'Ray Of Light' was released in
March 1998, an album that was co-produced by William Orbit (a British
musician and record producer.) 'Ray Of Light' would be Madonna's
biggest hit in nearly 10 years, selling well over sixteen million
copies worldwide. From it came top five hit singles, 'Frozen' and
'Ray Of Light', the latter for which she recived 3 Grammy awards.
Some other singles from the same album were, 'Drownded World/Substitue
For Love', 'The Power Of Goodbye', and 'Nothing Really Matters',
(where Madonna dressed up as a Geisha). After 'Ray Of Light' came
the soundtrack for the 'Austin Powers:The Spy Who Shagged Me' film
that hit the silver screens in 1999, the song being 'Beautiful
Stranger'. After 'Austin Powers' Madonna barely gave herself time
to take a breath before she was busy working on her next project,
a film called, 'The Next Best Thing' which only proved to be yet
another disappointment in her 'gray' film career. The soundtrack
for the movie, however, was responsible for a worldwide number
one hit. A remake of Don McLean's classic, 'American Pie', to which
Madonna added her usual visual effects and flare.
In 2000, at the mature age of 42, Madonna released an album
called, simply, 'Music'. Once again, like she always maganges
to do, Madonna almost compltely changed her angle and abandoned
her 'sexual' and 'religious' themes of the past. The album hit
number 1 on the Billboard 200 selling 420,000 in the first week
of its release. From 'Music' came her slightly country-westernish
hit, 'Don't Tell Me', and 'What It Feels Like For A Girl.' While
shooting the video 'Music', Madonna was pregnant with Rocco,
her second child with her (soon to be second) husband, Guy Ritchie,
(they would be married in Skibo Castle in Scotland on 22 December
tha same year) who also helped to produce the album. Unfortunately
the video, 'What It Feels Like For A Girl', was banned by MTV
and VH! after only three appearances over the airwaves, due to
it's graphic, violent nature. Music, despite critisms and abstinence
was nominated for four Grammy awards and recieved a triple platinum
certification in the US. Madonna would later appear in a short
commerical film called 'Star' (diredted for BMW by her Ritchie)
and after that one called 'Swept Away' , also directed by her
husband, which would prove to be another black blott on her acting
career.
In 2001, 'The Drownded World Tour', which would be her first
world tour since 'The Girlie Show Tour' (in 1993), was a complete
'sell out'. The tour would later be aired on a TV special in
the US and released on DVD in November of that year to go alongside
the release of her second greatest hits album, 'Madonna, Greatest
Hits Vol 2'. Greatest Hits Vol 2 proved to be quiet different
from her first volume of greates hits as it contained a selection
of radio edits of her hits from the early 90's and 2001 time
frame, however there was no new material offered.
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