Home → Madonna → Broken
Broken
Pop · 2012 · 2 tracks

Broken

Madonna

A rare, bittersweet dance-pop artifact blending Paul Oakenfold’s pulsing trance production with a narrative of heartbreak and hard-won resilience.

October 2012 · Not On Label (Madonna)

Find on Amazon

Broken represents a fascinating intersection of Madonna's late-2000s EDM explorations and her perennial talent for the 'sad banger.' Produced by Paul Oakenfold during the sessions for her 2009 greatest hits collection, Celebration, the track carries the high-gloss, club-ready sheen of that era but injects it with a level of lyrical vulnerability that was largely absent from the more aggressive Hard Candy. It sounds like a neon-lit urban landscape: cold, digital, and fast-moving, yet grounded by a human voice trying to find its footing after a collapse.

Tracklist · 2 Tracks
01
Broken (original extended mix)
6:59
02
Broken (instrumental version)
3:14
Moments Worth Listening For
The moment the heavy synth bass drops in after the atmospheric intro, signaling a shift from reflection to the dancefloor.
The layered vocal harmonies in the chorus that create a wall of sound against the sparse, driving beat.
The extended instrumental outro where Oakenfold's trance influences take over, stripping back the vocals to let the rhythm breathe.
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Broken sound next to the rest of Madonna's catalogue?

Love Lost+2.3σ

The writing leans far further into love lost than the rest of the catalogue.

Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →