I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the film Dick Tracy is the second soundtrack album by American recording artist-songwriter, composer Madonna, released on May 22, 1990, by Sire Records. It was recorded to promote and accompany the motion picture, released in the summer of 1990. The RIAA certified it Gold, Platinum & 2x Platinum on Jul 30, 1990, denoting two million shipments in the United States & worldwide has sold more than 7 million copies
There are four songs from the film on the album: "Sooner or Later", "More", "What Can You Lose?" and "Now I'm Following You", although the latter song appears here in a version different from the one in the film (the film version was not performed by Madonna, but by the composer, Andy Paley). So, "I'm Breathless" can be considered another Madonna album, even though it's officially a soundtrack album.
The success of the single "Vogue" (originally intended to be the B-side of "Keep It Together"), which was released prior to the album, combined with the publicity of Dick Tracy and Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour, gave I'm Breathless a significant sales boost. I'm Breathless reached number two on the Billboard 200, reaching platinum status in three months. The second hit, "Hanky Panky", kept the album in the charts for several months, although it was eventually overtaken by Madonna's Immaculate Collection, released at the end of the year. As a consequence of this, two more planned single releases from the album, "Now I'm Following You" which was remixed by Grammy Award winning remixer Mark Saunders but never released (12" remix can be heard on his website at
), and "Sooner or Later", were canceled in favor of "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me." Madonna performed "Sooner or Later", "Hanky Panky", "Now I'm Following You", and "Vogue" on her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour; that same year she also performed "Vogue" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, and 3 years later she included "Vogue" and "I'm Going Bananas" on her 1993 Girlie Show Tour. Both "Vogue" and "Hanky Panky" were included on her 2004 Re-Invention Tour. Later she performed "Vogue" on her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour.
"Sooner or Later," one of three songs written for the soundtrack by Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1991, and Madonna performed the song live at the award show. The song "Something to Remember" was included in Madonna's ballads compilation album of the same name. Rolling Stone magazine stated: "No other pop star today could - or probably would - make an album like this." Madonna commented in a 1998 interview that this album is one of her favorites, saying: "I love every song on that album."
