| "Sooner or Later" | |
|---|---|
| Song byMadonna | |
| from the albumI'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy | |
| Released | May 21, 1990 (1990-05-21) |
| Recorded | 1990 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Length | 3:20 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter | Stephen Sondheim |
| Producers |
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"Sooner or Later" is a song recorded by the American singerMadonna from her soundtrack albumI'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy (1990). Written by American composerStephen Sondheim and produced by Madonna andBill Bottrell, the song was used in the parent film,Dick Tracy. "Sooner or Later" was composed to evoke the theatrical nature and style of the film. A 1930s-stylejazz ballad with piano, drum, double bass, and horns, the track conjures up the atmosphere of a smoky nightclub. Madonna sings in her lowest register accompanied by a variable pitch.
Critical response to the track was positive, with reviewers deeming it as an important addition to Madonna's music catalog. At the63rd Academy Awards held on March 25, 1991, the song won an Oscar forBest Original Song, awarded to Sondheim. Madonna attended the ceremony along with singerMichael Jackson as her date, and performed "Sooner or Later" onstage, being inspired by the look of actressMarilyn Monroe. Madonna also performed the song at her 1990Blond Ambition World Tour.
In 1990, Madonna was part of the filmDick Tracy starring as Breathless Mahoney withWarren Beatty playing thetitle character.[1] Madonna toldPremiere magazine that initially she had waited for Beatty to call her for the film. When Beatty did not reciprocate, the singer decided to involve herself voluntarily.[2] She pursued the part of Mahoney, but offered to work for minimum wages to avoid favoritism.[3]Dick Tracy was the ninth-highest-grossing film in the US in 1990, and number twelve globally.[4] The film also received positive reviews from critics.Roger Ebert from theChicago Sun-Times praised the matte paintings, art direction and prosthetic makeup design, stating: "Dick Tracy is one of the most original and visionary fantasies I've seen on a screen".[5]
By the 1980s, record labels started to release albums that were closely associated with a film, thereby gaining double promotion. These were mostly termed as soundtracks although many of them were not related to the film. After the filming forDick Tracy was over by May 1989,[6] Madonna started working on the soundtrack. She had begun recording three songs byStephen Sondheim for the film—"Sooner or Later", "More" and "What Can You Lose"—which would be part of the album, but also had to write and develop new songs comparable in style to the previous.[7] She produced the entire album, including the Sondheim songs. "I want people to think of me as a musical comedy actress. That's what this album is about for me. It's a stretch. Not justpop music, but songs that have a different feel to them, a theatrical feel", she said at the time.[8]
According to Rikky Rooksby, author ofThe Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, the harmonic and melodic styles of the songs she developed with Sondheim were more "complex" than her usual recordings, hence Madonna found it difficult and demanding. She spoke about the "wilderness" of the tunes, saying that she was not confident of doing justice to the songs, and neither was Sondheim. But he kept on encouraging the singer so that the recording sessions would not be affected.[2] Madonna also recruited producerPatrick Leonard and engineerBill Bottrell to help her with the project. She and Leonard toiled to create music that would fit the style and production of the film, set in the era of theUntouchables.[7][9]
"Sooner or Later" was composed as a 1930s-style jazz ballad with comping piano, brushed drum sounds, double bass and horns. Rooksby described the track as "conjuring the atmosphere of a smoky nightclub". Madonna sings in her lowest range as the melody shifts continuously.[10] It opens with a "lazy"clarinet solo and portrays the singer as a kind of sexual magnet. "I always get my man", she sings "If you're on my list it's just a question of when".[11] The song is set in the time signature ofcommon time with a moderate tempo of 75beats per minute. It is composed in thekey ofB♭ major with Madonna's voice spanning from F3 to B♭4. The song follows a basic sequence of B♭9–B♭6/F–B♭9–B♭6/F as itschord progression.[12] In the film, "Sooner or Later" is the signature song of Breathless and was primarily performed during a montage just after Dick Tracy has placed a microphone inAlphonse "Big Boy" Caprice's boardroom and operator.[13]
Lucky Lara fromManila Standard Today listed the Sondheim songs as highlights from the album, commenting how they fit Madonna's "nasal voice as a glove", and their addition to Madonna's catalogue of songs would give her "the edge in future career moves". According to Lara, with "Sooner or Later", Madonna "shows off a side to her singing that audiences haven't heard yet, and what a side it is. She proves to her critics that she isn't just the glitter and trash of the dance club scene, and that she can belt it out nearly as well as the best of them".[14] According to Ray Boren fromDeseret News "is very much a period piece, with an intimate club feel".[15] Another positive review came from Mark Coleman fromRolling Stone, who described the song as Madonna's "breathy emotionality", observing that Madonna did not whisper the line "I always get my man", rather sang it aloud, bringing "conviction to a somewhat generic line".[16] According toJon Pareles ofThe New York Times, songs including "Sooner or Later" are "typical Sondheim, with agile wordplay and devious chromatic harmonies".[17] At the63rd Academy Awards held on March 25, 1991, the song won an Oscar forBest Original Song, awarded to Sondheim who did not attend the ceremony.[18][19] In the award ceremony the song was listed as "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)".[20] In March 2023,Billboard ranked "Sooner or Later" as Madonna's 96th greatest ever song, with Andrew Unterberger characterizing it as "the sultry ballad worthy of herdouble entendre-spoutingfemme fatale character Breathless Mahoney..."[21]
On the 1990Blond Ambition World Tour, Madonna performed "Sooner or Later" atop of a piano, as a chanteuse in a cabaret.[22] The wardrobe for the performance consisted of a green and white couture corset, with conical bra cups, beaded fringing and striped sequinedembroidery, designed byJean Paul Gaultier, underneath a long black robe.[23] On his review of the concert, Richard Harrington fromThe Washington Post, opined Madonna "acquitted herself quite well on 'Sooner or Later'".[24] Two different performances were taped and released on video, theBlond Ambition Japan Tour 90, taped inYokohama, Japan, on April 27, 1990,[25] and theBlond Ambition World Tour Live, taped inNice, France, on August 5, 1990.[26]
At the1991 Academy Awards, Madonna appeared with singerMichael Jackson as her date and performed "Sooner or Later".[27] According to journalistLiz Smith, Madonna had promised to perform at the award show if either "Sooner or Later" or "More" was nominated in the Best Original Song category.[28] She wore a long, tight, white dress designed byBob Mackie and covered in sequins and pearls.[27] On her neck she wore $20 million worth of jewelry fromHarry Winston. Taraborrelli recalled that Madonna had appropriated every move and mannerisms ofMarilyn Monroe for the performance, making it a tribute to the actress.[29] When she appeared onstage, there was technical difficulty resulting in the mike not appearing from below the ground, and a stagehand passing it to her.[30] According to Madonna's brotherChristopher Ciccone, she was quite nervous during the performance; "had she been singing to an audience of screaming fans, she wouldn't have been at all nervous. But this time she was performing in an auditorium full of established actors and actresses, a group of people to which she really didn't belong, who didn't respect her as an actress but whose respect she desperately wanted to win."[31]
Janet Maslin fromThe New York Times criticized Madonna's performance, saying that the singer "vamped awkwardly through [the song], managing to seem even waxier in action than she did seated beside Michael Jackson in the audience."[32] In retrospective reviews,Billboard ranked it as the seventh "most awesome" Oscar performance of all time, saying that "Madonna gave a performance that took us back to the glamorous days of old Hollywood."[33] Gaby Wilson fromMTV News dubbed it as the Oscar performance with the best style of all time.[34]Rolling Stone also placed it at number 17 on the magazine's list of the 20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances,[35] while the Academy Awards regarded it as one of their most Memorable Music Moments.[36]
In 2019, the song was covered in the episode "Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia" from the third season of the television seriesRiverdale, performed byAshleigh Murray.[37][38] InPose, season 2, episode 6 (2019), Elektra sings "Sooner or Later" at an event hosted by Blanca and Pray Tell to raise funds and awareness for HIV-AIDS.[39] American singer-songwriterMolly Ringwald recorded a cover of the song for her debut albumExcept Sometimes in 2013.[40] It was also performed byEmma Roberts andKim Kardashian onAmerican Horror Story: Delicate (2023).[41] On October 31, 2025, American singerKelly Clarkson covered the song onThe Kelly Clarkson Show as part of herHalloween special.[42]
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Credits adapted fromI'm Breathless album liner notes,Sire Records andWarner Bros. Records.[43]
