Madonna keeps it 98% cute in her tribute to Ray of Light producer, William Orbit

Whilst Madonna was under no obligation to publicly post about William Orbit’s unfortunate passing, I did wonder if she would. (I mean… How could she not!?) And she did, via an Instagram post.

Goodbye- William Orbit.

I had an epiphany when I met you and started working with you. I realized that music did not have to fit into categories or genres. So we created our own. You pressed a magic button inside of me and I fell into a galaxy of unrealized dreams. Your music gave me a magic carpet to fly on and I visited many places. Sad and Joyful. I sang in ways I’d never sung before. I used words without caring if they made sense or not. In many ways you were my Ray of Light -as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time- I was starting a new chapter, I was choosing another road to walk down-and you were right by my side with your crooked teeth and your genius, way of hearing music. The studio was often church like and I would sit in silence, waiting for your ideas to explode out of your keyboard or your guitar and then I would run with them……….. I miss those days. Only you could inspire me to write a song like Drowned World or Swim. You were so otherworldly. So singular. The years passed and I moved on to make music with other people, but I have never forgotten you or the magical time we spent together.

Goodbye Billy Bubbles.
I was so lucky to have known you and fallen down the rabbit hole with you. ♥️

Things seemed to be a bit wonky between Madonna and William Orbit, with Orbit whacking Madonna publicly over how his work on MDNA turned out and his dislike over the release of her remix album Veronica Electronica. And he was also vocal about how he had worked on songs in the vein of a follow up to Ray of Light and tried to reach out to Madonna about it, but she and her team were championship winners of the mute challenge. We have no idea if Madonna was aware of any of this. But in the event that she was, it was nice for that to be put aside following Orbit’s passing. There was no way in hell that Madonna’s publicity team would let her put something out on some petty Real Housewives type shit. But she did kick him with her comment about his crooked teeth. She was like ‘I am sad you’ve passed, but I saw that shit you said and I ain’t letting that go.’ In all fairness and seriousness though ‘The years passed and I moved on to make music with other people, but I have never forgotten you or the magical time we spent together’ was especially touching. And it’s a shame that Orbit didn’t get to hear this from Madonna whilst he was alive, because I do wonder if Orbit may have felt that Madonna had forgotten him.

Tell people how you feel about them whilst they are alive y’all.

The impact that William Orbit made with Ray of Light was truly incredible. Not only did it completely kickstart Madonna’s career, but it widely became considered Madonna’s best album. And ever since its release, it’s a Madonna album which has continued to be talked about and be widely revered. Ray of Light also set a new baseline somewhat for Madonna’s sound, which has carried through into every album she has released since for the past 28 years. Yes. Including Hard Candy.

William Orbit & Madonna | Madonna

In the wake of the success of Confessions II, fans had been pondering over whether they would get a Ray of Light II and how that would sound, but there is no chance of that now…unfortunately. Although I don’t think Ray of Light is an album you can really do a sequel to, because so much of that album is tied to a specific point in Madonna’s life where so much had changed for her. She became more in touch with spirituality. She had become a mother. She had a whole different outlook on life. That whole album and period of Madonna’s life isn’t really something you can just make a sequel to simply because it was popular. Some things are just a one-off thing which should be left alone and admired. But Madonna pulling off Confessions II understandably has fans in the midnight of ‘Well, if she did it once…’

HENNYWAY.

William Orbit’s passing really got me thinking about Madonna’s life and career, and how many amazing creatives she knew that she’s outlived. Keith Haring. Jean-Michel Basquiat. Andy Warhol. Herb Ritts. Ken Regan. Michael Jackson. Prince. 2Pac. Now William Orbit. And this doesn’t include all of the other amazing creatives she worked with and knew who weren’t known. And Madonna was also a cigarette hag who also lived through the AIDS crisis — so she lost many friends to that too. All of the name drops in her song “Danceteria” make you realise ‘Damn. Madonna has lived through eras and knew some truly iconic people, and so many of them are gone now.’ Let this be a reminder to not hold off on that thing you wanted to put out, due to a fear of it being rejected or a fear of being seen. Life is WAY too short. Do the things.

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💿 Album reviews: Confessions on a Dance Floor | Hard Candy | Madame X

🎛️ ?J Madonna mashups: Inner City x Madonna | Perfume x Kylie Minogue | Kylie Minogue x Madonna