Devil Pray

"Devil Pray" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna for her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart (2015). It was written and produced by Madonna, Avicii, DJ Dahi, and Michael Diamond (BloodPop), with additional writing by Arash Pournouri, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, and Savan Kotecha. During the early stages of the album, Madonna was encouraged by her manager to work with Avicii and his team of songwriters. Together, they worked on seven songs and "Devil Pray" was composed after Madonna desired to talk about her experiences with drugs and quest for spirituality. Lyrically, the song deals with themes of drug addiction, sin, temptation, and the desire for salvation. "Devil Pray" is a techno-folk song, which combines elements of country-pop and has similarities with Madonna's own single "Don't Tell Me", Avicii's previous work and The Animals' version of the traditional folk song "The House of the Rising Sun". The song received high praise from critics for its musical elements, while also being highlighted for its self-conscious lyrics. However, there was some criticism towards the list of drugs used in the chorus. Following its release as a pre-ordered song from Rebel Heart, the song charted in many European territories, reaching the top-25 in Finland, Greece, Hungary and Lebanon. Madonna performed the song for the first time on the Italian TV show Che tempo che fa, wearing a black robe and various rosaries, and on her 2015–16 Rebel Heart Tour. Background and release Madonna and Avicii first met in 2012 when the singer appeared on the Ultra Music Festival to premiere a remix of her single "Girl Gone Wild", produced by the DJ. Later, while developing her then-upcoming album, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary suggested the singer to work with Avicii's songwriting team; the singer accepted since she was a fan of Avicii's work. On March 7, 2014, the singer posted a picture of herself on her Instagram account with the caption, "Doing some house work before heading to the studio with Avicii." A week later, she posted photos with Avicii and his team of songwriters, claiming that they did "so many great songs". In an interview with David Blaine for Interview, Madonna said of the song: It's about how people take drugs to connect to God or to a higher level of consciousness. I keep saying, 'Plugging into the matrix'. If you get high, you can do that, which is why a lot of people drop acid or do drugs, because they want to get closer to God.