| "Just a Dream" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 CD maxi single cover artwork | ||||
| Single byDonna de Lory | ||||
| from the albumDonna De Lory | ||||
| Released | March 9, 1993 (1993-03-09) | |||
| Length | 4:46 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
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| Donna de Lory singles chronology | ||||
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"Just a Dream" is a song recorded by American singerDonna de Lory for hereponymous debut studio album (1992). It was released as the album's second single on March 9, 1993, byMCA Records. The song was written and produced byMadonna andPatrick Leonard while composing the former's fourth studio album,Like a Prayer (1989). Since Madonna felt "Just a Dream" would not suit her discography, she gave it to de Lory for recording. After release, the song received mixed review fromcritics. "Just a Dream" debuted and peaked at number 71 on theUK Singles Chart and reached number ten on the USDance Club Songs and number 17 on theDance Singles Sales charts, respectively.
Donna de Lory worked as a background vocalist for American singerMadonna from the time when she was hired by the latter for her 1987Who's That Girl World Tour. She continued working with Madonna for subsequent tours likeBlond Ambition World Tour (1990),The Girlie Show World Tour (1993),Drowned World Tour (2001) andConfessions Tour (2006).[1][2] When de Lory was preparing hereponymous debut studio album, Madonna offered her a song called "Just a Dream", which she had co-written withrecord producerPatrick Leonard for her fourth studio album,Like a Prayer (1989), but did not use it.[3] As explained inLucy O'Brien's biography,Madonna: Like an Icon, the singer felt that "Just a Dream" was too "rockier" for her discography and asked de Lory to contact Leonard and record it instead.[4] Madonna's vocals were kept in the album version of the track with de Lory's vocals being added on top of it.[5]
MCA Records released "Just a Dream" as the second single from de Lory's debut album on March 9, 1993, in12-inch,cassette andCD formats.[6] It also received a number of remixes which were added to the track list of the different releases.[7] Along with Madonna and Leonard's songwriting and production, other personnel who worked on the track included Lenny Underwood who played the keyboards and Daniel Abraham who programmed the song. Abraham was assisted by Justin Strauss for additional production and remixing of "Just a Dream". Todd Culver edited the song while Doug Deangelis and Shaun James engineered the final mix.[6]
"Just a Dream" received mixed feedback frommusic critics. Reviewing the track forBillboard, editor Larry Flick felt it was de Lory's "valiant bid for top 40 radio acceptance" and described it as a "peppy li'l tune" which would be a suitable choice for mainstream and crossover radios. Flick also complimented the different remixes that the song received, with their genres ranging frompower pop toCathy Dennis-styledisco.[8]AllMusic's Bryan Buss reviewed de Lory's album and said that with songs like "Just a Dream" and "Praying for Love", the singer "showed she could perform pop with the best of them".[9] Conversely, a writer forOut magazine criticized the inclusion of "Just a Dream" in de Lory's album, feeling that Madonna and Leonard's songwriting and production "ruined" the "peppy and optimism" nature of the record.[10]
In the United States, "Just a Dream" reached number ten on theDance Club Songs chart, and was present for a total of 11 weeks on it.[11] The CD and the maxi singles released went on to chart on theDance Singles Sales chart, reaching a peak of number 17.[12] The song debuted and peaked at number 71 on theUK Singles Chart on the chart dated July 18, 1993, present for just one week.[13]
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Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD single.[6]
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 71 |
| USDance Club Songs (Billboard)[11] | 10 |
| USDance Singles Sales (Billboard)[12] | 17 |
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