Paradise (Not For Me)

"Paradise (Not For Me)" is the title of a song included in Madonna's eighth studio album Music. It was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais.

Song Information
In 2000, many fans were excited as they soon could be hearing the "New Madonna" sound to come. Paradise is a colaboration between Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzai, which was originally going to be features on Mirwais then upcoming new solo album. A few months later on 2000, it was included as the ninth track on Madonna's "Music" album, the only difference being the song's lenght. The song surprised many fans due to the fact that it was nothig like her previous album, in Paradise she overused the electronic sounds, thing she had never done.

Lyrically the song talks about fame, it talks about how she (Madonna) is sometimes on top and sometimes "down on the ground". It includes a verse sung completely in french (Mirwais' idea), making it the second time Madonna sings in french (the first being on 1989's Love Song).

Music Video
The beautiful video for Paradise was shot during the rehearsals of the Drowned World Tour on Culver City Studios and was directed by Dago Gonzalez. It has only been seen on the Drowned World Tour, where it was used to separate the Neo-punk and Geisha sections, other scenes deleted from the final cut were also used as part of the backdrops used on "Mer Girl". Many fans hold out hope that the video will be released. The only way to enjoy it is to watch it in the official Dvd release of the tour. In the video Madonna is seen dressed as a modern geisha (very similar to her look on the video for "Nothing Really Matters"), it also features japanese samurai fights. At the end Madonna and her followers walk into the light. it is considered one of the most beautiful, dark, sweet and simple of her videos.

Live Performances
The first "live" performance of Paradise was on 2001 in the Drowned World Tour, where it was used as a video interlude that divided the Neo-punk and Geisha segments, allowing Madonna to go backstage for a costume change for the next section. During this performance four half-naked dancers hanged upside down from the ceilings, as the Paradise video showed on the backdrop screens. The performance ended with the four dancers releasing themselves and opening their mouths to reveal a red light.

5 years later on the Confessions Tour one of the biggest surprises on the show, was Paradise. Madonna performed the song in an acoustic version, accompanied by with her guitar and her friend Isaac, who sung the french verses in Arabic, and featuring a beautiful backdrop of falling flowers. Like in Drowned World, it was a very beautiful performance, and it marked the very first time the song was performed live.

Drowned World Tour