| "Revolver" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Remix maxi-single cover | ||||
| Single byMadonna featuringLil Wayne | ||||
| from the albumCelebration | ||||
| B-side | "Celebration" | |||
| Released | December 29, 2009 (2009-12-29) | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Electropop,R&B | |||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Madonna singles chronology | ||||
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| Lil Wayne singles chronology | ||||
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| Licensed audio | ||||
| "Revolver (feat. Lil Wayne)" onYouTube | ||||
"Revolver" is a song by American singersMadonna andLil Wayne, included on the former's thirdcompilation album,Celebration (2009). The song was written by Madonna, Wayne,Carlos and Steven Battey,DJ Frank E, and Brandon Kitchen. Production was in charge of Madonna and Frank E. Anelectropop song with elements ofR&B, its lyrics compare love and sex to a violence and arevolver.David Guetta,Paul van Dyk, andTracy Young created the track's officialremixes. Following a leak on May 2009, the song was released as the compilation's second single on December 29.
Upon release, critics reacted ambivalently towards "Revolver". Wayne's verse was praised by some, while others deemed the track generic and underwhelming. The song's One Love Mix by David Guetta was awardedBest Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the53rd Annual Grammy Awards. "Revolver" had a lukewarm chart performance. It reached the fourth spot ofBillboard'sHot Dance Club Songs chart, while Guetta's remix peaked within the top 30 and 20 in Belgium and Italy. Madonna sang the track onthe MDNA Tour of 2012. The use of firearms in the performance caused controversy, especially after theAurora, Colorado shooting.
In March 2009, Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's publicist, confirmed that she would be releasing a newcompilation album, with a planned release date of September.[1] Three months later,Billboard magazine reported that the compilation ―namedCelebration― would feature two new songs:the title track, produced by British DJPaul Oakenfold, and "Revolver", a collaboration with rapperLil Wayne.[2] The latter was included only on the album's double-disc edition.[3] "Revolver" was written by Madonna, Lil Wayne,Carlos and Steven Battey,DJ Frank E, and Brandon Kitchen. Production was in charge of the singer Frank E.[4] Demacio Castellon did themixing while thePro Tools editing was arranged by Ron Taylor from Warner Bros. Records.[4] During an interview, Frank E revealed that he'd gone to the studio two hours before his scheduled meeting with Madonna to set up and give theaudio files to the recording engineer, and that the subsequent wait was incredibly nerve-wrecking for him.[5] After the singer arrived, they recorded her vocals and the song was finished the next day.[5] Officialremixes were created byDavid Guetta,Paul van Dyk, andTracy Young.[6] While recalling his involvement with the song, Frank E expressed his gratitude at having had the opportunity to work with Madonna, but wasn't pleased with the final result:
"I will never forget the feeling of leaving that session after vocal producing [Madonna], and thinking to myself, 'it can’t it really get any harder than this'. I've taken that mentality into every other session I've been in, and it's helped me make the session and song more of a success. Unfortunately, the mix sounded like crap and the song flopped, but hey, you win some and you lose some".[5]
Musically, "Revolver" has been noted as recalling the "electroR&B" from Madonna's eleventh studio album,Hard Candy (2008).[7] It presents "sirenesque"synths, and shares its title with a Lil Waynesong, and amovie directed byGuy Ritchie, Madonna's former husband.[8][9] According to the sheet music published byAlfred Publishing Inc., "Revolver" is set in thecommon time with a moderatetempo of 120beats per minute.[10] It follows in the basic sequence of B♭m–D♭–A♭–B♭m–D♭–A♭ as itschord progression, while Madonna's voice spans from the tonal nodes of A♭3 to E♭5.[10]
The lyrics equate love and sex to violence and arevolver;My love's a revolver/My sex is a killer/Do you wanna die happy?, she sings in therefrain.[7][8] Thebridge has Wayne, "[giving] himself loads of big-ups when it comes to the women":The victim didn't complain, she just screamed, 'Shoot again'/I gave her extra rounds/My barrel twist around/I am Mr. Shoot 'Em Down/I leave hearts on the ground.[11] An earlydemo of "Revolver" leaked on May 11, 2009, while the final version debuted online three months later, on September 17.[9][7] Remixes and physical releases were issued from December 29 to February 10, 2010.[6]
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Critical feedback towards "Revolver" was mixed.Rolling Stone's Daniel Krepps felt the final version was more befitting to Madonna than the leaked demo, and compared it to "Radar" (2009) byBritney Spears. He concluded by referring to the track as, "probably the most violent love song ever".[8] Also fromRolling Stone,Rob Sheffield wrote: "[Madonna's] hitmaking genius is unmatched and —with the new Eurocheeseblast 'Celebration' and the Lil Wayne duet 'Revolver'— undiminished".[12] FromEntertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt considered the track a "glitched-out dance-floor stomper".[13] Writing forMTV, Shaheem Reid said "Revolver" was a "sugary ditty", and singled out Lil Wayne's verse.[11] On this vein,The Daily Telegraph's Sarah Crompton said "Revolver" shows off Lil Wayne's skills as a singer better than Madonna's.[14] By contrast,Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson deemed it a "clumsy" collaboration.[15]
Joey Guerra from theHouston Chronicle said it was a generic track that was, "more filler than truly fascinating".[16] Joseph Brannigan Lynch fromEntertainment Weekly deemed it underwhelming; "[A]nyone hoping this collaboration with Wayne would mean a new direction for [Madonna] will be disappointed. 'Revolver' is [...] not bad by any stretch, but it certainly won't end up on the next greatest-hits collection she releases ten years from now".[7] The author, nonetheless, singled out the "charmingly frivolous lyrics".[7]The Guardian'sJude Rogers was not impressed with the track's lyrical theme: "Madonna loves metaphors [but] there have been better ideas".[17] Paul Schrodt fromSlant Magazine wrote: "Forget the uncharacteristic desperate crassness of choosing the then-hot Lil Wayne as a collaborator. Also, ignore the half-heartedness of the track’s electroclash gestures. What you have left is a sex-equals-guns metaphor that, with each passing year in America, grows more and more tone deaf".[18]
Both "Celebration" and "Revolver were compared negatively to "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me", songs recorded for 1990'sThe Immaculate Collection, Madonna's first compilation album. Douglas Wolk fromPitchfork opined that, "whereas the new songs onImmaculate pointed [Madonna's] way forward for the next decade, ['Celebration' and 'Revolver'] just sound like throwaways".[19] At the53rd Annual Grammy Awards, David Guetta's One Love Club Mix of "Revolver" won in the category ofBest Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.[20]
"Revolver" had a lukewarm commercial performance. On October 17, 2009, it debuted on theCanadian Hot 100 at number 95, remaining in that position for one week before dropping off the chart.[21] On the issue dated January 16, 2010, the song made a re-entry at a higher position of 47.[22] Also in the week of January 16, the song debuted onBillboard'sHot Dance Club Songs chart at number 41, eventually reaching the fourth position over a month later.[23] In the United Kingdom, the track debuted on thesingles chart at number 188, but after a few weeks it jumped to its peak position of 130.[24] It fared better in Ireland, where it reached the 41st spot.[25] In Spain, the single charted at number 39 for one week only.[26]
Guetta's One Love Mix peaked at number 21 on Beligum's Flanders region.[27] It saw a better reception on the Wallonia charts, where it peaked at number 12.[28] The song also reached the 12th spot of Italian charts.[29] Additionally, it was certified gold by theFederation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI) for shipment of 15,000 copies.[30] "Revolver" peaked at the sixth spot of the Finnish charts.[31] In the Czech Republic, it debuted at number 66 and, after seven weeks, reached a peak of 22.[32]
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Madonna sang "Revolver" onthe MDNA Tour of 2012. The performance had a videocameo by Wayne, and saw the singer donning a "curve-hugging" blackbodysuit, engaging in agun fight with dancers, which included a "paramilitary-looking chap whorappelled down from the ceiling".[33][34][35] She branded aKalashnikov rifle while they held IsraeliUzi submachine guns.[36] Every time Madonna shot the at the dancers, images of blood and gore would flash on the backdrop screens.[34]
The use of weaponry caused controversy, specially in wake of theAurora, Colorado theater shooting. In Scotland, Madonna defied alocal ban that prevented her from brandishing fake weaponry on stage.[37] While on the concert, the singer joked about the ban and told the audience: "Due to your laws here they might pull the plug on me so if they cut us off suddenly, write to your local MP". A spokesman for Mothers Against Guns felt the performance was, "in bad taste, but given what happened in Colorado it is even worse. She should know better".[37]
After attending the Denver concert,Mile High Sports personality Peter Burns said he was "taken aback" by the use of guns; "you could see people kinda looking at each other [...] I heard the word 'Colorado' you know, 'Aurora', 'Shooting' [...] [it was] a little bit unsettling. I saw two or three people get up and grab their stuff and actually leave their seats". Liz Rosenberg told theHuffPost that, "[Madonna] would rather cancel her show than censor her art. Her entire career, she has fought against people telling her what she can and cannot do. She's not about to start listening to them now".[38] Madonna commented on the controversy in an interview forGood Morning America, saying that she would not alter the performances: "[T]hat would be like asking people to not have guns in action movies... I mean, the thing is, guns don't kill people, people kill people. That whole first section of the show is like an action movie, and I was playing a super-vixen who wanted revenge".[39]
Despite the controversy, critical reception towards the performance was mixed. FromThe Scotsman, Gary Flockhart said it was "exhilarating to watch, if in bad taste".[40]The Plain Dealer's Chuck Yarborough criticized Madonna's auto tuned vocals.[41] By contrast, Marc-André Lemieux, writing forLe Journal de Montréal, gave a positive review and said that, "the aggressiveness [shown by Madonna] was nothing wrong. On the contrary. We felt that she was invested, passionate and even possessed".[42] The performance of the song at the November 19–20, 2012, shows inMiami'sAmerican Airlines Arena were recorded and released in Madonna's fourthlive album,MDNA World Tour (2013).[43]
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Credits adapted from theCelebration album and Maxi single liner notes.[4][46]
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Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[30] | Gold | 15,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | December 29, 2009 | Digital download | Warner Bros. | |
| Europe | January 22, 2010 | CD Maxi single | ||
| United States | January 26, 2010 | |||
| Argentina | February 5, 2010 | |||
| Europe | 12" Vinyl | |||
| United States | February 9, 2010 |
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