Hung Up

“Hung Up” is one of American singer Madonna’s most iconic and well known songs, and was released as the lead single on Madonna’s 10th studio album “Confessions on a Dance Floor”, which was released in 2005. The track features a sample from ABBA’s infamous single “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”, hence why Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA are in the song writing credits.

“Hung Up” is a dance song influenced by pop in the 1980s, intertwined with disco sounds and electronic pop. “Hung Up” is a song about the frustration of waiting for someone and being a strong woman. In order to gain permission from both Andersson and Ulvaeus to use a sample of their song, Madonna had to send an emissary to Stockholm with a letter which begged them to let her use their music. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2005, Andersson spoke about “Hung Up”, stating that: “We get so many requests from people wanting to use our tracks but we normally say ‘no’. This is only the second time we have given permission. We said ‘yes’ this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad going.”

The music video for “Hung Up” was directed by Johan Renck and is deemed as a tribute to John Travolta and dancing in general. The video shows Madonna dancing in a pink leotard, while also showing groups of dancers in LA and London. The video was uploaded to YouTube in October 2009, and currently has 271.1 million views and well over 1.2 million likes.

Release Date: 17th October 2005

Songwriter/s: Madonna, Stuart Price, Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus

Producer/s: Madonna & Stuart Price

Label: Warner Bros.

Music Video Upload Date: 27th October 2009

Music Video Director: Johan Renck

Chart Rankings & Certifications: In its year of release, “Hung Up” charted at #1 in many locations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and some US Billboard charts. “Hung Up” is certified Gold in China, France, Italy and Switzerland; Platinum in Australia, Belgium, Japan, the US and the UK; 2x Platinum in Canada and 3x Platinum in Sweden.

The lyrics to “Hung Up” can be accessed here: LINK