Devil Pray
"Devil Pray" | |
---|---|
Song by Madonna | |
from the album Rebel Heart | |
Released | December 20, 2014 |
Recorded | 2014 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:05 |
Label | Interscope |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | |
Rebel Heart track listing | |
24 tracks
|
"Devil Pray" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter
"Devil Pray" is a
Background and release
Madonna and Avicii first met in 2012 when the singer appeared on the Ultra Music Festival to premiere a remix of her single "Girl Gone Wild", produced by the DJ.[1] Later, while developing her then-upcoming album, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary suggested the singer to work with Avicii's songwriting team; the singer accepted since she was a fan of Avicii's work.[2] On March 7, 2014, the singer posted a picture of herself on her Instagram account with the caption, "Doing some house work before heading to the studio with Avicii."[1][3] A week later, she posted photos with Avicii and his team of songwriters, claiming that they did "so many great songs".[4] In an interview with David Blaine for Interview, Madonna said of the song:
It's about how people take drugs to connect to God or to a higher level of consciousness. I keep saying, 'Plugging into the matrix'. If you get high, you can do that, which is why a lot of people drop acid or do drugs, because they want to get closer to God. But there's going to be a short circuit, and that's the illusion of drugs, because they give you the illusion of getting closer to God, but ultimately they kill you. They destroy you. I mean, I tried everything once, but as soon as I was high, I spent my time drinking tons of water to get it out of my system. As soon as I was high, I was obsessed with flushing it out of me. I was like, 'OK, I'm done now'.[5]
In the same interview, she said the song was not written to anyone in particular and that she was merely sharing her experiences.[5] Rolling Stone published an article in which Madonna advocated "intense personal exploration" over drug use.[6] While being asked if "Devil Pray" could run the risk of being misunderstood as a song encouraging drugs, Madonna replied: "I'm certainly not judging people who take drugs or saying 'don't do drugs', however, I'm saying you can do all of these things to connect to a higher level, but ultimately you're going to be lost. People who are getting high are instinctively also trying to connect to a higher level of consciousness, but are doing it in a way that will not sustain them."[7]
The demo version of "Devil Pray" leaked onto the Internet in December 2014, alongside 12 other demos from the upcoming album.[8] Following this Madonna released the album, titled Rebel Heart, for pre-order on December 20, 2014. When ordered, the first six tracks were automatically downloaded, including "Devil Pray".[9] Madonna stated that the songs were meant to be "an early Christmas gift" and added that she would prefer her fans hear the completed versions of some of the songs instead of the incomplete tracks that were circulating.[10]
Recording and composition
"Devil Pray" was written and produced by Madonna, Avicii,
"Devil Pray" brings Madonna "as a devoted disciple, drawn to a darker kind of prayer", as noted by
During the second verse, Madonna "seems to understand her own spiritual plight when she sings [...], '
Critical reception
"Devil Pray" received mostly positive response from
However, there were some criticism directed at the list of drugs used in the chorus of "Devil Pray". Chris Richards from
Chart performance
"Devil Pray" charted in many European territories after its release along with the other album's five tracks, on December 20, 2014. The song reached the top-ten in Greece and Hungary, peaking at numbers 9 and 10, respectively,[36][37] while in Finland, Lebanon and Sweden, "Devil Pray" managed to reach the top-twenty, reaching numbers 16, 18 and 14.[38][39][40] In Spain, the song reached number 50 and was the album's lowest charting song, while in France, "Devil Pray" was the third highest charting song, after "Living for Love" and "Ghosttown", the album's first and second single respectively, and peaked at number 62 with over 800 downloads.[41][42][43]
Live performances
On March 1, 2015, Madonna performed the song for the first time on Italian TV show,
Credits and personnel
Management
- Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP) / EMI Blackwood Music Inc. (BMI) / EMI Music Publishing Scandinavia AB (STIM) / Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)
- Sony/ATV Scandinavia AB (STIM) / Team 2101 Songs (ASCAP) / Rami Productions AB (ASCAP) / Kobalt Songs Music Publishing
- Sony/ATV Sonata and Dahi Productions (SESAC) / Michael Tucker Music (ASCAP) c/o Kobalt Songs Music Publishing / These Are Songs of Pulse (ASCAP) / OWSLA Trax (ASCAP)
Personnel
- Madonna – vocals, songwriter, producer
- Avicii – songwriter, producer, keyboards, programming
- DJ Dahi – songwriter, producer
- Jimmy Austin – songwriter
- Blood Diamonds – songwriter, producer
- Arash Pournouri – songwriter
- Carl Falk – songwriter, keyboards, guitars, programming
- Rami Yacoub – songwriter
- Savan Kotecha – songwriter
- Demacio "Demo" Castellon – engineer, mixer
- Nick Rowe – engineer
- Angie Teo – additional recording, additional mixing
Personnel adapted from Madonna official website.[11]
Charts
Chart (2014–2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[53] | 80 |
Finland Download ( Latauslista)[38]
|
16 |
France ( SNEP)[42]
|
62 |
Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)[36] | 9 |
Hungary (Single Top 40)[37] | 10 |
Italy ( FIMI)[54]
|
43 |
Lebanon (The Official Lebanese Top 20)[39] | 18 |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[41] | 50 |
Sweden (DigiListan)[40] | 14 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[55] | 59 |
References
- ^ a b "Madonna Reveals She's Headed to the Studio with Avicii". Fuse. March 7, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ^ "Madonna Interview Again for NRJ". NRJ. January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ^ Coleman, Miriam (March 8, 2014). "Madonna Announces Collaboration With Avicii". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ^ Copsey, Robert (March 13, 2014). "Madonna, Avicii working on "great songs" in the studio". Digital Spy. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ^ a b Blaine, David (November 26, 2014). "Madonna". Interview: 4. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ^ a b Hauk, Hunter (December 23, 2014). "Madonna returns: We review the 'Rebel Heart' songs released over the weekend". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Ganz, Caryn (December 21, 2014). "'Rebel Heart': Madonna Reveals the Story Behind Six Surprise Songs". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- Idolator. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- ^ Corner, Lewis (December 20, 2014). "Madonna premieres new single 'Living For Love' from Rebel Heart". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ "Madonna Responds to 'Rebel Heart' Leak by Releasing Six Songs". Rolling Stone. December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
- ^ a b "Rebel Heart – Credits". Madonna.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (March 9, 2015). "Madonna, Rebel Heart review: 'she's in the game again'". The Telegraph. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ Hopper, Jessica (March 13, 2015). "Madonna: Rebel Heart Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ a b Zuel, Bernard (December 22, 2014). "Madonna's Rebel Heart early review: Something old, something new, something borrowed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- The Record. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Zuel, Bernard (December 22, 2014). "Madonna's Rebel Heart early review: Something old, something new, something borrowed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c Pettifer, Amy (February 25, 2015). "Madonna's Rebel Heart: A Track By Track Review". The Quietus. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Plugged In. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ^ a b Richards, Chris (March 9, 2015). "Be still, the unseemly beating of Madonna's 'Rebel Heart'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Farber, Jim (December 20, 2014). "Madonna songs leaked: 'Rebel Heart' tracks are best when pop star favors classic over trendy". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Cox, Jamieson (December 22, 2015). "Madonna's Next Album Is Shaping Up to Be Her Best in a Decade". Time. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- Idolator. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Gill, Andy (March 6, 2015). "Madonna, Rebel Heart — album review: A confirmation of Madonna's sustained musical relevance". The Independent. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Haynes, Gavin (March 4, 2015). "Madonna – 'Rebel Heart'". NME. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (March 10, 2015). "Rebel Heart — Madonna". AllMusic. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Ganz, Caryn (February 25, 2015). "Madonna gets down with Kanye, Avicii and more on a supercatchy, sexed-up album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sal (February 26, 2015). "Madonna: Rebel Heart". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Zaleski, Annie (March 10, 2015). "Rebel Hear → Madonna". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ "Music Review: Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' Is Lovely". The New York Times. March 9, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Saeed, Saeed (March 2, 2015). "Track-by-track review: Rebel Heart – Madonna". The National. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (March 10, 2015). "Review: Madonna Becomes the Heel of Pop on the Admirably Shameless 'Rebel Heart'". Spin. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (March 5, 2015). "Madonna: Rebel Heart review – braggadocio v self-examination on an album of two halves". The Guardian. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "Greece Digital Songs: Week of December 27, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ a b "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ a b "Madonna: Devil Pray" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Lebanese Top 20". The Official Lebanese Top 20. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015. Click English to see chart position
- ^ a b "Swedish Digital Chart" (in Swedish). DigiListan. December 28, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Canciones Top 50. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
- ^ Les classement single. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
- Charts in France. Archivedfrom the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ Scanzi, Andrea (March 9, 2015). "Madonna a 'Che tempo che fa' – Ciccone contro Fazio: che 8 marzo!". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^ Fazio, Fabio (March 8, 2015). "Madonna – Che tempo che fa del 08/03/2015". Che tempo che fa (in Italian). Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- ^ Idolator. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Madonna a Che tempo che fa: "Ancora senza regole, ma prego tutti i giorni"" (in Italian). Yahoo!. March 9, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- ^ Nicaise, Lionel (March 7, 2015). "Madonna: Devil Pray SA Performance a la TV Italienne" (in French). MCM. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- ^ Stevenson, Jane (October 5, 2015). "Madonna puts on rebellious show for Toronto fans". Toronto Sun. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- Montreal Gazette. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
- ^ "Madonna Gives Behind-the-Scenes Look at Rehearsal Before Tour Kickoff". WFJA. September 8, 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ Madonna (2017). Rebel Heart Tour (2× CD, DVD, Blu-ray). Eagle Records.
- Ultratip. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ "Top Digital Download — Classifica settimanale WK 11 (dal 2015-03-09 al 2015-03-15)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ "Madonna – Devil Pray". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
External links
- Madonna – "Devil Pray" (audio version) on YouTube