection, “Justify My Love.” However, few outside of die-hard Madonna fans can name its follow-up, even though it was a top ten hit. “Rescue Me” continued the pattern of “Justify” with spoken-word lyrics laid across beats, but this gospel-house track has more in common with “Like a Prayer” by adding some expansive sounds from church choir backup singers during the chorus. It was never intended to be released as a single, but was getting traction due to heavy club play, so Sire records sent it to radio—although a music video for it was never filmed. Could it have have made it to #1 with a bump from another video (banned from MTV)? Sadly, we’ll never know.
7. Secret
U.S. chart position: #3
In the mid-90s, Madonna softened her sound—and image—in the wake of the backlash from the in-your-face sexuality of Erotica. “Secret,” the lead single from 1994’s Bedtime Stories arrived on the scene with a pulsating bass line and acoustic guitar, adding sizzle to the prevailing R&B sound dominating the charts at the time.
6. Living for Love
U.S. chart position: —
The first of two picks on our list that didn’t chart on the Hot 100, and the only one here from the Material Girl’s “modern” offerings. It succeeds in melding some classic Madonna sounds—the piano (played by Alicia Keys!), the gospel tinge, and by god it turns down the robotic vocoder and auto-tune effects that tend to drag down her more recent tracks. In this one, she actually sings from her heart “I’m gonna carry on” against a thrilling drop. And we believe it. It earned critical praise amongst the first few tracks released from 2014’s Rebel Heart. Love’s gonna lift me up, indeed.
5. You’ll See
U.S. chart position: #6
From her 1995 ballads compilation, Something to Remember, this one’s for all the haters that say she can’t actually sing. Madonna can point to this lush composition co-written with David Foster that showed off her expanding vocal range, which would continue in her training for Evita. Madonna’s ballads tend to float effortlessly along the melody, with few booming, show-stopper moments in performances like Whitney or Celine give—but here she showcases power, allure, and gravitas. The video is a sequel to her longest-charting number one, “Take a Bow,” where she again portrays the neglected lover of a bullfighter (played by real-life bullfighter and actor Emilio Muñoz). Bonus: Madonna also sang a Spanish version of the song, “Verás.”
4. Keep It Together
U.S. chart position: #8
As the fifth and final single off the Like a Prayer album, this track about the bonds of family is a funky groove that musically pays homage to Sly and the Family Stone (and in fact used “Family Affair” to introduce the song for her Blond Ambition performance) and connects lyrically to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” Fun fact: Sire records wanted to boost promotion of the single by adding a newly recorded track by Madonna as a B-side. The track she recorded? “Vogue.” Once Warner Bros. executives heard it, they released “Keep It Together” without a B-side and lined up “Vogue” as her next single. Smart move.
3. Deeper and Deeper
U.S. chart position: #7
“I can’t help falling” for this playful love letter to 70s disco—complete with its Warhol-inspired music video and high-strumming flamenco guitar dropped smack in the middle of the track just to blow everyone’s minds. Written with Shep Pettibone, “Deeper and Deeper” was the second single from 1992’s Erotica and later the opener to her second greatest hits collection (spanning her career from the 1990s through early 2000s). A lot of 90s dance-house music hasn’t aged well over the years, but this one sounds as good today as when it was released almost 30 years ago.
2. Burning Up
U.S. chart position: —
Quite possibly Madonna’s most “rock” track. Its relentlessly pulsating beat, electric guitars, new wave synths, and urgent vocals all meld together perfectly. Yet the track only made a dent on the Dance charts, peaking there at #3. The video is oh-so-80s, put in heavy rotation during the early days of MTV. The song is also having a bit of a renaissance in Madonna’s tour repertoire of late, and additionally made its way onto the deluxe edition of Madonna’s third greatest hits compilation, Celebration, despite it not actually being a hit. Which just shows how much it belongs here.
1. Causing a Commotion
U.S. chart position: #2
Who doesn’t remember that girl—the saucer-eyed, animated one that opens up the film Who’s That Girl while “Causing a Commotion” blasts over the credits? This may be a controversial number one for our list—but god damn, it’s so catchy. It has the power to lift the darkest moods. We think it deserves the top spot for being a huge Madonna hit that retrospectively rarely gets much play, but when it does, it’ll get everyone’s ass to the dance floor. Obviously, because “I’ve got the moves baby; you’ve got the motion.” Bonus: Hear it reinterpreted by Bright Light Bright Light. That cover was recorded in 2017, and it still sounds so fresh.
Explore THE MUSIC FROM THIS ARTICLE
Spin our new Pop Trash Museum Spotify playlist, Forgotten Madonna!, which includes the tracks from this list and a few honorable mentions that didn’t make the cut.
Eric Grigs is a pop culture writer, artist, and co-host of the Pop Trash Podcast.