"Human Nature" is a song by American singer Madonna included on her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994). It is an answer song to the backlash Madonna endured for the sexually explicit projects released in 1992, particularly her fifth studio album Erotica, and the coffee table book Sex. Written and produced by the singer and Dave Hall, "Human Nature" samples Main Source's 1994 track "What You Need", thus its writers Shawn McKenzie, Kevin McKenzie and Michael Deering are also credited.
In Australia, New Zealand and most European countries, the song was released as the album's fourth and final single on May 5, 1995; in the United States, a release was issued one month later, on June 6. An R&B song with hip-hop influences, "Human Nature" sees Madonna lashing out at her detractors, referring to her interest in "taboo" subjects as mere human nature. Upon release, it was well received by critics, who applauded its catchiness and unapologetic tone. In the United States, it surpassed her previous single "Bedtime Story" as Madonna's lowest-charting song, peaking at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100; nonetheless, it reached the second position of the Dance Club Play chart. The single fared better in the United Kingdom, where it reached the top-ten.
Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, the accompanying music video features the singer and a troupe of dancers in bondage-inspired gear, and was praised for its humorous tones. Madonna has performed "Human Nature" on five of her concert tours, the most recent being the Celebration Tour of 2023–2024. Influence of the song's unapologetic feminist theme and music video has been noted in the work of contemporary female artists.
Background In 1992, 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 called Madonna a sexual renegade, felt she had "gone too far", and that her career was over. In March 1994, Madonna appeared on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. The appearance was noted for an extremely controversial series of statements and antics by the singer, which included many expletives. In particular, she said the word fuck fourteen times throughout the interview. This made the episode the most censored in American network television talk-show history while at the same time garnering host David Letterman some of the highest ratings he ever received. According to Billboards Joe Lynch, "for the first time in a decade of superstardom, people weren't shocked by her antics anymore — even worse, they often seemed exhausted by her".
Madonna came to the conclusion that she needed to "soften" her image in order to reconnect with her audience. The "first step to redeem herself" was the ballad "I'll Remember", recorded for the film With Honors (1994). The song reached the second position on the Billboard Hot 100, and received positive critical feedback. For her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories, Madonna decided to venture in the R&B and hip hop mania that was dominating the charts in the early-to-mid 1990s. The project saw Madonna working with high-profile producers such as Babyface, Dallas Austin, Dave Hall, and Nellee Hooper. The album was marketed as an apology; promotional spots aired on television proclaimed that it would be devoid of sexual references, with the singer adding that, "it's a whole new me! I'm going to be a good girl, I swear".
According to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, however, Madonna was still "seething" about the treatment she had received by the media. Alongside Hall, she wrote an answer song to the backlash she had endured the past two years for "daring to deal with subjects that are taboo". Titled "Human Nature", Madonna explained that song was about that "giving [my] back to the media. I'm not sorry". Nonetheless, she also added that it was about "closing the book on the last 2 years of [my] life".
Recording and composition
Bedtime Stories was recorded at nine different studios: Axis, The Hit Factory, and Soundworks Studios in New York City; Los Angeles Chappel Studios; the DARP Studios and Tea Room in Atlanta; The Enterprise in Burbank; Hollywood's Music Grinder, and the Wild Bunch Studios in London. Personnel working on "Human Nature" included Frederick Jorio and P. Dennis Mitchell on mixing, while Joey Moskowitz was in charge of programming.
"Human Nature" is built off of a sample of Main Source's "What You Need" (1994), therefore, Shawn McKenzie, Kevin McKenzie and Michael Deering are listed as co-writers. It is an R&B song with hip-hop influences. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., it is set in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 88 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major, and follows a repetitive sequence of Fmaj7–E7–Am7–Fmaj7–E7–Am7. Madonna's vocals range from F3 to E7. From The New York Times, Jon Pareles pointed out that "Human Nature" is the only song from Bedtime Stories that lacks its "melancholy nature", and does not employ a pentatonic melody. Deemed an "unintentional sequel" to "Express Yourself" (1989), its lyrics explicitly address the "media firestorm" Madonna faced with Erotica, Sex, and Body of Evidence. The singer herself described the song as her "definitive statement" in regards to the backlash she received for "having the nerve of talking about the things I did in the past few years".
The trip-hop-styled opening has heavy bass, drums looping, and Madonna repeatedly whispering the phrase "express yourself/don't repress yourself". In the first verse, she sings in a thin, nasal voice "dripping with sarcasm", the lines "You wouldn't let me say the words I longed to say/you didn't want to see life through my eyes/You tried to shove me back inside your narrow room/and silence me with bitterness and lies". At one point, she directly nods to Erotica and Sex by asking, "Did I say something wrong?/Oops, I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex". In the refrain, Madonna stands unapologetic, and brushes off the "prudes" who faulted her for fixating on sex, pointing out that being interested in said subject—considered "taboo"—is simply human nature; "And I'm not sorry/it's human nature/I'm not your bitch, don't hang your shit on me", she sings. She also asks "Would it sound better if I were a man?", implying that if she were, she would not have been as criticized. Also present throughout the song are the sounds of slamming doors.
Release and remixes In Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries, "Human Nature" was released as the fourth and final single from Bedtime Stories on May 5, 1995. In the United States, it was released one month later, on June 6. Nine official remixes were made available on August 1. Most of them were produced by American DJ Danny Tenaglia, who took the "face crackin' hip-hop jam" of the original and turned it into a "defiant house anthem", as noted by Billboards Larry Flick.
The first mix, known as "Dance-Radio edit" was noted as being "more hip-hop than house" by Jose F. Promis from AllMusic. Promis described the radio edit, which omits the phrase "I'm not your bitch/don't hang your shit on me", as repetitive and lacking the "punch" of the original. The "I'm Not Your Bitch Mix" replaces the verses and chorus with whispered comments, such as "I have no regrets", "I'm not your bitch", "deal with it", and "I'm HIV negative", which are sampled over deep house grooves. The "Love Is the Nature Mix" has "swirling" instrumentation, turning the song into a "late-night, frenetic dance orgy". The promo-only "Human Club Mix" has "dark, underground savvy synth passages that best match the overall tone [of the original]". In 2001, the radio edit was included on Madonna's second compilation album, GHV2. The Howie Tee remix, was also featured on Madonna's companion extended play Bedtime Stories: The Untold Chapter.
Critical reception
"Human Nature" received generally positive reviews upon release. From Billboard magazine, Larry Flick called it a "wickedly catchy jeep/pop jam in which La M unapologetically snaps at her more close-minded critics", and highlighted her "playfully snide and aggressive" vocals. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine opined that, "whether licking her wounds over lovers or critics, Madonna has never sounded more emotionally vulnerable or more cerebrally plugged in than she does here". Similarly, author Mark Bego felt that on the song, "[Madonna] displays a fleeting touch of vulnerability". From The Baltimore Sun, J.D. Considine said that "Human Nature" and album track "Survival" were "the closest thing you'll find [in Bedtime Stories] to career commentary". On The Advocates review, Peter Galvin deemed it a "delicious" song that "takes aim at who used her to live out their sexual fantasies and then condemned her for it". For Rolling Stone, Barbara O'Dair referred to "Human Nature" as an "infectiously funky [...] drive-by on her critics, complete with a keening synth line straight outta Dre". Lucy O'Brien, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, deemed "Human Nature" one of the "quirkiest" tracks on Bedtime Stories, "throbbing with a tightly restrained but devastating anger".
Chris Wade opined that the song "lifted the sadness" emanated from the first few tracks from the album: "[T]here's a great beat to this, a brilliant vocal where Madonna answers herself with whispers and an unforgettable chorus". While Melissa Ruggieri from USA Today compared it to the work of TLC, Pitchforks Owen Pallett wrote that, "with its anti-slut-shaming slogan", "Human Nature" is one of Madonna's "most effective grooves" and one of her best songs. Mark Sutherland from NME declared it a "self-reverential 'steamy' Prince-esque romp". Barry Walters for the San Francisco Examiner, said that "Human Nature" has the catchiest chorus among all the other album tracks. Despite singling out its "clever" samples and interpolations, Quentin Harrison from website Albumism opined that the "petulant" "Human Nature" interrupts Bedtime Stories "demure [and] introspective" tone, and "would have been better served up as a B-side". Writing for The Boston Globe, Steve Morse wasn't impressed with the track: "'Express yourself, don't repress yourself', she purrs in the whispery 'Human Nature', but that's hardly a new thought for [Madonna]. She seems lost at this point". Entertainment Weeklys Jim Farber felt Madonna came across as "petty [...] self-righteous and smug [in 'Human Nature']". Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, gave an unfavorable review: "Musically, ['Human Nature'] wears out its welcome [...] [It's] a very bitter, put-down song".