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''Bedtime Stories'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Madonna. It was released on October 25, 1994, by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall, and Nellee Hooper, deciding to move into a mainstream sound. Madonna used this direction in a bid to soften her image following the critical and commercial backlash she faced after releasing several sexually explicit projects in the previous two years, notably the ''Erotica'' album and the ''Sex'' book. The success of the soundtrack single "I'll Remember" earlier that year marked the beginning of this transformation and Madonna used ''Bedtime Stories'' to continue it. ''Bedtime Stories'' is a pop album which was inspired by contemporary R&B. Like its predecessor ''Erotica'' (1992), the album explores lyrical themes of love, sorrow, and romance, but with a toned-down, less sexual approach. Critics described the album as "autobiographical", as the song "Human Nature" addresses the controversy surrounding ''Erotica''. Madonna also worked with Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, as she wanted to explore the British club musical scene, where genres such as dub had been growing in popularity. ''Bedtime Stories'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the album's candid lyrics and production, and was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 38th Grammy Awards. Commercially, the album proved to be successful. Debuting and peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200, the album was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It also became her fifth number-one album in Australia and peaked within the top five in other international territories. ''Bedtime Stories'' has sold more than seven million copies worldwide. The lead single from the album, "Secret", gave Madonna her record-breaking 35th consecutive top ten single on the UK Singles Chart, while "Take a Bow" spent seven weeks at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other singles released, "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature", did not match the previous singles' success. In order to further promote ''Bedtime Stories'', Madonna performed songs from the album on the American Music Awards of 1995 and the 1995 BRIT Awards. A concert tour was also planned, but did not happen due to Madonna's major role on ''Evita''. ==Background== In 1992, Madonna released her controversial ''Sex'' book and her fifth studio album ''Erotica'', both contained explicit sexual imagery and pictures of voyeuristic fantasies. She also starred in the erotic thriller ''Body of Evidence''. All releases were panned by critics and fans alike, calling her a sexual renegade and claiming that "she had gone too far" and that her career was over. Hence she decided to re-invent her image, to connect with her fans and repair the damage that her provocative image had caused to her career.〔 A song titled "I'll Remember" was developed for this purpose. It was included in the soundtrack of the film ''With Honors'' in early 1994. The song was well received by critics and was seen as Madonna's first positive step into reconnecting with the general public.〔 However, during the same period, Madonna appearance on David Letterman's talk show was noted for controversial statements by Madonna. In particular, the singer said the word "fuck" fourteen times during the course of the interview. This made the episode the most censored in American network television talk-show history, while at the same time garnering the show some of the best ratings it ever received. Regarding the controversial period of her career, Madonna said, "I feel I've been misunderstood. I tried to make a statement about feeling good about yourself and exploring your sexuality, but people took it to mean that everyone should go out and have sex with everyone, and that I was going to be the leader of that. So I decided to leave it alone because that's what everyone ended up concentrating on. Sex is such a taboo subject and it's such a distraction that I'd rather not even offer it up." During 1994, Madonna started recording her sixth studio album. In order to soften her image, she reunited with R&B producers such as Dallas Austin, Dave "Jam" Hall, and Babyface, and also enlisting British producer Nellee Hooper to the project.〔〔 It became one of the very few occasions where she collaborated with well-known producers, the first since Nile Rodgers on ''Like a Virgin'' (1984). When asked about its music, Madonna said she wanted people to concentrate on the music, and would like music to speak for itself, because she was not interested in giving many interviews and being on the cover of magazines. She described the album as "a combination of pop, R&B, hip-hop and a Madonna record. It's very, very romantic".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Madonna - Bedtime Stories )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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