1983 single by Madonna
"Burning Up" is a song written and recorded by American singer Madonna included on her debut studio album "Madonna" (1983). Written by the singer and produced by Reggie Lucas, the song was released as a double-sided single with "Physical Attraction" on March 9, 1983. In early 1980, Madonna was beginning her music career as a member of band the Breakfast Club; together with band drummer Stephen Bray, they formed a new band, Emmy and the Emmys, but shortly after, she decided to pursue a solo career. She and Bray created demos for three songs: "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal", and "Burning Up". 
In 1982, Madonna met and befriended DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub, who took her to Sire Records, where she signed a deal for two singles. Following the success of first single "Everybody" on the dance scene, Sire Records green-lighted the recording of an album. Madonna chose to work with Lucas, who created two new songs for the album: "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline". However, problems soon arose between Madonna and the producer, who ended up leaving the project. She then called in John "Jellybean" Benitez, her boyfriend at the time, to remix some of the album tracks. A dance pop song with new wave influences, the lyrics to "Burning Up" juxtapose sex and ambition, with the singer proclaiming she "has no shame" and would do anything for her lover. 
Upon release, both "Burning Up" was generally well received by critics and has been named one of Madonna's best singles in retrospective reviews. Chart performance was moderate: it charted at number 13 in Australia and at number three on the "Billboard" Dance Club Songs chart in the United States. The accompanying music video for "Burning Up" was directed by Steve Barron, and depicts the singer in a white dress, writhing on an empty road waiting for her lover. Many authors noted that the visual was the beginning of Madonna's subversion of power through sex. After a number of live appearances in nightclubs and television programs, the singer included the song on four of her concert tours, the Virgin Tour, Re-Invention Tour, Rebel Heart Tour, and the Celebration Tour. "Burning Up" has been covered by artists such as Iggy Pop and Britney Spears.
Background.
In early 1980, Madonna was living in New York City and establishing her music career as a member of rock band the Breakfast Club, alongside her boyfriend Dan Gilroy; soon after, she was joined by Stephen Bray, her former boyfriend from Michigan, who became the band's drummer. Bray and Madonna left the Breakfast Club and, together, formed a new band, Emmy and the Emmys. They were soon signed by Gotham Records, but short after, Madonna quit the band and decided to pursue a solo career. She carried with her three of the demos she had created with Bray: "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal", and "Burning Up". In 1982, she met and befriended DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub. After listening to "Everybody", Kamins took her to Sire Records, where Seymour Stein, the label's president, signed Madonna for two 12" singles. 
Released in October 1982, "Everybody" became a hit in the dance scene. The song's success led to the label approving the recording of an album, but the singer chose not to work with either Bray or Kamins, opting instead for Warner Bros. producer Reggie Lucas. Lucas brought two new songs to the project: "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline". While working on the album, problems arose between Madonna and the producer, as she felt he was "moving [the songs] away from the sparse form of the original demos", something she did not approve of; Lucas ended up leaving the project without altering the songs. She then brought in John "Jellybean" Benitez to remix the remaining tracks. In the case of "Burning Up", Benitez added extra guitar riffs and additional vocals.
Recording and composition.
"Burning Up" was written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas. Recording took place at New York's Sigma Sound Studios; personnel working on the song included Bray on programming and guitars, alongside Paul Pesco; Butch Jones, Fred Zarr, and Ed Walsh were in charge of the synthesizers, while Bobby Malach played tenor saxophone. Background vocals were provided by Gwen Guthrie, Brenda White, and Chrissy Faith. The artwork used for the 12" single was designed by the singer's friend Martin Burgoyne. According to "Billboard"'s Chris Malone Méndez, unlike "Everybody", which had mostly a post-disco sound, "Burning Up" saw Madonna moving in a more pop-oriented path. The singer herself described it as her "foray into electric guitars, Rock and roll [and] hair music".
A "yearning" New wave-influenced dance track, with lyrics that conflate sex with ambition, it has a "starker" arrangement brought about by bass, single guitar and drum machine. Also present are tom-tom drum beats ―similar to the ones used on the work of Phil Collins―, electric guitars, and the "most state-of-the-art" synthesizers of the time. The refrain is a repetition of the same three lines of the lyrics, while the bridge consists of a series of double entendres that describe what she is prepared to do for her lover, showcasing that she "has no shame" and is "not like the others" According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., "Burning Up" is set in the time signature of common time with a dance beat tempo of 138 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of B minor, with Madonna's vocals ranging from the tonal nodes of A3 to B4. The song follows a basic sequence of Bm–Bm–A–E as its chord progression.
Release and reception.
The double-sided single of "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction" was released on March 9, 1983. "Burning Up" was later included on the compilations "Celebration" (2009), while a demo of the song was included on the compilation "Pre-Madonna" (1997). Upon release, critical reception was generally positive. "Billboard"'s Brian Chin described "Burning Up" as a "fast [...] terrific one-two punch". To Rikki Rooksby, author of "The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna", "Burning Up" sounds like "the disco end of new romanticism", comparing it to something Gary Numan would do; nonetheless, he pointed out that the song was "noticeably weaker" than others from the "Madonna" album. Santiago Fouz-Hernández, one of the authors of "Madonna's Drowned Worlds", complimented it for having upbeat dance music. Don Shewey from "Rolling Stone" named it simple but clever. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine singled "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction" as two "great songs" from the album, and applauded their "darker, carnal urgency". Writing for "Entertainment Weekly", Jim Farber said that "Burning Up" proved that Madonna could also "rock". From "Pitchfork", Jill Mapes named it a "striking" second single. A mixed review came from the "Observer–Reporter"'s Terry Hazlett, who named it "inoffensive, danceable [but] ultimately forgettable". The staff of "The Washington Times" was also dismissive of "Burning Up", writing that it wasn't among the singer's best, and called it a "nugget better left buried".
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"[...] another shoulda-been hit that became a fan favorite after she made it big. The most rocking thing she has ever done, this self-penned song drew from the '80s New York punk scene with its fiery attitude and passion".
—"Entertainment Weekly"'s Chuck Arnold reviewing "Burning Up" on the magazine's ranking of the singer's 60 best singles.
Retrospective reviews towards "Burning Up" have also been positive; for BBC News' Mark Savage, it's one of the singer's "overlooked gems". A similar opinion was shared by Adam Graham from "The Detroit News", who deemed it "underappreciated". The "Portland Mercury"'s Mark Lore referred to "Burning Up" and previous single "Everybody" as "true gems, gritty New York anthems", that were overshadowed by the more known "Holiday" and "Borderline". On his ranking of Madonna's singles, Matthew Jacobs from "HuffPost" placed "Burning Up" at number 41, and added that it sounds like an "outtake from the punk persona [Madonna] never fully embraced". "PinkNews"' Mayer Nissim added that it "wouldn't sound out of place on an early New Order or late Joy Division record". "Burning Up" came in at number 21 on rankings done by The Backlot and "The Arizona Republic"; writing for the former, Louis Virtel held that, "as much as Madonna was something of a tartier Pat Benatar when she first arrived, she was also inspired by the punks of NYC – and this barebones, breathy war cry proves it", while Ed Masley ―from the latter publication― compared it to Michael Jackson's "Beat It", and said it had "the personality that would go on to help define the decade fully formed — playful, assertive and sexy".
The staff from "The Advocate" referred to "Burning Up" as "one of the sexiest songs of the [1980s] decade". Samuel R. Murrian from "Parade" placed it at number 32 of his ranking of Madonna songs, highlighting its production. It figured on the same position of "Slant Magazine"'s list; Paul Schroeder called it one of Madonna's corniest yet "most aggressive" songs. "Billboard" deemed it Madonna's eleventh greatest: "No early '80s pop album was complete without one song that threw a scorching rock riff into the synth-dance mix, and on her self-titled debut, that was the irrepressible 'Burning Up' [...] [she] sounds less like a doormat and more like a pioneer of female Big Dick Energy", wrote Joe Lynch. "Idolator"'s Robbie Daw considered "Burning Up" to be one of Madonna's "10 best songs that radio forgot". Finally, "The National Student"'s Emily D'Souza hailed it her third most underrated song, calling it an "irresistibly catchy, quintessentially 80s" track.
"Burning Up" / "Physical Attraction" debuted on "Billboard"'s Dance Club Songs charts at number 66 the week of April 9, 1983, peaking at number three one month later. By September 1983, according to a Warner Bros. Records advertisement in "Radio &amp; Records", the "Burning Up" / "Physical Attraction" 12" single had sold more than 150,000 copies. The song entered Australia's Kent Music Report in November 1983 and, almost eight months later, peaked at number 13.
Music video.
Background and release.
The music video for "Burning Up" was directed by Steve Barron, who had previously worked on Toto's "Africa" (1982), Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", and Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" (1983). The director was on vacation when he got a call from Sire Records producer Simon Fields, asking him to direct the video. Barron initially refused, as the song "didn't have the atmosphere" he was looking for. However, Madonna, who was "really keen on the 'Billie Jean' video", insisted until Barron begrudgingly agreed. He went to meet the singer and was impressed with her confidence. He would later recall:
I went to New York to meet with [Madonna], begrudgingly, and showed up at an address at SoHo, which turned out to be a squat basically. Madonna was scantily clad, working out to a massive disco track. She was charismatic. She kept putting her head down on the table and talking to me, very flirtatious, and that gave me the idea for the scene in "Burning Up", where her face is on the road, and the camera's really low and close.
Filming took places for two nights in Los Angeles. The "mish-mash" concept of the video was based on Barron's own ideas as opposed to the song's lyrics and theme, as he still "didn't connect with it too much". According to him, Madonna was "very much in charge" of her look and clothes; she wore a white mini-dress, crucifix earrings, and black typewriter belts as bracelets. Actress Debi Mazar, a personal friend of the singer, was hired as make-up artist, while her then boyfriend Ken Compton played the role of her onscreen lover. During a 2015 interview with "Rolling Stone", Barron recalled that a seven-ton crane that stretched out and had a camera placed on it, was used to shoot scenes of the singer lying in a boat at night; he also revealed that, at one point, the crane almost fell right on top of her. The video was added to MTV on October 8, 1983; years later, it was included on Madonna's 2009 compilation, "".
Analysis and reception.
The video was described as a juxtaposition of "disparate images of illuminated busts and cars driving on water with Madonna writhing in the middle of the road", by the staff of "Rolling Stone". It shows Madonna as a "helpless victim" proclaiming her passion for her lover. Robert Clyde Allen, author