A pop ballad, the song was inspired by the imagery of a destroyed city after Armageddon, and how the survivors carry on with their lives, with love being the only thing they can hold onto.
"Ghosttown" became Madonna's 45th number-one song on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, surpassing country singer George Strait as the artist with most number-one songs on an active Billboard chart.
"Ghosttown" was released to iTunes Store as part of the album's pre-order in December 2014, in response to hackers leaking songs from Rebel Heart.
An accompanying music video for "Ghosttown" was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and starred actor Terrence Howard.
The song was composed in three days, after Madonna had personally requested some studio time with them.