God Control

"God Control" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album, ''Madame X'' (2019). It was written by Madonna, longtime collaborator Mirwais, and American musician Casey Spooner. Madonna and Mirwais produced the song along with Mike Dean. Lyrically the song talks about gun control and also touches on the political climate of the United States at the time. It is an experimental pop, disco, hi-NRG and electropop song and features the Tiffin Children's Chorus repeating "We lost god control" all throughout. In the music video, we can see Madonna typing "we lost gun control" and not "god control" as the song title suggests.

It received positive reviews from music critics, who deemed it one of the best songs of the album. On June 26, an accompanying music video directed by Jonas Åkerlund was released; it interspersed footage of Madonna as her alter ego Madame X with scenes of a nightclub where a shooting takes place. The video was reminiscent of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and was criticized by the media and the survivors of the massacre. However, it was praised by some gun control advocates. Madonna performed "God Control" during her appearance at Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019, and as the opening number of her 2019−20 Madame X Tour.

Background and composition

In 2017, Madonna relocated to Lisbon, Portugal, seeking a top soccer academy for her son David, who wanted to become a professional soccer player. While living in the city, she began meeting artists, painters and musicians, who would invite her to "living room sessions". In these sessions, they would bring food, sit around the table and musicians would start playing instruments, singing fado and samba music. Finding herself "connected through music", the singer decided to create an album; "I found my tribe n Lisbonand a magical world of incredible musicians that reinforced my belief that music across the world is truly all connected and is the soul of the universe". On April 15, 2019, Madonna revealed ''Madame X'' as the album's title. For the album, she worked with longtime collaborator Mirwais Ahmadzaï, who had previously worked on her albums ''Music'' (2000), ''American Life'' (2003) and ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005), as well as Mike Dean, who served as a producer on ''Rebel Heart'' (2015), and Diplo.

"God Control" was written by Madonna and Mirwais and produced by the latter two along with Mike Dean. It has been described as an experimental pop, disco, hi-NRG and electropop song. Lyrically, it talks about gun control, as well as democracy and the political state of the United States. Musically, it's been described as an "euphoric, densely layered samba-disco-gospel mash-up" with violins and a retro sound. It features a gospel choir, gunshot sounds and vocodered vocals. The song begins with Madonna singing "Everybody knows the damn truth/Our nation lied and lost respect" in a "clenched teeth" style, followed by the Tiffin Children's Chorus repeating the phrase "we lost gun control". It is followed by a "schmaltzy" chorus inspired by Philadelphia soul in which Madonna sings "It's a hustle" amid backing verses about "a new democracy". On one particular section, there is a rap ;– compared by some critics to the vocal style she used on her 1990 album ''I'm Breathless'' and electronic duo Daft Punk – to sing "Each new birthday gives me hope / that's why I don't dope" and talks about her brain being "her only friend".

Songwriting claim

In November 2019, Casey Spooner claimed he had been a co-writer on "God Control" but was never credited or compensated for it. Spooner said he had created the song's melody when Mirwais asked him to rewrite the lyrics and mix the audio of a demo for his solo album, in which he wanted to sing in English about American politics. Soon afterwards, Mirwais abandoned the project to go work with Madonna; Spooner expressed interest in working with the singer but never received a response. When Spooner first heard the melody to "God Control", he felt it was too similar to the one he had created and accused the producer of using his work without permission; he then posted a snippet, comparing both songs, on his Instagram account. According to Spooner, once Madonna heard this, she contacted him claiming she was unaware of his contributions, and offered him $10,000 as an advance – which was later increased to $25,000 – as well as 15% of writing credits and royalties. Spooner turned this down, as he claimed he would only receive $10,000 of the $25,000 settlement after covering taxes and his legal fees. He also claimed that "there's no money in record sales. Not even for Madonna", and demanded he be paid 1% of the singer's touring profits to "cover ycontribution and damages".

Critical reception

The track received positive reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic, wrote that "darkness hangs heavy n the album surfacing fiercely in the clenched-mouth phrasing on 'God Control'." ''Variety''s Jeremy Helligar deemed it, alongside previous track " Dark Ballet", as one of the moments in ''Madame X'' where "true weirdness sets in", and "the closest Madonna may ever come to her own 'Bohemian Rhapsody'." Ben Beaumont-Thomas, from ''The Guardian'', called it one of the album's "shockers suitable only for ''schadenfreude'' lovers or scholars of extreme camp." He further concluded that "it is – only just – brilliant, and will become an equally beloved and despised curio among fans". Mike Wass from ''Idolator'', said it was a "daring, successful experiment ... sprawling and perhaps unnecessarily baroque, but it burns with ambitious and anger. And still manages to be '' pop''". ''Rolling Stone''s Rob Sheffield hailed it as "a rare moment of Madonna understatement". Louise Bruton from ''The Irish Times'', stated that the song is "an experimental stand against authoritarianism and gun control through distorted ''Black Mirror''-style pop ... to basically shake our shoulders and tell us to wake up, sheeple". Samuel R. Murrian from ''Parade'' ranked it at number 96 on his list of the singer's 100 greatest songs. According to Nicolas Hautman from ''Us Weekly'', "God Control" is Madonna's "most daring and epic" song since 2012's " Gang Bang".

''Gay Times'' Daniel Megarry deemed it "creative, dance-able and unexpected ... pure perfection", as well as the best song on the album. Jonny Coleman from ''The Hollywood Reporter'' called the track a "a six-plus-minute odyssey". ''Paper''s Bradley Stern described it as a "happy-go-lucky disco ode to gun control". While reviewing ''Madame X'' for ''The Independent'', Alexandra Pollard said "God Control" was an "attack on America's feeble gun-control laws". Sal Cinquemani, from ''Slant Magazine'', opined it was the "album's ''pièce de résistance