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Don't Tell Me › Released



2000

Don't Tell Me" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eighth studio album, Music (2000). It was released as the second single from the album on November 14, 2000, by Maverick Records. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the track with Mirwais Ahmadzaï, with additional writing from her brother-in-law, Joe Henry. Henry originally conceived it as a tango-styled torch song called "Stop"; the demo was later sent to Madonna, who then proceeded to change its musical composition, turning it into a country-dance song. Lyrically, Madonna asks her lover not to control her.

"Don't Tell Me"
Madonna smiling towards the camera, wearing a cowboy hat.
Single by Madonna
from the album Music
B-side
"Cyber-Raga"
Released
November 14, 2000[1]
Studio
Sarm West (London)
Genre
Electronicafolktronicacountry rocktrip hop
Length
4:40
Label
MaverickWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
MadonnaMirwais AhmadzaïJoe Henry
Producer(s)
MadonnaMirwais Ahmadzaï
Madonna singles chronology
"Music"
(2000) "Don't Tell Me"
(2000) "What It Feels Like for a Girl"
(2001)

Music video
"Don't Tell Me" on YouTube
"Don't Tell Me" received positive reviews from music critics, who cited the song as one of the album's standouts and praised Madonna's vocals. It was also compared to the work of singer Sheryl Crow. The song attained commercial success, reaching the top of the record charts in Canada, Italy and New Zealand, as well as the top five in several regions. It also became Europe's biggest radio hit of 2001. In the United States, "Don't Tell Me" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with the Beatles as the artist with the second-most top-ten singles in the Hot 100 history.

The music video was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and features Madonna as a cowgirl walking down an automated treadmill in front of a projection screen, with cowboys dancing and straddling horses in the backdrop. The clip received two nominations at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, while also being nominated for a Grammy Award. The song was included in three of Madonna's concert tours: Drowned World (2001), Re-Invention (2004), and Celebration (2023—2024). In 2014, Madonna appeared on Miley Cyrus' MTV Unplugged special and performed "Don't Tell Me" in a mashup with Cyrus' 2013 song "We Can't Stop". Two years later, she performed the song on her Madonna: Tears of a Clown show, in Melbourne and Miami.

Background and release
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Black-and-white image of Joe Henry playing guitar onstage
"Don't Tell Me" was based on the demo "Stop", written by Joe Henry, Madonna's brother-in-law.
After the critical and commercial success of her seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998), Madonna had intended to embark on a concert tour in late 1999, but due to the delay of her film, The Next Best Thing (2000), the tour was cancelled.[2] The singer also became pregnant with her son Rocco, from her relationship with director Guy Ritchie.[3] Wanting to distract herself from the media frenzy, Madonna concentrated on the development of her eighth studio album, Music. She worked with French DJ and producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï on the album, describing it as consisting of "Funky, electronic music blended with futuristic folk. Lots of jangly guitars and moody melancholic lines".[4][5]

Following the success of the lead single, "Music", "Don't Tell Me" was released as the second single from the album on November 21, 2000, by Maverick Records.[1][6] A number of remixes for the song were created by Thunderpuss, Richard "Humpty" Vission and Tracy Young. Warner Bros. Records released various renditions on CD, cassette, maxi, 7-inch and 12-inch singles. The Thunderpuss Club Mix had a more house-inspired sound, with spiraling synth pads and keyboard effects. The filtered beats and tweaked keyboard riffs of Humpty Vission's Radio Mix gave Madonna's voice an "underwater" effect, while Young's remix featured a violin breakdown and sonic elements that reminisce Blondie's 1979 hit "Heart of Glass".[7] AllMusic's Jose F. Promis praised the remixes for "transform(ing) the country-infused track into an awesome dance extravaganza".[1]
Recording and composition
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Madonna co-wrote and co-produced "Don't Tell Me" with Ahmadzaï, and her brother-in-law Joe Henry, who is credited as an additional songwriter.[8] Henry had written a tango-styled song titled "Stop", which featured jazz saxophone player Ornette Coleman and Henry singing in "Tom Waits-inspired" vocals; it was eventually included on the latter's eighth studio album, Scar (2001).[9][10][11][12] After Henry played the demo for "Stop" to his wife, Madonna's sister Melanie, she sent the track to Madonna. The singer liked the demo and was drawn to the song's lyrics, its "sentiment of defiance, the attitude of it", but did not prefer its musical tone, since it was not in-line with the compositions for Music.[13]