Erotica (song)

{{About|the song by Madonna|other songs with this title|Erotica (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Erotica

| cover = Madonna Erotica Single.png

| alt =

| border = yes

| type = single

| artist = Madonna

| album = Erotica

| released = {{start date|1992|9|29}}

| recorded = June 8, 1992

| studio = Soundworks (New York)

| genre =

| length = 5:20 (album version)

4:32 (radio edit)

| label =

| writer =

Madonna
Shep Pettibone
Anthony Shimkin

| producer =

Madonna
Shep Pettibone

| prev_title = This Used to Be My Playground

| prev_year = 1992

| next_title = Deeper and Deeper

| next_year = 1992

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|WyhdvRWEWRw|"Erotica"}}}}

}}

"Erotica" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album of the same name (1992). It was written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone, and Anthony Shimkin and was produced by Madonna and Pettibone. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's lead single on September 29, 1992; in the United States, it was set to be released the following day, but after being leaked and played on several radio stations, the release date was held back until October 13. The song continued Madonna's exploration of spoken word vocals, which she had introduced in "Justify My Love" (1990). A pop hip-hop and dance song with Middle Eastern influences, its lyrics talk about sadomasochism, with the singer using the alter ego Dita and inviting her lover to be submissive while she makes love to him.

Upon release, "Erotica" was generally well received by music critics, with some deeming it one of Madonna's darkest and most experimental songs; in retrospective reviews, the song is now considered one of her best singles. It performed well commercially, debuting at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100―becoming one of the highest debuts on the chart history at the time―and peaking at number three. It also saw success on the Dance Club Play chart, where it reached the top position. Overseas, the song was also successful, peaking in the top 10 of several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, and Portugal. In Finland, Hungary, Italy and Greece, it peaked at number one.

The accompanying music video was directed by Fabien Baron, and features scenes of Madonna dressed as a masked dominatrix interspersed with footage of the making of her Sex book; it is combined with appearances by Naomi Campbell and Isabella Rossellini, among others. The video was highly controversial, being aired by MTV only three times, all after the 10pm watershed, before being completely banned. Madonna has included "Erotica"on four of her concert tours, the most recent being the Celebration Tour of 2023—2024. It was also included on Madonna's compilations, GHV2 (2001), and Celebration (2009), and has been covered and parodied by several artists, including Julie Brown and Sandra Bernhard.

Background and development

In 1992, Madonna founded her own multi-media entertainment company Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing, and merchandising divisions.{{cite web |last1=Holden |first1=Stephen |author1-link=Stephen Holden |title=Madonna makes a $60 million deal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/20/arts/madonna-makes-a-60-million-deal.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519100152/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/20/arts/madonna-makes-a-60-million-deal.html |archive-date=May 19, 2009 |date=April 10, 1992}}{{subscription required}} The first two projects from the venture were her fifth studio album Erotica and a coffee table book of photographs featuring Madonna, entitled Sex.{{cite web |last1=Orth |first1=Maureen |author1-link=Maureen Orth |title=Madonna in Wonderland |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1992/10/madonna199210 |work=Vanity Fair |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211083303/https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1992/10/madonna199210 |archive-date=February 11, 2015 |date=October 1992}} For Erotica, Madonna primarily collaborated with American producer Shep Pettibone; Pettibone first began working with the singer during the 1980s, providing remixes for several of her singles.{{cite web |last1=Cinquemani |first1=Sal |title=Review: Madonna, Erotica |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-erotica/ |work=Slant Magazine |access-date=June 22, 2022 |date=February 24, 2007 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520031744/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-erotica/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Pettibone |first1=Shep |author1-link=Shep Pettibone |title=Erotica Diaries |url=http://www.sheppettibone.com/sp_erotica_diarie |publisher=ShepPettibone.com |access-date=February 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627110144/http://www.sheppettibone.com/sp_erotica_diaries.htm |archive-date=June 27, 2007}} Pettibone would build the base music of the songs in a style similar to his remixes, while Madonna wrote the melodies and lyrics.{{harvnb|Burgess|2013|p=42}} According to the producer in an article titled "Erotica Diaries", published on Madonna's Icon magazine, he created a tape of three tracks for Madonna to listen to; he traveled to Chicago, where she was filming A League of Their Own (1992), played the songs for her and she liked all of them. In October 1991, Madonna met with Pettibone in New York City to start working on demos. According to Mark Bego, the first batch of songs they worked on were "Erotica", "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Thief of Hearts", and "Rain".{{harvnb|Bego|2000|p=96}} Anthony Shimkin, who also worked on the album, recalled that Madonna had with her a "book full of lyrics and melody ideas".{{cite magazine |last1=Lynch |first1=Joe |title=Madonna's Erotica turns 25: An oral history of the most controversial '90s pop album |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/madonna-erotica-album-sex-book-oral-history-8006663/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 27, 2022 |date=October 20, 2017 |archive-date=January 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127210154/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/madonna-erotica-album-sex-book-oral-history-8006663/ |url-status=live }}

At first, the singer did not like the songs she had recorded. She wanted Erotica to have a raw edge, as if it were recorded in an alley in Harlem, and not a light glossy production, according to Pettibone. In the case of the title track, the producer revealed that it underwent "numerous radical changes" during the recording process, with four different version being recorded; Madonna would first sing it one way, and then decide to erase everything and start all over again. Shimkin affirmed that the original version was not "as slinky and sexy and grimy and dirty", until the mixing process; at that stage, the song was still an "experimentation", but when they realized it was going to be the lead single from the album, a "different, darker vibe" was taken on. While recording Erotica, Madonna was also working on Sex; for the book, she incorporated a dominatrix alter-ego named Mistress Dita, heavily inspired by German actress Dita Parlo.{{harvsp|Guilbert|2002|p=122}} To accompany the book, Madonna had recorded a song titled "Erotic", described by Pettibone as an "ode to S&M". However, after actually seeing the book, Pettibone suggested that the singer incorporate the dominatrix theme into the song's lyrics: "'You have all these great stories [in the book]', I told her, 'Why don't you use them in the song?'" Madonna left the studio with a copy of Sex with her, came back and recorded her vocals to "Erotica" in a "very dry" way; Pettibone then realized the song "would never be the same again". The chorus and bridge were changed entirely and the song's "psyche" became "sexier, more to the point".

Composition and release

"Erotica" was written by Madonna, Pettibone and Shimkin, and produced by Madonna and Pettibone.{{Cite AV media notes|others=Madonna|title=Erotica|year=1992|type=Liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9362-45031-2}} Recording took place at Astoria's Sound Work Studios on June 8, 1992; personnel working on the song included Pettibone on the sequencing, keyboard arrangement, and programming, alongside Shimkin and Joe Moskowitz; Dennis Mitchell and Robin Hancock worked as recording engineers, while George Karras was the mixing engineer. The track continued Madonna's exploration of potent spoken-word vocals, which she had previously introduced in her 1990 single "Justify My Love". It samples Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" (1973), and "El Yom 'Ulliqa 'Ala Khashaba" by Lebanese singer Fairuz. The former sample was Pettibone's idea, as he felt it gave the song a "dark, mysterious" vibe, while the Fairuz sample caused controversy after she stated her vocals had been used without her consent, and said the lyrics He was crucified today, sung in Arabic, were taken from a religious song that is traditionally heard during Good Friday services.{{cite web |last1=Levine |first1=Nick |title=An oral history: Madonna's Erotica by the people who helped create it |url=https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/kz3qbz/an-oral-history-madonnas-erotica-by-the-people-who-helped-create-it |website=i-D |access-date=February 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101010208/https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/kz3qbz/an-oral-history-madonnas-erotica-by-the-people-who-helped-create-it |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |date=October 20, 2017}}{{cite magazine |last1=Flick |first1=Larry |author1-link=Larry Flick |title=Madonna, MJ club-conscious; Chicago vibe-rates |magazine=Billboard |date=March 6, 1993 |volume=105 |issue=10 |page=29 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-03-06.pdf#page=27 |access-date=June 22, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208142611/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-03-06.pdf#page=27 |url-status=live }} This led to a lawsuit that was settled out of court; however, both the single and the album were banned in Lebanon.{{cite web |last1=Ghanem |first1=Khaoula |title=Fairouz turns 83: Here are 7 facts about the legendary singer |url=https://en.vogue.me/culture/fairouz-facts-singer-birthday/ |work=Vogue Arabia |access-date=June 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119024650/https://en.vogue.me/culture/fairouz-facts-singer-birthday/ |archive-date=November 19, 2019 |date=November 21, 2018}}

{{listen

|pos=left

| filename = Madonna - Erotica.ogg

| title="Erotica"

| description = 31-second audio sample of "Erotica", in which Madonna "purrs" the lines Give it up, do what I say/ Give it up and let me have my way

| format = Ogg

}}

Musically, "Erotica" has been described as a pop hip-hop{{cite magazine |last1=Flick |first1=Larry |title=Single Reviews: Madonna, 'Erotica' |magazine=Billboard |date=October 10, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=41 |page=78 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-10.pdf#page=76 |access-date=June 25, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208141518/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-10.pdf#page=76 |url-status=live }} dance{{cite web |last1=Virtel |first1=Louis |author-link=Louis Virtel |date=March 2, 2013 |title=The 100 greatest Madonna songs |url=http://www.newnownext.com/the-100-greatest-madonna-songs/02/2012/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020234731/http://www.newnownext.com/the-100-greatest-madonna-songs/02/2012/ |archive-date=October 20, 2015 |access-date=June 25, 2022 |publisher=The Backlot}} song with "scratchy, trip-hop loops" and Middle Eastern influences.{{cite web |last1=Nissim |first1=Mayer |title=Madonna at 60: Queen of Pop's 60 best singles ranked |url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/08/15/madonna-60-best-singles/ |work=PinkNews |access-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816163838/https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/08/15/madonna-60-best-singles/ |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |date=August 15, 2018}} According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., "Erotica" is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute; composed in the key of F-sharp minor, Madonna's vocals span from F{{sharp}}₃ to A₄. It follows a chord progression of D/F{{sharp}}–F{{sharp}}m–D/F{{sharp}}–F{{sharp}}m in the introductory verses.{{cite web |last1=Cicccone |first1=Madonna |title=Erotica: Digital Sheet Music |date=July 19, 2010 |url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0085001 |publisher=Alfred Music |access-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626012200/https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0085001 |url-status=live }} Lyrically, it talks about S&M and begins with a "put-a-record-on scratchiness" sound that mimics a record player;{{cite web |title=The 100 best singles of the 1990s |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/best-singles-of-the-1990s/ |work=Slant Magazine |access-date=June 28, 2022 |date=January 10, 2011 |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418184318/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/best-singles-of-the-1990s/ |url-status=live }} 40 seconds in, the "Jungle Boogie" sample plays in a "disembodied and eerie" way. Madonna invites her lover to be submissive while she makes love to him, and suggesting him to explore boundaries between pain and pleasure, demanding: Give it up, do what I say/ Give it up and let me have my way.{{cite web |last1=Holden |first1=Stephen |title=Recordings view; selling sex and (oh, yes) a record |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/18/arts/recordings-view-selling-sex-and-oh-yes-a-record.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420025701/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/18/arts/recordings-view-selling-sex-and-oh-yes-a-record.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |archive-date=April 20, 2014 |date=October 18, 1992}} The song features "taunting, aggressive" sexually suggestive lyrics, such as, Will you let yourself go wild/Let my mouth go where it wants to, and Put your hands all over my body during the refrain. Also present are maracas and "shimmying horn riff[s]".{{cite magazine |last1=Berger |first1=Arion |title=Home > Music > Album Reviews > Erotica |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/erotica-186842/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=June 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927123157/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/erotica-186842/ |archive-date=September 27, 2018 |date=November 26, 1992}} "Erotic", the version recorded for Sex, described as "more hardcore" by academic Georges-Claude Guilbert, includes lyrics not heard in the final version, such as We could use the cage/I've got a lot of rope/I'm not full of rage, I'm full of hope/This is not a crime and you're not on trial/Bend over baby, I'm going to make you smile.{{harvnb|Guilbert|2002|p=160}}

In Australia and most European countries, "Erotica" was released as the album's lead single on September 29, 1992. In the United States, the planned release date was September 30, but five days prior, several radio stations were already playing the song. According to Billboard, on September 25, Don Stevens from CFTR Toronto had obtained a copy of the single and played it at 10:30 a.m., before getting a cease and desist by Warner Bros. Stevens then accused the label of leaking the single to "benefit from the accompanying publicity", which was denied by Warner Music Canada VP Kim Cooke. In Los Angeles, both KIIS-FM and Power 106 played the song once, but stopped at "the request" of the label. Open House Party aired the single at night on September 26 and 27, via 150 affiliates. "Erotica" was officially released in the US on October 13, 1992.{{cite magazine |last1=Flick |first1=Larry |title=Madonna, R.E.M. power heavy release slate |magazine=Billboard |date=October 3, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=40 |page=12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-03.pdf#page=12 |access-date=June 21, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208162358/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-03.pdf#page=12 |url-status=live }} The single was included on Madonna's compilation albums GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009), while a remixed form can be found on Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).{{cite web |last1=Cinquemani |first1=Sal |title=Review: Madonna, GHV2 |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-ghv2/ |work=Slant Magazine |access-date=January 27, 2022 |date=November 9, 2001 |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417084056/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-ghv2/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Wass |first1=Mike |title=All 50 of Madonna's no. 1 club hits ranked: From 'Everybody' to 'I Don't Search I Find' |url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/madonna-finally-enough-love-club-hits-ranked-1235345889/ |work=Variety |access-date=May 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819181759/https://variety.com/2022/music/news/madonna-finally-enough-love-club-hits-ranked-1235345889/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |date=August 19, 2022}} In 2022, 30 years after the release of the single and album, Madonna officially released the cancelled 3-tracks vinyl picture disc. This features the famous “toe sucking” photo featured on the front.{{cite web | url=https://shopuk.madonna.com/products/erotica-30th-anniversary-picture-disc | title=Madonna 'Erotica' 12" Picture Disc }}

Critical reception

Upon release, "Erotica" was generally well received by music critics. For Billboard, Larry Flick referred to it as a "sensual slice of aural sex" that "twists the vibe of 'Justify My Love'", and highlighted the "deep and complex" arrangement. From the same magazine, Joe Lynch named the song a "bold sonic departure" for the singer. Writing for AllMusic, Jose F. Promis classified it as one of the "darkest, most sinister, and most interesting" singles in her catalog. Rolling Stone{{'}}s Arion Berger wrote that, unlike "Justify My Love", which gathered its "heat from privacy and romance", "[The Madonna of] 'Erotica' is in no way interested in your dreams [...] [the song] demands the passivity of a listener, not a sexual partner". Berger concluded his review by referring to "Erotica" as "insistently self-absorbed — 'Vogue' with a dirty mouth, where all the real action’s on the dance floor". Slant Magazine{{'}}s Sal Cinquemani deemed it "brilliant". J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, pointed out that "['Erotica'] wasn't a surprise for anyone who had been paying attention to [Madonna's] recent music. She had shown her hand earlier with Breathless when she sang 'Hanky Panky', the song about spanking [...] then there was her single 'Justify My Love' [...] 'Erotica' though, was the full-blown music exploration, an exhibition, of what we were to believe was Madonna's sexual reality." The New York Times{{'}} Stephen Holden praised the singer's "foggy growl [that] contrasts dramatically with the shrill little-kid voice from [her] earliest records". For Gavin Martin from The Seattle Times, the singer's voice "sounds as though it's coming from somewhere dark and menacing: as far as you can tell it sounds like a man".{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Gavin |title=Like a chameleon: Madonna delves into her sexual psyche and invites US to watch |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19921015&slug=1518748 |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=July 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822225150/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19921015&slug=1518748 |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |date=October 15, 1992}}

{{Quote box|width=20%|align=right|quote="['Erotica'] has an aural allure all its own, setting your dirtiest fantasies to a grimy groove. Going from sultry spoken word in the verses to a postcoital purr in the chorus, it’s the sound of sex — and sleaze — with Madonna introducing herself as Mistress Dita long before there was a Madame X. Hinting at the sonic adventurism that was to come on Ray of Light, it was about the boldest move she could have made at the height of her career".|source=—Chuck Arnold commenting on the song on Billboard{{'}}s review of the Erotica album on its 30th anniversary.{{cite magazine |last1=Arnold |first1=Chuck |title=Madonna's Erotica album at 30: Every song ranked from worst to best |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/madonna-erotica-album-songs-ranked/erotica/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204220150/https://www.billboard.com/lists/madonna-erotica-album-songs-ranked/erotica/ |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |date=October 20, 2022}}}}

Allen Metz and Carol Benson, authors of The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary, said the track was "a bondage update on 'Justify My Love'".{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|pp=17–18}} Similarly, while reviewing GHV2, Cinquemani called it a sequel to "Justify My Love", that is "as distantly icy as it was erotic", and a "creative high for a career on the verge of public turmoil". At Blender, Tony Powers considered the song one of the album's standout tracks.{{cite web |last1=Power |first1=Tony |title=Madonna – Erotica |url=http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_2347.html |work=Blender |access-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818014510/http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_2347.html |archive-date=August 18, 2004}} In less favorable comments, Anthony Violanti from The Buffalo News said the track was the album's weakest, and dismissed it as a "carbon copy" of "Justify My Love".{{cite web |last1=Violanti |first1=Anthony |title=Too much sex weakens Madonna's latest Erotica |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/too-much-sex-weakens-madonnas-latest-erotica/article_dfa9e0aa-5273-5035-a99f-da7757625022.html |work=The Buffalo News |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105231001/https://buffalonews.com/news/too-much-sex-weakens-madonnas-latest-erotica/article_dfa9e0aa-5273-5035-a99f-da7757625022.html |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |date=October 20, 1992}} Cashbox{{'}}s Randy Clark said that, musically, the single did not offer anything new, and called it a "melody-less 'Vogue'".{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Randy |title=Music Reviews: Singles |journal=Cashbox |date=October 17, 1992 |volume=56 |issue=8 |page=5 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1992/CB-1992-10-17.pdf#page=5 |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407045100/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1992/CB-1992-10-17.pdf#page=5 |url-status=live }} Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters was also negative on her review; she felt the song did not age well, and referred to it as a "cold, dispassionate sexual fantasy" with "adolescent" lyrics intended to shock.{{cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=Charlotte |title=Madonna: Greatest Hits Volume 2 |url=https://www.popmatters.com/madonna-greatest-2495984845.html |work=PopMatters |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005545/https://www.popmatters.com/madonna-greatest-2495984845.html |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |date=November 12, 2001}} Jude Rogers, writing for The Guardian, opined "Erotica" is an "oddly sexless Sex-era single, not helped by awkward synthesised sighs".{{cite web |last1=Jude |first1=Rogers |title=Every one of Madonna's 78 singles – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/16/every-one-of-madonnas-78-singles-ranked |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816144826/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/16/every-one-of-madonnas-78-singles-ranked |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |date=August 16, 2018}} Finally, Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s David Browne panned it as "depressingly trite [...] between its frigid melody and your scary 'My name is Dita' spoken bits, it’s about as sexy as an episode of the Shelley Hack-era Charlie's Angels".{{cite magazine |last1=Browne |first1=David |author1-link=David Browne (journalist) |title=Erotica |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/10/23/erotica/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724142115/https://ew.com/article/1992/10/23/erotica/ |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |date=October 23, 1992}}

Retrospective reviews have been positive. In 2011, Slant Magazine placed the song at number 34 on their list of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s"; Ed Gonzalez praised Madonna's "throaty" vocals for making the song's "taunting, aggressive lyrics —an elaborate exploration of sex, from seduction to disease— feel unmistakably honest". Matthew Jacobs from HuffPost placed the song at number 23 of his ranking of Madonna's singles, calling it a "a period of innovation for the singer".{{cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Matthew |title=The definitive ranking of Madonna singles |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-definitive-ranking-of-madonna-singles_n_5078934 |work=HuffPost |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406160303/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-definitive-ranking-of-madonna-singles_n_5078934 |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |date=March 10, 2015}} On Gay Star News{{'}} ranking, the single came in at number 17; Joe Morgan called it "daring, sexy, and unabashed".{{cite web |last1=Morgan |first1=Joe |title=The definitive ranking of Madonna's top 55 songs |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/definitive-ranking-madonnas-top-55-songs150814/ |work=Gay Star News |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818084316/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/definitive-ranking-madonnas-top-55-songs150814/ |archive-date=August 18, 2014 |date=August 15, 2014}} Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s Chuck Arnold considered "Erotica" Madonna's 10th greatest song, and PinkNews{{'}} Nayer Missim her sixth; the former opined it was "the boldest move she could have made at the height of her career", while the latter said the song was among the "most carefree, unpretentiously sexy music ever released".{{cite magazine |last1=Arnold |first1=Chuck |title=Madonna's 60 best singles, ranked |url=https://ew.com/music/2018/08/15/madonnas-60-best-singles-ranked/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815230537/https://ew.com/music/2018/08/15/madonnas-60-best-singles-ranked/ |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |date=August 15, 2018}} Arnold also pointed out that with "Erotica", the singer "introduced the pop-diva alter ego: Before Mariah gave us Mimi and Beyoncé gave us Sasha Fierce, [Madonna] gave us the dominatrix Dita". This opinion was shared by Louis Virtel, writing for The Backlot, who named the song Madonna's eight best, and a "hot, smutty grind of a dance anthem".

For Idolator{{'}}s Mike Wass, the song is Madonna's seventh best lead single, and one of her most "wildly experimental" and interesting.{{cite web |last1=Wass |first1=Mike |title=From 'Everybody' to "'Medellín', Madonna's lead singles ranked |url=https://www.idolator.com/7752032/madonna-14-lead-singles-ranked?chrome=1&Exc_D_LessThanPoint002_p1=1 |work=Idolator |access-date=June 30, 2022 |date=April 19, 2019 }} Morgan Troper, for Portland Mercury, named "Erotica" an example of "scary-sexy" Madonna, and one of her "five sexiest songs that aren't 'Like a Virgin'".{{cite web |last1=Troper |first1=Morgan |title=Madonna's five sexiest songs that aren't 'Like a Virgin' |url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/madonnas-five-sexiest-songs-that-arent-like-a-virgin/Content?oid=16698405 |website=Portland Mercury |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016141112/https://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/madonnas-five-sexiest-songs-that-arent-like-a-virgin/Content?oid=16698405 |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |date=October 14, 2015}} Scott Kearnan from Boston.com wrote that, "No pop star of her fame has been this sexually transgressive before or since [...] Rihanna sings about 'S&M' like it’s a song about My Little Pony, but [Madonna] dishes on pain, pleasure, and power with the conviction of a whip crack"; he named "Erotica" the singer's sixth best.{{cite web |last1=Kearnan |first1=Scott |title=The 30 ultimate Madonna singles |url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/30_best_madonna_singles_ultimate_song_list/ |website=Boston.com |access-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428114716/http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/30_best_madonna_singles_ultimate_song_list/ |archive-date=April 28, 2016 |date=September 9, 2013}} The song came in the 22nd position of Billboard magazine's list of Madonna's singles, with Lynch hailing it "the boldest, riskiest reinvention in a career full of them [...] An icy declaration that it was time to kick open the doors on kinks and own them without shame".{{cite magazine |title=The 100 greatest Madonna songs: Critics' picks |url=https://www.billboard.com/media/lists/100-greatest-madonna-songs-list-8469835/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119200810/https://www.billboard.com/media/lists/100-greatest-madonna-songs-list-8469835/ |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |date=August 15, 2018}} El Hunt from NME wrote: "Defined by sleazy Shep Pettibone beats, orgasmic gasps, and choice lyrics [...] ['Erotica'] makes 50 Shades of Grey look tamer than a fully-domesticated alpaca".{{cite web |last1=Hunt |first1=El |title=The ages of Madonna – the evolution of an icon |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/material-girl-campy-cowboy-madonnas-iconic-eras-2482550 |website=NME |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310033848/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/material-girl-campy-cowboy-madonnas-iconic-eras-2482550 |archive-date=March 10, 2020 |date=June 14, 2019}} From the Official Charts Company, Justin Myers considered the Sex version of "Erotic" to be one of Madonna's "hidden gems".{{cite web |last1=Myers |first1=Justin |title=Deeper and deeper: Madonna's hidden gems and deep cuts you need in your life |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/deeper-and-deeper-madonnas-hidden-gems-and-deep-cuts-you-need-in-your-life__23595/ |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=April 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818144507/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/deeper-and-deeper-madonnas-hidden-gems-and-deep-cuts-you-need-in-your-life__23595/ |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |date=August 16, 2018}}

Commercial performance

File:Mariah Carey WBLS 2018 Interview 4.jpg's (picture) "I'll Be There" as the highest debut for a song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite magazine |last1=Bronson |first1=Fred |title=Janet Jackson has done it again |magazine=Billboard |date=September 16, 1995 |volume=107 |issue=37 |page=96 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1995/BB-1995-09-16.pdf#page=118 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208191200/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1995/BB-1995-09-16.pdf#page=118 |url-status=live }}]]

On October 17, 1992, "Erotica" debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There" as the highest-debuting single in the chart since 1970.{{cite magazine |last1=Boehlert |first1=Eric |title=WB bothered over early play on 'Erotica' / Boyz's 'End' makes Motown history |magazine=Billboard |date=October 17, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=42 |pages=74 and 94 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-17.pdf |access-date=June 16, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208185801/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-17.pdf |url-status=live }} One week later, the single peaked at number three behind Boyz II Men's "End of the Road", and "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley.{{cite magazine |title=The Hot 100: The week of October 24, 1992 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1992-10-24/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827064234/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1992-10-24/ |archive-date=August 27, 2015 |date=October 24, 1992}} "Erotica" was the first song to reach the Hot 100's top three in just two weeks since Michael Jackson's "Black or White", released in November 1991;{{cite magazine |last1=Grein |first1=Paukl |title='Road' runner; R.E.M. awakens interest |magazine=Billboard |date=October 24, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=43 |page=94 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-24.pdf#page=90 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208151309/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-24.pdf#page=90 |url-status=live }} nonetheless, it was also Madonna's first lead single to not top the chart since 1983.{{cite magazine |last1=Grein |first1=Paul |title=Bolton bounds; Heights reach Pinnacle |magazine=Billboard |date=November 14, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=46 |page=94 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-11-14.pdf#page=110 |access-date=June 16, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121225437/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-11-14.pdf#page=110 |url-status=live }} By October 31, 1992, sales took a dip and the single dropped two positions in the chart.{{cite magazine |last1=Ellis |first1=Michael |title=Hot 100: Singles Spotlight |magazine=Billboard |date=October 31, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=44 |page=98 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-31.pdf#page=90 |access-date=July 2, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208173217/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-31.pdf#page=90 |url-status=live }} Jose F. Promis pointed out that "Erotica" was one of the fastest-rising singles in the chart's history, but also had one of the biggest drops; he attributed this to a backlash the singer faced from the general public, who decided she had gone "too far" following the release of the Sex book.{{cite web |last1=Promis |first1=Jose F. |author1-link=Promis (musician) |title=Madonna > "Erotica" > Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/erotica-mw0000088969 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=June 17, 2022 |date=1992 |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617001231/https://www.allmusic.com/album/erotica-mw0000088969 |url-status=live }} Overall, "Erotica" spent eighteen weeks on the chart, and received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 10, 1992, for shipment of 500,000 copies. The song also saw success on Billboard{{'}}s Maxi-Singles Sales and Dance Club Play charts, reaching the first position of both; it became Madonna's 13th chart-topper on the latter chart.{{cite magazine |last1=Murray |first1=Gordon |title=Madonna earns 48th No. 1 on Dance Club Songs chart with 'I Rise' |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/madonna-48th-number-1-dance-club-songs-chart-i-rise/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108144853/https://www.billboard.com/pro/madonna-48th-number-1-dance-club-songs-chart-i-rise/ |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |date=August 23, 2019}} "Erotica" came in at number 48 on the Maxi-Singles Sales year-end chart for 1993. In March 2014, Billboard reported that the song held the record for the highest debut in the history of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, having entered at number two.{{cite magazine |last1=Trust |first1=Gary |title=Ask Billboard: Shakira's biggest Hot 100 hits |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/ask-billboard-shakiras-biggest-hot-100-hits/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118173551/https://www.billboard.com/pro/ask-billboard-shakiras-biggest-hot-100-hits/ |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |date=March 7, 2014}} In Canada, the single debuted in the 58th position of RPM{{'}}s 100 Hit Tracks chart on the week of October 17;{{cite web |title=RPM 100: Hit tracks & where to find them |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.1910&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.1910.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.1910 |website=RPM |publisher=Library and Archives Canada |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322144047/https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.1910&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.1910.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.1910 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |date=October 17, 1992}} it peaked at number 13 the week of November 21, 1992.

In the United Kingdom, "Erotica" debuted at the 11th position of the UK Singles Chart on October 17, 1992, and, 2 weeks later, peaked at number 3; it spent 9 weeks on the chart overall. According to Music Week magazine, 270,800 copies of the single have been sold in the UK as of 2008.{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Alan |title=The immaculate guide to 50 years of Madonna |url=http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=22&storycode=1035210 |work=Music Week |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911221201/http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=22&storycode=1035210 |archive-date=September 11, 2008 |date=August 19, 2008}} In Australia, "Erotica" entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 16 on the week of October 25, 1992, eventually peaking at 4 and lasting 11 weeks on the chart. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified it Gold for shipments of over 35,000 copies in Australia. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number eight the week of November 1, 1992 and, a week later, reached its peak of number three. "Erotica" saw success across Europe as well; it reached the top three in Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. It topped the charts of Finland, Greece and Italy, and reached the top 10 in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain.{{Cite book|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|isbn=84-8048-639-2|edition=1st|location=Spain}} The single was less successful in Austria and France, peaking at numbers 15 and 23, respectively. "Erotica" reached the first position of both the Eurochart Hot 100 and the European Dance Radio Chart.

Music video

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The music video for "Erotica" was shot in August 1992 and directed by fashion photographer Fabien Baron. The video consisted mostly of Super 8 film shot by Baron during Steven Meisel's photo sessions for the book Sex.{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Kyle |title=Madonna gets kinky with Erotica: Wake-up video |url=http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/10/20/madonna-erotica/ |publisher=MTV |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021235706/http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/10/20/madonna-erotica/ |archive-date=October 21, 2010 |date=October 20, 2010}} Billboard{{'}}s Deborah Russell had previously reported that the singer would shoot two videos for the single: an X-rated one, that would be released as a commercial single, and a G-rated version for broadcast.{{cite magazine |last1=Russell |first1=Deborah |title=No more air for 'Pump'; Madonna's 'Erotica' X 2 |magazine=Billboard |date=September 12, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=37 |page=40 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-09-12.pdf#page=38 |access-date=June 17, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208151333/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-09-12.pdf#page=38 |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last1=Cinquemani |first1=Sal |title=Madonna's 9 most controversial videos: From 'Papa Don't Preach' to 'God Control' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/madonna-most-controversial-videos-8517781/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117020638/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/madonna-most-controversial-videos-8517781/ |archive-date=November 17, 2021 |date=June 26, 2019}} Madonna later explained that she visualized the clip by closing her eyes and thinking of what was erotic to her, though not necessarily having experienced such things.{{cite episode |series=BBC Radio 1|last1=Bates |first1=Simon|author1-link=Simon Bates|network=BBC Radio 1 |station=104.8|location=London|date=October 14, 1992 |minutes=17 |time= |quote=Because that's how I visualized the song and I close my eyes and I think of the song ...}} Inspired by the films of Andy Warhol and The Factory, and Kenneth Anger's 1947 short film Fireworks, the video intercalates scenes of Madonna dressed as a masked dominatrix with a gold tooth, with actual footage of the making of the Sex book;{{harvnb|Ichbiah|2016|pp=131–132}} in these scenes, the singer is seen sitting topless in the lap of an older man, kissing model Naomi Campbell, wearing BDSM gear, and riding a bicycle in the nude.{{cite magazine |last1=Romero |first1=Michele |title=Erotica |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/10/23/erotica-music-video/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924010223/https://ew.com/article/1992/10/23/erotica-music-video/ |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |date=October 23, 1992}} Vanilla Ice, Big Daddy Kane, and Isabella Rossellini all make appearances.{{cite web |last1=Muro |first1=Matt |title=Madonna's top 11 controversies (and how they helped her succeed commercially) |url=http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-03-30/madonna-top-controversies/ |publisher=VH1 |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712025608/http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2012-03-30/madonna-top-controversies/ |archive-date=July 12, 2015 |date=March 30, 2012}} The scenes of Madonna as a dominatrix were shot in New York's The Kitchen, while shootings for Sex took place at Hotel Chelsea and Times Square's all-male burlesque Gaiety Theatre.{{harvnb|Lough|2013|p=179}}{{cite web |last1=Musto |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Musto| title=8 Forgotten hangouts that made NY special |url=https://www.papermag.com/8-forgotten-hangouts-that-made-nyc-special-1427513337.html |website=Paper |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125085101/https://www.papermag.com/8-forgotten-hangouts-that-made-nyc-special-1427513337.html |archive-date=November 25, 2015 |date=February 18, 2015}} Richard Harrington from The Washington Post gave a description of the visual:

"In the video, [Madonna] becomes Dita Parlo, a masked, gold-toothed dominatrix from an indeterminate age, ready to help us cross the street at the corner of Pleasure and Pain [...] assuming different dominatrix roles and investigating assorted bondage scenarios before finishing up with some nude hitchhiking on a street remarkable free of pile-ups. Shot in grainy black and white, 'Erotica' has the feel of a stag film, though its quick cuts keep the viewer from seeing all that much".{{cite news |last1=Harrington |first1=Richard |title=The Madonna Pornucopia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/10/21/the-madonna-pornucopia/fe69f452-50a6-4f9c-8a8d-aa6047cb749f/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719051522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/10/21/the-madonna-pornucopia/fe69f452-50a6-4f9c-8a8d-aa6047cb749f/ |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |date=October 21, 1992}}

The video had its world premiere on MTV, on midnight October 2, 1992;{{cite magazine |last1=Duffy |first1=Thom |last2=Rosen |first2=Craig |last3=Verna |first3=Paul |title=Madonna mania surges via album, book release |magazine=Billboard |date=November 7, 1992 |volume=104 |issue=45 |page=90 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-11-07.pdf#page=84 |access-date=June 17, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=September 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926233726/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-11-07.pdf#page=84 |url-status=live }} following a "mercifully short" lecture on BDSM, host Kurt Loder explained that because some people may find the video's content "repellent", it would only be shown at night and not in regular rotation.{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=John |title=Madonna's message isn't music – it's 'Sex' |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/10/06/madonna-s-message-isn-t-music-it-s-sex/ |work=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721012331/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/10/06/madonna-s-message-isn-t-music-it-s-sex/ |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |date=October 11, 2005}} "Erotica" was shown a total of three times on MTV, all three after midnight, before being completely retired from airing; it became Madonna's second video to be banned by the channel, following "Justify My Love".{{cite web |last1=Bibisi |first1=Susan |title=Madonna pushes the limits again |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-10-20-9210180404-story.html |website=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=June 17, 2022 |date=October 19, 1992 |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617205545/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-10-20-9210180404-story.html |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |title=Too hot for MTV: 10 Music videos that got banned |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/too-hot-for-mtv-10-music-videos-that-got-banned-1196246/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426132752/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/too-hot-for-mtv-10-music-videos-that-got-banned-1196246/ |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |date=December 22, 2010}} MTV spokesperson Carole Robinson said that the video would never air in its entirety during days or evenings, but selected parts would air on afternoon dance show The Grind;{{cite news |title=Names: Madonna's video too racy |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FydDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-qwMAAAAIBAJ&hl=es&pg=5178%2C572448 |access-date=June 17, 2022 |work=The Albany Herald |date=October 4, 1992 |page=15 |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617212352/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FydDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-qwMAAAAIBAJ&hl=es&pg=5178,572448 |url-status=live }} also from the channel, Linda Alexander explained that the video's themes were "clearly aimed at a more adult audience", lacking appropriateness for the general public. Madonna herself said she understood the channel's ban, as "[MTV] plays to a huge audience and a lot of them are children, and a lot of themes I'm exploring in my videos aren't meant for children, so I understand that they say I can't show it".{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2008|pp=226–227}}

Other networks such as NBC and the Times Square screens also refused to air the visual after finding its content "too racy"; Pearl Liebermen, a producer of NBC's Friday Night Videos, found "Erotica" to be "very stimulating", and said that although the network would not air the video, they would report on it. One of the few networks that aired the video was The Box, where it became the number-one music video; the channel's president Vincent Monsey found the clip to be "very well-produced" and did not see any problem with it. On October 19, 1992, MTV began airing the video on its entirety again after midnight, this time with a disclaimer warning viewers of the sexually explicit themes. "Erotica" can be found on Madonna's 2009 compilation Celebration: The Video Collection.{{cite web |title='Celebration' – Track listing for CD & DVD announced |url=https://www.madonna.com/news/title/celebration--track-listing-for-cd--dvd-announced |publisher=Icon: Official Madonna website |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102085012/https://www.madonna.com/news/title/celebration--track-listing-for-cd--dvd-announced |archive-date=January 2, 2010 |date=August 25, 2009}}

= Reception and analysis =

File:Erotica - Music video.jpg

Initial reaction to the music video ranged from mixed to negative. Rolling Stone{{'}}s Anthony DeCurtis noted it was "pretty much normal Madonna fare", but wondered how much longer would she be able to "continue mining sexuality", concluding: "At what point does it just stop being interesting?" Similarly, Michele Romero, writing for Entertainment Weekly, asked, "Haven’t we seen most of this stuff before? Can we be bored with the subject matter already?", and gave the clip a B− rating; Romero furthered criticized the "choppy editing" and the lack of emotion that makes it "difficult to identify with or care about" the video's characters. She concluded her review by deeming the video a "litany of television taboos [rather] than a titillating expression of her sexual fantasies". Anthony Violanti panned it as a "musical and visual dud" that's "about as sexy as Ross Perot".{{cite web |last1=Violanti |first1=Anthony |title=Madonna overkill: Sorry, 'Erotica' queen, more is less |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/madonna-overkill-sorry-erotica-queen-more-is-less/article_9eb4f9b1-68f6-5ced-95d1-56fbbe7b73f9.html |work=The Buffalo News |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721081917/https://buffalonews.com/news/madonna-overkill-sorry-erotica-queen-more-is-less/article_9eb4f9b1-68f6-5ced-95d1-56fbbe7b73f9.html |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |date=October 6, 1992}} "['Erotica' is] another example of her video overkill [...] [Madonna] has hyped sex to the point of boredom and has become a caricature of herself", Violanti wrote. For Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, it is her "most emotionally stark" video, further adding: "[She] looks as evil and daunting as your worst nightmare, or your most sinister fantasy. [...] If Madonna has ever done a video that is truly disturbing, this is it".{{harvnb|Rettenmund|1995|p=57}}

In a more positive review, former pornographic actress Candida Royalle applauded the singer for "helping women find equal footing in society" by presenting the subject of erotica and "unconventional sexual behavior". Retrospective reviews towards the visual have been similarly positive; Parade{{'}}s Samuel Murrian named it Madonna's 20th best music video.{{cite news |last1=Murrian |first1=Samuel R. |title=We ranked Madonna's 20 greatest music videos – Happy birthday to the Queen of Pop! |url=https://parade.com/693059/samuelmurrian/we-ranked-madonnas-20-greatest-music-videos-happy-birthday-to-the-queen-of-pop/ |work=Parade |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817113009/https://parade.com/693059/samuelmurrian/we-ranked-madonnas-20-greatest-music-videos-happy-birthday-to-the-queen-of-pop/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |date=August 16, 2018}} Virtel and Idolator{{'}}s Mike Nied both considered "Erotica" to be Madonna's 17th best video; the former deemed it a "seedy sight, but one that forces you to wonder: Would you let yourself go wild?", while according to the latter, the visual "brought soft porn to the mainstream".{{cite web |last1=Virtel |first1=Louis |author-link=Louis Virtel |date=August 16, 2013 |title=Madonna's 55 best videos in honor of her 55th birthday |url=http://www.newnownext.com/madonnas-55-best-videos-in-honor-of-her-55th-birthday/08/2013/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309094829/http://www.newnownext.com/madonnas-55-best-videos-in-honor-of-her-55th-birthday/08/2013/hday/08/2013/ |archive-date=March 9, 2016 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |website=The Backlot |publisher=}}{{cite web |last1=Nied |first1=Mike |title=From 'Vogue' to 'Hung Up': Madonna's 25 best videos |url=https://www.idolator.com/7684356/madonna-25-best-videos-ranked?chrome=1 |website=Idolator |access-date=June 20, 2022 |date=August 16, 2018 |archive-date=November 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231122042157/https://www.idolator.com/7684356/madonna-25-best-videos-ranked?chrome=1 |url-status=dead }} For MTV's Kyle Anderson, "[the video] still feels controversial all these years". "Erotica" was considered one of Madonna's most controversial music videos by Cinquemani and HuffPost{{'}}s Daniel Welsh.{{cite web |last1=Welsh |first1=Daniel |title=A timeline of Madonna's career in controversial videos |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/madonna-most-controversial-music-video-moments_uk_5b731866e4b03d52e4910271?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANbVIED4lhOlpxWrdURo-DHCjUgq27rG6FvnHxDq1pxGIxumxc9t6FkATuTQNZ7SD50Hdwe7j8D8-GhwmX2BfE7U6cMei-d0fiJSdp6zxXzu8gNGBV3arwkWMo8WL3uJbOmLBoSuBMYPAqXcwOB6S0UfU6-lcCWFemBmKCvGYL_B |website=HuffPost |access-date=June 20, 2022 |date=August 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620232655/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/madonna-most-controversial-music-video-moments_uk_5b731866e4b03d52e4910271?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANbVIED4lhOlpxWrdURo-DHCjUgq27rG6FvnHxDq1pxGIxumxc9t6FkATuTQNZ7SD50Hdwe7j8D8-GhwmX2BfE7U6cMei-d0fiJSdp6zxXzu8gNGBV3arwkWMo8WL3uJbOmLBoSuBMYPAqXcwOB6S0UfU6-lcCWFemBmKCvGYL_B |url-status=live }} At the 1993 Billie Awards, "Erotica" was nominated in three categories: Consumer print, trade print (music) and consumer print (retail), the most for a single entry;{{cite magazine |title=Billie Awards |magazine=Billboard |date=March 6, 1993 |volume=105 |issue=10 |page=65 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-03-06.pdf#page=87 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |issn=0006-2510 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208142611/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-03-06.pdf#page=87 |url-status=live }} it was also included on VH1's 50 Sexiest Video Moments at number 16.{{cite web |title=This List 50-1 (Sexiest Videos) |url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/65466/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/50sexiest_vids/26_50_aux.jhtml&event_id=864533 |publisher=VH1 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104131726/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/65466/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/50sexiest_vids/26_50_aux.jhtml&event_id=864533 |archive-date=January 4, 2007}} Rolling Stone{{'}}s Eric Harvey named "Erotica" one of "The 15 Most NSFW Music Videos of All Time".{{cite web |last1=Harvey |first1=Eric |title=The 15 most NSFW music videos of all time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-15-most-nsfw-music-videos-of-all-time-18373/madonna-erotica-1992-176809/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=September 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712093225/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-15-most-nsfw-music-videos-of-all-time-18373/madonna-erotica-1992-176809/ |archive-date=July 12, 2018 |date=July 13, 2011}} Finally, for Eric Henderson from Slant Magazine, "Erotica" is Madonna's 15th greatest music video.{{cite web |last1=Henderson |first1=Eric |title=Madonna's 25 greatest music videos |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-greatest-music-videos-ranked/ |work=Slant Magazine |access-date=October 7, 2022 |date=October 6, 2022}}

In Justify My Love: Sex, Subversion, and Music Video (2019), Ryann Donnelly wrote that the music video "expands and proliferates" the queer imagery from "Justify My Love"; this can be seen in scenes where Madonna kisses and gropes Campbell and Rossellini, two "classic objects of desire for heterosexual men", according to Donnelly. The author also went on to explain how the singer generates "shock and sexual arousal" by exposing sexual activities usually kept hidden from heteronormativity: drag, bondage, roleplay, homosexuality, and group sex; "[Madonna] unveils honest facets of sexuality, rarely seen in mainstream media [...] [She] elevates and legitimizes these truths and fantasies through her extreme visibility and success".

Live performances

"Erotica" has been included on four of Madonna's concert tours: The Girlie Show (1993), Confessions (2006), MDNA (2012), and Celebration (2023–2024). On the first one, it was performed as opening number, beginning with a topless dancer sliding down a pole dangling high above the stage.{{harvnb|Lenig|2010|pp=144–145}} Then, Madonna emerged dressed as a short-haired dominatrix, wearing a domino mask, sequined black hotpants and bra, long gloves, knee-high boots, and brandishing a riding crop.{{harvnb|Borzillo-Vrenna|2008|p=55}} She rubbed the crop between her legs as she sang, while dancers posed and danced suggestively in the background. On his review of the concert in New York's Madison Square Garden, Jon Pareles from The New York Times pointed out that, "[during] the ethereal Put your hands all over my body in 'Erotica', [the choreography] suggests exercises rather than unbridled passion".{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |author1-link=Jon Pareles |title=Review/Pop; From Madonna, a new palatability but still spicy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/arts/review-pop-from-madonna-a-new-palatability-but-still-spicy.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111075734/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/arts/review-pop-from-madonna-a-new-palatability-but-still-spicy.html |archive-date=November 11, 2010 |date=October 16, 1993}} The performance recorded on November 19, 1993, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, was included on The Girlie Show: Live Down Under home video release (1994).{{cite video|people=Madonna|title=The Girlie Show: Live Down Under|medium=VHS|publisher=Warner Music Vision|year=1994}}

File:MadonnaO2171023 (17 of 133) (53270846889) (cropped).jpg's boxing-themed performance of "Erotica".]]

For 2006's Confessions Tour, "Erotica" was used on an introduction video that led to "Music" (2000), along with "Borderline" (1984), "Dress You Up" (1985), and "Holiday" (1983).{{cite video|people=Madonna|title=The Confessions Tour|date=2007|medium=CD/DVD|publisher=Warner Home Video}} On that same tour, Madonna sang a remix of the song, based on one of the unreleased demos known as "You Thrill Me".{{harvnb|Falconi|2017|p=154}} She wore a one-shouldered unitard with ribbons of purple Swarovski crystals across the torso, similar to the one worn by the singers of ABBA, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, and was joined by five couples dancing "mild-mannered steps lifted from a Broadway ballroom scene".{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Booth |title=Like a disco ball, leotards come back around |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-23-et-leotard23-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901011040/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-23-et-leotard23-story.html |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |date=May 23, 2006}}{{cite web |last1=Gallo |first1=Phil |title=Madonna |url=https://variety.com/2006/music/markets-festivals/madonna-7-1200516053/ |work=Variety |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713174659/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930604.html?categoryid=34&cs=1&nid=2562 |archive-date=July 13, 2007 |date=May 22, 2006}} Slant Magazine{{'}}s Ed Gonzalez opined that, "her performance of Stuart Price's 'You Thrill Me' remix of 'Erotica' is a smash: She disco-fies the song but keeps its sex appeal, choreographing it to simple, Latin-infused dance maneuvers that are ecstatic".{{cite web |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Ed |title=Madonna (New York, NY – July 3, 2006) |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-new-york-ny-july-3-2006/ |website=Slant Magazine |access-date=June 21, 2022 |date=July 4, 2006 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621002759/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-new-york-ny-july-3-2006/ |url-status=live }} The performance from the August 15–16 London concerts was included on the singer's second live album The Confessions Tour (2007).

"The Erotic Candy Shop", a medley of "Erotica" and "Candy Shop"―from Hard Candy (2008)―was included on the MDNA Tour of 2012.{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Daniel |title=Madonna brings 'MDNA' tour to London |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/madonna-162-1265266 |work=NME |access-date=June 21, 2022 |date=July 18, 2012 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621005023/https://www.nme.com/news/music/madonna-162-1265266 |url-status=live }} Madonna sang as a male dancer groped her.{{cite web |last1=Mervis |first1=Scott |title=Madonna is a 'girl gone wild' for Obama in Consol concert |url=http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12312/1274997-501.stm |website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110122808/http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12312/1274997-501.stm |archive-date=November 10, 2012 |date=November 7, 2012}} The Jerusalem Post{{'}}s Niv Elis highlighted the performance, which he felt showcased the singer "at her visual best";{{cite web |last1=Elis |first1=Niv |title=MDNA Tour review: Introducing Jihad Madonna |url=https://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Entertainment/MDNA-Tour-Review-Introducing-Jihad-Madonna |work=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616155448/https://www.jpost.com/Arts-and-Culture/Entertainment/MDNA-Tour-Review-Introducing-Jihad-Madonna |archive-date=June 16, 2013 |date=June 1, 2012}} on the contrary, Emrah Güler from the Hürriyet Daily News said it was one number that "could have been left out".{{cite web |last1=Güler |first1=Emrah |title=Angrier, more aggressive Madonna rocks Istanbul |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/angrier-more-aggressive-madonna-rocks-istanbul-22726 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |access-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919210235/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/angrier-more-aggressive-madonna-rocks-istanbul-22726 |archive-date=September 19, 2020 |date=June 9, 2012}} The performances at the November 19–20 shows in Miami were recorded and released in the MDNA World Tour live album (2013).{{cite video|people=Madonna|title=MDNA World Tour|year=2013 |type=DVD/CD |publisher= Interscope}}

Four 2023–2024's the Celebration Tour, "Erotica" was given a boxing theme. The stage had a ring crafted from lasers, while Madonna―who donned a slip dress underneath a boxing robe―cavorted around shirtless dancers wearing glittery gloves.{{cite magazine |last1=Allaire |first1=Christian |title=A closer lok at Madonna's one-of-a-kind Celebration Tour wardrobe |url=https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/madonna-celebration-tour-costume-designer-interview |magazine=Vogue |access-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017020350/https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/madonna-celebration-tour-costume-designer-interview |archive-date=October 17, 2023 |date=October 16, 2023}}{{subscription required}}{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Thomas H. |title=Madonna, Celebration Tour, O2 review - spectacular, ambitious and occasionally bemusing |url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/madonna-celebration-tour-o2-review-spectacular-ambitious-and-occasionally-bemusing |website=The Arts Desk |access-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016181949/https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/madonna-celebration-tour-o2-review-spectacular-ambitious-and-occasionally-bemusing |archive-date=October 16, 2023 |date=October 16, 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Hess |first1=Liam |title=With Madonna's Celebration Tour, the Queen of Pop reclaims her throne |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/madonna-celebration-tour-london-review |website=Vogue |access-date=October 20, 2023 |date=October 20, 2023}}{{subscription required}} The performance ended with the singer masturbating on a red velvet bed, flanked by a dancer dressed in the Jean Paul Gaultier-designed gold corset from 1990's Blond Ambition World Tour. From the BBC News, Mark Savage saw the number as "a reminder of her tumultuous relationships", as the backdrop screens depicted Madonna's then-boyfriend, boxing coach Josh Popper.{{cite web |last1=Savage |first1=Mark |title=Madonna's Celebration Tour reviewed: The Queen of pop brings out her crown jewels |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67098882 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015041341/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67098882 |archive-date=October 15, 2023 |date=October 15, 2023}}

Other versions and usage in media

{{See also|List of cover versions of Madonna songs|List of Madonna tribute albums}}

The Sex book, the single and its music video, have been parodied several times: in the October 1992 edition of Paper, actress Ann Magnuson said she was going to release a Sex book to accompany her album, Neurotica; "Neurotica" was also the name used to spoof the song and its video on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color.{{cite web |last1=Pener |first1=Degen |title=Egos & IDs; their target: Madonna |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/17/style/egos-ids-their-target-madonna.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309120811/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/17/style/egos-ids-their-target-madonna.html |archive-date=March 9, 2014 |date=January 17, 1993}} In The Edge, also from Fox, Julie Brown―who had previously parodied Madonna's 1991 film Truth or Dare―played the singer discussing Sex on a talk show, and did a spoof of the "Erotica" video;{{cite journal |title=Television |journal=New York |date=February 8, 1993 |volume=26 |issue=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vicAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA108 |access-date=June 29, 2022 |issn=0028-7369 |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925070614/https://books.google.com/books?id=vicAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA108 |url-status=live }} when Sandra Bernhard brought her stand-up show Giving Til It Hurts to New York, she did a short spoof of the song, also called "Neurotica", about a woman who obsessively cleans her house. The Village Voice columnist Michael Musto recreated the nude hitchhiking scene from the Sex book and the "Erotica" music video on the streets of Jersey City; the newspaper sold the posters of the photo for $5-profits, which went to New York's Community Research Initiative on AIDS.

Covers by Pornoland and Razed in Black were included in the 2000 tribute albums Virgin Voices 2000: A Tribute To Madonna, and The Material Girl: A Tribute to Madonna, respectively.{{cite web |title=Various Artists > Virgin Voices 2000: A Tribute to Madonna > Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/virgin-voices-2000-a-tribute-to-madonna-mw0000059200 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=June 29, 2022 |date=March 21, 2000 |archive-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622205434/https://www.allmusic.com/album/virgin-voices-2000-a-tribute-to-madonna-mw0000059200 |url-status=live }} Of the latter, AllMusic's Al Campbell said it was one of the album's "more attention-grabbing cuts".{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Al |title=Various Artists > The Material Girl: A Tribute to Madonna > Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-material-girl-a-tribute-to-madonna-mw0000106052 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=June 29, 2022 |date=November 14, 2000 |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417145116/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-material-girl-a-tribute-to-madonna-mw0000106052 |url-status=live }} In 2005, a cover by Adam Marano was recorded for Tribute to Madonna (Golden Sound);{{cite web |title=Various Artists > Tribute to Madonna [Golden Sound] > Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/tribute-to-madonna-golden-sound-mw0000466258 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=June 29, 2022 |date=August 23, 2005 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629230922/https://www.allmusic.com/album/tribute-to-madonna-golden-sound-mw0000466258 |url-status=live }} three years later, "Erotica" was covered by Clueless and The Sunset Lounge.{{cite web |title=Various Artists > Tribute to Madonna [ZYX] > Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/tribute-to-madonna-zyx-mw0001665123 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=June 29, 2022 |date=April 25, 2008 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629230922/https://www.allmusic.com/album/tribute-to-madonna-zyx-mw0001665123 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=The Madonna Cool Down Experience – Part 2 – The Sunset Lounge Orchestra |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/0wxqbdBzbccq9HK5CrjKDi |publisher=Spotify |access-date=June 29, 2022 |date=2008 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629231434/https://open.spotify.com/album/0wxqbdBzbccq9HK5CrjKDi |url-status=live }} "Erotica" was featured in a scene of Madonna's directorial debut Filth and Wisdom (2008).{{cite web |last1=Aftab |first1=Kaleem |title=First Night: Filth and Wisdom, Berlin Film Festival, Berlin |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/first-night-filth-and-wisdom-berlin-film-festival-berlin-782018.html |website=The Independent |access-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009200357/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/first-night-filth-and-wisdom-berlin-film-festival-berlin-782018.html |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |date=February 13, 2008}}

Track listing and formats

US 7-inch and cassette single; Japanese 3-inch CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=US Cassette Single liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9-18782-2}}

"Erotica" (album version) – 5:17
"Erotica" (instrumental) – 5:17

UK and European 7-inch and cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=European Cassette Single liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9-18681-7}}

"Erotica" (radio edit) – 4:32
"Erotica" (instrumental) – 5:17

US CD maxi-single; Japanese CD EP; Digital single (2020){{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=US Maxi-Single liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9-40585-2}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=Japan CD Single liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=10019-6098}}{{cite web |title=Erotica – Madonna |url=https://music.apple.com/gb/album/erotica/1536214969 |publisher=Apple Music |access-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028080127/https://music.apple.com/gb/album/erotica/1536214969 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |date=September 29, 1992}}

"Erotica" (radio edit) – 4:32
"Erotica" (Kenlou B-Boy mix) – 6:27
"Erotica" (William Orbit 12-inch) – 6:12
"Erotica" (Underground Club mix) – 4:57
"Erotica" (Masters at Work dub) – 4:57
"Erotica" (Jeep Beats) – 5:53
"Erotica" (Madonna's in My Jeep mix) – 5:50

UK 12-inch vinyl and 12-inch picture disc; European 12-inch vinyl and CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=UK Vinyl|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9-404835-2}}

"Erotica" (album version) – 5:17
"Erotica" (instrumental) – 5:12
"Erotica" (radio edit) – 4:33

US cassette maxi-single{{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=US Cassette Maxi-Single liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9-40585-4}}

"Erotica" (Kenlou B-Boy mix) – 6:23
"Erotica" (Jeep Beats) – 5:48
"Erotica" (Madonna's in My Jeep mix) – 5:46
"Erotica" (William Orbit 12-inch) – 6:07
"Erotica" (Underground club mix) – 4:53
"Erotica" (Bass Hit dub) – 4:47

European CD maxi-single{{cite AV media notes|title=Erotica|others=Madonna|year=1992|type=European Maxi-Single liner notes|publisher=Maverick Records|id=9362-40657-2}}

"Erotica" (William Orbit 12-inch) – 6:07
"Erotica" (Kenlou B-Boy mix) – 6:25
"Erotica" (Underground club mix) – 4:53
"Erotica" (William Orbit dub) – 4:53
"Erotica" (Madonna's in My Jeep mix) – 5:46

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Madonna – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
Shep Pettibone – songwriter, producer, sequencing, keyboard, programming
Anthony Shimkin – songwriter, sequencing, keyboards, programming
Joe Moskowitz – keyboard
Dennis Mitchell – recording engineer
Robin Hancock – recording engineer
George Karras – mixing engineer

Charts

= Weekly charts =

scope="row"\|Canada Retail Singles (The Record){{cite book\|last=Lwin\|first=Nanda\|author-link=Nanda Lwin\|date=2000\|title=Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide\|publisher=Music Data Canada\|page=173\|isbn=1-896594-13-1}} \|2
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+Weekly chart performance for "Erotica" !Chart (1992–1993) !Peak position
{{single chart\|Australia\|4\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="aus"}}
{{single chart\|Austria\|15\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="hitpar"}}
{{single chart\|Flanders\|8\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="flanders"}}
{{single chart\|Canadatopsingles\|13\|chartid=1868\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="rpm"}}
scope="row"\|Canada Contemporary Hit Radio (The Record) \|2
scope="row"\|Denmark (IFPI){{cite journal \|title=Top 10 Sales in Europe \|journal=Music Week \|date=November 21, 1992 \|volume=9 \|issue=47 \|page=22 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-11-21.pdf#page=22 \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-date=March 8, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308061454/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-11-21.pdf#page=22 \|url-status=live }} \|6
scope="row"\|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine \|title=Hits of The World \|magazine=Billboard \|date=November 14, 1992 \|volume=104 \|issue=46 \|page=46 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-11-14.pdf#page=44 \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|issn=0006-2510 \|archive-date=January 21, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121225437/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-11-14.pdf#page=44 \|url-status=live }} \|1
scope="row"\|Europe (European Dance Radio){{cite journal \|title=European Dance Radio: EDR Top 25 \|journal=Music & Media \|date=November 21, 1992 \|volume=9 \|issue=147 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-11-21.pdf#page=24 \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-date=March 8, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308061454/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-11-21.pdf#page=24 \|url-status=live }} \|1
scope="row"\|Finland (Suomen virallinen lista){{cite web\|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf\|title=Sisältää hitin: 1 January 1960 – 30.6.2021\|date=2021\|publisher=Musiikkiarkisto\|language=fi\|pages=156–157\|first=Timo\|last=Pennanen\|access-date=September 5, 2022\|archive-date=January 22, 2022\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122233715/https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf\|url-status=live}} \|1
{{single chart\|France\|23\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="fra"}}
{{single chart\|Germany\|13\|songid=2523\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="ger"}}
scope="row"\|Greece (IFPI){{cite journal \|title=Top 10 Sales in Europe \|journal=Music & Media \|date=October 31, 1992 \|volume=9 \|issue=44 \|page=22 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-10-31.pdf#page=22 \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-date=December 2, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202135402/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-10-31.pdf#page=22 \|url-status=live }} \|1
scope="row"\|Iceland (RÚV){{cite news\|url=https://timarit.is/page/2604821?iabr=on#page/n5/mode/2up/search/Madonna\|title=Vinsældalisti Íslands\|date=October 30, 1992\|access-date=July 12, 2023\|language=is\|newspaper=Dagblaðið Vísir\|page=22}} \|14
{{single chart\|Ireland2\|4\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="ireland"}}
scope="row"\|Italy (Musica e dischi) \|1
scope="row"\|Japan (Oricon Singles Chart){{cite web \|title=マドンナのシングル売り上げランキング \|trans-title=Madonna's Single Sales Chart \|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/162927/ranking/cd_single/ \|publisher=Oricon\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029234716/http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/162927/ranking/cd_single/ \|archive-date=October 29, 2014 \|language=ja}} \| 74
{{single chart\|Dutch40\|8\|year=1992\|week=46\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="dutch40"}}
{{single chart\|Dutch100\|10\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="dutch100"}}
{{single chart\|New Zealand\|3\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="newzealand"}}
{{single chart\|Norway\|2\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="norway"}}
scope="row"\|Portugal (AFP) \|2
scope="row"\|Spain (AFYVE) \|4
{{single chart\|Sweden\|3\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="sweden"}}
{{single chart\|Switzerland\|8\|artist=Madonna\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="switzerland"}}
{{single chart\|UKsinglesbyname\|3\|artist=Madonna\|artistid=28948\|song=Erotica\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="uk"}}
scope="row"\|UK Dance (OCC){{cite magazine\|title=Top 60 Dance Singles\|magazine=Music Week\|page=18\|date=November 21, 1992}} {{small\|US-import remixes}} \|58
scope="row"\|UK (MRIB){{cite journal \|title=Top 10 Sales in Europe \|journal=Music & Media \|date=November 7, 1992 \|volume=9 \|issue=45 \|page=50 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-11-07.pdf#page=50 \|access-date=January 1, 2023 }} \|2
{{single chart\|Billboardhot100\|3\|artist=Madonna\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="bbhot100"}}
scope="row"\|US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine \|title=Madonna Chart History: Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs \|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/madonna/chart-history/bubbling-under-r-b-hip-hop-songs \|magazine=Billboard \|access-date=12 June 2022 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814153911/https://www.billboard.com/music/madonna/chart-history/bubbling-under-r-b-hip-hop-songs \|archive-date=August 14, 2019}} \|16
{{single chart\|Billboarddanceclubplay\|1\|artist=Madonna\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="bbdanceclubplay"}}
{{single chart\|Billboarddancesales\|1\|artist=Madonna\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="bbdancesales"}}
{{single chart\|Billboardpopsongs\|9\|artist=Madonna\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="billboardpop"}}
{{single chart\|Billboardrhythmic\|5\|artist=Madonna\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 12, 2022\|refname="rhythmic"}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2022 weekly chart performance for "Erotica"

!Chart (2022)

!Peak
position

{{single chart|Hungarysingle|1|year=2022|week=43|rowheader=true|access-date=November 3, 2022}}

= Year-end charts =

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+1992 year-end chart performance for "Erotica" !Chart (1992) !Position
scope="row"\|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders){{cite web \|title=Jaaroverzichten 1992 \|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1992 \|publisher=Ultratop \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211171122/https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1992 \|archive-date=December 11, 2013}} \|90
scope="row"\|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine \|title=1992 Year-end sales chart \|magazine=Music & Media \|date=December 19, 1992 \|volume=9 \|issue=51/52 \|page=17 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-12-19.pdf#page=17 \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-date=November 29, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129152602/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-12-19.pdf#page=17 \|url-status=live }} \|45
scope="row"\|Europe (European Dance Radio){{cite magazine\|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-12-19.pdf\|title=1992 Year-End Airplay Charts: European Dance Radio\|magazine=Music & Media\|volume=9\|issue=51/52\|page=20\|date=December 19, 1992\|access-date=February 25, 2024}} \|12
scope="row"\|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40){{cite web \|title=Top 40: Jaargang 28, 1992 \|url=https://www.top40web.nl/jaarlijsten/jr1992.html \|publisher=Ultratop \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031102042547/https://www.top40web.nl/jaarlijsten/jr1992.html \|archive-date=November 2, 2003 \|language=nl}} \|95
scope="row"\|Sweden (Topplistan){{cite web\|url=http://www.grammotex.se/topp92singlar.htm\|title=Årstopplistan 1992, Singlar\|publisher=Grammotex\|language=sv\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010225021610/http://www.grammotex.se/topp92singlar.htm\|archive-date=February 25, 2001\|access-date=April 7, 2025}} \|50
scope="row"\|UK Singles (OCC){{cite web \|title=Top 100 1992 \|url=https://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1992.shtml \|publisher=UK Music Charts \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122213941/https://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1992.shtml \|archive-date=November 22, 2011}} \|67

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+1992 year-end chart performance for "Erotica"

!Chart (1992)

!Position

scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders){{cite web |title=Jaaroverzichten 1992 |url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1992 |publisher=Ultratop |access-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211171122/https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1992 |archive-date=December 11, 2013}}

|90

scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine |title=1992 Year-end sales chart |magazine=Music & Media |date=December 19, 1992 |volume=9 |issue=51/52 |page=17 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-12-19.pdf#page=17 |access-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129152602/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-12-19.pdf#page=17 |url-status=live }}

|45

scope="row"|Europe (European Dance Radio){{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-12-19.pdf|title=1992 Year-End Airplay Charts: European Dance Radio|magazine=Music & Media|volume=9|issue=51/52|page=20|date=December 19, 1992|access-date=February 25, 2024}}

|12

scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40){{cite web |title=Top 40: Jaargang 28, 1992 |url=https://www.top40web.nl/jaarlijsten/jr1992.html |publisher=Ultratop |access-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031102042547/https://www.top40web.nl/jaarlijsten/jr1992.html |archive-date=November 2, 2003 |language=nl}}

|95

scope="row"|Sweden (Topplistan){{cite web|url=http://www.grammotex.se/topp92singlar.htm|title=Årstopplistan 1992, Singlar|publisher=Grammotex|language=sv|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010225021610/http://www.grammotex.se/topp92singlar.htm|archive-date=February 25, 2001|access-date=April 7, 2025}}

|50

scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC){{cite web |title=Top 100 1992 |url=https://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1992.shtml |publisher=UK Music Charts |access-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122213941/https://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1992.shtml |archive-date=November 22, 2011}}

|67

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+1993 year-end chart performance for "Erotica" !Chart (1993) !Position
scope="row"\|US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard){{cite magazine \|title=The Year in Music 1993: Hot Dance Music Maxi – Singles Sales \|magazine=Billboard \|date=December 25, 1993 \|volume=105 \|issue=52 \|page=YE-53 \|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-12-25.pdf#page=115 \|access-date=June 12, 2022 \|archive-date=June 27, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627232050/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-12-25.pdf#page=115 \|url-status=live }} \|48

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+1993 year-end chart performance for "Erotica"

!Chart (1993)

!Position

scope="row"|US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard){{cite magazine |title=The Year in Music 1993: Hot Dance Music Maxi – Singles Sales |magazine=Billboard |date=December 25, 1993 |volume=105 |issue=52 |page=YE-53 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-12-25.pdf#page=115 |access-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-date=June 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627232050/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-12-25.pdf#page=115 |url-status=live }}

|48

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+2022 year-end chart performance for "Erotica" !Chart (2022) !Position
scope="row"\|Hungary (Single Top 40){{cite web\|url=http://slagerlistak.hu/archivum/eves-osszesitett-listak/single_db/2022\|title=Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2022\|publisher=Mahasz\|language=hu\|access-date=February 3, 2023\|archive-date=February 3, 2023\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203162441/https://slagerlistak.hu/archivum/eves-osszesitett-listak/single_db/2022\|url-status=live}} \|85
scope="row"\|UK Vinyl Singles (OCC){{cite web \|title=The Official Top 40 Best-Selling Vinyl Albums and Singles of 2022 \|website=Official Charts \|date=January 4, 2023 \|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-best-selling-vinyl-albums-and-singles-of-2022__38205/ \|access-date=February 1, 2023}} \|10

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2022 year-end chart performance for "Erotica"

!Chart (2022)

!Position

scope="row"|Hungary (Single Top 40){{cite web|url=http://slagerlistak.hu/archivum/eves-osszesitett-listak/single_db/2022|title=Single Top 100 – eladási darabszám alapján – 2022|publisher=Mahasz|language=hu|access-date=February 3, 2023|archive-date=February 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203162441/https://slagerlistak.hu/archivum/eves-osszesitett-listak/single_db/2022|url-status=live}}

|85

scope="row"|UK Vinyl Singles (OCC){{cite web |title=The Official Top 40 Best-Selling Vinyl Albums and Singles of 2022 |website=Official Charts |date=January 4, 2023 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-best-selling-vinyl-albums-and-singles-of-2022__38205/ |access-date=February 1, 2023}}

|10

Certifications and sales

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Erotica"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1992|certref={{harvnb|Ryan|2011|p=174}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=United Kingdom |nocert=yes |salesamount=270,800 |salesref=}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Madonna|title=Erotica|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=1992|access-date=June 12, 2022|date=December 10, 1992|refname=riaa}}

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External links

{{Commons category-inline|Erotica (song)}}
{{Discogs master|34403|Erotica|type=single}}

Category:1992 singles

Category:1992 songs

Category:American hip-hop songs

Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles

Category:Madonna songs

Category:Maverick Records singles

Category:Music video controversies

Category:New jack swing songs

Category:Number-one singles in Greece

Category:Number-one singles in Italy

Category:Obscenity controversies in music

Category:Sire Records singles

Category:Songs about BDSM

Category:Songs involved in plagiarism controversies

Category:Songs written by Madonna

Category:Songs written by Shep Pettibone

Category:Song recordings produced by Madonna

Category:Song recordings produced by Shep Pettibone

Category:Trip hop songs

Category:Warner Records singles