Madonna Biography

Madonna or the “Queen of Pop” is one of the first female pop artists to reach worldwide success with pop masterpieces like “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Like a Prayer” and “Vogue”. Reinventing herself constantly, she has remained relevant throughout her long career.

Early Life

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958, to an Italian family. The death of her Catholic mother had a huge impact on Madonna as a 5-year-old because it would reappear in her music. As a result, she rebelled against her family, growing up without rules, rebelling and attending gay clubs.

Early Beginnings and Breakthrough

In the early 80s, her love for performing developed and served as the lead singer in several bands. With the help of manager Camille Barbone she made her way through the heaviliy male dominated pop scene and released her first number 1 “Everybody” in 1982. Under the label Sire Records she released her first self-titled full length album which gained success with songs like “Holiday”. A moment remembered in pop culture, was when girls were inspired by Madonna’s fishnet stockings, fingerless gloves and oversized crucifix necklaces. Determined and ambitious in her quest for success Madonna released the album “Like A Virgin” which produced the iconic and her biggest pop song with the same name. Throughout the mid 80s and early 90s she joined the cast of several movies including “Dick Tracy” which spanwed the legendary “Vogue” music video. Musically, she released 4 more succesful albums: True Blue, Who’s that Girl, You Can Dance and Like a Prayer.

Controversies and Perseverence

Madonna’s career was destined for scrutinity and controversy as she was an outspoken woman and did not shy away from the unconventional. This garnered her backlash from the public and media, however, gained admiration for her bravery from fans. First, the 1985 MTV Music Awards was a sexually charged performance that started many similar episodes. Second, the 1989’s “Like a Prayer” music video, contained rare themes of interracial relantioships and a mix of the sexual with the religious. Despite expectations these moments solidified her status as “the” female pop star. By 1991 she had sold 70 million albums internationally and had 21 top 10s in the US. Madonna pushed the bar further with the release of the erotic documentary “Truth or Dare”, the soft-core book “Sex” and the album “Erotica” in 1992. These projects wished to highlight the fact that women could be powerful when they were in charge of their bodies and sexuality.

Reinvention and Relevance

After a highly acclaimed performacne and a Golden Globe award for the biopic “Evita”, she then released the electronica-inspired “Ray of Light” album in 1998. She earned 3 Grammys for the material. During the late 2000s she was named the world’s wealthiest female musician by “Forbes” and the “Confessions” tour was the highest-grossing tour for a female artist. She continued her reinvation with albums like the Disco inspired “Confessions on a Dance Floor” in 2005, the R&B inspired “Hard Candy” in 2008 and the EDM inspired “MDNA” in 2012. Her latest record “Rebel Heart” was leaked online, however prevailed as it was seen as her best effort in 10 years.

Photo credit: Discogs