"Celebration" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna for her third greatest hits album of the same name (2009). It was written and produced by Madonna, Paul Oakenfold and Ian Green, with additional writing from Ciaran Gribbin. The song was released digitally on July 31, 2009, by Warner Bros. Records. Madonna collaborated with Oakenfold to develop a number of songs. Amongst all the songs developed by them, two were chosen for the greatest hits album with "Celebration" being released as the first single from it. It is a dance-oriented song with influences of Madonna's singles from the 1980s and 1990s, and consisting of a speak-sing format bridge. The lyrics of the song invite one to come and join a party.
"Celebration" received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. It peaked at number one in Bulgaria, Finland, Israel, Italy, Slovakia and Sweden, while reaching the top five in other nations, including Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom where it debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It became Madonna's 55th entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it debuted and peaked at number 71, and her 40th number-one song on the dance chart.
The music video used the Benny Benassi remix of the song. It portrayed Madonna and her tour dancers solo dancing to the song. Cameo appearances were made by model Jesus Luz and in an alternative video by her daughter Lourdes. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, the song received a nomination in the Best Dance Recording category. The song was used as the closing number of The MDNA Tour (2012), in which Madonna energetically danced in a glittery outfit and, at one point, put on a pair of headphones and pantomimed scratching records with colored cubes falling in the backdrop.
Background
In March 2009, Madonna's representative Liz Rosenberg confirmed that Madonna wrote three new tracks for the compilation album, with Paul Oakenfold being confirmed as producer for two of the new songs. Attitude magazine reported in an interview with Oakenfold that the tracks he produced with Madonna are called "Broken (I'm Sorry)" and "Celebrate". He stated that the new music is "lyrically classic Madonna with an edgy modern sound." The song "Celebrate", later renamed as "Celebration", has backing music composed by Ciaran Gribbin, Ian Green and Oakenfold, with lyrics and vocal melody composed by Madonna.
According to Gribbin, Madonna approached Oakenfold, asking him what he was working on and whether he would be interested in sending her some material for which she could write lyrics. Oakenfold, along with Green and Gribbin, had been working on new tracks for his upcoming album. They sent fifteen of those tracks to Madonna. She chose "Broken" and "Celebration" from them. Then Oakenfold, Gribbin and Green developed the chord structure, arranged the backing track and added guitars, keyboards and drums. Madonna then wrote the lyrics and melody based on this backing track.
Warner Bros. Records announced "Celebration" as the lead single from the album. It was released to radio stations on August 3, 2009, with remixes having been released to dance clubs on July 24, 2009. A world premiere of the Paul Oakenfold 12" Dub version was played on the Pete Tong BBC Radio 1 show on July 24, 2009.
Composition
James Montgomery from MTV News described "Celebration" as a sleek dance-oriented track with influences of previous dance singles by Madonna from the early 90s such as, "Vogue" (1990) and "Deeper and Deeper" (1992). It has a pumping, house composition which Oakenfold described as "lyrically classic Madonna with an edgy modern sound." Jude Rogers of The Guardian described "Celebration" as a "Paul Oakenfold EDM co-write [...] with shadows of her [Madonna's] old selves". Influences of Europop are found in the song, but not to the extent of Madonna's 2005 single "Hung Up". According to a writer from the Los Angeles Times, the song has a highly energetic synth-pop groove while referencing 80s Madonna songs. The bridge is in a speak-sing format, where Madonna's voice, consisting of a little edge, declares that "I [didn't] recognize you with your clothes on."