 Recorded at The Hit Factory Studios in New York, "Take a Bow" was backed by a full orchestra. It was also the first time that Babyface had worked with live strings, per Madonna's suggestion. Containing oriental pentatonic strings, giving the impression of Chinese or Japanese opera, "Take a Bow" lyrically talks about unrequited love, and Madonna saying goodbye. It received favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the song's soulful, poetic lyrics. It was a commercial success in the United States, becoming Madonna's eleventh number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for seven weeks. It also reached number one in Canada, and the top ten in Italy, Switzerland and New Zealand. The single had moderate success in the United Kingdom, reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, ending Madonna's record-holding string of 35 consecutive top-ten hits there.
