La Isla Bonita
| La Isla Bonita | |
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| Madonna | |
| publication | February 25, 1987 |
| length | 4:02 |
| Genre (s) | Latin pop |
| Author (s) | Madonna, Patrick Leonard , Bruce Gaitsch |
| Producer (s) | Patrick Leonard |
| Label | Sire , Warner Bros. Records |
| album | True blue |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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La Isla Bonita ( Spanish for beautiful island ) is a song by Madonna from 1986. It was the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue . La Isla Bonita was released on February 25, 1987 on the Sire Records label .
history
As the first of Madonna's songs, the song shows a Spanish influence through Cuban percussion , Spanish guitar, maracas , harmonica and a mix of electronic and real percussion instruments . The text of the title is about a beautiful island and was - according to Madonna - a tribute to the beauty of Latin America.
La Isla Bonita achieved worldwide popularity: it reached number 1 on the charts in the United Kingdom , Germany , France and Belgium, and number four in the United States. In the accompanying music video, Madonna portrays two opposing characters - a devout girl and a passionate Latina. The Latino style and the red flamenco dress she wore became a fashion trend. The song is one of Madonna's most played live songs, appearing in five of her tour trips around the world, including the Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008-09). Madonna sings the song regularly in the Spanish form, sometimes with ethnic or folk songs and remixes. The song was covered by a number of artists, including French pop singer Alizée for her 2007 album Psychédélices .
Emergence
La Isla Bonita was written by Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch . The tune was previously conceived as a suit for a mythical Spanish island called San Pedro and offered to Michael Jackson for his album Bad ; however, he refused. Madonna recorded the song while working with Leonard on the True Blue album . The lyrics of the song were changed a lot, so she could be performed as co-author. The song was Madonna's first song in Spanish.
composition
La Isla Bonita is a Spanish style pop song . It is one of the most characteristic works of the collaboration between Madonna and Patrick Leonard. The song is written in the key of C sharp minor and is originally 3:55 minutes long and has a tempo of 95 beats per minute. Madonna's vocal range is over two octaves between G3 and C5. The song begins with a Cuban drum before descending into synthetic beats and the sounds of the Spanish guitar . After the second chorus there is a Spanish guitar as an interlude.
Music video
The music video was shot in Los Angeles and directed by Mary Lambert , who was responsible for a number of Madonna's videos in the 1980s, including Borderline and Like a Prayer . The actor Benicio del Toro appears in the video in the background. The video world premiere was on MTV on March 6, 1987. It began with showing a line of Latin American people dancing in a Spanish barrio . Madonna plays two different characters: a boyishly dressed Catholic woman and a colorful flamenco dancer. Once the video shows a sparsely furnished room with an altar and pictures of the Hispanic population on the wall. Madonna plays a pale looking pious girl, wearing a white skirt and her short hair brushed back. She cries in her room and reluctantly ignores the invitation from the Latinos on the street to join them. However, the severity and passivity of one character contrasts with the passion and activity of the other. In this depiction, Madonna wears a red voluminous extravagant Spanish dress with a cleavage and red carnations in her hair.
Cover versions
- 1987: Tanja Jonak
- 1988: Ines Paulke
- 1990: Happy Drivers
- 1995: James Last at Beach Party '95
- 1996: equatronic
- 1998: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- 1999: Therapy?
- 2002: Mad'House
- 2003 and 2008: Alizée
- 2004: David Hasselhoff
- 2004: bitume
- 2004: Mase (My Harlem Lullaby)
- 2006: Twilight Guardians
- 2008: Commercial Club Crew
- 2008: MarshMallows
- 2011: Ahmet Portakal ft. Betül Demir & Funky C
- 2012: Ricky Martin and Naya Rivera (in the series Glee )
- 2012: Samantha Fox