Madonna Pays Tribute to Producer William Orbit: ‘You Were My Ray of Light’

Madonna has paid tribute to her longtime collaborator and acclaimed music producer William Orbit, who died at the age of 69. According to Orbit's family, he passed away at home on July 23, although the cause of death was not disclosed.

Madonna shared a heartfelt post on social media, remembering Orbit's impact on her music and career. She wrote that he "pressed a magic button inside of me and I fell into a galaxy of unrealized dreams" and that his music gave her "a magic carpet to fly on and I visited many places." The two collaborated on the 1998 album "Ray of Light," which blended electronic dance music and ambient techno with pop and trip-hop, and went on to win three Grammy Awards.

Madonna credited Orbit with inspiring her to sing and write in new ways, saying he encouraged her to express herself without worrying about whether her words made sense. She also noted that he was instrumental in helping her create a new sound, stating that with Orbit, "I sang in ways I'd never sung before" and that he was "so otherworldly" and "singular." The BBC reports that Madonna described Orbit as her "Ray of Light," a reference to both the album and her daughter Lola, who was born around the same time.

Brief written by urgent.news from Rolling Stone, Billboard, BBC World, BBC News, Stereogum — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.