Lead single in the context of "Like a Virgin (song)"

In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album (LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standalone tracks or connected to an artist's album, and in the latter case would often have at least one single release before the album itself, called lead singles.

The single was defined in the mid-20th century with the 45 (named after its speed in revolutions per minute), a type of 7-inch sized vinyl record containing an A-side and a B-side, i.e. one song on each side. The single format was highly influential in pop music and the early days of rock and roll, and it was the format used for jukeboxes and preferred by younger populations in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer Madonna, released on November 12, 1990, by Sire Records. It contains fifteen of her hit singles recorded throughout the 1980s, as well as two brand new tracks, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". All the previously released material were reworked through the QSound audio technology, becoming the first ever album to use it. Meanwhile, the new material saw Madonna working with Lenny Kravitz and Shep Pettibone. The album's title is a pun on the Immaculate Conception, a Marian dogma of the Catholic Church.

The release of the album was accompanied by a same-titled home video release, an EP titled The Holiday Collection, and a box set titled The Royal Box. "Justify My Love" was released as the lead single from the album, with a controversial music video featuring overtly sexual imagery. After being banned by MTV, the video was released on VHS and became the best-selling video single of all time. It also became Madonna's ninth number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Rescue Me", had the highest debut on the chart since the Beatles' "Let It Be" (1970) and peaked at number nine.

"Like a Prayer" is a song by American singer Madonna from her 1989 fourth studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single on March 3, 1989, by Sire Records. Written and produced by both Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song heralded an artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, who believed that she needed to cater more to her adult audience.

"Like a Prayer" is a pop rock, dance-pop, and gospel song that also incorporates elements of funk. It features background vocals from a choir and also a rock guitar. The lyrics contain liturgical words, but they have been interpreted by some people to have dual meanings of sexual innuendo and religion. "Like a Prayer" was acclaimed by music critics upon release and was a global commercial success, becoming Madonna's seventh No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, topping the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and also topping the charts in many other countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. Rolling Stone listed "Like a Prayer" among "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"Frozen" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna from her seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998). Maverick and Warner Bros. Records released it as the album's lead single on January 23, 1998. "Frozen" was written by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, who both produced it in collaboration with William Orbit. The downtempo electronica and pop ballad, which has a layered sound enhanced by synthesizers and strings, lyrically addresses a cold and emotionless man.

"Frozen" received acclaim from music critics, some of whom deemed it as a highlight from Ray of Light. The song was described as being a masterpiece, and its melodic beat and sound were defined as "cinematic". "Frozen" was also a global commercial success. In the United States, it became Madonna's sixth single to peak at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, "Frozen" became Madonna's first single to debut at number one on the UK Singles Chart, while also reaching number one in Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Scotland and Spain, and the top-five elsewhere.

"Hung Up" is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2005. Written and produced by Madonna in collaboration with Stuart Price, "Hung Up" prominently features a sample from an instrumental section of ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", for which Madonna personally sought permission from its songwriters, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. This is one of the few times Andersson and Ulvaeus have given permission to sample one of their songs, following "Rumble in the Jungle" by the Fugees and "Fly with Me" by 98 Degrees.

Musically, the song is influenced by pop music from the 1980s, with a chugging groove and chorus and a background element of a ticking clock that suggests the fear of wasting time. Lyrically, the song is written as a traditional dance number about a strong, independent woman who has relationship troubles. "Hung Up" received critical praise from reviewers, who considered it among Madonna's best dance tracks and believed that the track would restore her popularity, which had diminished following the release of her 2003 album American Life. "Hung Up" became a global commercial success, peaking atop the charts of 41 countries and earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was Madonna's 36th top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten entries. It also became the most successful dance song of the decade in the United States. "Hung Up" has sold over five million copies worldwide.

"4 Minutes" is a song by American singer Madonna from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), featuring vocals by fellow American singer Justin Timberlake and American producer Timbaland. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. It marked the first time in Madonna's 25-year career that another artist was featured in a single. According to Madonna, the song is about saving the environment and "having a good time while we are doing it". She also cited the song as the inspiration for the documentary I Am Because We Are (2008).

The song was recorded at Sarm West Studios, in London, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory studio in New York City. Sound engineer Demo Castellon first worked on the vocals and then on the beats, while the synths were composed by Timbaland and Danja. An uptempo dance-pop song with an urban and hip hop style, "4 Minutes" incorporates Timbaland's characteristic bhangra beats and the instrumentation used in the song includes brass, foghorns and cowbells. The lyrics carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed.

"Let the Music Play" is a song recorded by American singer Shannon and released on September 19, 1983, as both her debut single and the lead single from her 1984 debut studio album of the same name. Written by Chris Barbosa and Ed Chisolm, and produced by Barbosa and Mark Liggett, "Let the Music Play" was the first of Shannon's four number ones on the US Dance Club Songs chart, reaching the top spot in October 1983. It also became a successful crossover hit in the US, peaking at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (behind Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew") and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984. It was Shannon's only top 40 hit in the US.

"Let the Music Play" was ranked 43rd on the 2009 VH1 Special 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s, while Rolling Stone and Billboard featured it in their lists of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" and "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records (which has included folk music, country, show tunes, pop music, rock and roll and standards), for her social activism, and for the clarity of her voice. Her discography consists of 36 studio albums, nine live albums, numerous compilation albums, four holiday albums, and 21 singles.

Collins' debut studio album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, was released in 1961 and consisted of traditional folk songs. She had her first charting single with "Hard Lovin' Loser" (No. 97) from her fifth studio album In My Life (1966), but it was the lead single from her sixth studio album Wildflowers (1967), "Both Sides, Now" – written by Joni Mitchell – that gave her international prominence. The single reached No. 8 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and won Collins her first Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance. She enjoyed further success with her recordings of "Someday Soon", "Chelsea Morning" (also written by Mitchell), "Amazing Grace", "Turn! Turn! Turn!", and "Cook with Honey".