Vogue (Madonna song)

"Vogue" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second soundtrack album I'm Breathless (1990). It was released as the first single from the album on March 27, 1990, by Sire Records. Madonna was inspired by vogue dancers and choreographers Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza and Luis Xtravaganza from the Harlem "House Ball" community, the origin of the dance form, and they introduced "Vogueing" to her at the Sound Factory club in New York City. "Vogue" later appeared on her greatest hits compilation albums, The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).

Composition

"Vogue" is a dance-pop and house song with notable disco influence, Lyrically, the song has a theme of escapism, and talks about how any person can enjoy themself. In the bridge, the song has a spoken rap section, in which Madonna references numerous "golden era" Hollywood celebrities.

In order of mention in the lyrics, they are: Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean, Grace Kelly, Jean Harlow, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Lana Turner and Bette Davis.

Music video

The video was directed by David Fincher and shot at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California on February 10–11, 1990. Filmed in black-and-white, the video recalls the look of films and photography from The Golden Age of Hollywood with the use of artwork by the Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka and an Art Deco set design. Many of the scenes are recreations of photographs taken by noted photographer Horst P. Horst, including his famous "Mainbocher Corset", "Lisa with Turban" (1940), and "Carmen Face Massage" (1946). Horst was reportedly "displeased" with Madonna's video because he never gave his permission for his photographs to be used and received no acknowledgement from Madonna. Some of the close-up poses recreate noted portraits of such stars as Marilyn Monroe, Veronica Lake, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland and Jean Harlow.