Modern Divas Boxed Set

by Jessica Jayne

  Rodgers still had doubts regarding the song. Madonna argued with him, saying, “Losing your virginity is the most important thing that ever happens to a girl. It’s all girl talk about and girls will all relate to it.”

  The Like a Virgin album was recorded at the Power Station studios in Manhattan, beginning with the single Material Girl, a song that later became Madonna’s anthem for the 1980s. This song was a complement to the single Like a Virgin.

  The album also included the songs Dress You Up, Angel, Over and Over, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Shoo-Bee-Doo, Pretender and Stay.

  By April 1984, the album was finished, but its release was held up due to the continuing sales of her Madonna album, which by then was approaching 2 million sales in the United States alone. By the end of the year, Like a Virgin entered the Billboard 200 and peaked at number 3. It finally reached number 1 on February 9, 1985 and stayed there for three weeks.

  By mid-1980s, the album because the first by a female artist to have sales of 5 million units in the United States. It was also certified ten times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The success of the album catapulted Madonna as the top pop artist for the year. Like a Virgin was 6th on the RPM Top 100 Albums for 1985.

  Madonna debuted Like a Virgin at the first MTV Video Music Awards in September 1984. She appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake wearing a wedding dress and her infamous “Boy Toy” belt buckle and veil. If she aimed to surprise the audience, she succeeded. She stirred controversy when she writhed and simulated sex and rolled around the stage, causing Billy Steinberg, one of the co-writers of the song, to think that it would doom the success of the song.

  While a lot of people were uneasy at Madonna’s display of over-stylized sexuality, her spontaneous performance became a hit, with the press and photographers asking to get a picture right after the show. Maripol said that while they knew Madonna was going to be big, they didn’t expect it to happen that fast. Eventually, the album was certified diamond by the RIAA and it sold more than 21 million copies worldwide.

  Madonna also ventured into mainstream films in 1985, briefly appearing as a club singer in Vision Quest. One of the songs in the movie’s soundtrack was her US number one single, Crazy for You. In the same year, she appeared in the comedy film Desperately Seeking Susan which introduced the song Into the Groove, which became her first number one single in the United Kingdom.

  One of the significant events also took place in 1985. While filming the video for her single Like a Virgin, she began dating actor Sean Penn. By this time, Madonna had split with Benitez, with whom she got pregnant but decided not to keep the baby. Madonna and Penn married on her birthday that year.

  The Virgin Tour

  Madonna embarked on her very first concert tour, The Virgin Tour, in North America in April 1985. The Beastie Boys were her opening act. Madonna said that “the whole tour was crazy, because I went from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas. I played a small theater in Seattle, and the girls had flap skirts on and the tights cut off below their knees and lace gloves and rosaries and bows in their hair and big hoop earrings.”

  While on tour, Madonna showed a side of her that was warm, engaging and funny. The majority of the crowd was girls dressed like her, and Madonna would speak directly to them.

  The production team was given a very tight budget and so it was just a basic, no-frills production. Madonna wore a turquoise miniskirt, purple leggings and boots. She had two backup dancers, a band, and a few changes of clothes. It was noticeable that she sang slightly flat and out of breath due to dancing choreographed routines. She then changed into black leggings and crucifix, and then into her white wedding dress for the Material Girl finale.

  That night was in some ways significant in that Madonna showed she was reaching out to her female fans. For a lot of 80s women who found themselves suppressed from expressing their sexual desires, Madonna paved the way for their sexual freedom. Disregarding male approval, Madonna was brazen in expressing the urges that many women hid, such as libido and lack of inhibition.

  The tour began in Seattle with 2 thousand people in attendance and ended in New York with a capacity of 22,000 people. The tour ran from April to June 1985. By this time, seven of Madonna’s singles were US top-five, with four number ones. And as the hits became more popular, the Madonna-mania spread. But they didn’t know just how much the phenomenon was getting out of hand.

  While on tour, they had a standing-room-only venue in San Francisco. Never expecting anything out of ordinary, the whole place was jam-packed, and even the famous Prince was there along with his bodyguards. Madonna was performing and getting near the edge of the stage. People were reaching out to try to grab her. Bill Meyers, the keyboardist in her band, shouted, “Stay away from the front of the stage!” Afterwards, Madonna approached him and said thanks. She, too, could see how it almost got out of control. From then on, she and her band didn’t do gigs like that, seeing how she was getting big.

  Shortly after the tour, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published some nude photos of Madonna taken when she was a struggling dancer in New York. The publication of the photos caused media uproar, but Madonna didn’t apologize for them.

  Live Aid

  Indeed, 1985 was Madonna’s year. Another significant event was the outdoor Live Aid charity concert that took place in London and in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. Several successful artists took part, including Phil Collins, Tina Turner and Queen.

  Madonna performed at the Live Aid, 1985

  For Madonna, it became easy to win over the global audience with her performance. She remembered that the day was characteristically hot and her nude photos in Playboy had just come out. The people screamed, “Take it off, take it off!” Madonna recalled that day, saying, “Before I went on, I really thought, I can’t do this. I just can’t. I was so unsure of what was going to happen… So I decided to be a warrior, and it worked, and that was the first time that I really understood my power.”

  Madonna was the only woman photographed along with the “great and good,” from Mick Jagger to Bob Dylan. This only showed how far she had gone to break the barriers of the “old-boy network.”

  True Blue

  Madonna began working for her third album, True Blue, as early as 1985, with producer Pat Leonard. Leonard was responsible for helping Madonna to create her commercial sound. With this album, Madonna was on the center of her signature style. It was rhythmic, dramatic and danceable.

  They released the album in 1986, and the Rolling Stone magazine was impressed, saying that the album “sounds as if it comes from the heart.” Madonna was more than pleased because it was the first record that she coproduced. And that meant that they didn’t have to hire expensive people to create the album, unlike in her Like a Virgin album which was four times more expensive because the producer was a famous one.

  Eventually, True Blue would become Madonna’s biggest album. Live to Tell, Papa Don’t Preach and Open Your Heart became number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. True Blue and La Isla Bonita became top-five singles.

  Her songs were always easy on the ear, and many critics claimed that her sound was routine. Even after the success of her albums, a lot of people underestimated Madonna as a musician due to the simplicity of her songs. While some album tracks were “cogs in the machine,” her singles had rich melody lines and lyrical twists.

  True Blue catapulted Madonna into a global pop market. The album was inspired by Sean Penn, whom she married in 1985, and dedicated to him. Madonna was very much in love with her husband, and that love seeped into every song in the album.

  One of the songs in the album that became a hit was Papa Don’t Preach whom Madonna described as “a message song that everyone is going to take the wrong way.” It tells about a teenage girl’s wanting to be taken seriously. She’s pregnant and struggling, and tells her disciplinarian father that she wants to keep the baby. Madonna’s voice in this song was
rougher, as though she was on the verge of tears. Anti-abortion groups praised the song but others criticized it for condoning teenage pregnancy.

  The album eventually topped the charts in more than 28 countries worldwide, and this was considered an unprecedented achievement at that time.

  Like a Prayer

  Madonna’s fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, was released on March 21, 1989, three years after her previous album. She co-wrote and co-produced all the songs and worked with Stephen Bray, Pat Leonard and Prince. She described the album as a collection of songs “about my mother, my father, and bonds with my family.”

  The CD cover for the Like a Prayer album

  Rolling Stone described the album “as close to art as pop music gets.” It reached number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 13 million copies worldwide. Four million copies were sold in the United States. It featured six songs, one of which was the Like a Prayer. Madonna debuted the song in one of her Pepsi commercials after signing an endorsement deal with the soft drink manufacturer. The accompanying music video featured various Catholic symbols such as burning crosses and a dream about making love to a saint. The Vatican condemned the video while religious groups sought to ban the commercial and to boycott Pepsi products. Eventually, Pepsi canceled Madonna’s contract.

  Despite the controversy surrounding the song and its video, Like a Prayer reached number one in charts while Express Yourself and Cherish reached number two. By the end of the 1980s, Madonna was dubbed the “Artist of the Decade” by MTV, Billboard and Musician magazine. She was now one of the biggest and most important pop stars of all time.

  I’m Breathless

  I’m Breathless is a soundtrack album to promote the film Dick Tracy. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and reached platinum status in just 3 months. It introduced two new singles, Vogue and Hanky Panky.

  Vogue became another successful single and was one of the world’s best-selling singles. It sold more than 6 million copies worldwide and reached number one in more than 30 countries. The song was critically acclaimed and was deemed an influential song.

  The other single, Hanky Panky, was also successful. It reached the top ten in the United States and in the UK.

  The Immaculate Collection

  This album is Madonna’s first greatest-hits compilation album released in November 1990. It featured two new songs, Justify My Love and Rescue Me. The album was certified diamond and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, thus becoming the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history.

  Justify My Love reached number one in the United States and top ten worldwide while Rescue Me became the highest-debuting single by a female artist. It initially reached number 15 but climbed up and settled at number nine.

  Justify My Love’s music video caused controversy for it featured bondage, sadomasochism, brief nudity and same-sex kissing. MTV deemed it too sexually explicit and was subsequently banned from the network. Madonna said of the banning, “Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling? … MTV has been good to me, and they know their audience. If it’s too strong for them, I understand. Although, half of me thought I was going to get away with it.”

  Erotica

  Erotica was Madonna’s fifth studio album released on October 20, 1992, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200. The album became her first to feature a Parental Advisory sticker.

  Most of the songs in this album drew from themes of sex and romance. Its title track reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, Deeper and Deeper, explores the idea of homosexuality. Rolling Stone described the album as “a post-AIDS album about romance.”

  Compared to Madonna’s previous albums, Erotica wasn’t as commercially successful owing to the negative reception due to the album’s sexuality. However, it was certified double-platinum by RIAA and topped the charts in Australia.

  Bedtime Stories

  In 1994, Maverick Records released Madonna’s sixth studio album. She had worked with Babyface, Dallas Austin, Nellee Hooper and Dave Hall, deciding to follow a more R&B path. This album was tame compared to her previous album, deciding to soften her image to reconnect with the general audience.

  The album was also a success, reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200. The single Secret reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Take A Bow topped the Hot 100 for seven weeks. Eventually, it was certified 3 times Platinum in the United States and was nominated for a Grammy Award. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 2.

  Around this time, Madonna became involved with fitness trainer Carlos Leon, with whom she would have a daughter.

  Ray of Light

  Shortly after giving birth to her first child, Lourdes, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah through the actress Sandra Bernhard in 1997. Ray of Light, which was released in 1998, was a reflection of the change in her perception and image.

  Madonna toned it down for her Ray of Light album

  “This record, more than any other records, covers all the areas of life. I had recently joined Kabbalah and I had left off partying – but I had just had a baby, so my mood was complete, and I was incredibly thoughtful, retrospective and intrigued by the mystical aspects of Life,” she said. The album was critically acclaimed with Slant Magazine describing it as “one of the great pop masterpieces of the 90s.”

  Ray of Light won four Grammy Awards and was one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It topped the charts in Canada, Australia, UK and mainland Europe and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

  The first single, Frozen, was Madonna’s first single to debut at number one in the UK. In the US, the single was Madonna’s sixth number two single, making her the artist with the most number two hits.

  The second single, Ray of Light, reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, Beautiful Stranger, was recorded for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and reached number 19 on the Hot 100. It earned her a Grammy Award for “Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.”

  Music

  Music was released in 2000 and catered to Madonna’s gay audience. She collaborated with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzai for the project, saying, “I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about – the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. Music is the future of sound.”

  Music topped the charts in more than 20 countries and sold 4 million copies in just the first ten days since its release. In the United States, the album peaked at number one, becoming her first album to reach number 1 in 11 years since Like a Prayer. It spawned three Hot 100 number one singles: Music, Don’t Tell Me, and What It Feels Like For a Girl. The latter’s music video was banned by MTV and VH1 as it showed Madonna committing murders.

  American Life

  American Life, Madonna’s ninth studio album, was largely based on her observations of American society. She said, “[American Life] was like a trip down memory lane, looking back at everything I’ve accomplished and all the things I once valued and all the things that were important to me.”

  Larry Flick from The Advocate described the album as “among her most adventurous and lyrically intelligent … It is like the flip side to 2000’s Music, and turns out to be a lazy, half-arsed effort to sound and take her seriously.”

  The album sold only about 4 million copies worldwide, becoming Madonna’s lowest selling album. However, the album peaked at number one in 14 countries, including the US and the UK. American Life was nominated for two Grammys at the 46th Grammy Awards. The RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it platinum. It was the second album to bear a Parental Advisory sticker, after Erotica and the first album to achieve 7 top-ten songs on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

/>   The title song, American Life, reached number 37 on the Hot 100, with Blender naming it as the ninth worst song of all time. The single’s music video was canceled as it showed violence and war imagery and Madonna thought it was unpatriotic since America at that time was at war with Iraq.

  Another single from the album, Hollywood, was Madonna’s first to miss out on the Billboard Hot 100. Madonna again performed provocatively later that year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. She kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera suggestively while they were performing and singing Madonna’s Hollywood. That caused a tabloid frenzy.

  The single Die Another Day was recorded for the 20th James Bond film and peaked at number 8 in the United States and number 3 in the UK. It was the second most expensive music video ever made (after Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson’s Scream) with the production costs totaling more than $6 million!

  Confessions on a Dance Floor

  The album was released in late 2005 and was structured like a DJ’s set. The album began with light-hearted songs and progressed to darker melodies and lyrics that describe personal feelings and commitments, hence “Confessions”. Madonna said, “this is the direction of my record. That’s what we intended, to make a record that you can play at a party or in your car, where you don’t have to skip past a ballad. It’s nonstop.” The album was nonstop because the songs were blended together so that they are played continuously.

  The Confessions on a Dance Floor album is the highest-grossing tour for a female artist