page_title: Don't Tell Me (Madonna song)
section_title: Background and synopsis
hierarchical_section_title: Don't Tell Me (Madonna song) / Music video / Background and synopsis
caption_attribution_description: English: Madonna concert in Los Angeles back in '01
context_page_description: "Don't Tell Me" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eighth studio album, Music. It was released as the second single from the album on November 14, 2000 by Maverick Records. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the track with Mirwais Ahmadzaï, with additional writing from her brother-in-law, Joe Henry. Henry originally conceived it as a tango-styled torch song called "Stop"; the demo was later sent to Madonna, who then proceeded to change its musical composition, turning it into a country-dance song. Lyrically, Madonna asks her lover not to control her.
  "Don't Tell Me" received positive reviews from music critics, who cited the song as one of the album's standouts and praised Madonna's vocals. It was also compared to the work of singer Sheryl Crow. The song attained commercial success, reaching the top of the record charts in Canada, Italy and New Zealand, as well as the top five in several regions. It also became Europe's biggest radio hit of 2001. In the United States, "Don't Tell Me" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with the Beatles as the artist with the second-most top-ten singles in the Hot 100 history.
context_section_description: Filming for the "Don't Tell Me" music video took place in October 2000. It was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who had previously collaborated with Madonna in her videos for "Open Your Heart" (1986), "Justify My Love" (1990), "Human Nature" (1995) and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" (1996), while Jamie King was in charge of the choreography. King described the filming process: "[Mondino] really doesn't write a treatment so much. He may have an idea and Madonna and I really have lots of ideas and then I usually come up with a treatment style thing that he ends up executing and Madonna agrees to it. It's just a really great collaboration". The wardrobe was created by DSquared² and longtime Madonna collaborator Arianne Phillips. In a 2016 interview with Billboard, Phillips cited "Don't Tell Me" as one of her favorite Madonna style moments, saying that working with the singer is both rewarding and challenging.
  The video begins with Madonna—dressed in a blue plaid flannel shirt, dirty jeans, a large buckled belt and boots—walking on a desert highway faced towards the viewer. The camera zooms out to reveal that the highway is actually a projection on a drive-in style backdrop and that Madonna is walking on a treadmill. Her walking freezes simultaneously with the song's silent dropouts. The clip then alternates between scenes of Madonna dancing by herself on the treadmill, playing with sand in a desert, and cowboys line dancing in the video backdrop. Later, the cowboys join the singer in a choreographed dance routine, with Madonna wearing a black western-style jacket, cowboy hat and suede chaps. Towards the end Madonna is seen riding a mechanical bull, while the final scene depicts a cowboy riding a Skewbald horse in slow motion, getting thrown to the ground and getting up again.
caption: The performance of "Don't Tell Me" at the Drowned World Tour (2001) featured Madonna and her dancers dressed as cowboys and line dancing, similar to the song's music video.
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