1990 Ballad That Won an Oscar for 'Best Original Song' Reinvented This Singer's Career
Madonna has been a defining force in the music industry for decades, earning her the title "Queen of Pop." She took a creative risk while developing the soundtrack for the 1990 film Dick Tracy, a move that earned an Oscar and critical acclaim for her artistic direction.
Dick Tracy was a crime action film based on the 1930s comic strip created by Chester Gould, and had an impressive ensemble cast to match. Hollywood heavies like Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Glenne Headly, Charlie Korsmo, Dustin Hoffman, Mandy Patinkin, Catherine O'Hara, and Dick Van Dyke all starred or appeared in the film. Madonna also starred as one of the leading actors as the main character, Breathless Mahoney.
The film focused on the romantic relationships between a detective, Breathless Mahoney, and Tess Trueheart (Headley), as he has conflicts with a local crime boss and takes in a young street urchin. With the film set in the 1930s, when swing music and jazz were on the rise, its soundtrack needed to fit its style.
Madonna soon developed the hit jazz ballad "Sooner or Later" that was released in her soundtrack album I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy and used in the film. The track was specifically created to evoke the theatrical nature and style of the 1930s using double bass, horns, piano, and drums. It was a perfect representation of what singers would perform in a smoky nightclub during the era.
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"Sooner or Later" became one of Madonna's biggest successes and led to her first-ever and only Oscar win for Best Original Song. She developed the track alongside American composer Stephen Sondheim, and performed it on stage at the ceremony in a look inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
The Oscar-winning track stood out amongst Madonna's career for a reason, as by 1990 she was known for pop hits like "Material Girl," "Like a Virgin," "Papa Don't Preach," and countless more. "Sooner or Later" took Madonna into a new genre, singing at one of her lowest and deepest levels at the time.
In the book, Madonna: An Intimate Biography, the singer said at the time, "I want people to think of me as a musical comedy actress. That's what this album is about for me. It's a stretch. Not just pop music, but songs that have a different feel to them, a theatrical feel."
The track changed how critics saw the singer, with some commenting that it gave her "the edge in future career moves." Many commented on the track showing off a side to her vocal range fans hadn't seen before and proving "she isn't just the glitter and trash of the dance club scene." Dick Tracy and "Sooner or Later" also cemented Madonna among the A-listers, with her Oscar performance tagged as one of the best that took audiences back to old Hollywood.
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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 9:23 AM.