The Tracks — Ray of Light, Track 06
Nothing Really Matters
Love is all that counts.
At a Glance
Title
Nothing Really Matters
Record
Ray of Light (1998) | Track 06
Single
Final single | US 9 February 1999 | UK March 1999
Writers
Madonna | Patrick Leonard
Producers
Madonna | William Orbit | Marius de Vries
Video
Directed by Johan Renck | New York, January 1999
Chart peaks
UK No. 7 | US No. 93 | US Dance No. 1
Also on
Veronica Electronica (2025)
The final single from Ray of Light distilled the whole record into one idea: that selfishness gives way, and loving people is what lasts.
The Song
Written with Patrick Leonard, the song was inspired by the birth of Lourdes and a period of reflection. It is an uptempo, techno-tinged track about selfishness, affection and motherhood.
The Video
Johan Renck filmed the video in January 1999 at Silvercup Studios in New York. Inspired by Arthur Golden’s novel Memoirs of a Geisha, it shows Madonna as a geisha dancing in a small room — a metaphor, she said, for being an entertainer. She wore the same red Jean Paul Gaultier kimono to open the Grammy Awards on 24 February 1999.
The Charts
It entered the UK chart at number seven and topped the US dance chart, helped by Peter Rauhofer’s Club 69 remixes. One of them, the Club 69 Speed Mix Meets the Dub, appears on Veronica Electronica.
On Stage
Twenty-five years on, it opened the Celebration Tour in 2023, with Madonna in a black kimono and diamond headdress.
LISTEN NEXT
Keep listening — headphones on, lights low.
