“Frozen” by Madonna

These types of pop songs that deal with these ubiquitous psychological maladies tend to be relatively deep. And in this case (“Frozen”) Madonna tries to go there, first and foremost contending with an addressee who in more recent times would perhaps be described as possessing a toxic mentality.

This person, who for the sake of context we will presume is a male, is, most simply put, cold-hearted, as inferred by the title. And what that seemingly entails more specifically is an individual who is “not open” to receiving love. And concerning the relative deepness of the lyrics, Madonna does allude to why he is that way. For instance, the addressee is not only presented as being pessimistic but moreover close-minded in that regard. 

Also, he is apparently one of those kinds of people who is “so consumed” with generating income that it leaves little space in his heart for anything else, such as compassion.

So as illustrated in the chorus, Madonna’s goal is to break him out of this gloomy, if you will, disposition. But she is not doing so simply because she feels it’s right. Rather, the vocalist’s own selfish reason for wanting to humanize the addressee is because she feels that doing so would result in their relationship continuing into perpetuity. 

Is the Addressee a Romantic Interest of the Narrator?

Indeed going back to our above presumption, unlike the first verse, from the chorus into the second, the said addressee reads more overtly like a romantic interest.

So to some degree, what exactly the vocalist is putting forth is debatable. For instance, she may be implying that she has a hard time dealing with the addressee, and if the latter doesn’t change she won’t have any choice but to leave him. 

Or she may feel that if he continues to act “frozen”, then the relationship will dissolve on its own. 

Either way, it’s clear that such is not what she wants to transpire. But at the same time, the vocalist seems stumped as to how exactly to make the addressee soften up.

When was “Frozen” released?

This track was made public on 23 February 1998. It was chosen as the lead single from Madonna’s hit album “Ray of Light”. The companies behind its issuance are Warner Bros. Records and a label which Madonna co-founded earlier in the 1990s called Maverick.

Did Madonna write this song?

The Queen of Pop co-wrote this song alongside Patrick Leonard, whom she has composed a lot of music with throughout the years. And both artists also lent to the production of “Frozen”, in conjunction with William Orbit.

Madonna and Leonard have co-written a lot of her hits, including: “La Isla Bonita” “Like a Prayer” and “Live to Tell“

The unique sound of this song was influenced by Madonna’s interest in and appreciation of music from the Middle East, especially Morocco. Also she cited a movie entitled The Sheltering Sky (1990), which itself is set in Morocco, as a further influence.

How Successful was “Frozen”?

“Frozen” proved to be a major success and worthy addition to Madonna’s catalog. The song topped both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard US Dance Club Songs lists. It also scored a number one in more than a handful of other countries. Indeed this track charted in nearly 30 nations overall and has been certified platinum in a few also. 

And it also went on to become ranked amongst Madonna fan favorite and regularly popping on the setlist of her tours.

“Frozen” was a top-10 hit in the official singles charts of these countries:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Costa Rica (#1)
• Denmark Finland (#1)
• France
• Germany
• Greece (#1)
• Honduras (#1)
• Hungary (#1)
• Ireland
• Italy (#1)
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Scotland (#1)
• Spain (#1)
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• United Kingdom (#1)

And in the United States, it made it all the way to #2 on the famous Billboard Hot 100 charts.

More Facts about “Frozen”

And the music video to this track, as assembled by director Chris Cunningham, was a success of its own, winning a 1998 MTV VMA in the category of Best Special Effects.  It was filmed in a part of America’s Mojave Desert called Cuddeback Lake, and amongst its inspirations was a 1996 film entitled The English Patient.

Deserts are rightfully known for being terribly hot. But what is not a common knowledge is the fact that they can also get hella cold at night. This was apparently something Madonna wasn’t aware of when she opted to film the clip in the Mojave as opposed to Iceland. So she ended up taping in temperatures “like 20 degrees below 0”, barefooted, and according to her recount, “it started pouring rain, and everyone got really sick”.

A snippet of this song leaked to the public a month before it officially came out.

Madonna’s first live performance of this track was on a BBC1 program entitled The National Lottery Show, dated 21 February 1998.

“Frozen” got Madonna into a bit of beef in Belgium, which lasted for about a decade beginning in the mid-aughts. And what had happened is that she was basically convicted of plagiarizing a tune entitled “Ma Vie Fout Le Camp” (1979) by Belgium musician Salvatore Acquaviva in creating this song. What this resulted in was “Frozen” actually being banned in Belgium from late-2005 until mid-2014.