Madonna still has plenty of blonde ambition
Sheri Levine, canada.com
Published: Friday, April 25
"Madonna is driving the boat. We're all just on water skis," -- Liz Phair, musician
Boy toy. Provocateur. Blasphemous. Icon. Many labels have been attached to Madonna since she burst onto the pop music scene over 20 years ago. Throughout the decades, she has defied her critics and surpassed expectations. The trendsetter, who never met a boundary she wouldn't cross, paved the way for countless pop stars. Over the past several years, Madonna's incarnation has been that of a Kabbalah-practicing-yogi-mom-turned-children's author.
Her last album, 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor, saw the pop star coming full circle to her days as a dance diva taking to the disco floors of New York City's underground clubs. Her early '80s dance diva incarnation continues with the release of her latest studio album Hard Candy, out Tuesday. She was one of the founding members of the MTV video generation who raised the bar on how videos are made. She is a Guinness World Record holder as the most successful female musician of all time, having sold over 200 million albums worldwide with a net worth estimated at over $400 million.
We take a look at the evolution of Madonna through her music with the songs that had the greatest impact on pop music and on culture.
Lucky Star -- Madonna, 1983
The first generation of MTV viewers are introduced to the mesh-clad pop-star-in-waiting. With nothing more than two male back-up dancers and a white background to accompany her, Madonna still manages to cause a commotion for baring her navel. Showing off one's belly button may seem tame by today's standards, but back in the infancy of music videos, Madonna was the first to reveal what was normally kept concealed.
Like a Virgin -- Like a Virgin, 1984
This is the album that turns Madonna into a bona fide, international superstar. Her second studio album reaches No. 1 in the U.S. as does the title track. Before Madonna, no other pop star had so blatantly sung about "being touched for the very first time."
Material Girl -- Like a Virgin, 1984
From boy-toy to Material Girl, the second single from Like a Virgin is a Top 5 hit on several U.S. charts as well as around the globe. The video is a take on Marilyn Monroe's performance of Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend from the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The video plays out like a mini movie, something Madonna would continue to do throughout her career, elevating the concept of music videos.
Papa Don't Preach -- True Blue, 1986
"But I've made up my mind / I'm keeping my baby . . ."
No longer like a virgin, the Material Girl now sings from the perspective of an unwed, pregnant teenager. She is criticized from the political right, religious groups and the Catholic Church for "glorifying" teenage pregnancy. The controversy didn't hurt the sales of True Blue with five Top 5 singles in the U.S. and 11 million copies in sales worldwide. Madonna is also now (officially) "Mrs. Sean Penn." The chaotic, tabloid-fused marriage ends in 1989.
Like a Prayer -- Like a Prayer, 1989
Madonna's evolution continues on a controversial high note with the release of her fourth studio album Like a Prayer, which quickly hits No. 1 in the U.S. But pushing boundaries is getting old, it's time to start crossing them. And so she does by outraging (again) religious groups, the Catholic Church, corporate America and even MTV for her "sacrilegious" Like a Prayer video. The video features a brunette Madonna singing in front of burning crosses and suffering from a case of stigmata. Madonna denounces her critics saying they're missing the point of the video, which is really about racism, violence and redemption. But the Pepsi-Cola company disagrees and yanks its commercial featuring the pop star off the air. Madonna still gets to keep her $5 million paycheque and the album is a huge hit around the world.
Express Yourself -- Like a Prayer, 1989
From prayer to expression: it's fitting Madonna would sing about expressing oneself, she's made a career of doing just that and has taken music, videos and pop culture to higher ground. For her second single from the Like a Prayer album, Madonna once again reveals another facade of herself: "Blonde Ambition." This time around, Madonna is a crotch-grabbing, chain-bound, cat-crawling man-eating vixen in a power suit, evening gown and for the video's big finish -- wrapped only in a sheet.
Vogue -- I'm Breathless, 1990
Madonna encourages everyone to "strike a pose" as "voguing" -- a series of poses inspired by fashion models and set to dance music -- moves from the clubs and into the mainstream becoming Madonna's eighth No. 1 hit in the U.S. The single is featured on the album I'm Breathless, a collection of 1930's-style songs inspired from the film Dick Tracy. The movie stars Warren Beatty in the title role and Madonna as Breathless Mahoney. The legendary actor and pop superstar embark on a highly publicized, but short-lived, romance.
Justify My Love -- The Immaculate Collection, 1990
The Immaculate Collection -- Madonna's first greatest hits collection -- also features two new songs: Rescue Me and Justify My Love. Rescue Me enters the U.S. charts at No. 15, making it the highest-debuting single of all time by a female artist. But it's the video for her other single, Justify My Love, that garners all the attention. The video is so risque MTV bans it all together. Shot in black and white, the starlet is featured in a variety of sexually explicit scenes with a man and a woman as well as scenes involving bondage, S&M and nudity. Madonna's record label (Warner Bros.) releases the video as a single -- making her the first artist ever to have a video as a single. Justify My Love becomes the singer's ninth No. 1 hit in the U.S. Critics, fans and the media alike, speculate whether the video-as-a-single was a marketing ploy from the beginning. To date, The Immaculate Collection has sold over 22 million copies worldwide.
Erotica -- Erotica, 1992
SEX --Madonna's first book, 1992
The fun and S&M games continue two years later with the release of Erotica and Madonna's first book SEX -- another controversial manoeuvre for the pop superstar. The book is a series of sexually explicit photographs featuring the singer in various compromising positions. SEX sells 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone and is an international best-seller.
Madonna reveals her latest incarnation as a dominatrix with her fifth studio album, Erotica. The album reaches No. 2 in the U.S. and produces five hit singles. The title track enters at No. 2 on the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart, making it the highest-debuting song -- by a male or female artist -- in the chart's history. With a hit album and book, Madonna also flexes her business muscles with the creation of her entertainment company Maverick. The $60 million joint venture with Time Warner is the first of its kind for a female entertainer.
Ray of Light, 1998
Now Mamma Madonna, the superstar first-time mom shows off her spiritual side with her seventh studio album. Ray of Light is Madonna's biggest departure musically and personally. Her latest incarnation? An evolved mom devoted to yoga and Kabbalah. Ray of Light is the first "mainstream" album to successfully infuse the musical genres of pop and techno. The album debuts at No. 2 in the U.S., spawning five hit singles and three Grammy Awards.
Music, 2000
American Life, 2003
Madonna begins the millennium with Music, her eighth studio album, which takes the techno-pop sound from her previous album and infuses dance and electronica beats. In the mix of the electronic style, Madonna tosses in some heavy acoustic sounds with her Top 10 hit Don't Tell Me. Music makes its first appearance on the U.S. and U.K. album charts at No. 1. In August, Madonna gives birth to her second child, son Rocco with British film director Guy Ritchie. The couple marry in December.
In 2003, Madonna releases American Life. The album proves to be her least successful and is greeted to mixed reviews causing The New York Times to ask 'Is Madonna still relevant?'
Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005
Madonna is back and more "relevant" than ever with her tenth studio album. The '70s-inspired album is a continuous loop of dance tunes whose mistress is a futuristic disco diva. The first single Hung Up, which borrows beats from ABBA's Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight), breaks a record by reaching No. 1 in 45 different countries. In the U.S., the song peaks at No. 7 and becomes Madonna's 36th Top 10 hit, a record she now shares --but will later break --with Elvis Presley for the most Top 10 songs by any artist in the U.S. She breaks another record -- this one for touring -- a year later, for the highest grossing tour by a female artist.
Hard Candy -- 2008
In August, the supremely fit Madonna turns 50.
Her latest single, 4 minutes, brings Madonna her 37th Top 10 hit -- making her the artist with the most Top 10 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. She has now surpassed her previous record shared only with Elvis. In March, Madonna received music's highest honour by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Hard Candy is the last album to be released on Madonna's former record label, Warner Bros. In 2007, she signed a 10-year contract with the concert promotion company, Live Nation, worth $120 million where she will be the first and founding recording artist for its new music division, Artist Nation.
Yes, Madonna is still very much relevant.
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Madonna, ბოЛЁ альბომი და საერთოდ....
