Madonna (born
Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in
Bay City, MichiganBay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2000 census, the city's population was 36,817, with the 2008 census estimate placing the population at 33,874...
, and raised in
Rochester HillsRochester Hills is a city in northeast Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,825. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 69,014. The City of Rochester in bounded on the north, south, and west by Rochester Hills...
, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups
Breakfast ClubBreakfast Club was an American dance-pop group. Their biggest hit single was "Right On Track," which went to #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.- Band history :...
and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album
Madonna in 1983 on
Sire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. Its early releases as a record label were issued in 1968, distributed by London...
.
A series of hit singles from her studio albums
Like a VirginLike a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. The album was re-released in 1985 world wide with the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. released a remastered version with two bonus remix tracks...
(1984) and
True BlueTrue Blue is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on June 30, 1986 by Sire Records. Madonna worked with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard on the album while co-writing all the songs...
(1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a
pop iconA pop icon is a celebrity whose fame in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. Although there is no single definitive test for establishing "pop icon" status, such status is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction...
for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream
popular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to art music, and traditional music which was disseminated orally...
and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
. Her recognition was augmented by the film
Desperately Seeking SusanDesperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. This movie was rated PG-13 in the USA & 15 in the UK-Plot:...
(1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna
vehicleA star vehicle has historically been a movie, play, TV show, or other production whose primary purpose, besides turning a profit, is to enhance someone's career. Vehicles are most commonly produced when a young or inexperienced actor has signed a long-term contract with a major studio...
, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with
Like a PrayerLike a Prayer is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 21, 1989 by Sire Records. The RIAA certified it Quadruple Platinum on July 16 1997, recognizing four million shipments in the U.S. - making it her seventh best-selling album there...
(1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the
MaverickMaverick, is an entertainment company founded by Madonna, Frederick DeMann and Ronnie Dashev in April 1992. It is owned and operated by Warner Music Group.-History:...
corporation, a joint venture between herself and
Time WarnerTime Warner Inc. is the world's largest entertainment conglomerate , as well as the world's fourth largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City...
. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album
EroticaErotica is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 20, 1992 by Maverick Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication, Sex. The RIAA certified it double platinum on January 6, 1993, recognizing two million shipments...
, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book
SexSex is a highly designed coffee table book written by Madonna with photographs by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames taken from film shot by Fabien Baron. Sex was released on October 21, 1992 by Warner Books...
, and starring in the
erotic thrillerThe erotic thriller is a film and literary genre which consists of erotica and thriller, which, especially in North American, has steadily increased in popularity since the 1980s....
Body of EvidenceBody of Evidence is an erotic thriller directed by Uli Edel and starring Madonna and Willem Defoe.The first theatrical release was censored for the purpose of obtaining an R rating, reducing the film's running time from 101 to 99 minutes...
, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.
In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film
EvitaEvita is the 1996 film adaptation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical based on the life of Eva Perón. It was directed by Alan Parker and starred Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce...
, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Madonna's seventh studio album
Ray of LightRay of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
(1998) became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. During the 2000s, Madonna released five studio albums, all of which reached top position on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling new music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Departing from
Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as Warners or the Bunny, based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros. Pictures.-History:...
, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million dollar contract with
Live NationLive Nation, Inc. is a live events company based in Beverly Hills, California. Live Nation formed in 2005 by a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications. The present CEO of the company is Michael Rapino....
in 2008.
Madonna is ranked by the
Recording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a group which represents the recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA say "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate sound recordings...
as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with 63 million
RIAA-certifiedIn the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
albums; she has sold over 200 million albums worldwide. In 2007,
Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognised...
listed her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and she was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music...
the following year. Considered to be one of the most influential women in contemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing her music and image and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry; she is recognized as an influence among numerous music artists.
1958–1981: Early life and beginnings
Madonna was born in
Bay CityBay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2000 census, the city's population was 36,817, with the 2008 census estimate placing the population at 33,874...
, Michigan at 7:05 AM on August 16, 1958 to Madonna Louise (née Fortin), who was of French Canadian descent, and Silvio Ciccone, who was a first-generation Italian American
ChryslerChrysler Group, LLC is an American automobile manufacturer headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler AG...
/
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
design engineer, originating from
PacentroPacentro is a comune of 1279 inhabitants of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is a well preserved historic medieval village located in the central part of Italy, several kilometers from the City of Sulmona about 170 km east of Rome...
,
AbruzzoAbruzzo Abruzzo Abruzzo (IPA: /aˈbruttso/ is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than 50 miles due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. Madonna is the third of six children; her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula,
ChristopherChristopher G. Ciccone is a younger brother of Madonna, and has worked as Madonna's assistant, dresser, backup dancer, stylist, and artistic director. His first public appearance was alongside his sister in her 1982 debut music video "Everybody"...
, and Melanie.
Madonna was raised in the
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
suburbs of
PontiacPontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 66,337. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
and Avon Township (now
Rochester HillsRochester Hills is a city in northeast Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,825. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 69,014. The City of Rochester in bounded on the north, south, and west by Rochester Hills...
). Her mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963. Then her father married the family's housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children; Jennifer and Mario Ciccone. Madonna commented on her father's second marriage: "I didn't accept my stepmother when I was growing up ... In retrospect, I think I was really hard on her." She attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Elementary Schools (the latter is now known as Holy Family Regional School), and after that West Middle School. There she became known for her high GPA - and for her "unusual" behavior, particularly a kind of an underwear fetish: Madonna performed cartwheels and handstands in the hallways between classes, dangled by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and thought nothing of tugging her skirt up over her desk during class so that all the boys could see her briefs.
Later, she went to
Rochester Adams High SchoolFor schools with similar names, see Adams High School.Rochester Adams High School is a high school located in Rochester, Michigan and is part of the Rochester Community Schools district.-Timeline:...
, becoming a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. Madonna received a dance scholarship to the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
after graduating from high school. She wanted to take ballet lessons and convinced her father to allow her to partake the classes. Her ballet teacher persuaded her to pursue a career in dance, so she left the college at the end of 1977 and relocated to New York City. Madonna had little money at that time and hence lived in squalor, working as a waitress in
Dunkin' DonutsDunkin' Donuts is an international donut and coffee retailer founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts by William Rosenberg. It is now headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts.-Facts and figures:...
and with
modern danceModern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century broom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Origins:...
troupes. Of her move to New York, Madonna said, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist
Patrick HernandezPatrick Hernandez is a French singer who had a worldwide hit with "Born to Be Alive" in 1979.-Biography:...
on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the
Breakfast ClubBreakfast Club was an American dance-pop group. Their biggest hit single was "Right On Track," which went to #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.- Band history :...
, in New York. She sang and played drums and guitar for the band and lived in a converted synagogue in
Corona, QueensCorona, Queens is a highly dense neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the New York City borough of Queens surrounded by Flushing, Jackson Heights, Forest Hills and Elmhurst....
. However, she departed from them and formed another band called Emmy in 1980, with drummer and former boyfriend
Stephen BrayStephen Bray is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer hailing from Detroit. Bray is best known for his collaboration with Madonna....
. She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her to local attention in the New York dance clubs.
DJA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
and record producer
Mark KaminsMark Kamins is a New York club DJ.He is best known for helping launch the career of one-time girlfriend Madonna by presenting a demo to Seymour Stein of Sire Records. He also produced her first single "Everybody" in 1982...
was impressed by her
demo recordingsA demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for musicians to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
, so he brought her to the attention of
Sire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. Its early releases as a record label were issued in 1968, distributed by London...
founder
Seymour SteinSeymour Stein is an entrepreneur in the music industry who has been a part of the business since getting his first job as a clerk for Billboard Magazine in 1958. Stein is a vice president of Warner Bros...
.
1982–85: Madonna, Like a Virgin and marriage to Sean Penn
Madonna signed a
singlesIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
deal with
Sire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. Its early releases as a record label were issued in 1968, distributed by London...
, a label belonging to
Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as Warners or the Bunny, based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros. Pictures.-History:...
. Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982. Her debut album,
Madonna was primarily produced by
Reggie LucasReginald Lucas, is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Lucas is most famous for his production work with percussionist Mtume and for producing the majority of Madonna's 1983 self-titled debut album....
. At the same time, she became involved with artist
Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist and the first African-American painter to become an international art star. He gained popularity first as a graffiti artist in New York City, and then as a successful 1980s-era Neo-expressionist artist...
, living with him for a time in his loft, and visiting Los Angeles over December 82-January 83. She left the artist soon after, over his drug use and late hours, and took up with musician
John "Jellybean" BenitezJohn Benitez, better known as "Jellybean Benitez" is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, DJ, remixer and music producer of Puerto Rican descent...
, while developing the album.
Slowly Madonna's look and manner of dress, performances and music videos, became influential among young girls and women. Largely created by stylist and jewelry designer
MaripolMaripol was brought up in France before moving to New York, USA in 1976. She is an artist, film producer, fashion designer and stylist who has had an influence on the looks of many influential artists, including Grace Jones, Deborah Harry, and Madonna. Maripol is also a Polaroid artist...
, Madonna's style of dress; defined by lace tops, skirts over
capri pantsCapri pants are a style of pants usually worn in warm weather. They are also known as long shorts or three-quarters in some areas of the world and longer versions are called high-waters. They are designed to end mid-calf or just below the calf...
, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, multiple bracelets, and bleached hair, became a female fashion trend in the 1980s. Her follow up album,
Like a VirginLike a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. The album was re-released in 1985 world wide with the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. released a remastered version with two bonus remix tracks...
(1984), became her first number one album on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling new music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Its commercial performance was buoyed by the success of its title track, "
Like a Virgin"Like a Virgin" is the first single by American singer Madonna from the album of the same name and was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records. It also appears in a truncated and slightly remixed form on the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and the 2009 greatest hits...
," which peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for six weeks. The album sold approximately twelve million copies worldwide, eight of them in the United States alone. She performed the song at the first
MTV Video Music AwardsThe MTV Video Music Awards, also called the VMAs, were established at the end of the summer of 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year...
, wearing her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt. The performance is considered as one of the iconic moments in the history of
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
, as is the album
Like a Virgin which, the
National Association of Recording MerchandisersThe National Association of Recording Merchandisers ' is a United States not-for-profit trade association based in Marlton, New Jersey that serves music retailing businesses in lobbying and trade promotion...
and
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music...
listed as one of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.
The next year, Madonna entered mainstream films beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film
Vision QuestVision Quest is a 1985 coming of age drama starring Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino and Ronny Cox. It is based on the novel of the same name by author Terry Davis. In some countries it was released as Crazy For You to market on Madonna's emerging fame and the popularity of the song...
. Its soundtrack contained her second US number-one single "
Crazy for You"Crazy for You" is a single by American singer-songwriter Madonna for the 1985 film Vision Quest. It also appears remixed on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection and was re-released on February 24, 1991 by Sire Records to promote the album...
". She also appeared in the comedy
Desperately Seeking SusanDesperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. This movie was rated PG-13 in the USA & 15 in the UK-Plot:...
, a film which introduced the song "
Into the Groove"Into the Groove" is a 1985 song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her first major feature film Desperately Seeking Susan. It was released as a single in the UK on July 23, 1985 by Sire Records. It later appeared on the 1985 European re-issue of her second studio album, Like a Virgin, and...
," her first number-one single in the United Kingdom. Although not the lead actress for the film, her profile was such that the movie widely became seen (and marketed) as a Madonna vehicle. The film received a nomination for a
César Award for Best Foreign FilmThis is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Foreign Film .-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:...
, and
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
film critic
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby was an American film critic.Canby was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Katharine Anne and Lloyd Canby. He became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there...
named the film as one of the 10 best films of 1985., with the lead
Rosanna ArquetteRosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and film producer.-Life:Arquette was born in New York City, the daughter of Brenda "Mardi" Olivia , an actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an actor and director. Arquette's...
receiving a supporting actress BAFTA for her role. While filming the music video for "
Material Girl"Material Girl" is the second single by singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2nd studio album, Like a Virgin, and was released on January 30, 1985 by Sire Records...
" Madonna started dating actor
Sean PennSean Justin Penn is an American film actor and director, also known for being a political activist. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River and Milk, as well as the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for the former and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the latter.-Early...
and married him on her twenty-seventh birthday that year.
Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America titled
The Virgin TourThe Virgin Tour is the debut concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her first two albums, Madonna and Like a Virgin...
, with the
Beastie BoysBeastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City. The group comprises Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz...
as opening acts. In July 1985,
PenthousePenthouse, a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and soft-core pornographic pictorials that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore. Penthouse is owned by Penthouse Media Group, Inc. formerly known as General Media, Inc. whose parent company was Penthouse...
and
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine, founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with a presence in nearly every medium. Playboy is one of the world's best...
magazines published a number of nude photos of Madonna taken in New York in 1978. Madonna posed for the photographs as she was in need of money. But because she had signed the appropriate release forms, she could not take legal action to block them. The publication caused media uproar. However, she remained defiant and unapologetic upon publication of the photos for which she was paid as little as $25 a session. The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000. She referenced this incident at the outdoor
Live AidLive Aid was a multi-venue rock music concert held on . The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. Billed as the 'global jukebox', the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium, London and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia...
charity concert. She stated that she would not take her jacket off because "they[media] might hold it against me ten years from now."
1986–1991: True Blue, Like a Prayer and the Blond Ambition Tour
Madonna released her third album,
True BlueTrue Blue is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on June 30, 1986 by Sire Records. Madonna worked with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard on the album while co-writing all the songs...
, in 1986, prompting
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
to comment that "it sounds as if it comes from the heart." The album included the ballad "
Live to Tell"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
", which she wrote for the film
At Close RangeAt Close Range is a film based on the real life rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston, Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s. It was released on April 18, 1986, and stars Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Millie Perkins, Candy Clark and...
, starring her then-husband
Sean PennSean Justin Penn is an American film actor and director, also known for being a political activist. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River and Milk, as well as the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for the former and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the latter.-Early...
. The album spawned three number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts: "Live to Tell", "
Papa Don't Preach"Papa Don't Preach" is a dance-pop song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The song was written by Brian Elliot with additional lyrics by Madonna, and produced by Stephen Bray and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in June 1986...
" and "
Open Your Heart"Open Your Heart" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album True Blue on November 12, 1986 by Sire Records. It has since appeared remixed on the compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration . Written originally...
", as well as other top-five singles "
True Blue"True Blue" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the third single from her third studio album, True Blue, on September 29, 1986 by Sire Records. Originally written by Steve Bray, the song deals with the feelings of Madonna for her then-husband Sean Penn...
" and "
La Isla Bonita"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987 by Sire Records. Originally written as a lament, the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna accepted it and...
". In the same year, Madonna starred in the film
Shanghai SurpriseShanghai Surprise is a British adventure/crime/romance film starring then-newlyweds Madonna and Sean Penn, produced by George Harrison's HandMade Films...
(which was panned by critics) and made her theatrical debut in a production of
David Rabe- Personal life :Rabe was born in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Ruth , a department store worker, and William Rabe, a teacher and meat packer. He attended Roman Catholic schools in Dubuque, and graduated from Loras College, a small Catholic liberal-arts college located there. He began graduate studies...
's
Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Sean Penn. In 1987, Madonna starred in
Who's That GirlWho's That Girl is the name of a film released on August 7, 1987 by Warner Bros. starring Madonna and Griffin Dunne. The film was written by Ken Finkleman and directed by James Foley....
, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack; including the title track and the United States number-two single, "
Causing a Commotion"Causing a Commotion" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the second single from the soundtrack album and motion picture Who's That Girl on August 25, 1987 by Sire Records...
". The same year, she embarked on the
Who's That Girl World TourThe Who's That Girl World Tour is the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The tour was also Madonna's first world tour, reaching Asia, North America and Europe. The tour supported her third studio album, True Blue as well as the soundtrack Who's That Girl...
. The tour was complimented for Madonna's innovative dresses. Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits,
You Can DanceYou Can Dance is the first remix album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 17, 1987 by Sire Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her first three studio albums and a new track, "Spotlight," which gained moderate airplay in the US. The RIAA certified it' Gold &...
. In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro began to construct a statue of Madonna in a
bustierA bustiere is an article of clothing for women, which is form-fitting and is traditionally worn as lingerie. It looks somewhat like a Basque, but a bustier is shorter...
. The statue commemorated the fact that her ancestors had lived in Pacentro. Madonna's marriage to Sean Penn also ended. After filing and withdrawing divorce papers in December 1987, they separated on New Year's Eve 1988 and divorced in January 1989. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna said, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."
By early 1989, Madonna had signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer
PepsiPepsiCo, Incorporated is a Fortune 500, American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, NY with interests in manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, as well as salty, sweet and grain-based snacks, and other foods...
. She debuted her new song, "
Like a Prayer"Like a Prayer" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 4th studio album, Like a Prayer. It was released on February 28, 1989 by Sire Records. A power pop song by Madonna, it notably features a gospel choir. In Japan and Australia, a mini-album titled Remixed Prayers was...
" in a Pepsi commercial and also made a music video for it. The video featured many Catholic symbols such as
stigmataStigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus. The term originates from the line at the end of Saint Paul's "Letter to the Galatians" where he says, "I bear on my body the stígmata of Jesus" - stigmata is the plural of the...
and burning crosses. It suggested an interracial relationship between Madonna's character and a black priest, hence it was condemned by the Vatican. Since the commercial and music video were nearly identical, Pepsi was unable to convince the public that their commercial was not inappropriate. They revoked the commercial and cancelled their sponsorship contract with Madonna. However, she was allowed to retain her fee for the contract. Madonna's fourth studio album,
Like a PrayerLike a Prayer is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 21, 1989 by Sire Records. The RIAA certified it Quadruple Platinum on July 16 1997, recognizing four million shipments in the U.S. - making it her seventh best-selling album there...
was released the same year. It was co-written and co-produced by
Patrick LeonardPatrick Raymond Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist and music producer, known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna on many different recordings....
and
Stephen BrayStephen Bray is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer hailing from Detroit. Bray is best known for his collaboration with Madonna....
.
Rolling Stone hailed it as "...as close to art as pop music gets".
Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the
Billboard 200 album chart and sold seven million copies worldwide, with four million copies sold in the United States alone. The album produced three top five singles namely the
title track"Like a Prayer" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 4th studio album, Like a Prayer. It was released on February 28, 1989 by Sire Records. A power pop song by Madonna, it notably features a gospel choir. In Japan and Australia, a mini-album titled Remixed Prayers was...
(her seventh number-one single on the Hot 100), "Express Yourself" and "
Cherish"Cherish" was the third single by American Madonna from her fourth studio album Like a Prayer and was released on August 1, 1989 by Sire Records. It has since appeared in a shorter form on the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection and the two-disc edition of her 2009 compilation of hits...
". By the end of the 1980s, Madonna had become the most successful female artist of the decade with three number-one albums and seven number-one singles; surpassed only by
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
.
In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in the film adaptation of the comic book series
Dick TracyDick Tracy is a long-running comic strip featuring a popular and familiar character in American pop culture.
Dick Tracy is a hard-hitting, fast-shooting, and supremely intelligent police detective who has matched wits with a variety of colorful villains, many based on real-life...
. The movie starred
Warren BeattyHenry Warren Beatty is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early life and education:Beatty was born Henry Warren Beaty in Richmond, Virginia's, Bellevue neighborhood...
in the title role. To accompany the release of the film, she issued the album
I'm BreathlessI'm Breathless - Music from and Inspired by the film Dick Tracy is the second soundtrack album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on May 22, 1990, by Sire Records. It was recorded to promote and accompany the motion picture, released in the summer of 1990...
, which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It also featured her eighth US number-one single, "Vogue", and "
Sooner or Later"Sooner or Later" is a song recorded by American pop singer Madonna and written by American composer Stephen Sondheim for the 1990 film Dick Tracy...
", a song that earned
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre , multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize...
an
Academy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
in 1991. While shooting for the film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty. He appeared on the album-cover of
I'm Breathless and in her documentary
Truth or DareTruth or Dare is a documentary chronicling the life of American singer-songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour...
. Their relationship ended in the fall of 1990. Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour in April 1990. Featuring religious and sexual themes, the tour drew controversy for her performance of "Like a Virgin" during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
. The Pope again encouraged Catholics not to attend. A private association of Catholics, called
Famiglia Domani, also boycotted the tour for featuring eroticism. In response, Madonna said, "I am Italian American and proud of it" and that the Church "completely frowns on sex ... except for procreation." She later won her first
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
in 1992 in the
Best Long Form Music VideoThe Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video has been awarded since 1984. A similar award for Best Short Form Music Video has also been awarded since 1984. In 1988 and 1989 the award criteria were changed and the video awards were presented for Best Concept Music Video and Best Performance...
category for the lasrdisc relase of the tour.
The Immaculate CollectionThe Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 13, 1990 by Sire Records. It contains newly remixed versions of her greatest hits from 1982 to 1990, as well as two new tracks "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". The album includes...
, Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album, was released in November 1990. It included two new songs called "
Justify My Love"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit...
" and "
Rescue Me"Rescue Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was the second single to be released from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection on February 26, 1991 by Sire Records.- Background :...
". "Rescue Me" became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in
Billboard chart history at that time, entering at number fifteen and peaking at number nine. "Justify My Love" became a Madonna's ninth US number-one single. Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism,
bondageBondage refers to the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity...
, same-sex kissing and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the station. At the end of the year, Madonna decided to leave the controversial
Jennifer LynchJennifer Chambers Lynch is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for writing the book The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and for writing and directing the 1993 feature film Boxing Helena....
film
Boxing HelenaBoxing Helena is the 1993 debut feature film by Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:...
. From late 1990 to early 1991, Madonna dated
Tony WardAnthony Borden Ward better known as Tony Ward, is an American model, actor, fashion designer, painter and photographer....
, a model and porn star who starred in her music videos for "Cherish" and "Justify My Love". She also had an eight-month relationship with rapper
Vanilla IceRobert Matthew Van Winkle , best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Van Winkle released his debut album, Hooked, in 1989 through Ichiban Records, before signing a contract with SBK Records, which released a...
. Her first documentary film,
Truth or DareTruth or Dare is a documentary chronicling the life of American singer-songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour...
(known as
In Bed with Madonna outside North America) was released in mid-1991. The documentary chronicled her Blond Ambition World Tour, as well giving glimpses of her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film
A League of Their OwnA League of Their Own is a comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Lori Petty...
in the role of Italian-American Mae Mordabito. She recorded the film's theme song, "
This Used to Be My Playground"This Used to Be My Playground" is a song performed by Madonna. It is the theme for the film A League of Their Own, which starred Madonna as well as Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnell.-Song information:...
" which became her tenth
Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.
1992–1996: Maverick, release of Sex, Erotica, Bedtime Stories and Evita
In 1992, Madonna founded her own entertainment company,
MaverickMaverick, is an entertainment company founded by Madonna, Frederick DeMann and Ronnie Dashev in April 1992. It is owned and operated by Warner Music Group.-History:...
, consisting of a record company (
Maverick RecordsMaverick Recording Company is a soon to be defunct American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
), a film production company (
Maverick FilmsMaverick Films is an American film production company which was founded by Madonna and CEO of Maverick Records, Guy Oseary. It is the film division of entertainment company, Maverick and owned by Warner Music Group...
), and also music publishing, television, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. The deal was a joint venture with
Time WarnerTime Warner Inc. is the world's largest entertainment conglomerate , as well as the world's fourth largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City...
as part of $60 million worth of recordings and businesses. The deal gave her a twenty percent royalty, equal at the time to
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
's. The first release from the venture was Madonna's first publication
SexSex is a highly designed coffee table book written by Madonna with photographs by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames taken from film shot by Fabien Baron. Sex was released on October 21, 1992 by Warner Books...
, a book consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images photographed by
Steven MeiselSteven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
. It caused strong reactions from the media and the general public, but nevertheless sold 1,500,000 copies, at $50 each, in a matter of days. At the same time she released her fifth studio album
EroticaErotica is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 20, 1992 by Maverick Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication, Sex. The RIAA certified it double platinum on January 6, 1993, recognizing two million shipments...
. It peaked at number two in the United States. Its title track peaked at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Erotica also produced five further singles namely "
Deeper and Deeper"Deeper and Deeper" is a song by Madonna, released as the second single from her 1992 studio album Erotica. It was released in December 1992 by Maverick Records....
," "Bad Girl," "
Fever"Fever" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fifth studio album Erotica, released on March 22 1993, by Maverick Records...
," "
Rain"Rain" is a single by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was the fifth single release from her fifth studio album Erotica...
" and "
Bye Bye Baby"Bye Bye Baby" is a single by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was the sixth and final single release from her fifth studio album Erotica. It was released as the final single on November 15, 1993.-Single information:...
."
Her provocative imagery continued with the erotic thrillers
Body of EvidenceBody of Evidence is an erotic thriller directed by Uli Edel and starring Madonna and Willem Defoe.The first theatrical release was censored for the purpose of obtaining an R rating, reducing the film's running time from 101 to 99 minutes...
and
Dangerous GameDangerous Game is a film directed by Abel Ferrara starring Madonna, Harvey Keitel and James Russo.-Reception:The film opened in US theaters on November 19, 1993 and was trashed by critics...
. The first film contained scenes of S&M and
bondageBondage refers to the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity...
hence was poorly received by critics.
Dangerous Game was released straight-to-video in North America but received some good reviews for Madonna's performance.
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
described that "She submits impressively to the emotions raging furiously around her." Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour at the end of 1993. It featured her dressed as a whip-cracking
dominatrixA dominatrix or mistress is a woman who takes the dominant role in bondage and discipline, dominance and submission or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
, surrounded by topless dancers. The show faced negative reaction in
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
when she rubbed its flag between her legs on stage.
Orthodox JewsOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
protested against her first ever show in Israel. That year, she also appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman. After Letterman introduced her on his show as "one of the biggest stars in the world, and
in the past 10 years she has sold over 80 million albums..and slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry," Madonna
subsequently repeatedly used
four-letter wordThe phrase four-letter word refers to a set of English-language words written with four letters which are considered profane, including common popular or slang terms for excretory functions, sexual activity and genitalia, and sometimes also certain terms relating to Hell and damnation when used...
s and asked Letterman to smell a pair of her underwear she handed him. The release of
Truth or Dare,
Sex book,
Erotica,
Body of Evidence and the appearance on Letterman - all of them made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. She faced strong negative publicity with critics and fans commenting that "she had gone too far" and that her career was to be over.
Madonna tried to tone down this provocative image by releasing the single "
I'll Remember"I'll Remember" is a song by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack single of the 1994 film With Honors...
", which she recorded for
Alek KeshishianAlek Keshishian is an Lebanese-born American film director of Armenian descent.Alek was raised in Manchester, NH in the USA along with his sister, Aleen, by their Armenian parents Dr. Kevork and Cecil Keshishian...
's film
With Honors. She made a tame appearance with Letterman at an awards show, as well as appearing on the
Jay LenoJames Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host. From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During his tenure, the show held the top ratings position in its time slot on nearly every weekday...
show. However, the public still did not accept her. It was then that she realized her music career needed some dramatic changes in order to sustain herself in the long run. With her sixth studio album
Bedtime StoriesBedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. In 1995, it was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. The RIAA certified it Gold and Platinum on January 5, 1995, and triple platinum on...
Madonna tried to soften her image and reconnect with the general public once more. The album produced four singles— "
Secret"Secret" is a song by Madonna, released as the first single from her 1994 album Bedtime Stories. It was released in September 1994 and became a top ten hit around the world, including reaching number three in the US and five in the UK.-Song information:...
", "Take a Bow" which spent seven weeks at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, "Bedtime Story" and "
Human Nature"Human Nature" is the fourth and final single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories, released on June 6, 1995 by Maverick Records.-Song information:...
". At the same time she became romantically involved with fitness trainer
Carlos LeonCarlos Leon is a personal trainer and actor. He is most famous for his former relationship with singer Madonna, who gave birth to their daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, on October 14, 1996....
. Continuing to tone down her image, Madonna released
Something to RememberSomething to Remember is the third compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 7, 1995 by Maverick Records. It contains a collection of her greatest ballad hits with three new songs: "I Want You," "You'll See," and "One More Chance". It also contains a new remix of...
, a collection of her ballads, in May 1995. It featured her
coverIn popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the
Marvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist with a three-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960...
song "
I Want You"I Want You" is a song written by songwriters Leon Ware and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and recorded and released as a single by singer Marvin Gaye. Released as a single in 1976 on the Tamla label, the song introduced a change in musical styles for Gaye, who before then had been recording songs with a funk...
" and the top ten hit song "
You'll See"You'll See" is a song by pop singer Madonna. It was the first single taken from the 1995 ballads compilation Something to Remember and was released on October 28, 1995 by Warner Bros. Records.-Song information:...
". The following year saw the release of Madonna’s most critically successful film,
EvitaEvita is the 1996 film adaptation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical based on the life of Eva Perón. It was directed by Alan Parker and starred Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce...
. She portrayed the main part of
Eva PerónMaría Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Domingo Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952...
, a role first played by
Elaine PaigeElaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school and made her first professional appearance on stage in 1964...
in the
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland". Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking world...
. The
soundtrack albumEvita is the third soundtrack album to feature American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1996 by Warner Bros. Records. It also includes performances by Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce and Jimmy Nail. It was released to promote and accompany the 1996 motion picture, Evita...
contained three of her singles including "
You Must Love Me"You Must Love Me" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna from the soundtrack album Evita of the motion picture of the same name. It was released in October 1996 by Warner Bros. as the first single from the album. Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who also composed the music for the...
", a song that earned
Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre, the elder son of organist William Lloyd Webber and brother of the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber...
and
Tim RiceSir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice is an English Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, author, radio personality and television gameshow panellist....
the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1997 and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". Madonna won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the role. On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to her and Carlos Leon's daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.
1997–2002: Ray of Light, Music, second marriage and Drowned World Tour
After Lourdes' birth Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and
KabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
. Her seventh studio album
Ray of LightRay of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
reflected this change in her perception and image. The album debuted at number two in the United States. Allmusic called it her "most adventurous record." The album produced two US top five singles: "
Frozen"Frozen" is a pop song by American singer Madonna from her 1998 album Ray of Light, written and produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and William Orbit. The song was released as the first single in February 1998.-Song information:...
", which reached number two and "
Ray of Light"Ray of Light" is the second single by American singer Madonna from her 1998 album of the same name, and is based on Curtiss Maldoon's "Sepheryn", although other than the first verse the comparison is loose...
", which reached five. It also won three
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
s the same year. The title track "Ray of Light" won a Grammy for "
Best Short Form Music VideoThe Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video has been awarded since 1984. A similar award for Best Long Form Music Video has also been awarded since 1984. In 1988 and 1989 the award criteria were changed and the video awards were presented for Best Concept Music Video and Best Performance...
", Best Video at the
1998 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 1998 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 10, 1998, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998. The show was hosted by Ben Stiller at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.-Promotion:...
and was used by
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices...
in its advertising campaign to introduce
Windows XPWindows XP is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience"...
. The first single "Frozen" was adjudicated to be a plagiarism of Belgian songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva's 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp", and hence the album was banned in
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
.
Ray of Light has been ranked number 363 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Beside the album, Madonna was signed to play a violin teacher in the film
Music of the HeartMusic of the Heart is a 1999 dramatic film. This film was produced by Craven-Maddalena Films and Miramax Films, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution.This film stars Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Gloria Estefan, and Angela Bassett...
but left the project, citing "creative differences" with director
Wes CravenWesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American film director and writer, perhaps best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character and the Scream films.-Early life:Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son...
. Madonna followed the success of
Ray of Light with the single "
Beautiful Stranger"Beautiful Stranger" is a Grammy Award winning dance-pop song written and produced by American singer Madonna and William Orbit for the movie soundtrack Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me . The song was released as a single in the middle of 1999...
", recorded for the 1999 film
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series. The series began with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter...
s soundtrack. It reached number nineteen on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Madonna starred in the movie
The Next Best ThingThe Next Best Thing is a 2000 comedy-drama film, the final film directed by John Schlesinger. It stars Rupert Everett, Madonna, and Benjamin Bratt.-Plot:...
in 2000. She contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, "Time Stood Still" and the international hit "American Pie", a cover version of the 1970s
Don McLeanDonald McLean, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent"....
single. Madonna's eighth studio album,
MusicMusic is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on September 19, 2000 by Maverick Records. On its release, it set a new company record for Warner Music International in shipping three million units worldwide, and entered the charts at number one position in 15...
, was released in 2000 and debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200. It produced three singles; "
Music"Music" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on August 21, 2000 by Maverick Records. It was also released on DVD single, a debut in this format by Madonna. It was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year in 2001...
", which became Madonna's twelfth number one US single as well as "
Don't Tell Me"Don't Tell Me" is the second single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on November 21, 2000 by Maverick Records. The release date in North America was postponed to January 16, 2001 due to the huge success of the first single "Music"...
" and "
What It Feels Like for a Girl"What It Feels Like for a Girl" is the third and final single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on April 17, 2001 by Maverick Records...
". The latter's music video depicted Madonna committing murders and accidents with cars and was banned by
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
and
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
from airing. The same year Madonna became involved in a relationship with
Guy RitchieGuy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and filmmaker.-Early life:Ritchie was born on 10 September 1968, the second of two children born to John Vivian Ritchie and his first wife, the former Amber Parkinson...
, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife,
Trudie StylerTrudie Styler Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January, 1954 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England is an actress and producer. She is married to the musician Sting.-Biography:...
. On August 11, 2000, she gave birth to their son, Rocco. Later that year, Madonna and Ritchie married in Scotland.
Her fifth concert tour titled the
Drowned World TourThe Drowned World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna in support of her seventh and eight studio albums Music and Ray of Light . It was also her first world tour in eight years, following The Girlie Show in 1993. It went on to become one of the most successful...
, her first since 1993, started in May 2001. The tour visited cities in North America and Europe. It became one of the highest grossing concert tours of the year and grossed $75 million from 47 sold-out shows. She also released her second greatest hits collection titled
GHV2GHV2 is the second greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 2001 by Maverick Records. It is the follow-up to the 1990 release, The Immaculate Collection. It does not contain any new recordings and was released to coincide with the live video...
to coincide with the home video release of the tour. The album debuted at number seven on the
Billboard 200. Madonna also starred in the film
Swept AwaySwept Away is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Madonna, Adriano Giannini, and Bruce Greenwood. It was released by Screen Gems and produced by Matthew Vaughn.-History:...
directed by her husband
Guy RitchieGuy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and filmmaker.-Early life:Ritchie was born on 10 September 1968, the second of two children born to John Vivian Ritchie and his first wife, the former Amber Parkinson...
. It was released in 2002. The film was a commercial and critical failure and released straight-to-video in the United Kingdom. Later that year, she released the title song "
Die Another Day"Die Another Day" is the theme to the James Bond film of the same name recorded by Madonna. The single was released in late 2002, marking Madonna's 20th career anniversary, and peaked at number eight in the United States and #3 in the United Kingdom selling 167,863 copies, making it the most...
" to the twentieth
James BondThe James Bond film series are British spy films inspired by Ian Fleming's novels about the fictional MI6 agent James Bond . The franchise remains as one of the longest continually running film series in history, having been in ongoing production from 1962 to 2009 with a six-year hiatus between...
film, in which she had a cameo role. The song reached number eight on the
Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated both for a
Golden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
for
Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry for
Worst Song.
2003–06: American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor and adoption case
Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer
Steven KleinSteven Klein is an American photographer based in New York.-History:After studying painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, he moved into the field of photography...
in 2003 on an exhibition installation named
X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It included photography from a photoshoot in
W MagazineW is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and thirteen inches tall. Patrick McCarthy is its chairman and editorial director. McCarthy has previously worked for Women's Wear Daily, the sister publication...
and seven video segments. The installation ran from March to May, in New York's
Deitch ProjectsDeitch Projects is a contemporary art gallery in New York City founded by Jeffrey Deitch.-History:Since opening with a performance by Vanessa Beecroft in February 1996, the gallery has presented nearly one hundred and eighteen solo exhibitions and projects, ten thematic exhibitions, and a few...
gallery. It then traveled the world in an edited form. Madonna released her ninth studio album called
American LifeAmerican Life is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on April 22, 2003 by Maverick Records. The RIAA certified it platinum on July 7, 2003, in recognition of one million shipments throughout the United States, where it has sold 674,000 copies...
. It was themed on the American society and received mixed reviews. The title song peaked at number thirty-seven on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Having sold four million copies,
American Life became the lowest selling album of her career. Later that year, Madonna performed the song "Hollywood" with
Britney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American singer and entertainer. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Spears first appeared on national television in 1992 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to...
,
Christina AguileraChristina María Aguilera is an American pop musician. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after...
and
Missy ElliottMissy "Misdemeanor" Elliott is an American recording artist, producer and actress. With record sales of over seven million in the United States, she is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum Under Construction.Elliott is known for a...
at the
2003 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 2003 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2003, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. This year's ceremony is best remembered for Madonna kissing Britney Spears and Christina...
. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera during the performance, resulting in a tabloid frenzy. That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "
Me Against the Music"Me Against the Music" is a song performed by Britney Spears featuring Madonna. The song was written by Spears and Madonna along with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Penelope Magnet, Thabiso Nikhereanye, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and Gary O'Brien for Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone, released...
". During the Christmas season of 2003, Madonna released
Remixed & RevisitedRemixed & Revisited is a remix compilation by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on November 24, 2003 by Maverick Records. The album contains four songs, in remixed form, from her 2003 ninth studio album American Life and a previously unreleased song, "Your Honesty", from her 1994...
, a remix
EPAn extended play is a vinyl record, CD, or music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as an LP. Usually, a CD single has around 10–28 minutes of music, an EP has up to 36 minutes, and an album generally has 30–80 minutes. Mini-LPs generally contain 20–30...
that included rock versions of songs from
American LifeAmerican Life is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on April 22, 2003 by Maverick Records. The RIAA certified it platinum on July 7, 2003, in recognition of one million shipments throughout the United States, where it has sold 674,000 copies...
, and "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the
Bedtime Stories recording sessions. Madonna also signed a contract with
Callaway Arts & EntertainmentCallaway Arts & Entertainment is a family entertainment company specializing in the design, production, and publication of illustrated books and multimedia products....
for five books, and published the first one titled
The English RosesThe English Roses is a 2003 children's picture book written by entertainer Madonna and illustrated by Jeffrey Fulvimari which later became a series of children's books by both artists...
. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. After its release,
The English Roses peaked at the top of
New York Times Best Seller listThe New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered to be the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in the The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is usually found inserted in the Sunday edition of The New York Times, or as a stand-alone...
.
The next year in March, Madonna and
MaverickMaverick, is an entertainment company founded by Madonna, Frederick DeMann and Ronnie Dashev in April 1992. It is owned and operated by Warner Music Group.-History:...
sued
Warner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. The current incarnation of the company was formed in 2004 when it was spun off by Time Warner, and as a result, Time Warner no longer...
and its former parent company,
Time WarnerTime Warner Inc. is the world's largest entertainment conglomerate , as well as the world's fourth largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City...
, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev were purchased. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract. Later that year, Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning $125 million. She made a documentary about the tour named
I'm Going to Tell You a SecretI'm Going to Tell You a Secret is a documentary following pop singer Madonna on her successful 2004 Re-Invention World Tour, chronicling early events such as dancer auditions, rehearsals and opening night, and continuing all the way through the final show and her visit to Israel late in 2004. The...
. That same year,
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
ranked her number thirty-six on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". During the
2004 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, Madonna endorsed
Wesley ClarkWesley Kanne Clark, Sr., KBE is a retired general of the United States Army. Clark was valedictorian of his class at West Point, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the Command and...
's Democratic nomination.
She participated in the televised concert "
Tsunami AidTsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope was a worldwide benefit held for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. It was broadcast on NBC and its affiliated networks of USA, Bravo, PAX, MSNBC, CNBC, SciFi Channel and other NBC Universal stations and was heard on any Clear Channel radio...
" and performed a cover version of the
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
song "
Imagine"Imagine" is a song written and performed by English rock musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971. "Imagine" was released as a single in the United States where it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100...
". The concert, which took place on January 2005, raised money for the
tsunamiThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
victims in Asia. The same year, Madonna performed at the
Live 8Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6-8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
benefit concert in London in July, supporting the aims of Britain's
Make Poverty HistoryThe Make Poverty History campaign is a Great Britain and Ireland coalition of charities, religion groups, trade unions, campaigning groups and celebrities who mobilise around the UK's prominence in world politics, as of 2005, to increase awareness and pressure governments into taking actions...
campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty. Her tenth studio album,
Confessions on a Dance FloorConfessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on November 15, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was a complete departure from her last studio album American Life . It included influences of 70s and 80s disco as well as modern-day...
was released in November and has sold more than eight million copies. The album debuted at number one and won the
Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album was first awarded in 2005. It joined the earlier Best Dance Recording in the 'dance' category as the second award to ever be created in this field.-2000s:...
. Following the mixed reviews of her previous studio album,
Confessions received positive reviews with critics claiming it as a return to commercial prominence for her. However, Israeli rabbis condemned the song "Isaac" from the album because they believed it was a tribute to Rabbi
Isaac LuriaIsaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi and known as "The Ari", "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal," meaning "The Lion," was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
and claimed that Jewish law forbid commercializing a rabbi's name. Madonna claimed that she had named it after an Israeli singer and said, "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about?" The first single from the album, "
Hung Up"Hung Up" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Madonna and producer Stuart Price for her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2005...
" went on to reach number-one in a record breaking forty-five countries. "
Sorry"Sorry" is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor. It was written and produced by Madonna and Stuart Price and was released as the second single from the album on February 28, 2006...
", the second single became Madonna's twelfth number one in the United Kingdom.
By mid-2006, fashion clothing line
H&MH & M Hennes & Mauritz AB , is a Swedish clothing company, known for its fast fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children...
had signed Madonna to become their worldwide model. The next year, the clothing line
M by Madonna was launched internationally. Madonna's
Confessions TourThe Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It supported her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Madonna confirmed the possibility of going out on a tour, as early as November 2005. Jamie King was later appointed as the choreographer...
began in May 2006. It had a global audience of 1.2 million people, with reported gross sales of $260.1 million. The use of religious symbols such as the
crucifixA crucifix is a cross with a representation of Jesus' body, or corpus. It is a principal symbol of the Christian religion...
and
Crown of ThornsIn Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus before his crucifixion. It is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew , Mark , and John and is often alluded to by the early Christian Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria,...
in the performance of "
Live to Tell"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Originally written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of the film Fire with Fire, the song was shown to Madonna, who decided to use it for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range...
" caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia to urge all their members to boycott her concert. The Vatican as well as bishops from
DüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the second most international and economically important centre of Germany, after Frankfurt, and is located in the center of the Rhein-Ruhr area, Europe's most populated metropolitan area...
protested against the concert. Madonna responded that, "My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole."
While on the tour, Madonna traveled to
MalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
to help and fund an orphanage as part of the
Raising MalawiRaising Malawi is a charity non-profit organisation, co-founded by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006 in conjunction with the Kabbalah Centre Charitable Foundation...
initiative. On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy named David Banda Mwale from the orphanage. He was renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. The adoption raised strong public reaction because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting. The effort was highly publicized and culminated in legal disputes. Madonna refuted the allegations on
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history...
. She said that there are no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulate foreign adoption and that Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when she met him. Singer and humanitarian activist,
BonoPaul David Hewson, KBE , most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife,...
, defended her by saying, "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable." Some said that Banda's biological father Yohane did not understand what adoption meant and had assumed that the arrangement was fostering. He said, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing." He also said, "They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." The adoption was finalized on May 28, 2008.
2007–present: Live Nation, Hard Candy and the Sticky & Sweet Tour
In May 2007, Madonna released the download-only song "
Hey You"Hey You" is a pop charity song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was co-produced by Pharrell Williams. The song was released as part of the Live Earth campaign and was free to download from websites like MSN. It was released digitally as well as on the CD and DVD of the Live Earth concerts...
", in anticipation of the
Live EarthLive Earth is an annual event developed to combat climate change.-Background:The plans for the first Live Earth concerts were announced at a media event in Los Angeles on 15 February 2007 by Al Gore, Kevin Wall and other celebrities...
series of concerts. The song was made available for free for its first week. She also performed it at the
London Live Earth concertThe Live Earth concert in the United Kingdom was held at Wembley Stadium, London, England on 7 July 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance :...
in July 2007. Madonna announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records and a new $120 million, ten year contract with
Live NationLive Nation, Inc. is a live events company based in Beverly Hills, California. Live Nation formed in 2005 by a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications. The present CEO of the company is Michael Rapino....
in October. She became the founding recording artist for the new music division,
Live Nation Artists. Same year, the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music...
announced Madonna as one of the five inductees of 2008. The ceremony took place on March 10, 2008. Madonna produced and wrote
I Am Because We AreI Am Because We Are is a 2008 documentary directed by Nathan Rissman and written, narrated and produced by Madonna.The film premiered at the 7th annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York, USA, on April 24, 2008 and at the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 21, 2008...
, a documentary on the problems faced by Malawians. The documentary was directed by her former gardener Nathan Rissman.
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
praised
I Am Because We Are, saying that she "came, saw and conquered the world's biggest film festival." She also directed her first film titled
Filth and WisdomFilth and Wisdom is the first feature film directed by Madonna, starring Eugene Hütz, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure and Richard E. Grant...
. It received mixed reviews from the British press.
The Times said she had "done herself proud" while
The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort [but] Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job."
Madonna released her eleventh studio album,
Hard CandyHard Candy is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on April 25, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records. It was her final studio album with the record company before a greatest hits album, Celebration, marking the end of a 25 year recording history...
, in April 2008. It was lauded by
Rolling Stone as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour." The album debuted at number one in 37 countries worldwide, including
Billboard 200 with over 280,000 copies sold. The album received mostly positive reviews worldwide, though some critics panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market". Its lead single "
4 Minutes"4 Minutes" is a song by American singer–songwriter Madonna from her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records...
" reached number three on the
Billboard Hot 100. The single scored Madonna her thirty-seventh
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
top ten hit, thus surpassing
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
as the artist with the most top-ten hits. In the United Kingdom, she retained her record for the most number one singles for a female artist, this being her thirteenth. To further promote the album, Madonna embarked on the
Sticky & Sweet TourThe Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna to support her eleventh studio album Hard Candy. It was Madonna's first major venture from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation, following the Hard Candy Promo Tour...
, which was her first major venture with
Live NationLive Nation, Inc. is a live events company based in Beverly Hills, California. Live Nation formed in 2005 by a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications. The present CEO of the company is Michael Rapino....
. It became the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist with gross of $US280 million, surpassing the title previous held by her
Confessions TourThe Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It supported her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Madonna confirmed the possibility of going out on a tour, as early as November 2005. Jamie King was later appointed as the choreographer...
. The tour was extended to the next year, adding new European dates and places where Madonna did not visit previously, finally wrapping it up with two final
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
dates.
Life with My Sister MadonnaChristopher G. Ciccone is a younger brother of Madonna, and has worked as Madonna's assistant, dresser, backup dancer, stylist, and artistic director. His first public appearance was alongside his sister in her 1982 debut music video "Everybody"...
, a controversial book by Madonna's brother,
Christopher CicconeChristopher G. Ciccone is a younger brother of Madonna, and has worked as Madonna's assistant, dresser, backup dancer, stylist, and artistic director. His first public appearance was alongside his sister in her 1982 debut music video "Everybody"...
, was released on July. The book debuted at number two on the New York Times Best Seller List. It was not authorized by Madonna and led to a rift between them. Madonna filed for divorce from husband Guy Ritchie in October 2008. After being granted a preliminary decree of divorce, the separation became final in December. On March 2, 2009, Madonna was honored with the Japan Gold International Artist of the Year award at the
Recording Industry Association of JapanThe Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969....
Gold Disc Awards for her album
Hard CandyHard Candy is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on April 25, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records. It was her final studio album with the record company before a greatest hits album, Celebration, marking the end of a 25 year recording history...
. Madonna decided to adopt again from Malawi. The country's High Court initially approved the adoption of Chifundo "Mercy" James. However the adoption was rejected with court registrar Ken Manda stating the reason being was that Madonna was not a resident of Malawi. This ruling was overturned by the country's highest court. On June 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of Malawi granted Madonna the rights to adopt Mercy James.
In September 2009, Madonna released
CelebrationCelebration is the third greatest hits album from American singer Madonna, and the closing release under her contract with Warner Bros. Records, her record company since 1982. The release follows her two previous greatest hits albums, The Immaculate Collection and GHV2...
, her third greatest hits album, and closing release with Warner Bros. Records. It contained the new songs "
Celebration"Celebration" is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her third greatest hits compilation, Celebration. It was written by Madonna, Paul Oakenfold, Ciaran Gribbin and Ian Green, and produced by Madonna and Paul Oakenfold. The song was released digitally on July 31, 2009 by Warner Bros....
" and "Revolver", plus 34 hits spanning her career. The album became Madonna's eleventh number-one album in the
UK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus.To qualify for the UK albums...
, tying her with Elvis Presley as the solo act with most number-one albums in the British chart history. In June,
Forbes Magazine named her as the third-most-powerful celebrity of the year. Madonna appeared at the
2009 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 2009 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 13, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Comedian Russell Brand hosted the event for the second time in a row. Madonna opened the show with a speech about Michael Jackson...
on September 13, 2009, to pay tribute to
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
with a speech.
Musical style and influences
As an artist, Madonna's music has been the subject of much scrutiny among critics. Author Robert M. Grant comments in his book
Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2005), wrote that what has brought her success is "[c]ertainly not outstanding natural talent. As a vocalist, musician, dancer, songwriter, or actress, Madonna's talents seem modest." He asserts Madonna's success lies in relying on the talents of others and that her personal relationships have served as cornerstones to the numerous reinventions in the longevity of her career. Conversely,
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
magazine has named Madonna "an exemplary songwriter with a gift for hooks and indelible lyrics, and a better studio singer than her live spectacles attest." She has been called "the perfect vocalist for lighter-than-air songs", despite not being a "heavyweight talent."
In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"These Boots Are Made for Walkin" is a pop song composed by Lee Hazlewood and first recorded by Nancy Sinatra. It was released in February 1966 and hit #1 in the United States and United Kingdom Pop charts. Subsequently, many cover versions of the song have been released in a range of styles: pop,...
" by
Nancy SinatraNancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra from his first wife, Nancy Barbato, and remains known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".For her fourth birthday, Phil Silvers and Jimmy Van Heusen wrote the song...
and that it summed up her "take-charge attitude." As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art, and music, and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was
baroqueBaroque music describes a style of European classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1750. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance and was followed by the Classical era...
, and loved
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as...
and
ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music....
because she liked their "feminine quality". In 1999, Madonna identified musical influences that impacted her such as Debbie Harry,
Karen CarpenterKaren Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters....
,
The SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
and
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
, and dancers like
Martha GrahamMartha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, whose influence on dance can be compared to the influence Stravinsky had on music, Picasso had on the visual arts, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture...
and
Rudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Tatar dancer from the Soviet Union, primarily known for his work in ballet. He defected despite KGB efforts...
. In a 2006 interview with
The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
, Madonna cited her current musical interests, which included Detroit natives
The RaconteursThe Raconteurs , are a rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The band is...
and
The White StripesThe White Stripes is an American rock duo, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consists of songwriter Jack White and Meg White ....
, as well as New York band The Jett Set.
Madonna's Catholic background and relationship with her parents were reflected in the album
Like a Prayer. It is also an evocation of the impact religion had on her career. Her video for the title track contains Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. During The Virgin Tour, she wore a
rosaryThe Rosary or "garland of roses" is a popular and traditional Roman Catholic devotion. The term denotes both a set of prayer beads and the devotional prayer itself, which combines vocal prayer and meditation...
and also prayed with it in the music video for "La Isla Bonita". She also referred to her Italian heritage in her work. The video for "
Like a Virgin"Like a Virgin" is the first single by American singer Madonna from the album of the same name and was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records. It also appears in a truncated and slightly remixed form on the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and the 2009 greatest hits...
", features Venetian settings. The "
Open Your Heart"Open Your Heart" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album True Blue on November 12, 1986 by Sire Records. It has since appeared remixed on the compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration . Written originally...
" video sees her boss scolding her in Italian. In
Ciao, Italia! - Live from ItalyCiao, Italia! - Live from Italy is a live music video title by singer Madonna. Released by Warner Reprise Video on May 24, 1988, it contained a live performance from the 1987 Who's That Girl World Tour filmed at Stadio Comunale in Turin, Italy on September 4, 1987.-Formats:It is was released on...
, the video release of her Who's That Girl Tour, she dedicates the song "Papa Don't Preach" to the Pope ("Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope".)
During her childhood, Madonna was inspired by actors, later saying, "I loved
Carole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in several classic films of the 1930s, most notably in the 1936 film My Man Godfrey...
and
Judy HollidayJudy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before progressing to work in Broadway roles...
and
Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe , born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized Norma Jeane Baker, was an American actress, singer and model....
. They were all incredibly funny...and I saw myself in them...my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence". Her "
Material Girl"Material Girl" is the second single by singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2nd studio album, Like a Virgin, and was released on January 30, 1985 by Sire Records...
" music video recreated Monroe's "
Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is a song introduced by Carol Channing in the original Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , which was written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin...
" from the film
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for her film
Who's That Girl. The video for "Express Yourself" (1989) was inspired by
Fritz LangFriedrich "Fritz" Christian Anton Lang was an Austrian-German-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
's
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
MetropolisMetropolis is a silent German expressionism science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou. Lang and von Harbou, who were married, wrote the screenplay in , and published a novelization in 1926, before the film was released...
(1927). The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular
Horst P. HorstHorst P. Horst, most often known as just Horst, was a German American photographer best known for his photographs of women and fashion taken while working for Vogue magazine.-Childhood:...
, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and
Rita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s not only as one of the era's top stars, but also as the era's greatest sex symbol, most notably in Gilda...
, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her, including
Bette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theatre. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, described by Madonna as an idol, along with
Louise BrooksMary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, famous for pioneering the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
and
Dita ParloDita Parlo was a German film actress.Born Grethe Gerda Kornstädt in Stettin , Parlo made her first film appearance in Homecoming in 1928 and quickly became a popular actress in Germany...
.
Inflences also came to her from the art world, most notably through the works of artist
Frida KahloFrida Kahlo was a Mexican painter. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico and European influences including Realism, Symbolism, and Surrealism. Many of her works are self-portraits that symbolically articulate her own pain and sexuality...
. Her 1995 music video to "Bedtime Story" featured images inspired by the paintings of Kahlo and
Remedios VaroRemedios Varo Uranga was a Spanish-Mexican, para-surrealist painter. She was born María de los Remedios Varo Uranga in Anglès, Girona, Spain in 1908. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was largely influenced by the surrealist movement. She met her husband, the French...
. Her 2003 video to "Hollywood" was a homage to the work of photographer
Guy BourdinGuy Bourdin was one of the best known photographers of fashion and advertising of the second half of the 20th century. He shared Helmut Newton’s taste for controversy and stylization, but Bourdin’s formal daring and the narrative power of his images exceeded the bounds of conventional advertising...
although it sparked a lawsuit by Bourdin's son, due to the unauthorised use of his father's work. Other new-age artists like
Andy WarholAndrew Warhola , more commonly known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
was the inspiration behing the music videos for "
Erotica"Erotica" is the lead single from American singer-songwriter Madonna's fifth studio album, Erotica . The single was released in October 1992 by Maverick Records. Released amidst a blaze of publicity and hype for the single and other projects at the time, "Erotica" became her first lead single from...
" and "
Deeper and Deeper"Deeper and Deeper" is a song by Madonna, released as the second single from her 1992 studio album Erotica. It was released in December 1992 by Maverick Records....
". Warhol's usage of S&M imagery in his underground films were reflected in these videos. Madonna even imitated Warhol's one-time muse
Edie SedgwickEdith Minturn "Edie" Sedgwick was an American actress, socialite, model, and heiress. She is best known for being one of Andy Warhol's Muses. Sedgwick became known as "The Girl of the Year" in 1965 after starring in several of Andy Warhol's short films, in the 1960s...
in "Deeper and Deeper".
Madonna became a follower of the
KabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
school of Jewish mysticism in 1994 after the release of her album
Bedtime StoriesBedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. In 1995, it was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. The RIAA certified it Gold and Platinum on January 5, 1995, and triple platinum on...
. She has spoken about the influence of the religion on her and donated millions of dollars for schools based on the religion, around New York and London. In 2004, she changed her name to Esther, which in Hebrew means "star". However, her immersion in Kabbalah caused a furor and she faced opposition from Rabbis who saw Madonna's joining the religion as sacrilegious and a case of celebrity dilettanism. Madonna defended her Kabbalah studies by stating it "would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi Party" and that the Kabbalah is "not hurting anybody." The religion went on to influence Madonna's music, especially albums like
Ray of LightRay of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
and
MusicMusic is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on September 19, 2000 by Maverick Records. On its release, it set a new company record for Warner Music International in shipping three million units worldwide, and entered the charts at number one position in 15...
. It made an appearance in her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour where at one point of the show, Madonna and her dancers wore t-shirts that read "Kabbalists Do It Better."
Music videos and live performance
In
The Madonna Companion, biographer Andrew Metz noted that more than any other recent pop artist, Madonna had used
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
and music videos to establish her popularity and enhance her recorded work. According to him, many of her songs have the imagery of the music video in strong context while referring to the music. The media and public reaction towards her most-discussed songs like "
Papa Don't Preach"Papa Don't Preach" is a dance-pop song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The song was written by Brian Elliot with additional lyrics by Madonna, and produced by Stephen Bray and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in June 1986...
", "
Like a Prayer"Like a Prayer" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 4th studio album, Like a Prayer. It was released on February 28, 1989 by Sire Records. A power pop song by Madonna, it notably features a gospel choir. In Japan and Australia, a mini-album titled Remixed Prayers was...
" or "
Justify My Love"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit...
", had to do with the music videos created to promote the song and their impact, rather than the song in itself. Her initial music videos reflected her American and Hispanic mixed street style and a flamboyant glamour. Essentially a dancer, Madonna expressed this imagery through her music videos. With her first real music videos for songs like "
Burning Up"Burning Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released as the album's second single on March 9, 1983, in some countries as a AA side single with "Physical Attraction"...
", "
Borderline"Borderline" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released on February 15, 1984 as the fourth single by Sire Records. Written and composed by producer Reggie Lucas, the song received remix treatment from Madonna's then boyfriend John "Jellybean"...
" and "Lucky Star", Madonna transmitted her avant-garde downtown New York fashion sense to the American audience. She continued with the imagery and incorporation of Hispanic culture and Catholic symbolism with the music videos from the
True BlueTrue Blue is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on June 30, 1986 by Sire Records. Madonna worked with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard on the album while co-writing all the songs...
era. Author
Douglas KellnerDouglas Kellner, born in 1943, is a “third generation” critical theorist in the tradition of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, or Frankfurt School. Kellner was an early theorist of the field of critical media literacy and has been a leading theorist of media culture generally...
noted, "such 'multiculturalism' and her culturally transgressive moves turned out to be highly successful moves that endeared her to large and varied youth audiences". Madonna's Spanish look in the videos became popular and appeared in the fashion trends at that time in the form of boleros and layered skirts accessorizing with rosary beads and crucifix like the video.
Academics noted that with her videos, Madonna was subtly reversing the usual role of male as the dominant sex and destabilizing the usual power relationship between the "voyeuristic male gaze and object". This symbolism and imagery was probably the most prevalent in the music video for "Like a Prayer". The video included an African American church choir, Madonna "turning on" a statue of a black saint and singing in front of burning crosses. This mix of the sacred and the profane upset the Vatican and resulted in the Pepsi commercial withdrawal. From being in boy-toy girlish roles of her earliest videos to the sexual persona in videos for "
Justify My Love"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit...
" and "Express Yourself", Madonna represented herself as someone who is unfazed by the cultures and the struggles she has endured. Devoid of this, she portrayed herself to be dancing off-screen to the music at the end of the video. Her re-invention has continued in her most recent videos like "
Ray of Light"Ray of Light" is the second single by American singer Madonna from her 1998 album of the same name, and is based on Curtiss Maldoon's "Sepheryn", although other than the first verse the comparison is loose...
", which was lauded with the video of the year award at the
1998 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 1998 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 10, 1998, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998. The show was hosted by Ben Stiller at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.-Promotion:...
.
Madonna's emergence occurred during the advent of MTV, and "with its almost exclusively lip-synced videos, ushered in an era in which average music fans might happily spend hours a day, every day, watching singers just mouth the words." The symbiotic relationship between music video and lip-syncing led to a desire for the spectacle and imagery of music video to be transferred to live stage shows. Chris Nelson of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
reported: "Artists like Madonna and
Janet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
set new standards for showmanship, with concerts that included not only elaborate costumes and precision-timed pyrotechnics but also highly athletic dancing. These effects came at the expense of live singing." Thor Christensen of the
Dallas Morning News commented that while Madonna earned a reputation for lip-syncing during her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour, since then she has reorganized her performances by "stay[ing] mostly still during her toughest singing parts and [leaves] the dance routines to her backup troupe ... [r]ather than try to croon and dance up a storm at the same time."
Legacy
According to
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
, Madonna "remains one of the greatest pop acts of all time". She is also "the world's highest earning female singer on earth". Madonna's 2008
Sticky & Sweet TourThe Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna to support her eleventh studio album Hard Candy. It was Madonna's first major venture from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation, following the Hard Candy Promo Tour...
became the highest grossing concert tour by a solo artist. Madonna is ranked as the most successful solo artist (second artist overall behind
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
) on "Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists, where, in 2008 she has surpassed
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
as the artist with most top ten hits in the history of
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. She is also the most successful female in the British chart history with most number-one albums and number-one singles by female solo artist in the United Kingdom. In 2007, Madonna was listed by
VH1VH1 is an American cable television network based in New York City...
as eighth in the
Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music...
.
Madonna's use of at times shocking sexual imagery has both benefitted her career and had an impact on public discourse on sexuality and feminism.
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
has commented that, "Madonna, whether you like or not, started a revolution amongst women in music. She made the female body seem more like a machine with cravings, rather than a Barbie doll. Her attitudes and opinions on sex, nudity, style and sexuality forced the public to take up and notice." Rodger Streitmatter reported in his book
Sex Sells! (2004) that "from the moment Madonna burst onto the nation's radar screen in the mid-1980s, she did everything in her power to shock the public, and her efforts paid off". He further commented, "[t]he reigning Queen of Pop thrived on the criticism, and continued, throughout the decade, to reiterate the most fundamental of her issues by consistently celebrating women's sexual power." Shmuel Boteach, author of
Hating women: America's hostile campaign against the fairer sex (2005) comments Madonna has been largely responsible for erasing the line between music and pornography. He states: "Before Madonna, it was possible for women more famous for their voices than their cleavage to emerge as music superstars. But in the post-Madonna universe, even highly original performers such as Janet Jackson now feel the pressure to expose their bodies on national television to sell albums." Part of the recent academic sub-discipline of
Madonna StudiesMadonna Studies was a term which has been used to refer to a controversial development of a field in media studies during the 90s. One writer described the "institutionalization of a major subdivision of American media studies into Madonna studies"...
has been taken up with the iconography of minority groups such as gay and lesbian people, which she uses in videos such as those for "Vogue", "
Like a Prayer"Like a Prayer" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 4th studio album, Like a Prayer. It was released on February 28, 1989 by Sire Records. A power pop song by Madonna, it notably features a gospel choir. In Japan and Australia, a mini-album titled Remixed Prayers was...
", "
La Isla Bonita"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987 by Sire Records. Originally written as a lament, the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna accepted it and...
" and "
Borderline"Borderline" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released on February 15, 1984 as the fourth single by Sire Records. Written and composed by producer Reggie Lucas, the song received remix treatment from Madonna's then boyfriend John "Jellybean"...
". The book
SexSex is a highly designed coffee table book written by Madonna with photographs by Steven Meisel Studio and film frames taken from film shot by Fabien Baron. Sex was released on October 21, 1992 by Warner Books...
depicts her in sexual situations with men and women, and she has been credited with educating people about bisexuality. At the time there was even speculation about her relationships with other women, including
Naomi CampbellNaomi Campbell is an English supermodel.-Early life:Campbell was born in Streatham, London, England. Her mother, Valerie Campbell , is a former ballet dancer of Afro-Jamaican descent...
and
Sandra BernhardSandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. She is also known for her relationship with Madonna during the late 1980s...
.
Her openly sexualised persona has influenced many younger performers.
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (2000) stated, "Madonna may have preached control, but she created an illusion of sexual availability that many female pop artists felt compelled to emulate". Writer-author Santiago Fouz-Hernández, in his book
Madonna's Drowned Worlds has commented that female pop performers such as
Britney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American singer and entertainer. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Spears first appeared on national television in 1992 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to...
,
Christina AguileraChristina María Aguilera is an American pop musician. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after...
,
Jennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez , often nicknamed J.Lo, is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, fashion designer and television producer. She is the richest person of Latin American descent in Hollywood according to Forbes, and the most influential Hispanic entertainer in the U.S...
,
Kylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE is an Australian pop singer, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actor on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987...
and Pink were like Madonna's daughters in the sense that they grew up listening to her and admiring, while deciding to emulate her style. Among all of them, Madonna's influence was most notable in Spears, who was called her protégé. Spears has commented on their similarity: "I think we have the same drive. When we want something, we get it." Madonna's influence on the
Spice GirlsThe Spice Girls were an English pop girl group formed in 1994. They consist of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They are the most successful girl group of all time....
came with her reinterpretation of feminism as a power in her music videos. The Spice Girls' slogan of "girl power" is noted to have been derived from this portrayal of female independence.
Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé , is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
of Destiny's Child was influenced by her sense of control over her music. She has also been credited with the introduction of European electronic dance music into the mainstream of American pop culture, and bringing European producers like
Stuart PriceStuart Price is a British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are coveted by artists including Madonna, Missy Elliott, The Killers, Gwen Stefani, Seal, Keane and Frankmusik...
and
Mirwais AhmadzaiMirwais Ahmadzaï, more commonly known as Mirwais, is a Paris-based record producer and songwriter. He was born in Switzerland to an Afghan father and an Italian mother. He is a leader in the French style of progressive electronic dance music/progressive electronica...
into the spotlight.
Madonna has also received acclaim as a role model for businesswomen in her industry, "achieving the kind of financial control that women had long fought for within the industry" generating over $1.2 billion dollars in sales within the first decade of her career. Offered by Warner Music the usual perk of a vanity label (similar deals had been arranged for artists such as
Mariah CareyMariah Carey is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
and others), within a few years Maverick Records had - unusually for such labels - become a large commercial success due to her efforts. Writing in
The Times in 2009, music journalist Robert Sandall reported that in a 1992 interview with Madonna it had been clear that being "a cultural big hitter" was more important than pop music, a career she described as "an accident". He also noted the contrast between her anything-goes sexual public persona, and a secretive and "paranoid" attitude towards her own finances (for example, firing her own brother as interior designer when he charged her for a light-fitting, estranging him in the process.). An analysis of Madonna's business acumen by academics at the
London Business SchoolLondon Business School is a leading international business school and a constituent college of the University of London. It is considered to be one of the world’s most highly regarded business schools and its flagship MBA program is frequently ranked among the global top five...
presents her as a "dynamic entrepreneur" worth copying, identifying her vision of success, her understanding of the music industry, her ability to recognise her performance limits (and thus bring in help), her "sheer hard work" and her ability to change as key to why she has been a striking commercial success. However her ability to overcome her own musical limits has been sharply criticised by songwriter
Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter.Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Western Canada and then busking on the streets of Toronto...
, who in widely reported comments stated that "[Madonna] has knocked the importance of talent out of the arena. She's made a lot of money and become the biggest star in the world by hiring the right people." These comments were part of a sustained attack on the contemporary music industry as a whole, with Mitchell threatening to quit recording altogether. Reporter Michael McWilliams comments: "The gripes about Madonna -- she's cold, greedy, talentless -- conceal both bigotry and the essence of her art, which is among the warmest, the most humane, the most profoundly satisfying in all pop culture."
Throughout her career Madonna, like
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, has repeatedly reinvented herself through a series of visual and musical personas, as well as expanding her career to become a film and stage actor. Fouz Hernandes argues that this reinvention is one of her key cultural achievements. He argues she has achieved this by constantly working with upcoming talented producers and previous unknown artists, while remaining at the center of media attention. In doing so she has provided an example of how to maintain one's career in the entertainment industry.
In 2006 a new water bear species (Latin:
TardigradaTardigrades form the phylum Tardigrada, part of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. They are microscopic, water-dwelling, segmented animals with eight legs. Tardigrades were first described by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773...
),
Echiniscus madonnae, was named after Madonna. The paper with the description of
E. madonnae was published in the international journal of animal taxonomy
ZootaxaZootaxa is an international journal for animal taxonomists. It is published in English by Magnolia Press in Auckland, New Zealand.It gained international notice when it published a paper announcing the discovery of the Cypriot Mouse in October of 2006....
in March 2006 (Vol. 1154, pages: 1–36). The authors' justification for the name of the new species was: "We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one of the most significant artists of our times, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie." The
Integrated Taxonomic Information SystemThe Integrated Taxonomic Information System is a partnership designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagency group within the U.S. federal government, involving agencies from the Department of...
(ITIS) number of the species is 711164.
Discography
- Madonna (1983)
- Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. The album was re-released in 1985 world wide with the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. released a remastered version with two bonus remix tracks...
(1984)
- True Blue
True Blue is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on June 30, 1986 by Sire Records. Madonna worked with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard on the album while co-writing all the songs...
(1986)
- Like a Prayer
Like a Prayer is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 21, 1989 by Sire Records. The RIAA certified it Quadruple Platinum on July 16 1997, recognizing four million shipments in the U.S. - making it her seventh best-selling album there...
(1989)
- Erotica
Erotica is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 20, 1992 by Maverick Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication, Sex. The RIAA certified it double platinum on January 6, 1993, recognizing two million shipments...
(1992)
- Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. In 1995, it was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. The RIAA certified it Gold and Platinum on January 5, 1995, and triple platinum on...
(1994)
- Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
(1998)
- Music
Music is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on September 19, 2000 by Maverick Records. On its release, it set a new company record for Warner Music International in shipping three million units worldwide, and entered the charts at number one position in 15...
(2000)
- American Life
American Life is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on April 22, 2003 by Maverick Records. The RIAA certified it platinum on July 7, 2003, in recognition of one million shipments throughout the United States, where it has sold 674,000 copies...
(2003)
- Confessions on a Dance Floor
Confessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Madonna. It was released on November 15, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was a complete departure from her last studio album American Life . It included influences of 70s and 80s disco as well as modern-day...
(2005)
- Hard Candy
Hard Candy is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on April 25, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records. It was her final studio album with the record company before a greatest hits album, Celebration, marking the end of a 25 year recording history...
(2008)
Other works
See also
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of best-selling music artists in the United States
- List of honorific titles in popular music
- Madonna as gay icon
- Mononymous persons
A mononymous person is an individual who is known by a mononym, or "single name". In some cases, that name has been selected by the individual, who may have originally been given a polynym...
External links
- Madonna at Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
- Madonna ancestry Genealogy.com