I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (album)

I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
Live album by Madonna
Released	June 20, 2006
Recorded	2004
Genre	Dance electronica pop
Length	65:59 (album) 127:35 (documentary)
Label	Warner Bros. Warner Music Vision
Madonna chronology
Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2006) The Confessions Tour (2007)
Madonna video chronology
Drowned World Tour 2001 (2001) I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2006) The Confessions Tour (2007)

I'm Going to Tell You a Secret is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, containing songs from the documentary of same name. The film chronicled the behind-the-scenes of Madonna's Re-Invention World Tour (2004), and was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. The album was released on June 20, 2006, in a two-disc format, a CD with 13 songs from the show plus a demo from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), and a DVD with the documentary film. The documentary and the album were also released as digital download to the iTunes Store.

The live CD consisted of two pre-recorded tracks, "The Beast Within" and "Hollywood" while extras on the DVD included 12 deleted scenes from the documentary. The release received positive response from critics and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 2007 show in the category of Best Long Form Music Video. It peaked within the top-ten of the album charts in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, while the DVD topped the video charts in Australia, Spain and the United States.

Background and release

The Re-Invention World Tour was the sixth concert tour by Madonna. It supported her ninth studio album American Life, and visited North America and Europe.^[1] Madonna was inspired to create the tour, after taking part in an art installation called X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS, directed by photographer Steven Klein. She incorporated the images from the installation in the tour, whose name was in reality a dig at Madonna's critics.^[2][3][4] A number of songs were rehearsed for the tour, with twenty-four of them making the final setlist.^[5] The tour was divided into five segments: French Baroque-Marie Antionette Revival, Military-Army, Circus-Cabaret, Acoustic and Scottish-Tribal.^[6] The tour garnered positive reception from contemporary critics.^[7][8][9] The tour was chronicled in the documentary titled I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.^[10] Originally called The Re-Invented Process in reference to the world tour it documents and the exhibition, it was filmed during Madonna's visit to North America and Europe during May 24 to September 14, 2004, and was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.^[11] Critical response towards the documentary was mixed, with one group of reviewers complimenting the live performances from the tour and the scenes involving her children and family, while others criticized the self-indulgent nature of the documentary and the preaching nature of Madonna's commentary in the film.^[12][13]

Madonna performing "Frozen" on the Re-Invention World Tour. A picture of the performance was used as cover-art.

I'm Going to Tell You a Secret the album was released on June 20, 2006, in a two-disc format, a CD with 14 songs from the show and a DVD with the documentary film.^[14] The album includes the original demo version of "I Love New York", a track later found on her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor in a dance form. The track was originally recorded as a rock song before being re-recorded.^[14] The documentary and the album was also released as digital download to the iTunes Store. Originally, Warner Bros. announced that the "American Life" director's cut music video would be included as an extra with the documentary, with the press release also including this information.^[15] The music video was not included and no reason was given for the omission.

The DVD was shot in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 on a single sided, double layered disc, with the image being enhanced for 16×9 televisions. The black-and-white visuals had mixed a lot of visual styles according to Jacobson, and had grains and erratic focus.^[14] The non-concert color sequences followed the same style, but the performance sequences were in high definition. Backgrounds were dark and Jacobson noted that the color black appeared taut and full, while the few low-light bits came across well.^[14] The 5.1 surround sound was mostly utilized during the live performance sequences. The live CD consisted of two pre-recorded tracks, "The Beast Within" and "Hollywood". There are 12 deleted scenes, spanning a total of 15 minutes and 38 seconds; scenes include Madonna on a bike, working with vocal coach Joan Leder, affinity for French and comical sequences featuring Price and musician Steve Sidelnyk.^[14] The cover was a shot of Madonna from her performance of "Frozen" on the show, and the packaging included a 20 page booklet.^[14][16]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the release debuted at number 33 on the Billboard 200 with 25,000 copies sold in its first week.^[17] It also debuted at number three on the Top Soundtracks chart, number 13 on the Top Internet Albums chart and debuted atop the Top Music Videos chart.^[18][19] The next week, the album slipped down to number 107 on the Billboard 200, while holding atop the Top Music Videos chart.^[20][21] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 85,000 copies in the US as of August 2010.^[22] In Canada, the album debuted and peaked at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart.^[23]

The CD+DVD version of I'm Going to Tell You a Secret was eligible to chart on both albums and DVD charts. However, in some countries, both versions were combined and appeared on just one chart, as in Australia, where all versions counted towards the DVD chart and the release was ineligible for the albums chart. On the Australian DVD Chart, the album debuted at the top of the chart for the issue dated June 26, 2006, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 15,000 copies of the release.^[24][25] It held the top spot for another week.^[26] In New Zealand it debuted at number eight on the RIANZ Music DVD Chart, next week falling off.^[27]

In the United Kingdom, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret debuted at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart, with first week sales of 14,449 copies. It was Madonna's 17th release to chart there, all previous releases having achieved top-five placement on the album chart.^[28][29] The release was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 25,000 copies.^[30] In France, the release entered the French Albums Chart at its peak position of number eight. After three months, it was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipment of 75,000 copies of the album.^[31][32] The CD+DVD also reached a peak of eight on he German Albums Chart and has been certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for more than 25,000 units shipped.^[33] Across Europe the album reached the top-ten in Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal and Switzerland.^[31] On the Pan-European Top 100 Albums chart, it reached a peak of number five, and also reached the top of the charts in Italy and Mexico.^[19]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[13]
The Buffalo News	Positive[34]
Canoe.ca	[35]
DVD Movie Guide	Mixed[14]
Jam!	[36]
Pitchfork Media	(3.3/10)[37]
Rolling Stone	[12]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic felt that the reworking of Madonna's older hits like "Into the Groove" and "Holiday" gave them a campy, Eurotrash feel like the songs on Confessions on a Dance Floor; he added that "[the reworkings] help give the disc a cohesive feel even if the live performance, like the album it's hawking, is kind of humorless. That said, as Madonna's first live CD, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret is strong and entertaining, and even if the excessive minutiae on the accompanying DVD means only hardcore fans will sit through its two hours, it's also quite well done."^[13] Sterdan from Jam! complimented the CD section of the release, saying that "Thankfully, the CD takes up the slack, delivering more than an hour of newer fare like 'American Life' and 'Music', peppered with oldies like 'Vogue', 'Holiday' and 'Like a Prayer'. Next time Madonna wants to share a secret, she should just leave the cameras at home."^[36] Conversely, Sébastien Chicoine from Canoe.ca website preferred the DVD over the CD, saying that the disc was not "absolutely necessary" but could understand the business logic behind adding the CD to the release.^[35]

Barry Walters from Rolling Stone said that the live CD proved that Madonna is a better singer.^[12] A reviewer from The Buffalo News was impressed with the release, saying that "This is exactly what you'd expect it to be – a live document of Madonna's most recent tour, which means, essentially, a tour through the dance-based pop music of the past 20 years."^[34] Colin Jacobson from the DVD Movie Guide website explained that "though parts of I'm Going to Tell You a Secret frustrate, it remains a reasonably entertaining program. It probably will be most interesting for Madonna's most serious fans, though. Those in search of the broader titillation of Truth or Dare will leave disappointed."^[14] He added that most of the shots in the DVD seemed accurate, time-and-again a softness crept up in the wide angle shots. Jacobson found the performance s shots to be compelling and gave the sound of the DVD a rating of B+.^[14] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 49th ceremony in the category Best Long Form Music Video.^[38]

Track listing and formats

CD track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Beast Within" (Live)	Lenny Kravitz Ingrid Chavez Additional lyrics by Madonna	5:04
2.	"Vogue" (Live)	Madonna Shep Pettibone	5:31
3.	"Nobody Knows Me" (Live)	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï	4:04
4.	"American Life" (Live)	Madonna Ahmadzaï	5:21
5.	"Hollywood (Remix)" (Live)	Madonna Ahmadzaï	3:59
6.	"Die Another Day" (Live)	Madonna Ahmadzaï	4:03
7.	"Lament" (Live)	Andrew Lloyd Webber Tim Rice	2:27
8.	"Like a Prayer" (Live)	Madonna Patrick Leonard	5:22
9.	"Mother and Father" (Live)	Madonna Ahmadzaï	5:21
10.	"Imagine" (Live)	John Lennon	3:51
11.	"Susan MacLeod/Into the Groove" (Live)	Madonna Stephen Bray Donald MacLeod	7:19
12.	"Music" (Live)	Madonna Ahmadzaï	4:54
13.	"Holiday" (Live)	Curtis Hudson Lisa Stevens	5:44
14.	"I Love New York" (Demo Rock Version)	Madonna Stuart Price	2:52

DVD Chapters/Cities
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Intro"
2.	"Los Angeles"
3.	"New York"
4.	"Chicago"
5.	"Las Vegas"
6.	"Miami"
7.	"London"
8.	"Dublin"
9.	"Paris"
10.	"Lisbon"
11.	"Israel"
12.	"Credits"

DVD Bonus material
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Bike Ride"
2.	"The Other Side"
3.	"Steve/Stuart in L.A."
4.	"Vocal Coach"
5.	"Chaos"
6.	"Birthday Party"
7.	"French Trilogy"
8.	"Steve/Stuart in Paris"
9.	"Monte's Guitar Faces"
10.	"Fans Singing in Paris"
11.	"After Show"
12.	"Wailing Wall"

Formats

• CD/DVD – double disc digipak edition containing the live DVD and the live CD
• DVD – DVD keep case packed with the DVD and the live CD
• iTunes Digital download – The full 2-hour documentary in digital version

Additional notes:

• Recorded live in Paris on September 4–5, 2004 by Effanel Music.
• Mixed by Stuart Price.

Credits and personnel

• Mirwais Ahmadzaï – Composer
• Jonas Åkerlund – Director, Editing
• Mary Susan Applegate – Audio Production
• Susan Applegate – Producer
• Angela Becker – Audio Production, Producer
• Stephen Bray – Composer
• Erik Broms – Photography Director
• Marcus Brown – Keyboards
• Michel Colombier – Composer
• Donna De Lory – Vocals (Background)
• Randy Ezratty – Consultant
• Keeley Gould – Producer
• Curtis Hudson – Composer
• Shelli Jury – Audio Production
• Shelli Jury – Producer
• Patrick Leonard – Composer
• Andrew Lloyd Webber – Composer
• Donald MacLeod – Composer
• Frank Maddocks – Creative Director, Package Design
• Madonna – Composer, Executive Producer, Main Personnel, Primary Artist
• Mike McKnight – Keyboard Programming, Keyboards
• Guy Oseary – Photography
• Shep Pettibone – Composer
• Casey Phariss – Recording Technician
• Monte Pittman – Guitar
• Bill Pohlad – Executive Producer
• Iggy Pop – Main Personnel
• Stuart Price – Composer, Mixing
• Tim Rice – Composer
• Steve Sidelnyk – Drums
• Joel Singer – Engineer
• Nick Spanos – Photography
• Lisa Stevens – Composer

Credits adapted from I'm Going to Tell You a Secret information from Allmusic.^[39]

Charts

Album charts Chart (2006) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[31] 12 Belgian Flanders Albums Chart[31] 5 Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[31] 10 Canadian Albums Chart[23] 4 Czech Albums Chart[40] 39 Danish Albums Chart[31] 7 Dutch Albums Chart[31] 4 European Top 100 Albums[19] 5 French Albums Chart[31] 8 German Albums Chart[31] 8 Hungarian Albums Chart[41] 9 Irish Albums Chart[42] 40 Italian Albums Chart[31] 1 Japanese Albums Chart[43] 12 Mexican Albums Chart[31] 1 Polish Albums Chart[31] 34 Portuguese Albums Chart[31] 5 Swiss Albums Chart[31] 7 UK Albums Chart[29] 18 US Billboard 200[19] 33 US Billboard Top Internet Albums[19] 13 US Billboard Top Soundtracks[19] 3

DVD charts Chart (2006) Peak position Australian DVD Chart[24] 1 Czech DVD Chart[44] 1 Finland DVD Chart[45] 2 Hungarian DVD Chart[46] 1 Italian DVD Chart[47] 1 New Zealand DVD Chart[27] 8 Norwegian DVD Chart[48] 1 Spanish DVD Chart[49] 1 Swedish DVD Chart[50] 1 US Billboard Top Music Videos[19] 1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[25]	Platinum	15,000
Brazil (ABPD)[51]	Gold	30,000
France (SNEP)[32]	Gold	75,000
Germany (BVMI)[33]	Gold	25,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[52]	Platinum	25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[30]	Gold	25,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

Footnotes

1. Timmerman 2007, p. 23
2. Lieberman, Rhonda (May 1, 2003). "Weighty Madonna: Rhonda Lieberman on "X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS"". Artforum. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
3. Reporter, BBC (March 13, 2004). "Scots piper gets Madonna call-up". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
4. Greene, Mark (November 9, 2004). "Madonna Ultimately". CCM. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
5. Timmerman 2007, p. 30
6. Cinquemani, Sal (August 9, 2004). "Madonna: Live @ Madison Square Garden". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
7. Segal, David (June 15, 2004). "Prime Madonna". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
8. Smith, Elizabeth (May 24, 2004). "Liz Smith review of the Re-Invention Tour". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
9. Hand, John (August 13, 2004). "Madonna's loyal following". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
10. O'Brien 2008, p. 437
11. Rush, George; Molloy, Joanna; Piazza, Jo; Rovzar, Chris (May 25, 2005). "Madonna Film 'Truth Or Who Cares'?". Daily News (New York: New York Media LLC). Retrieved October 30, 2009.
12. Walters, Barry (June 12, 2006). "Madonna: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 18, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
13. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen (June 20, 2006). "Allmusic: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
14. Jacobson, Colin (March 13, 2007). "Madonna: I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (2006)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
15. Trust, Gary (May 10, 2006). "Madonna Spilling 'Secrets' In June". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
16. O'Brien 2008, p. 440
17. Bronson, Fred (July 8, 2006). "Furtado Scores First Chart-Topping Album". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
18. "Soundtracks: Jul 08, 2006". Billboard. July 8, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
19. "Eurocharts – Single Sales". Billboard (New York) 118 (27): 4, 65–66. July 8, 2006. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
20. "Billboard 200: Jul 15, 2006 – (Biggest Fall)". Billboard. July 15, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
21. "Top Music Videos – Single Sales". Billboard (New York) 118 (28): 55. July 15, 2006. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
22. Grein, Paul (August 18, 2010). "Week Ending Aug. 15, 2010: The Odd Couple". Yahoo!. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
23. Williams, John (June 28, 2006). "Furtado gets 'Loose' on charts". Jam! (Canadian Online Explorer). Retrieved July 10, 2013.
24. "ARIA Top 40 Music DVD: Week Commencing June 26, 2006" (PDF). ARIA Charts. June 26, 2006. p. 25. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
25. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 DVDs". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
26. "ARIA Top 40 Music DVD: Week Commencing 3rd July, 2006" (PDF). ARIA Charts. July 3, 2006. p. 24. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
27. "RIANZ Top 10 Music DVD". Recorded Music NZ. June 26, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
28. Jones, Alan (June 26, 2006). "Keane retain lead in albums chart". Music Week. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
29. "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. July 1, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
30. "British video certifications – Madonna – I'm Going to Tell You a Secret". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 10, 2014. Enter I'm Going to Tell You a Secret in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select DVD in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
31. "Madonna – I'm Going To Tell You A Secret" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
32. "French album certifications – Madonna – I'm Going to Tell You a Secret" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
33. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Madonna; 'I'm Going to Tell You a Secret')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
34. "Listening Post / Brief reviews of select releases". The Buffalo News (Berkshire Hathaway). July 2, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
35. Chicoine, Sébastien (June 20, 2006). "Madonna – I'm Going to Tell You a Secret" (in French). Canoe.ca. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
36. Sterdan, Darryl (June 29, 2006). "Album Review: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret". Jam! (Canadian Online Explorer). Retrieved July 10, 2013.
37. Deusner, Stephen M. (July 7, 2006). "Madonna: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
38. Carter, Kelly (December 8, 2006). "Local Grammy Nominees". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
39. "Madonna: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret: Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
40. "TOP50 Prodejní – Madonna I´m Going to Tell You a Secret". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
41. "Top 40 album – és válogatáslemez lista" (To view the week selected, select "Top 40 album, DVD, és válogatáslemez-lista" in the "Lista" parameter, then select "2006" in the "É" parameter, finally select "27" in the "Hét" parameter) (in Hungarian). Association of Hungarian Record Companies. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
42. "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 22 June 2006". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. June 22, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
43. "アイム・ゴーイング・トゥ・テル・ユー・ア・シークレット（CD + DVD)" (in Japanese). Oricon. July 26, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
44. "TOP 20 Hudební video – Madonna I´m Going to Tell You a Secret". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
45. "IFPI – Suomen virallinen lista – Artistit" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. June 30, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
46. "DVD Top 20 lista" (To view the week selected, select "DVD Top 20 lista" in the "Lista" parameter, then select "2006" in the "É" parameter, finally select "26" in the "Hét" parameter) (in Hungarian). Association of Hungarian Record Companies. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
47. "Classifica settimanale WK 25" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. June 19, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
48. "VG-lista DVD Audiio ukke Topp 10" (in Norwegian). VG-lista. June 26, 2006. Retrieved June 26, 2006.
49. "Top 20 DVD Musical" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. June 26, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
50. "Weekly List DVD Album – Week 27, July 6, 2006" (Insert the name Madonna into the search box and click "Sök", this shows all of the artist's albums and singles with their chart positions.) (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
51. "Brazilian album certifications – Madonna – I'm Going to Tell You a Secret" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
52. "Spanish video certifications – Madonna – I'm Going to Tell You a Secret" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 15, 2014. Select the "Chart", enter 2006 in the field "Year". Select '' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"

Bibliography

• O'Brien, Lucy (2008), Madonna: Like an Icon, Bantam Press, ISBN 9780552153614
• Timmerman, Dirk (2007), Madonna Live! Secret Re-inventions and Confessions on Tour, Maklu Publications Inc, ISBN 9085950023