Iconic (song)

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For the other songs of the same name, see Iconic (disambiguation).

"Iconic"
Song by Madonna featuring Chance the Rapper and Mike Tyson
from the album Rebel Heart
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2015 (2015-02-09)
Recorded2014
Genre
Length4:33
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Rebel Heart track listing
24 tracks
  1. "Living for Love"
  2. "Devil Pray"
  3. "Ghosttown"
  4. "Unapologetic Bitch"
  5. "Illuminati"
  6. "Bitch I'm Madonna"
  7. "Hold Tight"
  8. "Joan of Arc"
  9. "Iconic"
  10. "HeartBreakCity"
  11. "Body Shop"
  12. "Holy Water"
  13. "Inside Out"
  14. "Wash All Over Me"
Deluxe edition
  2. "Best Night"
  3. "Veni Vidi Vici"
  4. "S.E.X."
  5. "Messiah"
  6. "Rebel Heart"
Media Markt deluxe edition
  2. "Auto-Tune Baby"
Super deluxe edition (Disc 2)
  1. "Beautiful Scars"
  2. "Borrowed Time"
  3. "Addicted"
  4. "Graffiti Heart"

"Iconic" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter

iTunes store
.

A

trap-influenced EDM, hip hop and dance-pop song, "Iconic" features in its instrumentation "ice-cold" synths, marching drums and "booming" bass, as well as machinic stabs and electronic gears. Lyrically, the song encourages people to take control of their life, to pursue their dreams and to find their own greatness. The song received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the song's "weird" beat and odd collaboration, recognizing its catchiness. Although, some criticized Tyson's addition and were confused with the song's message. It charted in some European territories, peaking inside the top-forty in Finland, Hungary and Spain. Madonna performed the track as the opening number of the Rebel Heart Tour
(2015–16). During the performance, she is inside a medieval-looking cage in a kimono-like robe, with her dancers being dressed as gladiators.

Background and release

"Iconic" features a speech by Mike Tyson (left) and a rap by Chance the Rapper (right).

During the recording process of Rebel Heart, Madonna enlisted several collaborators, including

Jay Z to be featured on with verses about icons, however he called American rapper Chance the Rapper and said that it would be better if somebody that was a new person and that he thought that could be a new icon got on the record. Chance and Madonna had met before through American recording artist Frank Ocean in a concert and became friends, prompting the singer to accept Jay Z's suggestion.[4]

Madonna also enlisted American professional boxer Mike Tyson to give a speech that would be used on the track. According to the singer, "I was thinking: who is in my eyes super iconic, who do I look up to, who is alive today that's been through what I feel like I've been through, that's been through a lot, survived, has stories to tell, has evolved as human being [...] is a survivor, his name came to mind right away." She also revealed that she was moved and impressed after seen his HBO-documentary "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth", directed by Spike Lee and contacted him.[5] Tyson revealed that he ad-libbed his part of the song in one take and was inspired by Benito Mussolini, who Tyson admitted that was seen as arrogant, but he tried to come from a positive perspective and be uplifting. In an interview for Rolling Stone he explained: "I didn't know what the hell I was going there for. I'm just there having a good time and hanging out with Madonna. She has her producer there and I go into the studio and I didn't know if she wanted me to talk or rap. I just go in there and start talking. I'm talking about my life and things that I have endured. I'm saying some really crazy stuff. It was really intense."[6]

In December 2014, thirteen unfinished demos of tracks for the album, including "Iconic", were leaked to the Internet.[7] The leaked material included artwork suggesting the album was to be titled Iconic as well.[8][9] The leaked version didn't feature either Chance the Rapper or Mike Tyson.[10] In the same day, Madonna expressed her dissatisfaction with the leaked material, claiming it was an artistic rape and a form of terrorism.[11] To avoid further leaks, Madonna released six completed tracks with the pre-order for the album on the iTunes Store on December 20, 2014, as an "early Christmas gift".[12] On January 22, 2015, an updated version of the previously-leaked demo version surfaced online, with Chance and Tyson.[10] On February 9, 2015, the singer released three other finished tracks, including the final version of "Iconic", as well as the album's track list.[13][14]

Composition and lyrics

"Iconic" was written by Madonna,

H•A•M' arm-wrestling Skrillex."[26]

Lyrically, "Iconic" talks about taking control of your life and letting your inner fire burn[27] and encourages listeners to pursue their dreams.[28] During the song, she urges the listeners to "making [their] voices heard before someone does it for [them]" with her voice "echoing like the announcer in the ring."[23] In another part, during the motivational encouragement, she informs that "there's only two letters difference between 'I Can't' and 'Icon',"[29] while also inspiring the listeners to find their own greatness, singing: "Just shine your light like a beautiful star / Show the world who you are."[30] Tyson opening speech talks about how he's ‘the best the world's ever seen'[17] and that he "worked hard and sweated [his] tears."[26] He later proclaims: "I'm never falling again and if I did, I'll come back."[31] Chance, on the other hand, raps about idolatry.[25]

Critical reception

"Iconic" received favorable reviews from most music critics. Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times noted that the song is driving by "focus", which puts it "into that sweet spot between club frenzy and revelatory lyricism, the kind that can lift spirits to emotional heights."[32] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph described it as a song that "reflect[s] a contemporary trend for fast, furious and funny mash ups of conflicting ideas, constantly teetering on the edge of collapse but pulling out another beat or hook to keep things moving."[33] In a similar mode, Kyler Anderson of Entertainment Weekly confessed that he thought the song would be his "most-skipped track", but admitted that he "kind of admire its barely-conscious chaos."[34] James Grebey of Spin dismissed Tyson's inclusion, however he praised the song for having a statement that is the album's lynchpin and that "[w]ith its robotic, authoritarian droning, 'Iconic' conveys the point that — love her or hate her — Madonna is an icon, and you’re not getting rid of her anytime soon."[35] John Marrs of Gay Times gave the track four out of five stars, claiming that "the finished product is wholly different from the demo and much more gutsy, getting better with every play."[17] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy defined it as "a club-ready dash of trap-pop" and selected the song as one of the "tracks to download".[21] Nick Levine of Time Out agreed, writing that "the sassy stuff is excellent, especially the catchy, trap-tinged 'Iconic'."[20]

Sam C. Mac of

Consequence of Sound pointed out that "as odd as the circumstances might be, the track surprisingly gels together far more smoothly than one would expect."[16] Ben Kelly of Attitude named it "her own ‘bow down bitches’ moment."[36] while Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of Financial Times said that the song is "wonderfully unhinged."[37]

In a mixed analysis, Amy Pettifer of The Quietus called it "a Ted-talk of well-worn, motivational encouragement cloaked in a club anthem."[23] Saaed Saaed of The National called the album's "mini slump,"[38] while Jonh Murphy of musicOMH noted that the song "falls rather flat."[39] Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club was confused with the song's message, saying that it "can’t decide if it wants to skewer fame or encourage people to embrace it."[40] Lydia Jenkins wrote for The New Zealand Herald that the song "could definitely be accused of trying to emulate the success of Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse."[41] Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times dismissed Tyson's appearance, declaring that his spoken word turn on 'Iconic' is tokenistic."[42] Sasha Geffen of Consequence of Sound criticized the song's "lazy rhymes", which according to herself, lumps into "an awkward hybrid of EDM and hip-hop featuring one of hip-hop's finest [that] sounds out of place here amid the bass drops and robot vocals."[43]

Live performance

Madonna and her dancers opening the Rebel Heart Tour (2015–16) with a performance of "Iconic"

"Iconic" was chosen to be the opening song from the Rebel Heart Tour (2015–16). It begins with a video featuring Madonna in a glamorous dress cavorting with bare-bodied males juxtaposed with Mike Tyson talking inside of a cage.[44] Tyson commented about the shooting, saying: "Riveting is not [the word]. It's just intense... I'm in a cage. I'm a hostage. I'm chained. I'm naked. I look like a savage. When I [shot] it, it didn't seem that intense. But then you watch it and go, 'Whoa'. It was like [something out of] National Geographic. I need to be tamed, man."[45] Madonna performed wearing an "ornate kimono-like robe with wide sequin-lined sleeves"[46] inside a medieval-looking cage surrounded by religious iconography that she later breaks out of as she sings the first lines,[47][48] while guards dressed similar to the ones who guarded the Wicked Witch of the West's castle marched onstage.[49] During the performance, she also hung upside down on a cross.[50]

The performance was received with a positive response from critics. Jordan Zivitz of

Allphones Arena was recorded and released in Madonna's fifth live album, Rebel Heart Tour.[53]

Credits and personnel

Management

  • Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP)/Atlas Music Publishing and Gadfly Songs (ASCAP)/EMI April Music, Inc. and Mo Zella Mo Music (ASCAP)/WB Music Corp.
  • Roc Nation Music and Vohndee's Soul Music Publishing WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)//Chancelor Bennett (BMI) c/o Davis, Shapiro, Lewitt, Grabel, Leven, Granderson & Blake/Sony/ATV Sonata and Dahi Productions (SESAC).
  • Michael Tucker Music (ASCAP) c/o Kobalt Songs Music Publishing, These Are Songs of Pulse (ASCAP) and OWSLA Trax (ASCAP) c/o Kobalt Songs Music Publishing.

Personnel

  • Madonna – vocals, songwriter, record producer
  • Maureen McDonald
     – songwriter
  • Toby Gad – songwriter, producer, programming, instruments, audio mixer, backing vocals
  • Larry Griffin Jr.
     – songwriter
  • DJ Dahi – songwriter, additional producer
  • Michael "Diamonds" Tucker – songwriter, additional producer
  • Chance the Rapper – songwriter, vocals
  • Mike Tyson  – speech
  • AFSheeN – producer, programming, instruments
  • Josh Cumbee – producer, programming, instruments
  • Dan Warner – guitar
  • Demacio "Demo" Castellon – engineer, audio mixer
  • Angie Teo – additional recording and mixing

Credits adapted from Madonna's official website.[15]

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Finland Download (
Latauslista)[54]
 30
France (
SNEP)[55]
 114
Hungary (Single Top 40)[56] 39
Italy (Musica e dischi)[57] 40
Spain Singles Sales (PROMUSICAE)[58] 30
Sweden Download (DigiListan)[59] 56

References

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  4. ^ Fleischer, Adam (February 26, 2015). "Jay Z Called Chance The Rapper With Some Madonna-Related Advice". MTV News. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  5. Complex
    . March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Newman, Jason (January 23, 2015). "Mike Tyson Talks 'Intense, Crazy' Cameo on Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' LP". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
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  9. ^ "Madonna's new album leaks before it's even been announced". Fact. December 17, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
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  18. ^
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  55. Les classement single
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  56. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  57. Musica e Dischi
    (in Italian). Retrieved May 29, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Madonna".
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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iconic_(song)&oldid=1134216431"