<P> The Evita album had taken 3--4 months to record, since Rice was not satisfied with the intensity of the initial recordings . The song had a number of different titles before "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was decided as the final one . The song shares its melody with "Oh What a Circus" from the same show and lyrically consists of platitudes where Eva tries to win the favour of the people of Argentina . It was released in the United Kingdom on 12 November 1976 as the first single from the album, accompanied by national and trade advertising, full - colour posters, display sleeves as well as radio interviews . </P> <P> The song reached number - one on the UK Singles Chart and earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), with over a million copies sold . It also reached the top of the charts in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands . "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was critically appreciated, with Rice and Lloyd Webber winning the 1977 Ivor Novello award in the category of Best Song Musically and Lyrically . When Evita moved to a London theatre, Covington--who had become disenchanted with the whole project--refused to reprise the part of Eva and the role went to Elaine Paige . "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" has been covered by multiple artists, including The Carpenters, Olivia Newton - John, and Sinéad O'Connor as well as actors Lea Michele and Chris Colfer from the TV series Glee‍ . </P> <P> In 1996, American singer Madonna starred in the film adaptation of the musical in the title role . Her version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was released as the second single from the film soundtrack on 4 February 1997 . It received positive reviews from music critics who praised her vocal performance . A separate version called the "Miami Mix", which included re-recorded vocals in English and Spanish and an Argentinean bandoneon in the song's intro, was promoted to radio . The song reached number one in France, Spain, and the European Hot 100 Singles, while the remix topped the US Dance Club Songs chart . The song also reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and several other nations, and received gold certifications from five countries . </P> <P> "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were developing Evita for Broadway in 1976 . Both were extremely intrigued by the stories surrounding the life of Eva Perón while researching about her during the mid-1970s . Evita was initially produced as an album, before being adapted for the stage, following a formula that Lloyd Webber and Rice had employed during the production of Jesus Christ Superstar, their previous musical . The duo had written the songs for a female singer with good vocals . </P>

Story behind the song don't cry for me argentina