In , Madonna released her fifth studio album Erotica , the coffee table book Sex , and starred in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. Due to their sexually explicit nature, all three projects were negatively received by critics and fans alike, who felt the singer had "gone too far" and that her career was over.
Madonna decided that she needed to soften her image if she wanted to regain her audience. The first attempt was the ballad " I'll Remember " from the soundtrack to the film With Honors , which gained positive critics and reached the second spot of the Billboard Hot She also chose to explore the British club musical scene, where genres such as dub had been growing in popularity, and hired producer Nellee Hooper.
A concert tour was planned, but did not take place due to Madonna acquiring the title role in the musical film Evita. The album yielded two Hot top-three singles, " Secret " and " Take a Bow "; the latter stayed at number one for seven weeks on the chart. Critics reacted positively towards the album for its move from Erotica ' s explicit content towards a more smooth and subtle seductive approach. It reached the first spot in Australia, and charted within the top-five in many other countries, including Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Worldwide, Bedtime Stories has sold an estimated eight million copies. In retrospective reviews, it has been referred to as one of Madonna's most important yet underrated albums. Bedtime Stories has also been credited as album that started the "second phase" of Madonna's career, which began in the mid-to-late s.
Influence of the album has been noted on the work of contemporary artists. Due to their sexually explicit nature, all three projects were negatively received by critics and fans alike, who called Madonna a sexual renegade, felt she had "gone too far", and that her career was over.
