After the critical and commercial success of her seventh studio album, "Ray of Light" (1998), Madonna intended to embark on a new concert tour in 1999, but due to the delay of her film, "The Next Best Thing", it was cancelled. By 2000, Madonna was dating director Guy Ritchie, and was pregnant with their child. Wanting to distract herself from the media frenzy surrounding the pregnancy, she concentrated on the development of her eighth studio album, "Music". "Ray of Light"s success had made Madonna keen to go into a recording studio and she was introduced to French DJ and producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï through photographer Stéphane Sednaoui.