Sooner or Later (Madonna song)
Written by American composer Stephen Sondheim and produced by Madonna and Bill Bottrell, the song was used in the parent film, Dick Tracy.
A 1930s-style jazz ballad with piano, drum, double bass, and horns, the track conjures up the atmosphere of a smoky nightclub.
Madonna attended the ceremony along with singer Michael Jackson as her date, and performed "Sooner or Later" onstage, being inspired by the look of actress Marilyn Monroe.
In 1990, Madonna was part of the film Dick Tracy starring as Breathless Mahoney with Warren Beatty playing the title character.
Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times praised the matte paintings, art direction and prosthetic makeup design, stating: "Dick Tracy is one of the most original and visionary fantasies I've seen on a screen".
[12] In the film, "Sooner or Later" is the signature song of Breathless and was primarily performed during a montage just after Dick Tracy has placed a microphone in Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice's boardroom and operator.
[16] According to Jon Pareles of The New York Times, songs including "Sooner or Later" are "typical Sondheim, with agile wordplay and devious chromatic harmonies".
[20] In March 2023, Billboard ranked "Sooner or Later" as Madonna's 96th greatest ever song, with Andrew Unterberger characterizing it as "the sultry ballad worthy of her double entendre-spouting femme fatale character Breathless Mahoney..."[21] On the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, Madonna performed "Sooner or Later" atop of a piano, as a chanteuse in a cabaret.
[22] The wardrobe for the performance consisted of a green and white couture corset, with conical bra cups, beaded fringing and striped sequined embroidery, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, underneath a long black robe.
[27] According to journalist Liz Smith, Madonna had promised to perform at the award show if either "Sooner or Later" or "More" was nominated in the Best Original Song category.
"[31] Janet Maslin from The New York Times criticized Madonna's performance, saying that the singer "vamped awkwardly through [the song], managing to seem even waxier in action than she did seated beside Michael Jackson in the audience.
[34] Rolling Stone also placed it at number 17 on the magazine's list of the 20 Greatest Best Song Oscar Performances,[35] while the Academy Awards regarded it as one of their most Memorable Music Moments.
[36] In 2019, the song was covered in the episode "Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia" from the third season of the television series Riverdale, performed by Ashleigh Murray.
[37][38] In Pose, season 2, episode 6 (2019), Elektra sings "Sooner or Later" at an event hosted by Blanca and Pray Tell to raise funds and awareness for HIV-AIDS.
