Madonna

The story behind one of the most iconic

important of pop culture, from its beginnings, its reign in music to the present day.

The Queen of pop

Madonna _No importa quién seas, qué hayas hecho, de donde provengas, siempre puedes hacer

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Tavo Bonilla

June, 1, 2022

San Jose Costa Rica.

American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman called The Queen of Pop and recognized as the best-selling female artist of all time by Guinness World Records.

BIOGRAPHY

The eldest daughter of Silvio Anthony Ciccone and Madonna Louise Fortin, immigrants from Pacentro, Italy, her mother was of French-Canadian descent.

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, her father worked as an engineer at Chrysler and General Motors. He has two older siblings, Anthony (born 1956) and Martin (born 1957), and three younger siblings, Paula (born 1959), Christopher (born 1960), and Melanie (born 1962).

He was raised in Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills) suburbs of Detroit. When he was six years old his mother died of breast cancer. In 1966, his father married family nanny Joan Gustafson, and they had two children: Jennifer (born 1967) and Mario (born 1968).

He attended St. Fredericks; the St. Andrews Catholic Elementary Schools, and the West Middle School where he attended elementary school.

She was recognized as a good student and for her unconventional behavior. She used to perform somersaults, balance down the aisles, and hike up her skirt so guys could see her underwear.

She attended Rochester Adams High School where she became a member of the cheer squad. Upon graduation, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance.

He convinced his father to allow him to take ballet classes and was persuaded by Christopher Flynn, his ballet teacher, to allow him to start a career in dance.

Her mother died of breast cancer at age 30 in 1963, when Madonna was five years old. Months before her death, Madonna noticed changes in her mother's behavior and personality, although she did not understand why. At the moment of trying to explain the medical condition that her little daughter suffered, Mrs. Ciccone began to cry, to which Madonna responded with a hug.«I remember that I felt stronger than her»Madonna said,"I was so little and yet I felt like she was the girl".

Later, Madonna admitted that she had not understood the idea that her mother was dying.“There was so much left unsaid, so many unresolved and bottled up emotions, the regret, the guilt, the loss, the anger, the confusion. I saw my mother, she looked so beautiful just laying down like she was asleep in the open coffin. Then I noticed that his mouth looked weird. It took me a while to realize that it was stitched. In that horrible moment I understood that I had lost her forever. The last image of my mother, at once peaceful and at the same time grotesque, still scares me today».

Madonna eventually learned to take care of herself and her siblings, and she went back to her grandmother hoping to find some solace and some kind of mother figure in her. The Ciccone brothers kept their house in order and invariably rebelled against anyone who came into their home to take their beloved mother's place.

In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Madonna commented that in her youth she saw herself as a«lonely girl who was looking for something. I was not a rebel in some way. I was worried about being good at something. I didn't shave my armpits and I didn't wear makeup like the other girls. But I studied and got good grades... I wanted to be somebody." Scared at the thought of her father leaving too, she often couldn't sleep unless he was near her.

In 1977, the photographer Herman Kulkens, embarked a dance student from the University of Michigan to carry out a series of photographs. The naive, intrepid and visionary was called Madonna Louise Ciccone at only 19 years old (she received 8 Dollars per hour for the photo session), who would develop a huge career from her dance steps and voice, not only through of a beautiful archetypal body. It was until 10 years later that the photographs came to light. Later, Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse magazine, made the acquisition of the series. He would keep them until his death, in October 2010; The work changed hands several times afterward, and is now in the possession of Jeremy Frommer and is valued at $30,000.

In 1978 she was employed at a Dunkin Donuts in Times Square., but was fired shortly thereafter after arguing with a customer and throwing Jell-O in his face.

Madonna said of her move to New York:«It was the first time I traveled by plane and the first time I traveled by taxi. I came here with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I've ever done.".

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ARTISTIC CAREER (ITS BEGINNINGS)

In late 1978 she began working as a substitute dancer for other artists. During one night, while returning from a rehearsal, she was dragged into an alley by a couple of men and forced to perform fellatio. Madonna commented that«The episode was a proof of my weakness, it showed me that I still couldn't save myself despite all the strong girl look. I can never forget it".

While performing as a dancer for French singer Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. Together they formed their first rock band,Breakfast Club, where Madonna sang and played the guitar and drums. In 1980 she left the Breakfast Club and, with her then-boyfriend Stephen Bray as drummer, they formed the bandEmmy. Her music impressed DJ and producer Mark Kamins, who arranged a meeting between Madonna and Seymour Stein, founder of Sire Records.

A CAREER ON THE RISE

In 1982, Madonna signed a contract with Sire Records, a record label belonging to Warner Bros. Records. Their first single, "Everybody", was released in October of that year and their second, "Burning Up" was released in March 1983.

Both became hits in the United States, reaching number three on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. After this success, he began working on his debut album Madonna, produced mainly by Reggie Lucas. She had a meeting with Lucas at the apartment of her then-boyfriend, the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and he brought her some songs for the record. However, the interpreter was not happy with the finished tracks and had several disagreements with Lucas's production techniques, so she decided to seek additional help.

Madonna turned to her new boyfriend, John "Jellybean" Benitez, for help to finish production on the album. Benitez mixed most of the tracks and produced the song "Holiday", which was the third single and his first international hit.

In general, Madonna's sound is "dissonant", whose style resembles upbeat disco combined with synthesizer, using some of the recent technology of that era, such as the LinnDrum drum machine, Moog bass and Oberheim synthesizer. OB-X.4046 The album was released in July 1983 and reached number eight on the Billboard 200 six months later in 1984. Two were also released more singles, "Lucky Star" and "Borderline."

Gradually, Madonna's looks, her way of dressing, her performances, and her music videos began to influence women and girls. Her style became a women's fashion of the 1980s, which was created by jewelry designer and stylist, Maripol.

This look, a mix of punk and new romantic aesthetics, consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry (including a crucifix and bracelets) and bleached hair.

Madonna achieved worldwide recognition after the release of her second studio album, Like a Virgin, in November 1984. It topped the charts in several countries and became her first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.

First album
1983 namesake

Album Like a Virgin
1984

The title track, "Like a Virgin," topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks, drawing the attention of family organizations, who complained that the song and its video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values. , which is why they tried to censor them.

Madonna fueled controversy when she performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, where she appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake, wearing a wedding dress and veil, adorned with her signature "Boy" belt buckle. Toy». Surprising the technicians who moved the cameras, Madonna improvised part of her choreography by lying on the ground and moving sensually.

This performance is recognized as an iconic performance in MTV history. In later years, Madonna commented that she was genuinely terrified of performing. Said,«I remember my manager Freddy yelling at me, 'Oh my God! What were you doing? You were wearing a wedding dress. OMG! You were rolling on the ground!' It was the bravest and most sexual thing I had ever done on television.".

The next hit was "Material Girl", promoted by the music video that was an imitation of Marilyn Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. While filming this video, Madonna began dating actor Sean Penn, whom she married on her 27th birthday in 1985. Like a Virgin was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold more than of 21 million copies worldwide.

In 1998, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ranked it as one of the 200 Greatest Albums of All Time.

MADONNA ON THE BIG SCREEN

tour banner advertisement
Virgin Tour of 1985 in the UK.

In June 1986, True Blue, Madonna's third studio album, was released, which was inspired by and dedicated to Sean Penn. Three singles that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 were released from this: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart"; in addition to two singles that were placed within the first five positions on the same list: "True Blue" and "La isla bonita".

The album topped the charts in more than 28 countries around the world, an unprecedented achievement at the time, and is the best-selling studio album of his career, with worldwide sales of 25 million copies.

Reviewers for Rolling Stone magazine were impressed with this production, writing that the album "sounds like it comes from the heart".

That same year, Madonna also starred in the critically negative film Shanghai Surprise, while also making her theatrical debut in a David Rabe production of Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring with Penn. The following year, Madonna's second feature film, Who's That Girl?, was released. Although the film was not well received, the interpreter contributed four songs to its soundtrack, highlighting "Who's That Girl" and "Causing a Commotion".

In June 1987, she embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour, which continued through September. Regarding the tour, Madonna commented:“I realized that I could stop being unmoulded clay, and with time and with the help of others, I could become something more. This tour is a reflection of that belief and it's like he said to me 'Who are you girl? Hence the name, something new for me».

Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, titled You Can Dance, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200. After a dismissed divorce filing in December 1987, Madonna and Penn filed for divorce in January 1987. 1989, citing irreconcilable differences. Madonna's lawyer pointed to Penn's alcoholism problem and his aggressive nature. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna later said,"I was completely obsessed with my career and was in no way ready to be generous".

In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink maker Pepsi. His song "Like a Prayer" debuted in one of the company's commercials. The corresponding music video featured many Catholic symbols, such as the burning stigmata and crosses, as well as a dream about making love to a saint, leading the Vatican to condemn the video. Various religious groups tried to ban the commercial and boycott Pepsi's products, who pulled the commercial and canceled its endorsement deal. However, Madonna was allowed to keep her $5 million fee for the commercial.

The song was included on their fourth studio album of the same name, which was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray. The album received good reviews and Rolling Stone hailed it as "...as close as pop music can get to art."

Like a Prayer reached number one on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, with four million sold in the United States alone. Six singles were released from the album, highlighting the eponymous song, which reached number one in several countries; "Express Yourself" and "Cherish," which peaked at number two on the Hot 100. In the late 1980s, Madonna was named "artist of the decade" by various media outlets including MTV, Billboard, and Musician. .

Furthermore, during the first seven years of her career, by the late 1980s, Madonna had sold around 75 million records worldwide.

Madonna entered the world of cinema in 1985, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the romantic comedy film Vision Quest. The film's soundtrack contained two new singles, the US number one hit "Crazy for You" and also "Gambler". But her takeoff as a film figure was thanks to the 1985 comedy Desperately Seeking Susan, a film where the song "Into the Groove" stood out, the singer's first number one in the United Kingdom. Although she was not the lead actress in the film, her involvement was such that the film was widely viewed (and marketed) as a Madonna project.

The film received a César Award nomination for best foreign film and was named one of the ten best films of 1985 by film critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times.

In April 1985, Madonna undertook her first North American music tour, The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys as her opening act.

Madonna commented:“The whole tour was crazy, because I went from singing at small venues like CBGB and the Mudd Club to performing at sports arenas. I performed in a small theater in Seattle and the girls wore lapel skirts, knee-high stockings, lace gloves, beads, bows, and large hoop earrings. After Seattle, all the shows were moved to stadiums.”

At that time, he released two more singles from the album, "Angel" and "Dress You Up".

In July, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a series of nude photos of Madonna, taken in New York in 1978 as art photos, not intended for any magazine. She had posed for them because she needed money at the time, even though she received only $25 for the shoot. The publication of the photos caused an uproar in the media, but Madonna remained defiant and unapologetic. The photographs sold for more than 100,000 USD.

At the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert, Madonna referred to this experience when she said she would not take off her jacket because«the media could claim me in ten years. (Who by the way was the great absentee in the recording of the theme USA for Africa of the same year precisely because he was doing the Virgin Tour)

NEW DECADE, NEW HITS.

In 1990, Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in the film Dick Tracy, opposite Warren Beatty as the lead. To accompany the film, he released the I'm Breathless soundtrack, which included songs inspired by the film's theme set during the 1930s. 3239-9149-20813d6c673b_ and "Sooner or Later," the latter of which earned composer Stephen Sondheim an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1991. While filming the film, Madonna began a romantic relationship with Beatty, which dissolved in late 1990. .

In November 1990, Madonna's first greatest hits album was released, titled

The Immaculate Collection. This included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me".

The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history.

"Justify My Love" reached number one in the United States and the top ten in other countries around the world. The music video made for its promotion featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage, same-sex kissing, and partial nudity.

The video was deemed too sexually explicit by MTV and its distribution was banned. Madonna responded to the censorship:"Why is it that people are willing to go see a movie about someone being beaten up for no apparent reason, and no one wants to see two girls kissing and two men caressing each other? [...] MTV has been good to me and they know their audience. If it's too strong for them, I understand. Although part of me thought I was going to go far with this ».

At the time, the second single, "Rescue Me", became the highest-debuting single by a female solo artist in history on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at number 15 and peaking as high as number nine.

In 1992, Madonna landed a role in the film A League of Their Own as Mae Mordabito, a baseball player. This production grossed more than 100 million dollars and became the tenth highest grossing film of the year in the United States.

In addition, he recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground," which became a number one hit on the Hot 100. That same year he founded his own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company ( Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films) and various divisions associated with music publishing, television, books and merchandising. The deal was a joint venture with Time Warner, who had already paid Madonna a $60 million advance. The singer received 20% of royalties from the sale and promotion of her music, one of the highest percentages in the industry, which at the time equaled Michael Jackson's royalty rate, established a year earlier with Sony._cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_

The company's first release was the first book written by herself, titled Sex, which consisted mostly of sexually explicit and provocative images, photographed by Steven Meisel. The book caused a strong negative reaction in the media and the general public, but it sold 1.5 million copies in a matter of days. At the same time, Madonna released her fifth studio album, Erotica, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. The title track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Erotica also produced five more singles: "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Fever", "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby".

Cover Extended Version
Vogue de 1990.

The Immaculate Collection

The Immaculate Collection
List of Themes.

LEGACY

Rolling Stone MagazineHe described her as a musical icon beyond compare and the most famous female pop artist who ever lived.

Madonna has earned multiple entries in the Guinness Book of Records, most notably the title of the most successful and best-selling solo artist of all time.

On March 10, 2008, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

Billboard magazine ranked her as the most successful solo artist (and the second artist overall, behind The Beatles) on the Billboard Hot 100 Top Artists.

She has also had many major chart hits around the world, including 13 number-one singles in the UK, 11 in Australia and 23 in Canada, more than any other solo artist.

Madonna was also featured in the 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century book, published by Ladies' Home Journal in 1998.

In July 2003, he was ranked seventh on the list of "200 Pop Culture Icons of All Time" compiled by VH1 and People.

She also made it to the top of VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Age" list.

In 2006, a new species of water bear, Echiniscus madonnae, was discovered and named after her. Zoologists commented:“it is a great pleasure to dedicate this species to one of the most important artists of our time, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie”.

In 2008, the British tabloid The Sun included her in the first place of its list "the 50 singer-songwriters who will never be forgotten in history".

In 2010, given her commercial achievements, Madonna was included in the elite list of the "25 most powerful women of the last century" by Time magazine, for being an influential figure in contemporary music. In general, various biographers, writers, journalists and other media have named her the most influential and successful woman in musical history.

Throughout her career, Madonna has repeatedly reinvented herself through a series of distinct visual and musical personas, earning her the nickname "Queen of Reinvention." In doing so, she "exploits her fashionable sexuality on a cultural and commercial icon who, for more than a decade, was the undisputed Queen of Pop."

Fouz-Hernández agrees that these reinventions are one of his main cultural achievements. Madonna reinvented herself by working with future talented producers and unknown artists, staying in the center of the media spotlight. According to Freya Jarman-Ivens,"In doing so, Madonna has always set the example of how to maintain your career in the entertainment industry." This reinvention was considered by experts as the main tool to survive in the music industry.

As Ian Youngs of BBC News commented,"Her ability to follow the latest fashion trends and adapt her style has often been the reason her image is preserved".

Madonna's use of shocking sexual imagery benefited her career and changed public opinion on sexuality and feminism.

The Times stated,"Madonna, whether she likes it or not, started a revolution among women in music... her attitudes and opinions about sex, nudity, style and sexuality forced the public to sit up and take notice".

Rodger Streitmatter, author of Sex Sells! (2004), commented that"From the moment Madonna burst onto the nation's radar in the mid-1980s, she did everything she could to impress audiences, and her efforts paid off well."

Shmuel Boteach, author of Hating women (2005), felt that Madonna was largely responsible for blurring the line between music and pornography. Said:"Before Madonna, it was possible for women more famous for their voices than for their cleavage to emerge as music stars. But in the post-Madonna universe, even highly original artists like Janet Jackson now feel the pressure to expose their bodies on national television to sell records."

Madonna has influenced numerous artists throughout her career. Mary Cross, in her book Madonna: A Biography, wrote:“His influence on pop music is undeniable and far-reaching. New pop icons from Nelly Furtado to Shakira, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears owe much to Madonna, a debt of thanks for the template she forged, combining sexual allure and feminine power in her image, music and the letters.

According to Fouz-Hernández, pop artists like Spears, the Spice Girls, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue and Pink were like"Madonna's daughters, in the sense that they grew up listening to and admiring Madonna and decided they wanted to be like her".

Among them, Madonna's influence was most notable on Spears, who has been called "her protégé." Another of the artists who has received great influence from Madonna is the pop and R&B singer, Rihanna.

Madonna is also credited for introducing European electronic music into American pop culture, and for launching the careers of European producers such as Stuart Price and Mirwais Ahmadzaï.

known as"The Queen of pop", Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) considers her the best-selling rock artist of the 20th century, and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States (behind Barbra Streisand and Mariah Carey), with 64.5 million certified albums. . According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, despite her high sales record, in 2001 Madonna was the artist who lost the most to piracy.

With an IQ of 140, Madonna ranks as one of the smartest women in the entertainment industry.