On the same day as announcing that her Bedtime Stories: The Final Chapter EP is actually real, and not just another tease (like, thus far, her much-talked about biopic, in all its various iterations), Madonna opted to casually drop one of the “rarities” from the record (of which there are actually none apart from this), “Right On Time.” A title that, in many ways, is only too appropriate for someone like her, who not only “burst onto the scene” just as the world needed/was ready for the first modern female pop star, but whose entire career has generally been guided by a “right place, right time” kind of luck.
“Right On Time,” however, seems to indicate that Madonna was aware it wasn’t the right time at all to release a track like this, awash as it is in the kind of syrupy lyrics that she might have been sooner caught singing in the early and mid-80s (e.g., the unbridled saccharineness of 1984’s “Shoo-Bee-Doo,” during which she sings, “Why don’t you dry your eyes, try and realize?/Love can open any door, and maybe/If you trust in me I can make you see/Shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo, ooh la la, come to me, baby/Shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo, ooh la la, don’t say maybe”). And although her intent with Bedtime Stories was to veer away from the oversexed aura that pulsated from Erotica’s very core, she probably didn’t really want to go this far on the other side of the spectrum. Hence, waiting only until now to show the extent of what she was willing to do in order to win back the favor of John Q. Public (namely, the type of people that could be classified as her own Midwestern brethren). Or rather, prove to the critics and the masses at large that, as she once pointed out, they couldn’t handle dealing with their own sexual fantasies, let alone talking frankly about sex at all. And so, as it was once said on VH1, Madonna, to paraphrase, simply picked up her clothes and put them back on.
And she did so, you guessed it, right on time. Because it just so happened that she wanted to embody a certain “softer” look and persona in order to throw her hat into the ring for the part of Eva Perón, writing an eight-page letter to Alan Parker in 1994 to express her ardent interest in portraying the simultaneously loved and hated Argentine political icon. To even more succinctly convey her acting abilities on that specific front, the concept behind the “Take A Bow” video would prove to be extremely instrumental. In it, Madonna goes for a 1940s-styled look (from the top [her hat with face veil] to bottom [her Christian Louboutin—then an unknown designer—heels]) meant to channel her inner Evita. A woman who could be both vulnerable, vixen-y and a little wrathful.
That woman is nowhere to be found at any point during “Right On Time,” wherein Madonna is more unnecessarily worshipful than “vulnerable.” For example, “This is it, I know there’s so much more/With you, you’re like a dream that came true/Oh you, you’re like a fantasy that came into my life/And every day is so much brighter/You, you’re right on time.” And then, of course, there are the very “Till There Was You”-reminiscent lyrics, “Birds are singing just because they’re next to you/Bells are ringing, maybe you’re my dream come true/This groove keeps swinging, all the little things you do/The joy you’re bringing, maybe I’m in love with you.”
Needless to say, a song like “Right On Time” does not possess the same subtlety or intelligence as some of the other love songs on the record (of which there are many), including “Inside of Me” (produced by Nellee Hooper), “Sanctuary” (produced by Madonna, Hooper and Dallas Austin) and, of course, “Take A Bow” (produced by Babyface, and who many said should have gotten a full-on “featuring” credit). In truth, it has all the lyrical subtlety of an anvil, which is out of character for the Madonna songwriting style of the post-early to mid-80s. And this is part of why “Right On Time” makes it more glaringly apparent than ever before that Bedtime Stories was M’s willful clawing back into the good graces of the public. This while, at the same time, proving her depth of range in musical styles. Glomming onto the R&B sound at a time when most (white people) remained focused on grunge, Madonna was also then still showcasing her ability to have her finger on the pulse of the next trend (meanwhile, Mariah was still either recording cheesy ballads or secret grunge albums).
To achieve that sound, Madonna turned to the likes of Dallas Austin to infuse the record with the, let’s call it, “flavor” she wanted (no doubt in part thanks to the influence of “canoodling” with 2Pac during that period). With the previously unreleased tracks from Bedtime Stories that have come out in the years since, it seems that Austin wasn’t in a musical variation kind of mood when it came to producing for M. At least if the backing track similarities between “Your Honesty” (which was unveiled on 2003’s Remixed & Revisited) and “Right On Time” are anything to go by.
While Austin might have worked with her on this particular track, an official press release announcing the EP was sure to mention, “Madonna collaborated with Stuart Price to shape this EP, editing and mixing previously unreleased versions into a cohesive new chapter.” Price, a fan favorite producer, also worked with Madonna on Confessions on a Dance Floor, and now, for its “sequel,” slated for a 2026 release. And this is a reassuring piece of news, as one can’t help but get afraid when Madonna, who had once always stated that she hated looking back and only wanted to move forward, is in a “revisiting” mood like never before, having also released Veronica Electronica earlier this year. And, looking back on the record that came before Ray of Light, a track like “Right On Time” makes it abundantly clear that Madonna was still finding the “voice” for the next phase in her career.
Bedtime Stories was a through line to the recording of the Evita Soundtrack, the recording of which required Madonna to take some rigorous voice lessons in order to project in a certain way (hear: “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”). Ergo, the noticeable and permanent shift that happened in the sound of her voice when Ray of Light came out. Marking the then longest period of time—four years—that she went without releasing a studio album (though she’s well surpassed that precedent as of 2025, with her last album, Madame X, being released in 2019).
That wait, too, was a matter of perfect and right timing on Madonna’s part, who tapped into the electronic music zeitgeist after already doing so with R&B in ‘94. Releasing an “untold chapter” of Bedtime Stories in honor of its thirtieth anniversary also feels like it could be “right on time” in terms of reminding listeners that songs by pop stars not only used to be musically layered and dense, but that they could actually go on for longer than three minutes. Though, fittingly, Madonna’s “Right On Time” is only two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Perhaps a testament, once again, to how she has her finger on the pulse, knowing full well that nobody, even “older audiences,” has the attention span for a “long” song anymore. Though she doesn’t seem to quite grasp that no one has the wherewithal for a schmaltzy love song either.
[…] Madonna Chooses the Right Time to Release “Right On Time”—Because It Would Have Been a Disserv… […]