GHV2 | ||||
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Greatest hits album by Madonna | ||||
Released | November 12, 2001 | |||
Recorded | 1991–2000 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 68:26 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Madonna chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B+ |
Dotmusic | positive |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Music Week | mixed |
NME | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PopMatters | mixed |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GHV2 (an abbreviation of Greatest Hits Volume 2) is the second greatest hits album by American recording artist Madonna. Maverick and Warner Bros. Records released it on November 12, 2001, coinciding with the video album, Drowned World Tour 2001. A follow-up to The Immaculate Collection (1990), GHV2 contains a collection of singles during the second decade of Madonna's career. Madonna mentioned that she only included "songs that I could listen to five times in a row" on it. The album did not contain any new songs, but a promotional single, "GHV2 Megamix", was released to promote it, with remixes by Thunderpuss, John Rocks & Mac Quayle and Tracy Young. Another promotional remix album was released alongside, titled GHV2 Remixed: The Best of 1991–2001.
GHV2 received generally positive reviews from music critics, who deemed it as an essential compilation, although some criticized the absence of new material. Commercially, the compilation was successful, peaking at number seven on the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Elsewhere, GHV2 also attained success, reaching the top five in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and several other European countries. It was the 14th best-selling album of the year and has sold more than seven million units worldwide.
In early September 2001, media reported that Madonna had recorded two songs, "Sex Makes the World Go Round" and "Veronica Electronica", to be included on the forthcoming greatest hits album. The last title was from an unreleased remix album in collaboration with William Orbit. It was also reported that the album would be titled The Immaculate Collection 2. However, both the title and new songs rumors were proven false. After the final show of Madonna's Drowned World Tour on September 15, 2001, MTV News confirmed that the singer had planned to release a greatest hits album in November 2001. On October 4, 2001, Maverick Records eventually announced the track list of GHV2 as well as its official release date. The album coincided with the release of the DVD/VHS video album of the tour.