Madonna - 1984 - Borderline Album: Madonna, 1983 (retitled Madonna: The First Album for the 1985 re-release) "Borderline" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eponymous debut studio album Madonna (1983). It was released on February 15, 1984, by Sire Records as the album's fifth single. Written and composed by its producer Reggie Lucas, the song was remixed by Madonna's then-boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez. The singer used refined and expressive vocals for the song, whose lyrics deal with the subject of a love that is never fulfilled.Contemporary critics and authors applauded the song, calling it harmonically the most complex track from Madonna and praising its dance-pop nature. "Borderline" became Madonna's second top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number ten. In the United Kingdom it peaked number two after it was re-released as a single in 1986. Elsewhere, the song reached the top 10 or top 20 of a number of European nations while peaking the singles chart of Ireland. "Borderline" was placed at number 84 on Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born", while Time included it on their critic list of "All-Time 100 Songs".The accompanying music video portrayed Madonna with a Latin-American man as her boyfriend. She was enticed by a British photographer to pose and model for him, but later returned to her original boyfriend. The video generated academic interest for its use of power as symbolism. With the video, Madonna was credited for breaking the taboo of interracial relationships, and it was considered one of her career-making moments. The release of the video on MTV increased Madonna's popularity further. Madonna performed the song on The Virgin Tour (1985) and the Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008), where a punk-rock version of the song was performed. "Borderline" has been covered by artists including Duffy, Jody Watley, Counting Crows, and The Flaming Lips.