Madness

"Madness" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It is the second track and second single from Muse's sixth studio album, The 2nd Law (2012), released as a download on 20 August 2012. It was written by singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy and produced by the band. The music video premiered on 5 September 2012. "Madness" spent 19 weeks at number one on Billboards Alternative Songs chart, becoming the second-longest-running number-one song on the chart. The song earned a nomination in the Best Rock Song category at the 2013 Grammy Awards. Background and writing "Madness" is an electronic rock, synth-pop, soft rock, and R&B song. According to NME, "Madness" draws influences from Queen's "I Want to Break Free", George Michael's "Faith" and some instrumental elements of his other hit "I Want Your Sex". During a preview of The 2nd Law on French site Jeuxactu, the song was said to resemble Depeche Mode and described as "calm, languid and sweet". Matthew Bellamy stated that the song started as a personal reflection after a fight with his girlfriend Kate Hudson, and how, after she had gone to her mother's house, he began to realise "yeah, she was right, wasn't she?" In a separate interview, Bellamy stated the song was the band's attempt to strip down the sound of the album, and that the song has its roots in twelve-bar blues with gospel, soul and R&B influences. He went on to conclude that, "It's the song I'm probably most proud of on the album for sure." Music video The "Madness" music video was uploaded to Muse's YouTube channel on 5 September 2012. This video saw the second collaboration between the band and director Anthony Mandler, who previously directed the music video for "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)". Jacquelyn London edited it. The director of photography was David Devlin. The video was filmed on the Red Line platform at Los Angeles Union Station. The two main characters are played by models Erin Wasson and Max Silberman.