Madonna

Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16 1958), popularly known as Madonna, is an American singer-songwriter,dancer multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actress. Regarded as "one of the greatest pop acts of all time", she has been dubbed the "Queen of Pop" by the media. After performing as a member of two pop musical groups, she began a solo recording career with the release of her self-titled debut album in 1983. Madonna rose to stardom, producing three consecutive number one studio albums on the Billboard 200: Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and Like a Prayer (1989). Though the entertainer faced negative critical publicity and modest sales on subsequent albums Erotica (1992) and Bedtime Stories (1994), she garnered critical acclaim with the release of her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998), which opened at number two. Madonna continued to remain in the forefront of pop music with four more consecutive number one studio albums; Music (2000) American Life (2003) Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy (2008).

Madonna made her acting debut with the low-budget feature film A Certain Sacrifice (1979) and went on to star in the 1985 box office hit Desperately Seeking Susan, her first starring role. She then starred in the relatively unsuccessful Shanghai Surprise (1986), Body of Evidence (1993), The Next Best Thing (2000) and Swept Away (2002)—in addition to numerous supporting roles and cameo appearances. She also starred in the box office hits Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992) and Evita (1996)—based on the musical of the same name, which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the "Best Selling Female Rock Artist of the Twentieth Century" and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with 63 million certified albums. According to the Guinness World Records, she is the "World’s most successful female recording artist of all time" and the top earning female singer in the world with an estimated net worth of over $400 million, having sold over 200 million albums worldwide.Billboard magazine reported that her 2006 Confessions Tour holds the record for the highest grossing concert tour by a female artist. On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life and career debut

Madonna was born Madonna Louise Ciccone (her Catholic confirmation name but not legal second middle name is Veronica) in Bay City, Michigan. Her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French-Canadian descent (though born in Bay City), and her father, Silvio "Tony" P. Ciccone, was a first-generation Italian-American who worked as Chrysler/General Motors design engineer and whose parents originated from Pacentro. Madonna is the third of six children; her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.

Madonna was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills). Madonna's mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963. Her father married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children, Jennifer and Mario. Madonna convinced her father to allow her to take ballet classes. Madonna attended St. Frederick's Elementary School and St. Andrew's Elementary School (present day Holy Family Regional) and West Middle School. She attended Rochester Adams High School, becoming a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. Madonna received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.

After being convinced by her ballet teacher to pursue a dance career, Madonna left the University of Michigan at the end of 1977 and moved to New York City. Madonna had little money and for some time lived in squalor, working at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes. Madonna has said:

When I came to New York, it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And 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 Hernandez 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 Club in New York. In it, she sang and played drums and guitar before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. Disc jockey and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.

1982–1985: Madonna debut album and Like A Virgin

In 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a label belonging to Warner Bros. Records. Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982. The song became an immediate success and was broadcast on radio throughout the summer of 1982. It reached #3 on the U.S. Dance Chart. "Burning Up" followed in March 1983, and also peaked at #3. This convinced Sire Records to finance an album. On May 5, 1983 a promotional single for "Physical Attraction" was released to U.S. radio. Her debut album, Madonna was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas. Madonnas then-boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez remixed and rearranged them. He also added a song (" Holiday"). The album peaked at #8 on the U.S. albums chart.

Madonna's look and manner of dress, live performances and music videos, became increasingly influential among young girls and women. Defined by lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, and bleached hair, this style became a female fashion trend in the 1980s. Her follow up album, Like a Virgin, became her first number one album on the U.S. albums chart, buoyed by the success of its title track, "Like a Virgin", which reached number one in the U.S. with a six week stay at the top. The album sold 8 million copies in the US and another 4 million worldwide at its time of release. She performed the title song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, wearing her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt. Like a Virgin was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.

In 1985, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. The soundtrack to the film contained her second U.S. number one pop hit, the Grammy-nominated ballad "Crazy for You", as well as the UK hit "Gambler". Later that year, she appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan. The film introduced the song "Into the Groove", which was released with "Angel", and became her first number one in the UK. Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. in 1985 titled The Virgin Tour, with The Beastie Boys. In July that year, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. Madonna took legal action to try and block them from being published, but when that failed she became unapologetic and defiant. At the outdoor Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and stated she would not take her jacket off because "they might hold it against me ten years from now".

1986–1991: True Blue, Like a Prayer and Dick Tracy

Madonna's 1986 album True Blue prompted Rolling Stone to say that she was "singing better than ever." The album included the ballad "Live to Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn. It was also the first to credit her as producer. True Blue reached #1 in various countries and sold over 11 million copies worldwide at its time of release. It produced five successful singles: “Live to Tell” (U.S. #1), “Papa Don't Preach” (U.S. #1), “Open Your Heart” (U.S. #1), “True Blue” (U.S. #3) and “La Isla Bonita” (U.S. #4).

The music videos for the album displayed Madonna’s methods of fusing music with cinematic style such as art direction, cinematography, characters and plot. An example was the "Open Your Heart" video. Madonna added religious iconography, gender archetypes, and social issues to her oeuvre, and these concepts would continue through her work. In 1987, Madonna starred in Who's That Girl, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track. Its second single, "Causing a Commotion" peaked in the U.S. at #2. The same year, Madonna embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour, at the time the highest-grossing tour in music history, beginning her association with backing vocalists and dancers Donna DeLory and Niki Haris. It also marked her first run-in with the Vatican, with Pope John Paul II urging fans not to attend her performances in Italy. Later that year, Madonna released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance, which included one new song, "Spotlight." In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro planned to construct a 13-foot (4 m) statue of Madonna in a bustier. The statue commemorates the fact that her ancestors had lived in Pacentro.

Madonna's fourth album, Like a Prayer, released in 1989, was co-written and co-produced with Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray. She teamed up with Prince on a duet, and he also played guitar on two songs. All Music Guide described the album as "her best and most consistent", while Rolling Stone hailed it as "..as close to art as pop music gets". Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the US album chart and sold 7 million copies worldwide, with 4 million copies alone sold in the U.S. The album produced five hit singles: the title track, “Express Yourself" (U.S. #2), “Cherish" (U.S. #2), “Oh Father” and “Keep It Together" (U.S. #8). The title song became her seventh #1 in the U.S.

In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. She appeared and debuted her new song, “Like a Prayer,” in a Pepsi commercial and also made a separate music video in it. The video caused an uproar. It featured many Catholic symbols, such as stigmata and burning crosses. Since the commercial and music video were nearly identical, Pepsi was unable to convince the public that their commercial actually had nothing that could be deemed inappropriate. Pepsi revoked the commercial and allowed Madonna to keep her 5 million dollar fee, as the contract was nullified.

Madonna (left) with Tony Ward, (center) at the AIDS Project Los Angeles benefit concert in 1990.

In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in a film adaptation of the comic book series Dick Tracy. To accompany the launching of the film, in May 1990 she released I'm Breathless, which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It featured her eighth U.S. #1 song "Vogue", the Gershwin-esque "Something to Remember", and three songs by Stephen Sondheim including her Academy Award-winning song "Sooner or Later". The second single released from "I'm Breathless" was "Hanky Panky" which peaked in the U.S. at #10 and#2 in the U.K. From April until August 1990, Madonna toured Japan, North America, and Europe on her Blond Ambition World Tour, which the singer likened to musical theatre. Featuring religious and sexual themes and symbolism, the tour drew controversy from Madonna's performance of "Like a Virgin" during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation.

In November 1990, Madonna released her first greatest hits compilation album, The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs: “Justify My Love” and “Rescue Me.” "Rescue Me" became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in U.S. chart history, entering at #15 and peaking at #9. The music video for “Justify My Love,” showed Madonna in suggestive scenes with her then-lover Tony Ward, as well as scenes of sadism and masochism, bondage with homosexual characters, and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and banned from the station. Warner Bros Records released the video as a video single—the first of its kind. "Justify My Love" became her ninth #1 single in the U.S. In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth or Dare (In Bed with Madonna outside North America), which chronicled her Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League of Their Own with a portrayal of Italian American Mae Mordabito, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground".

1992–1997: Sex, Erotica, Bedtime Stories and Evita

Madonna at the Madrid premiere of Evita.

In 1992, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company; Maverick Records, a film production company; Maverick Films and also music publishing, television, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. It was a joint venture with Time Warner as part of a $60 million recording and business deal. The deal gave her a royalty rate of 20% which was equal then of Michael Jackson. The first release from the venture was Madonna's first publication SEX, a book consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images photographed by Steven Meisel. It caused media controversy but sold 500,000 copies in the U.S., selling out worldwide. At the same time she released her fifth studio album Erotica, featuring three sexual songs—"Erotica", "Where Life Begins", and "Did You Do It?". The album peaked at number two in the U.S. and the title track “Erotica” (U.S. #3) became the highest-debuting single in the history of the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart entering at #2.

During 1993, she starred in two films. First was the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. The film contained graphic depiction of S&M and bondage and was poorly received by critics. The second was the first production for Maverick Films, Dangerous Game. It was released straight-to-video in North America but received some good reviews for Madonna's performance. The New York Times described that "she submits impressively to the emotions raging furiously around her." Madonna was publicly unhappy with the end result saying that "even though it's a shit movie and I hate it, I am good in it." She also expressed her disappointment regarding the final cut of the film, claiming that the director had cut many of her key scenes and completely changed the ending. Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show Tour at the end of 1993. It featured her dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers, including Luca Tommassini and Carrie Ann Inaba. The controversy continued when she caused an uproar in Puerto Rico by rubbing its flag between her legs on stage, while Orthodox Jews protested against her first ever show in Israel.

In the spring of 1994, Madonna released the single "I'll Remember" which she recorded for Alek Keshishian's film "With Honors". It reached #2 in the U.S. During this time she also had a controversial appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in which she swore several times and took off her underwear. Later that year, she released her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories. At the time, she was inspired by R&B/rock singer Joi's debut album Pendulum Vibe, and was so in love with it that she recruited producer Dallas Austin to help with her project. The album peaked at #3 in the United States and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. It produced four singles - the lead off single "Secret" (U.S. #3), "Take a Bow" (Co-written and produced with Babyface), "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature". "Take a Bow" was a success on the Billboard Hot 100, staying #1 for seven consecutive weeks, becoming one of her biggest hits in the United States.

In November 1995, Madonna released Something to Remember, a collection of her best ballads, which featured three new tracks, including a cover of the Marvin Gaye song “I Want You,” which she recorded with the British band Massive Attack, and the top ten song "You'll See." The album peaked at #6 on the U.S. charts. In 1996, Madonna’s most critically successful film, Evita, was released. She portrayed the main part of Eva Perón, a role first played by Elaine Paige in the West End. The film's soundtrack became her twelfth platinum album and produced two successful singles, “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” - her version hit #8 in the U.S., and “You Must Love Me” (U.S. #18). “You Must Love Me” won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture the following year. Madonna also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

1998–2002: Ray of Light and Music

Madonna's 1998 studio album Ray of Light debuted at #2 on the U.S. albums chart. Amazon.com described the album as "her richest, most accomplished record yet", while Rolling Stone credited her for "creating the first mainstream pop album that successfully embraces techno." Ray of Light produced the single "Frozen" which was adjudicated to be a plagiarism of Belgian songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva's 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp". The album won three awards at the 1999 Grammy Awards and has been ranked #363 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Microsoft used the Ray of Light title track in its advertising campaign Yes you can, to introduce Windows XP. In 1998, Madonna was signed to play the role of violin teacher Roberta Guaspari Demetras in the film Music of the Heart, and studied for many months to play the violin, but left the project before filming began, citing "creative differences" with director Wes Craven. The children of Opus 118 - Harlem School of Music, led by Roberta Guaspari, performed with Madonna twice in 1998—"Frozen" at the Annual Rain Forest Benefit at Carnegie Hall, New York and at the 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards performing "The Power of Good-Bye". In 1999, she won three Grammy Awards—Best pop album, Best dance recording, and Best short form music video. Madonna followed the success of Ray of Light with the U.S. #19 single, "Beautiful Stranger", recorded for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack (1999). Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end

In 2000, Madonna starred in The Next Best Thing. Madonna contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, "Time Stood Still" and the U.S. Top 40 (#29) / British chart-topper "American Pie", a cover version of the 1970s Don McLean single. Madonna's eighth studio album, Music was released in 2000. It introduced folk guitars in the top ten song “Don't Tell Me” and the ballad “Gone.” Music debuted at #1 on the US album charts.

In 2002, Madonna starred in the film Swept Away also directed by her husband Guy Ritchie. The film was a commercial and critical failure and released straight-to-video in Europe. Later that year, she released the title song "Die Another Day" to the 20th James Bond film, in which she had a brief cameo role. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song.

2003–2007: American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor

Live 8 benefit concert, July 2, 2005

Madonna released her ninth studio album, American Life, in April 2003. The lyrics were themed on the aspects of the American dream, fame, fortune and society. The record received mixed reviews. The song peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Having sold 4 million copies, American Life became the lowest selling album of her career. Later that year, Madonna performed the song "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott at the MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera during the performance, resulting in tabloid press frenzy. That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears's single "Me Against the Music". During the Christmas season of 2003, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, a remix EP that included rock versions of songs from American Life, and "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions.

In March 2004 Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company, Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, WMG filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. On June 14, 2004, the dispute was resolved when Maverick shares owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev were purchased. The company was now a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music. but Madonna is still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract. Later that year, Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour in the U.S., 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 Secret, which debuted on MTV. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked her #36 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

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Madonna during the 2006 Confessions Tour in Los Angeles.

In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song "Imagine" on the televised U.S. aid concert "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope", which raised money for the tsunami victims in Asia. In July 2005, Madonna performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London, run in support of the aims of the UK's Make Poverty History campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty. Her performances of "Like A Prayer", "Ray of Light" and "Music" were included in the Live 8 DVD.

Madonna's tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) sold more than 8 million copies. The album received positive reviews and was considered a return to form after the negative reception to American Life. It produced four singles including "Hung Up" which reached #1 in a record breaking 45 countries and peaked at #7 in the U.S. With "Hung Up" crossing over into the Top 10, Madonna had her 36th Top 10 hit and was then tied with Elvis Presley for the most Top 10 singles by any artist in the US; a record she would later break. Madonna opened the 2006 Grammy Awards with "Hung Up", alongside the nominated computer-generated band, Gorillaz. "Sorry" then became Madonna's twelfth number one in the UK, making her the female artist with the most #1 singles in the UK charts. "Sorry" peaked at #58 in the U.S. The third single, "Get Together", reached the UK Top 10 and became her thirty-sixth number one dance hit in the U.S. The fourth single was "Jump", another U.S. Dance Chart #1 and charted at number nine in the UK. She thus holds the record of 37 #1 Hot Dance Club Play hits in the US, the most for any artist.

Madonna at the Wembley Arena in London during her Confessions tour

In mid-2006, Madonna signed on to become the worldwide face of H&M. Included in the deal was a specially designed track suit, created by Madonna. The next year, the clothing line M by Madonna was launched internationally. Madonna's Confessions Tour began in late May 2006 and ended in September 2006. It had a global audience of 1.2 million people and, with reported gross sales of $260.1 million, was the highest grossing tour ever by a female artist. The use of religious symbols such as the crucifix and crown of thorns in the performance of "Live to Tell" caused controversy. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia urged all members to boycott her concert in Moscow. In Dusseldorf, prosecutors threatened to open an investigation on charges of insulting religious beliefs over her mock crucifixion. After seeing the performance, they decided not to do so, stating that Madonna is protected by artistic freedom laws. The Vatican State also considered the act blasphemous, to which Madonna responded:

There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My 'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up the Cross' as it says in the Bible. 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. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.

Madonna opposes United States President George W. Bush. In her Confessions Tour, she sang the 2005 song "I Love New York". Instead of the original lyrics "just go to Texas, isn't that where they golf?" she sings "just go to Texas and suck George Bush's dick!". She endorsed Wesley Clark's Democratic nomination for the 2004 United States presidential election in an impassioned letter to her fans, saying at the time that "the future I wish for my children is at risk." In the autumn of 2006, she expressed her support for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election. Most recently, she stated that she would be behind Al Gore if he decided to run for the 2008 elections after seeing his documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth. She also urged her fans to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

2007–present: Hard Candy

On May 16, 2007, Madonna released the download-only song "Hey You", in anticipation of Live Earth, which was free for its first week. Madonna performed "Hey You" amongst other songs at the London concert of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium on July 7, 2007. In October, 2007 Madonna announced her departure from record company Warner Bros. and a new $120 million, ten year contract with pop concert promoters Live Nation. She will be the founding recording artist for the new music division, Live Nation Artists (formerly Artist Nation), and the deal will consist of albums, tours, merchandise and promotion. The Warner Bros. deal will be completed with her 2008 Hard Candy album and a compilation album due at the end of 2008 or early 2009. In December 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Madonna as one of the five inductees of 2008. The ceremony, which also included fellow inductees John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, the Ventures, and the Dave Clark Five, took place on March 10, 2008. Madonna was inducted into the Hall by Justin Timberlake. Madonna also directed her first film, Filth and Wisdom and produced I Am Because We Are, a documentary on the problems faced by Malawians.

Influences

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, 2006

Madonna's Catholic background and relationship with her parents were reflected in the 1989 album Like a Prayer, which features songs about her parents and Catholic upbringing. The video for the title track contains Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. Madonna used the crucifix as a religious accessory in the setting of the video, she also included in the stage design of her Confessions Tour. Her 1989 song "Promise to Try" tells of her sadness towards the memory of her mother, while "Oh Father" (1989) describes a strict father who elicits fear and violence in his child. During The Virgin Tour, she wore a rosary and prayed with it in the music video for "La Isla Bonita" (1987).

Madonna's has also referenced Italian heritage in her work. The video for "Like a Virgin", filmed in Venice, Italy, features her in Venetian settings. The "Open Your Heart" video sees her boss yelling at her in Italian. In the "Papa Don't Preach" video, Madonna wears a shirt with the slogan, "Italians Do It Better". The 1988 video release of her Who's That Girl Tour, titled Ciao, Italia! - Live From Italy, was filmed mainly in Turin, Italy. In it, Madonna performs the song "Papa Don't Preach" while a portrait of the Pope appears on the screen behind her. "Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope".

In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra 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 baroque, and loved Chopin because she liked his "feminine quality". In a 1999 interview with Larry King, Madonna identified a wide range of musical influences that impacted her such as Karen Carpenter, Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde. Her song "Rain" is inspired by Karen Carpenter. In an interview with the Observer, Madonna professed her inspirations—Detroit natives The Raconteurs and The White Stripes, as well as New York band "The Jett Set".

During her childhood, Madonna became fascinated by films and film stars, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny...and I saw myself in them...my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence". Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the 1987 Who's That Girl film. The video for "Express Yourself" (1989) was inspired by Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis. The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her. Among them was Bette Davis, described by Madonna as an idol, along with Louise Brooks and Dita Parlo.

Madonna has been influenced by the art world and has a personal collection of paintings by Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Salvador Dali and Man Ray, amongst others.Her music videos "Erotica" (1992) and "Deeper and Deeper" (1992) were both influenced by the films of Andy Warhol, and her 1995 music video to "Bedtime Story" featured images inspired by the paintings of Kahlo and Remedios Varo. Her 2003 video to "Hollywood" was a homage to the work of photographer Guy Bourdin which led to a lawsuit by Bourdin's son due to the use of his father's work without permission.

Criticism

Madonna's lyrics have been panned as simple or even dull by some, though several critics view her as a talented artist. Madonna's sexual relationships with women have engendered public intrigue and scrutiny. she is speculated to have had relationships with Naomi Campbell and Sandra Bernhardt. The book "Sex" features her in several sexual situations with both men and women. Her sexual fluidity has been attributed to the social liberation of bisexuality in the United States in the 1990s.

Much of Madonna's career has seen rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church. In 1990, the Pope encouraged citizens not to attend the Blond Ambition Tour concert in which Madonna simulated masturbation. A private association of Catholics, called Famiglia Domani, also boycotted the show for the sexual innuendos and eroticism. In response, in a 1990 press conference in Italy, Madonna declared, "I am Italian American and proud of it." Madonna said that the Pope's reaction hurt, "because I'm Italian, you know", but in another interview the same year stated that she had ceased to practice Catholicism because the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation". In the summer of 2006, Madonna drew criticism from Vatican officials when she took her Confessions Tour to Rome. They claimed that Madonna's performance while hanging off a cross and wearing a crown of thorns was an open attack on Catholicism and should not be performed in the same city as the pope's residence.

In the documentary Italians in America - Our Contribution, author Gay Talese relates Madonna's rebellion against the Catholic Church to her Italian ancestry - Madonna's paternal ancestors come from a region of Southern Italy with a long tradition of rebellion against the Catholic Church. As per her alleged rebellion, Madonna had her son Rocco baptized in a Presbyterian Church.

Madonna has also received criticism from animal rights groups. In December 2006, PETA criticised Madonna for wearing a real chinchilla fur coat in a London restaurant. In 2007, The New York Post claimed animal lovers were "horrified" by Madonna dyeing her sheep for a photograph, and "vilified" for organising pheasant-hunting parties at her estate.

Legacy

Billboard reported that Madonna's 2006 Confessions Tour holds the record for the highest grossing concert tour by a female artist. In the United Kingdom, she is the most successful female in the album and singles chart history, having sold 3.6 million copies of her compilation The Immaculate Collection and accomplishing sixty-one top ten singles, thirteen of which were #1. with thirty-seven top ten singles In 2008, she surpassed Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten hits in the history of Billboard Hot 100.She is also the most successful singles artist on the United World Chart with thirteen #1 and twenty-three Top 10 singles. On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Madonna's persona and star figure has generated a degree of academic interest. Interdisciplinary research and publication on various topics relating to Madonna, including her relationship to and place within commodity culture, mass-media spectacle and her use of iconography relating to recognisable minority groups such as gays, lesbians and Latin Americans in videos such as Vogue, Like a Prayer, La Isla Bonita and Borderline had reached such proportions that some academics suggested the existence of a sub-field of Media Studies called Madonna Studies.

In 2006 a new water bear species (Latin:Tardigrada), Echiniscus madonnae was named after Madonna. The paper with the description of E. madonnae was published in the international journal of animal taxonomy Zootaxa 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 System (ITIS) number of the species is 711164.

Personal life

Relationships

Madonna with Guy Ritchie

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Madonna dated Dan Gilroy, with whom she formed the band Breakfast Club. In the early 1980s, she also dated her collaborator Stephen Bray, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, DJ and record producer Mark Kamins, and musician Jellybean Benitez. While filming the music video for "Material Girl" in 1985, Madonna began dating actor Sean Penn and married him later that year. After filing and withdrawing divorce papers in December 1987, they separated on New Year's Eve of 1988 and officially divorced in September 1989. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna later told Tatler, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form." Madonna began a highly publicized relationship with Warren Beatty while working on the film Dick Tracy early in 1989. Despite rumors that the two had become engaged in May 1990, the couple's relationship seemed to have ended by the summer. In a 1991 interview with Vanity Fair, Madonna said, "I'd go, 'Warren, did you really chase that girl for a year?!?' And he’d say, 'Nah, it's all lies.' I should have known better. I was unrealistic, but then, you always think you're going to be the one."

In late 1990, Madonna dated Tony Ward, a young bisexual model and porn star who starred in her music videos for "Cherish" (1989) and "Justify My Love" (1990). Their relationship ended by early 1991, and Madonna later began an eight-month relationship with rapper Vanilla Ice, who appeared later in her Sex book. Madonna dated basketball player Dennis Rodman in the mid 1990s. In September 1994, while walking in Central Park, Madonna met fitness trainer Carlos Leon who became her personal trainer and lover. On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon in Los Angeles, California. The couple ended their relationship in 1997. Madonna then began dating Andy Bird, who sold his story to the newspapers in a tell-all about their eighteen-month relationship in late 2000/early 2001. On August 11, 2000, Madonna gave birth to a son, Rocco John Ritchie in Los Angeles, California, with Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. On December 22, 2000, Madonna and Ritchie were married in Scotland. As of 2008, Madonna resides in Marylebone, London and her country estate in Tollard Royal, Wiltshire, with Ritchie and their three children.

David Banda adoption controversy

In October 2006, Madonna flew to Malawi to help build an orphanage, which she also funded as part of the Raising Malawi initiative. On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy named David Banda Mwale, born on September 24, 2005 and renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. Banda was flown out of Malawi on October 16. The adoption raised public controversy due to the fact that Malawian law requires one year of residence for potential adoptive parents. The effort was highly publicised and culminated into legal disputes.

Madonna refuted the allegations on The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 25, 2006. 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. Madonna blamed the media for "doing a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa", by discouraging people from adopting African children. She stated that she wanted to "give a life to a child who might not otherwise have had one." Singer and humanitarian activist, Bono, defended her by commenting, "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable and giving him a better chance in life."

Also, it was reported that Banda's biological father Yohane did not understand what adoption meant and had assumed that this 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." Madonna responded that Yohane Banda had known what he was doing, having refused to accept her offer to financially support him without adoption.

Work at the Kabbalah Center

Since the late 1990s, Madonna has been a devotee of the Kabbalah Centre and a disciple of its head Rabbi Philip Berg and his wife Karen. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie attend Kabbalah classes and have been reported to have adopted a number of aspects of the movement associated with Judaism. She no longer performs on Friday nights because this is the time when the Jewish Shabbat begins. Madonna wears a red string and has visited Israel with members of the Kabbalah Centre to celebrate some of the Jewish holidays. She also studies personally with her own private-tutor, Rabbi Eitan Yardeni, whose wife Sarah Yardeni runs Madonna's favorite charitable project, "Spirituality for Kids", a subsidiary of the Kabbalah Centre. Madonna donated $21 million towards a new Kabbalah school for children.

Controversy erupted again before the release of Confessions on a Dance Floor. Many Israeli rabbis condemned its song "Isaac" because they believed the song to be a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria and claimed that Jewish law forbids using a rabbi's name for profit. In interviews, Madonna had called this song "The Binding of Isaac" and rumors spread that it was based on the life of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac. Madonna has repeatedly denied such accusations, claiming she could not think of a title for the song and, therefore, named it after Yitzhak (Isaac) Sinwani, an Israeli singer. In the song, Sinwani is chanting a Yemenite Jewish song. Madonna Said: "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about?"

Madonna has openly defended her Kabbalah studies by stating, for example:

I wouldn't say studying Kabbalah for eight years goes under the category, or falls under the category, of being a fad or a trend. Now there might be people who are interested in it because they think it's trendy, I certainly do, but I can assure you that studying Kabbalah is actually a very challenging thing to do. It requires a lot of work, a lot of reading, a lot of time, a lot of commitment and a lot of discipline.

See also

• Madonna albums discography
• Madonna singles discography

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best selling music artists in U.S.
• UK Best selling singles artists of all time
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
• List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

External links

• Madonna discography at Discogs
• Template:MySpace-music
• Madonna at IMDb

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