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Music or Hung Up - which single had the biggest CULTURAL IMPACT?


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Music or Hung Up - which single had the biggest CULTURAL IMPACT?  

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There seems to be a sub-discussion in the Madonna New Album thread about the global success of Hung Up in real terms, which brought up a few really interesting points. Kurt420 said THIS about Hung Up:

I never said it wasn't a hit, only that it was a minor hit. I agree, it's miraculous it did as well as it did at that time. With that said, it's just not considered one of the classic, essential Madonna songs by the general public the way Music is.

So that got me thinking... It's certain that Hung Up and Music are the last two MAJOR hits in her catalog. But which do YOU think had the biggest cultural impact? I always presumed Hung Up was considered a MAMMOTH culturally re-defining tour-de-force of a Madonna moment. But it seems not everyone shares this opinion. I would even say that it had a much bigger scope than Music did, but I'll throw this question to the floor...

I'm thinking the answer is going to be very dependent on where in the world you are - with most American fans opting for Music, and everyone else going for Hung Up. But we'll see...

A FEW STATS:

MUSIC

music_madonna_career_in_pictures_15.jpg

Certification: Platinum (US), Gold (UK)

YouTube views: 3 million +

Acclaim (aggregated score of critic lists): 87th most acclaimed song of the 2000s

Parodies (measure of pop cultural significance): MADTV, Ozzy Osbourne

HUNG UP

Madonna+-+Hung+Up.JPG

Certification: Platinum (US), Platinum (UK)

YouTube views: 45 million +

Acclaim (aggregated score of critics lists): 118th most acclaimed song of the 2000s

Parodies (measure of pop cultural significance): French and Saunders, Bo Selecta

(Sales data from Wikipedia, acclaim data from Acclaimedmusic.net)

When it comes to recurrent radio play, and using a random week, Music was the 17th most played M track on American radio the week of June 4-10 (stats from HolidayGuy/Mediabase). Hung Up didn't make the top 20. :ohmy:

In the UK (stats from Compare My Radio), Music wasn't played at all :ohmy: on radio during the last 30 days. Hung Up was played 57 times.

- - -

IT SEEMS like there's a HUGE GULF when it comes to the impact of these singles depending on what side of the Atlantic you are on. Overall, Hung Up wins on YouTube views (by a MASSIVE margin), and US and UK sales, with Music slightly edging HU on acclaim. What's it like in your corner of the world?

- - -

PERSONALLY, I would opt for Hung Up. It has a much more recognized 'look' (the leotard) - the cowboy hat/cowgirl image didn't really come into full effect until Don't Tell Me. Would you agree that Hung Up is more fondly remembered by the general public than Music?

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Hung Up definitely in the UK, the song completely resurged Madonna and got everyone talking about her again, I remember all the fuss, a very exciting time to be a Madonna fan. I still hear the song all the time on the radio, I haven't heard Music played in a long time... besides, Madonna had previously had a number 1 hit single with American Pie a few months before Music was released, Madonna was still at the top of her game in 2000 so whatever she released as the debut single from Music would have been a hit, whereas, she actually revived herself after the American Life era.

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I live in the Delaware Valley (South Jersey, Philadelphia/Eastern Pa, Northern Delaware), and I can tell you I did not hear Hung Up once on the radio. Not even on Hot AC stations. I was a sophomore in high school when the single and album came out, no one I went to school with, besides a few girls, knew of Hung Up. Yes, I've seen the video on VH1 and MTV, I've even seen the making of the video. But for those of you that had the chance to hear Hung Up in your area, you are very lucky and I'm quite jealous. However, the only song from Confessions that I heard quite a lot was Sorry. I heard that occasionally during the day on both hot AC and top 40. (To go deeper on single radio plays, Celebration was spun a few times on hot AC in my area and of course GMAYL, but never again once the radio deal ended the following week.)

But back to the original question, based on my reception, and my location, no matter how many counties it was #1 in, or how it retired on #1 on TRL or even getting a #7 peak on the hot 100, Music, to me, was and is the bigger hit. Everyone is aware of this song. They don't even have to question who sings it.

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The YouTube views are a strange one. 45 million for Hung Up vs. 3 million for Music is such a huge difference. I don't know where those views are coming from, but it seems like the general public keep coming back to Hung Up as their Madonna single of choice.

Would American fans go as far as saying that Hung Up would have been a "strange choice" if she performed it as her 'song from the 2000s' at the Super Bowl instead of Music then?

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Well, I grew up in Vermont and I would've 9 when Hung Up came out and that point in my life I used to watch MTV or VH1 or whatever a lot with my sister and I remember seeing the HU video often. This was also the first time I consciously remember knowing who Madonna was and the first time that I had any connection with her. I was obsessed with HU when it came out. I also remember seeing Sorry a few times too and thinking it was really weird.

When I first "discovered" Madonna when I was like 13 or so, Music wasn't a really song I knew that well. I knew the tune but didn't know it was by her and wasn't something that stuck in my head and that I related to Madonna like MG or LAV or HU.

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My comment was specific to USA. Music by far had more of an impact in the US. If you went into a club in late 2000 it was pretty much guaranteed you would hear the song on the radio on the way there and maybe a couple times at the club. Not to mention the sea of cowboy hats in the crowd. ;)

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The YouTube views are a strange one. 45 million for Hung Up vs. 3 million for Music is such a huge difference. I don't know where those views are coming from, but it seems like the general public keep coming back to Hung Up as their Madonna single of choice.

Would American fans go as far as saying that Hung Up would have been a "strange choice" if she performed it as her 'song from the 2000s' at the Super Bowl instead of Music then?

Music is one of the biggest hits she ever had in the US. HU was massive on the dance/club scene and a minor mainstream hit. For the Super Bowl, Music was absolutely the better choice. Many casual or non fans probably would have thought HU was a new song from MDNA.....lol.....unless their gay cousin was there to set them straight. :)

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In the rest of the world, I know HU probably had as big, or bigger, an impact. But in the U.S. there's no question that "Music" was bigger and had a bigger cultural impact. Everyone knows that song. HU was a weird situation in the U.S. I remember when it premiered on the radio, but don't really recall it getting played much after that aside from maybe KTU in NYC. At the time everyone knew "of" it, since the video got lots of attention, she performed in on the Grammys, etc., but the missing ingredient was radio to reach people not plugged into pop culture news.

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"Music"

Also, disagree with the premise that "Music" and "Hung Up" are her "the last two MAJOR hits in her catalog" -- that's clearly "Hung Up" and "4 Minutes." (And "Hung Up" clearly wins any debate about the cultural impact of the two.)

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The detractors will diss...but 4 Minutes was as big a hit as both of them.

It was HUGE in America, Europe and all over. That said, it didn't have an iconic performance.

The EMA performance of Hung Up and it's impact cannot be short changed.

Oh people are going to argue this to the high heavens but........4M by far had a bigger impact compared to HU in the USA. With that said, I think Music easily eclipses 4M in terms of its impact. Music is the last hit she's had the even comes close to the impact of her 80's classics. I think time has made people forget but, Music was MASSIVE. It was the biggest hit she had in the US and worldwide since Vogue.

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Cultural impact? CLEARLY Hung Up - the retro sound, Abba, the leotard, the video, Stuart Price, radio play, being played in (not just gay) clubs. Madonna was completely revitalised by this song after AL.

Music is definitely the better song of course, but it just kind of came and went...culturally.

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Commercial success aside (though it would play a part in this, to a degree), I'd say "Music."

"Music makes the people come together" is more of a universal sentiment, if you will, than anything in "Hung Up." And let's not forget the Live 8 performance, where it literally did make the people come together.

The HU video is memorable as the one where Madonna dons a leotard, etc. but I'd give it to "Music." Plus, she sends up rap/hip-hop culture in "Music."

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You guys are clearly just going by radio plays and such in the US which is clearly not what the question was. :s513: Also cultural impact = outside just the Madonna fan community.

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You guys are clearly just going by radio plays and such in the US which is clearly not what the question was. :s513: Also cultural impact = outside just the Madonna fan community.

But radio airplay does play a part in determining a songs cultural significance. It's hard for a song to make a universal impact when most people have never heard the song. Outside of the gay and dance/club audience, the impact of HU was minimal at best. Madonna also started a little fashion trend with her Music image......not so much with HU. I think the leotard is far more iconic and recognized outside the US.

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But radio airplay does play a part in determining a songs cultural significance. It's hard for a song to make a universal impact when most people have never heard the song. Outside of the gay and dance/club audience, the impact of HU was minimal at best. Madonna also started a little fashion trend with her Music image......not so much with HU. I think the leotard is far more iconic and recognized outside the US.

Hmm. I agree about the cowboy hat. Forgot about that. I think the op answered the question already tbh.

USA - Music

Rest of the world- Hung Up.

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Perception definitely depends on where in the world you were at the time. Confessions and "Hung Up" were big hits and an upswing from American Life in the states, but they still struggled here compared to past eras.

"Music" was met with a wave of overwhelming love and adulation seldom seen stateside.

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All I can say that as a 9 year old boy living in America who wasn't interested in Madonna at the time and had a very objective point of view, Confessions was BIG at the time and the image was very strong. That's what I remember very vividly.

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All I can say that as a 9 year old boy living in America who wasn't interested in Madonna at the time and had a very objective point of view, Confessions was BIG at the time and the image was very strong. That's what I remember very vividly.

RIght. Madonna always demands ones attention and "Hung Up" is phenomenal.

But you were 4 when "Music" was released nullifying your opinion on the matter. :smug::D

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Hmm. I agree about the cowboy hat. Forgot about that. I think the op answered the question already tbh.

USA - Music

Rest of the world- Hung Up.

And that pretty much sums it up. It's amazing to me that outside the USA, the COADF era seemed to be every bit as big as some of her 80's peaks. Quite a feat at that stage in her career!

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All I can say that as a 9 year old boy living in America who wasn't interested in Madonna at the time and had a very objective point of view, Confessions was BIG at the time and the image was very strong. That's what I remember very vividly.

I truly don't mean this in a condescending way so please forgive me if it comes across as such, but that means you would've been 4 when Music was a hit. I know I certainly don't remember the impact of LAV when I was 4 yrs old but clearly it was quite an impact at the time....lol. So......what I'm getting at is that it may not be as easy for you to remember the full impact of the Music era because well......you were literally practically a baby.

I must say I find it incredible that at 47 yrs old, 20+ yrs into being a cultural icon, that she was still able to attract a 9 year old. That is the power of Madonna!! :)

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Radio is a big deal in determining cultural impact. I was basing my vote on how not many people i knew and in my area were aware of Hung Up, which is due to radio not spinning the song (again in my neck of the woods).

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