Madonna Appreciation Thread. + Articles Celebrating The Queen at 60.

[Nancy.]

On the 16th of August 1958, a legend was born....and that legend IS the one and only queen of pop...

MADONNA!

y74BVpDxQw4

:clap1: :clap1: :clap1:

Madonna has announced on Instagram that new music and a film on the way.

Madonna:
"The energy of Portugal is so inspiring. I feel very creative and alive here and I look forward to working on my film LOVED and making New Music!!! This will be the next Chapter in My Book! It's time to conquer the world from a different vantage point!!"

[EspeonBB]

THE queen of pop :clap1: Happy birthday Madge

[Dominic]

A true legend :clap1:

pop culture would be nothing without her amazing artistry :love:

Happy Birthday Madonna <3

https://open.spotify.com/track/2dA8y5fJj2ZzfUVCJ2VlZU

[smudgie]

On the 16th August 1977 the King of rock and roll died.:bawling:

[Saph]

On the 16th August 1977 the King of rock and roll died.:bawling:

Britneys still alive?

[Dominic]

5R0P1Bwzhug

ahh a vocalist and an actress

[Headie]

Why was this thread made on the 14th then :laugh:

[_Tom_]

Why was this thread made on the 14th then :laugh:

The queen of pop deserves an additional two days celebration :clap2:

[Nancy.]

Why was this thread made on the 14th then :laugh:

Because I was away at Alton Towers for 2 days, so I couldn't post yesterday.

Anyway, so pleased Madonna enjoyed herself in Italy. Love her. :dance:

[Nancy.]

The queen of pop deserves an additional two days celebration :clap2:

:thumbs: She does indeed.

[T*]

http://images.uncyc.org/nl/thumb/d/df/TAART%211000.PNG/250px-TAART%211000.PNG

[LukeB]

Happy Birthday Gemma Collins

[Dominic]

http://images.uncyc.org/nl/thumb/d/df/TAART%211000.PNG/250px-TAART%211000.PNG

oh wow ageist jokes in 2017, you are so funny dear!!!

[Withano]

I heard that Chanelle was better at singing

[Lush]

So amazing to share a birthday with her :love:

[Nancy.]

oh wow ageist jokes in 2017, you are so funny dear!!!

:joker::joker::joker: The same old people, Dominic. Just ignore them and focus on the QUEEN. :dance:

[Nancy.]

So amazing to share a birthday with her :love:

Hope you had a wonderful day. xxx
Did you listen to Madge to celebrate? :dance:

[T*]

oh wow ageist jokes in 2017, you are so funny dear!!!

hb07IYAZG08

[AnnieK]

Part of the soundtrack of my childhood. So wanted to be her. We all had fingerless lace gloves and thought we were sooooo cool :laugh:

[EspeonBB]

She's such a legend and deserves much more respect than she's given :love:

[Nancy.]

Part of the soundtrack of my childhood. So wanted to be her. We all had fingerless lace gloves and thought we were sooooo cool :laugh:

:laugh:

She was extremely popular back in the 80's...

qJ30NUWHBWA

8X444ihvsSk

fe1_8hp5D44

[Lush]

Hope you had a wonderful day. xxx
Did you listen to Madge to celebrate? :dance:
Thank you! I did listen to Lucky Star at the gym yesterday so that counts :dance:

[Nancy.]

Thank you! I did listen to Lucky Star at the gym yesterday so that counts :dance:

:cheer2:

[Nancy.]

59 and still going strong. :dance:

[reece(:]

Kween of age

[Nancy.]

Even though it reached #2 in the USA and 4 in the UK, One of Madonna's most underrated 80's single's: "Causing A Commotion" is 30 years old today. Wow. :cheer2: 30 YEARS OLD!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/CausingACommotion1987.png/220px-CausingACommotion1987.png


o6xrARNS08U

[Nancy.]

Dita (Madonna's alter ego) is back...

https://image.ibb.co/eEAY6k/Captupe.jpg

Dita in 1992:
http://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5b3bvsUTw1rsjz5lo1_500.jpg

WyhdvRWEWRw

[Nancy.]

1983...
cOqr_x_9fMc

As most Madonna fans know, "Everybody" was the first single that sent her on an astonishing journey and kickstarted her career into orbit. She is now the most influential female artist in music history! This video incapsulated her youthful looks. So babyfaced and fresh. Wonderful!

[Nicky91]

i really feel sad for her daughter Lourdes, who has to deal with a younger guy obsessed mom-diva :sad:

[Nancy.]

On august the 29th 1987, Madonna played to what it is still considered one of (if not) the biggest paying concert by a solo artist with a record of 120,000 concert goers.

https://31.media.tumblr.com/2f2ffb41bee50674795f61cbe7e35511/tumblr_n7n8j3Fn4o1qlycwjo1_500.gif

[Littlegreen]

GgDxv0Qg_Rg

- should've been huge.

[Nancy.]

I love Ghosttown. :thumbs: One of the best songs from RH.

[Nancy.]

The GREAT Pat Leonard (producer) being interviewed by Boy Culture talking about Madonna.

Part 1:
http://www.boyculture.com/boy_culture/2017/08/madonna-patrick-leonard.html

Part 2:
http://www.boyculture.com/boy_culture/2017/08/patrick-leonard-part-2-dont-underestimate-their-point-of-view.html

OMG, SPILL THAT TEA, PAT....especially the BIB.

"BC: Madonna is consistently attacked as a non-artist, someone who has somehow skated by for 35 years on sex and hype. How do you react when people scoff at her musicality, who don't see her as an artist?

PL: It pisses me off, to be honest. The people that do get credited as being real artists often times are just “cool” and that gets interpreted as art. And these days, there are way too many talent-show winners, and they get called artists because they have some crazy-good voice. I have issues with these things, but I won’t go into it because I’ll probably have my house burned down by the people that make Auto-Tune. I can assure the world listening and looking at Madonna that they don’t have any reason to ever defend her or feel insecure about it and all I can say is I’ve worked with a lot of people — I’ve worked with a lot of people — and ... hard to be any better or more artistic than her.

There’s people with a more controlled voice — the word “better” is not fair, because how can you have a better voice than the voice that sang “Like a Prayer”? You just go through the list of singer-songwriters through the years — Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, none of these people were “singers” But these are the ones that the most art came from. I think her lyrics were taken for granted all those years ago; you look at the individual lines and this is what people need to think about now, those statements she made all those years ago. I’m certain she’s still doing it.

My knee-jerk is to defend her always, but then I have the demos where she sang a song, having written it 15 minutes before, and it was a #1 record and remains valid 30 years later, who’s gonna tell me that’s not a real artist?"

[Dominic]

Music is her best album

https://media.giphy.com/media/xKFOANL0Y7Oms/giphy.gif

[Nancy.]

Music is a brilliant album and is my second favourite of the 00's.

Love the video's and imagery.

http://www.madonnamania.com/madonna/pics/Music/M07.jpg

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/music-single-promo-550.jpg

FRLHro9EPD0

[Nancy.]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYizwHnBWkg/

madonna:

The energy of Portugal is so inspiring. I feel very creative and alive here and I look forward to working on my film LOVED and making New Music!!! ❤️🇵🇹. 🎼🎤🎬🎥. This will be the next Chapter in My Book! 📚📕📚📕📚♥️
It's time to conquer the world from a different vantage point!!

:dance::dance::dance::dance::dance:

[Pete.]

Queen

[reece(:]

We're not ready

[Nicky91]

can't she first try to be a better mom for Lourdes, i feel so bad for her atm :worry:

[Saph]

madge always gives us some bangers

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

can't she first try to be a better mom for Lourdes, i feel so bad for her atm :worry:

:joker::joker:

[EspeonBB]

Hopefully this is more Rebel Heart and less MDNA

[Saph]

Hopefully this is more Rebel Heart and less MDNA

taylor can only be glad she got big after mdna was released because her career would've dissolved had it been released after

http://i.imgur.com/4rYNdg5.png

[RileyH]

Has she released anything good this decade?

[iRyan]

I wasn't crazy about her last two albums but I'm still perched as I've been stanning for her early stuff lately

[Shaun]

madge always gives us some bangers

except the last 3 albums (ignoring Celebration)

[Littlegreen]

I really did think Rebel Heart was her last full studio album, so this is a huge shock/relief!

Ready for whatever she does next.

[Nancy.]

I really did think Rebel Heart was her last full studio album, so this is a huge shock/relief!

Ready for whatever she does next.
Yes, while RH isn't my favourite album, some of the lyrics in those tracks sounded like she was ready to quit making music and retire, but i'm glad that's not the case. I can't wait to see what she brings out of the bag for M14. :dance:

[LemonJam]

Thank you for warning us.

[Nancy.]

Anyway,

Now that Madonna has moved to Portugal, she'll be able to soak up their culture and it will reflect in the music. This is obviously in the very early stages so I doubt she's even thought about producers etc. I think we're looking at the final quarter of 2018 at the very earliest.

[MB.]

Thank you for warning us.

:joker:

[LukeB]

Thank you for warning us.

:skull: :joker:

[Jake.]

Thank you for warning us.

:joker:

[RileyH]

Thank you for warning us.

:joker:

[Smithy]

Thank you for warning us.

:joker:

[Nancy.]

Madonna rules highest grossing female tour dates of all time



1) Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour: Helsinki 85,354/85,354 $12,148,455

2) Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour: London 73,349 / 73,349 $11,796,540

3) Madonna - Confessions Tour: Denmark 85,232/85,232 $11,435,199

4) Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour: Zurich 70,314/70,314 $11,093,631

5) Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour: Athens 75,637/75,637 $9,030,440

6) Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour: Vienna 57,002 / 57,002 $8,140,858

7) Madonna - MDNA Tour: Quebec 70,569/70,569 $8,098,292

8) Madonna - Confessions Tour: Wales 55,795/55,795 $7,788,845

9) Barbra Streisand - Streisand: Las Vegas 15,317/15,317 $7,730,162

10) Madonna - MDNA Tour: Porto Alegre 42,524/42,524 $7,578,191

11) Beyonce - Formation World Tour: Ireland 68,575/68,575 $7,449,942

12) Taylor Swift - The 1989 World Tour: Dallas 62,630/62,630 $7,396,733

13) Madonna - MDNA Tour: Paris 62,195/62,195 $7,195,799

14) Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour: Belgium 68,434/68,434 $7,190,295

15) Beyonce - Formation World Tour: Pasadena 55,736/55,736 $7,138,685


:dance:

[Littlegreen]

I still haven't seen her live, truly ashamed of myself for that.

[Nancy.]

I still haven't seen her live, truly ashamed of myself for that.

Really? Omg, you have to go and see her when she tours next. She's amazing.

[Nancy.]

Rebel heart is still selling and the tour Video + cd is coming out in 12 days

iTunes:

#18 Tajikistan
#30 Bulgaria
#34 Argentina yai
#35 Hungary yai
#44 Costa Rica
#44 Greece
#49 Kyrgyzstan
#73 Poland yai
#85 Taiwan
#96 Hong Kong
#113 Brazil yai
#139 Colombia
#139 Spain yai
#149 Singapore
#154 Finland yai
#166 Mexico yai
#167 Turkey yai
#187 Philippines
#200 Sweden

[EspeonBB]

Tajikistan appreciating quality :clap1:

[Nancy.]

So the new record needs to a tight 10-12 track album. No DJ's or hot producers of the moment. I'd like her to discover someone new and unknown. New sounds. Madonna used to be the leader of the pack and i'd like to see her setting trends and leading again, not following - One thing I don't want is another "Bitch, I'm Madonna".

[reece(:]

I want trip hop and trance Madge.

[Marsh.]

9) Barbra Streisand - Streisand: Las Vegas 15,317/15,317 $7,730,162

Come thru Babs

[Marsh.]

Thank you for warning us.

:joker:

[Nancy.]

Rebel Heart live show DVD...

http://madonnaunderground.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/RHT-CD.jpg

CD and Blu ray combi:
http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/IMG_3136.thumb.JPG.01fd6a36efce17ee8e6d9e792ea643a a.JPG

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/IMG_3135.thumb.JPG.d9a6810c48acf05d7a2554869b3cea7 2.JPG

http://i.imgur.com/J9AWo2B.jpg

[Littlegreen]

^ It's not out for 9 days how did that person get it?!

Arrrgh I wish she'd rinse me of all my money, I want remasters and special editions and all the older tours out on Blu-ray!!!

[Nancy.]

^ It's not out for 9 days how did that person get it?!

Arrrgh I wish she'd rinse me of all my money, I want remasters and special editions and all the older tours out on Blu-ray!!!

:wavey: No idea how they got it this early but I agree with you. Imagine if she remastered all of her albums and tours. The Blond Ambition tour on Blu Ray would be amazing. :cheer2:

[Pete.]

Didn't the Rebel Heart Tour start two years ago, what's she playing at :joker:

[Nancy.]

Didn't the Rebel Heart Tour start two years ago, what's she playing at :joker:


It might seem like we've ben waiting ages but it could've been longer. Michael Jackson fans waited for his "Bad" tour dvd for over 24 years... and the "Dangerous" dvd for 13 :joker::joker::joker:

[Littlegreen]

Madge always takes ages putting her tours out, didn't it take 3 years for Sticky & Sweet?

[Nancy.]

Madge always takes ages putting her tours out, didn't it take 3 years for Sticky & Sweet?

Sticky came out in 2010, so it took around 2 years.

MDNA took even less but look at the quality of it - horrendous for such a brilliant show. They f^cked that up good and proper.

[iRyan]

I've really been stanning for her older stuff lately, honestly no other pop star compares to Madonna's legacy. She did it all before anyone else tried it. GHV2 is giving me life at the moment, definitely my favorite eras of her music. Her evolution from dominatrix sex goddess to transcendent spiritual queen is everything.

[Pete.]

WHERE is the new album

[Nancy.]

I've really been stanning for her older stuff lately, honestly no other pop star compares to Madonna's legacy. She did it all before anyone else tried it. GHV2 is giving me life at the moment, definitely my favorite eras of her music. Her evolution from dominatrix sex goddess to transcendent spiritual queen is everything.

:clap1:

[Nancy.]

Madonna viewing a 7 million mansion in Lisbon...

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/10/23/441DD84400000578-0-image-a-176_1505082485032.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/10/23/441DDA7800000578-0-image-a-194_1505083853863.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/10/23/441DDC6000000578-4871102-image-a-198_1505083934088.jpg

Spend that well earned money, Queen!

:cheer2:

[Nicky91]

and be a mom to Lourdes, she desperately needs mom love :(

[Nancy.]

and be a mom to Lourdes, she desperately needs mom love :(

:joker::joker: Lola is fine, hon. What makes you think M doesn't give her any love?

[iRyan]

I want trip hop and trance Madge.

This! Bedtime Story meets Human Nature meets Ray of Light please

[Nancy.]

I can't wait to get my hands on this tomorrow...

https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/21576754_862334237256317_8086203239634042880_n.jpg

Gorgeous!

[Nancy.]

Madonna still the most successful female artist of all time.

Most successful singles artist on earth, even surpassing Elvis
http://www.mediatraffic.de/top-track-achievements.htm

Most successful female albums artist on earth and the only female in the top 10 of all-time.
http://www.mediatraffic.de/top-album-achievements.htm

[Nancy.]

Got my CD and Blu-Ray yesterday and listening to the CD now. Wow...the quality is fantastic. The base on Like A Virgin is making my cups vibrate. :joker: Gonna watch the show tonight. Can't wait.

[Nancy.]

Album: Rebel Heart Tour

iTunes:
#1 Costa Rica
#1 Greece
#1 Mexico
#1 Ukraine
#2 Argentina
#2 Brazil
#2 Colombia
#2 Hungary
#2 Macau
#2 Peru
#2 Portugal
#2 Taiwan
#3 Hong Kong
#3 Italy
#3 Turkey
#4 Chile
#4 Czech Republic
#4 Poland
#4 Spain
#5 Singapore
#6 United States
#6 Netherlands
#7 Belgium
#8 France
#9 Ireland
#10 United Kingdom

[Nancy.]

BBC NEWS
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41269047


Twenty-seven years ago, Madonna set the template for modern pop concerts with her Blond Ambition world tour.

From its hydraulic stage to Jean-Paul Gaultier's iconic costumes, it raised the bar for stadium-sized spectacle.

Now, after seven huge world tours, the star tells the BBC she's "exploring" a smaller-scale show in the future.

"I've done so many shows - world tours, stadiums, sports arenas, you name it - that I feel like I have to reinvent that now too," she explains.
"I like doing intimate shows and being able to talk directly to the audience.

"This is something I'm exploring right now: the idea of doing a show that doesn't travel the world, but stays in one place and utilises not only humour and the music in a more intimate setting but other people's music, as well, and other entertainment.

"Kind of a revolving door of amazing, gifted, unique talent - dancers, musicians, singers, comedians, me, humour. I don't know! Like, I'm trying to come up with all those ideas now."

The concerts will presumably owe much to the vaudeville-style Tears of a Clown show that Madonna performed twice in 2016 - once as a gift to fans in Australia, and again at a fundraiser for her Raising Malawi charity.

The low-key gigs featured the pop icon dressed as a clown, riding a tricycle, chatting to the audience and telling jokes when not performing stripped-back renditions of some of her favourite songs.

Footage of the Australian concert appears on the star's new DVD, released on Friday, which documents her 2015-16 Rebel Heart Tour.
In an exclusive interview with BBC News, she talked about touring life, changing attitudes to sex, and her recent dispute with a courier company...

Before we start, there's one thing I need to know:Did your FedEx package ever arrive?
Ha ha! Yes, it has. FedEx is blaming customs, customs is blaming FedEx and we'll never know what happened. But I have it now.

So, I saw the Rebel Heart tour when you were in London and the DVD does a really good job of capturing what it was like to be in the audience. How do you go about that?

I was there every step of the way, every day for months and months. It's really hard to capture the true feeling of the excitement and the passion and the heat and the blood, sweat and tears. I'm pleased with the way it came out.

There's a particularly touching sequence during True Blue, where everybody in the audience embraces each other.

I know, it's a very sweet, emotional moment in the show. I didn't expect it to be, but when I look back at the DVD it almost brings a tear to my eye because everyone seems so in love.

How do you put a show like this together? Where do you get the ideas?
Everything's based around my song choice. So first, I go through my catalogue of songs with my band and I start working on things that excite me and inspire me in the moment. Some songs I'm sick of doing and I don't want to do them. Other songs I say, "No, I did that on the last tour, I don't want to do it again."

So I try to rotate things and I also try to reflect my current mood and what I've been feeling, and what's been inspiring me artistically or filmically, politically, philosophically. I try to put songs together in groups that have thematic connection, and then I try to tell a story. And then I do the visuals. It's quite a process.

What are the songs you don't want to do again?
Well, I tend to not want to do the songs I did on the tour before. That's what I mean. So if I did Material Girl on the tour before, or Express Yourself on the tour before, then I'll say, "OK, I did that for 88 shows. I can't do it again."

Image result for madonna candy shop gif

How do you keep a healthy balance between new songs and your back catalogue?
It's just playing in rehearsal. It's really hard for me, especially with my older songs, to do them with the original arrangement. Because 33 years later, after doing it for so long, you just have to reinvent things. Well, I do.

And it's fun for me to take an '80s pop song and turn it into a salsa song, or turn it into a samba, or make an uptempo song into a ballad.

The overarching theme of the tour was being a rebel. In the intro you say, "when fascist dictators come for you dressed as righteous men" you have to rise up and take a stand.

If you were doing the tour against the current political backdrop, would that message feel more relevant?
Yeah, I created that voiceover for my short film Secret Project,. I feel like it was a foreshadowing of things to come, like a prophecy.

You felt something in the air?
I did then - and I think people all thought I was being a little bit dramatic and extreme, but I felt like I was witnessing the beginning of it on the tour previous [to Rebel Heart]. And, of course, look what's happening in the world right now. It's pretty crazy.

Twenty-seven years ago, the Pope tried to get one of your shows banned. Now you have pole-dancing nuns and nobody bats an eyelid. Is that progress?
Is it progress? Well, I guess in some ways you could call that progress. When I released my Sex book, the idea of someone being scantily-clad on the street was an outrage. But look at social media today and it's nothing.

People get used to things, but I wouldn't call that progress. What I think of as progress is people becoming more open-minded, and people understanding the difference between art and exploitation.

When I was banned by the Pope, I was playing with the ideas of religion and sexuality, which are usually kept completely apart. Sex is considered a sin in the Catholic church. And I was questioning that and challenging that point of view because I don't, obviously, agree with it.
So now that no one's batting an eyelash about nuns on the stripper poles, it doesn't mean that the Vatican or the Catholic church is soul-searching or investigating whether they made the right choices. I don't think people are thinking that maybe sexuality and God don't need to be separate. That, to me, would be progress.

The DVD also includes the Tears of a Clown show you did in Melbourne. Was that a one-off or a trial run for a different type of Madonna concert?
I like doing intimate shows and being able to talk directly to the audience; to play with them and use humour and pathos and truth, and share my life - and also make up stories. I like the freedom of it and I like the intimacy of it, and I would like to explore doing it more in the future.

Maybe a residency?
Yeah, a residency. If I look back at the Rebel Heart tour, my favourite [part] was really the last section where I got to just sit on the stage and play my ukulele and sing La Vie en Rose and talk to the audience. [It was] just more intimate. More audience participation and connecting to human beings - I feel I'm craving that more and more.

Did it feel like there was more room for improvisation in that section?
Yeah, I have freedom and I can make mistakes. That's another thing I do in Tears of a Clown - if I start a song off wrong and I make a boo-boo, I just turn around and go "Stop! Let's start again!"
When you're doing a sports arena show, you're linked up to video, you can't stop. Once the train leaves the station, you have to keep going.
There's a certain kind of adrenalin rush to that - but there's no room for error. So I like the idea of mistakes and freestyling. Free-falling, really. It's more exciting to me right now.

Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour is out now on DVD, CD and Blu-Ray and via digital retailers.

[Nancy.]

Mexico presale:

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/IMG_5645.thumb.JPG.5602d361fa2d9f0043851396b47635b 3.JPG

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/IMG_5646.thumb.JPG.124b1e445fd452e7262143182a896f6 d.JPG

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/IMG_5647.thumb.JPG.a87b2e8274b1bc1144f275bbf1191f7 e.JPG

[Nancy.]

^ I see young people. I guess that quashes any misconceptions about Madonna's fans being housewives and old gays.

[Marsh.]

That's not a new idea. Musicians have been doing smaller shows in smaller venues for decades.

[Nancy.]

That's not a new idea. Musicians have been doing smaller shows in smaller venues for decades.

Yeah, that's true, :hee: but I think she meant performing in smaller venues would be a new-ish thing for her after so many years of doing stadiums and arena's. I'm not sure I like the idea, tbh. but if she's happy then good for her.

[Nancy.]

Video of Madonna at the opening of her hospital in Malawi...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madonnas-song-of-hope-for-malawis-children/

:cheer2:

[Nancy.]

The one and only Nancy Sinatra praising M:

Nancy Sinatra‏Verified account @NancySinatra
Madonna is my hero. She is following in my dad's footsteps making big changes in the suffering world. Thank you @madonna

[Nancy.]

I can't believe she's 59.

Here's a healthy 57 YO Madonna slaying on the recent tour.

WsPL_PhvQTQ

[Nancy.]

New Entertainment Weekly interview: What’s next for Madonna (New Music, ‘Residency’

"Whether she’s riding a sexy nun like a human surfboard (as one does) or performing stripped-down versions of old hits, no one entertains — or provokes — like Madonna. That much is clear from her Rebel Heart Tour concert film and live album combo, out now, which documents her 2015-16 world tour along with behind-the-scenes footage. But who knows when fans might next get a chance to see her gyrate in front of massive video screens or outdo herself with elaborate costume changes. The Material Girl says she’s pushed arena shows to the limit and is now thinking of developing a smaller, more intimate kind of show. “It’s time for me to take a different approach and really get back down to the beauty and simplicity of music and lyrics,” she tells EW. Below, the 59-year-old looks back on the Rebel Heart Tour’s prescient political messages, dishes on her post-show routines, and gives a tight-lipped (but exciting!) progress report on new music"

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:
This tour opened with ominous video footage of you saying, “When those fascist dictators posing as righteous men come for you…. be prepared to fight for what you believe in.” You recorded that in 2015, but it feels especially timely now.
Madonna: Yeah, people should listen to me! [Laughs]

When you look at the state of the world in 2017, do you think I told you so, or are you surprised about where we find ourselves?
No, I’m not surprised at all. I was already witnessing it on the previous tour: The winds were changing, and people were becoming more and more fearful and marginalized. I thought we were going backwards on a lot of the progress that we’ve made as the human race. So cut to my Rebel Heart Tour and then the election and then what’s happened in the rest of the world — of course I’m saying I predicted it. I’m sure I’m not the only one. A lot of people have been talking about it and trying to call attention to it. But people just want to hear good news, or they want to be distracted. So yes, I did feel like I was warning people.
sddefault.jpg#404_is_fine

What role do you think concerts should play in this political climate? Should they be two hours of escapism? Should they feel like rallies or protests?
I can’t speak for other artists, I can only speak for myself. My role obviously is to entertain, but I’m not going to entertain without being provocative. I’m not going to entertain without sharing my point of view, without reflecting what’s going on in the world. That just wouldn’t be me.

There’s a clip of you telling your dancers that doing this show was like going to war every night. What made this tour such a battle? Most reviews noted how much fun you seemed to be having on stage.
When I say war, it’s just what you have to go through every night to do this show. It’s physically a very demanding show. There’s a lot of moving parts going on backstage and underneath the stage. Everyone has to be super organized and vigilant. There’s no room for error. There are 30 seconds to change. You’re passing people under the stage, there are lifts going up and down. There’s a lot of dangerous stuff happening, and you have to fight through all of that and fight your fatigue or whatever personal issues you might be having that evening and get out there. It’s showtime! No matter what’s going on, you have to push through it and be a warrior. Sometimes you’re playing in venues where there’s no air, where people are smoking. There are always challenges. Couple that with your own personal issues — you don’t feel well, you’re sick, one of your dancers is injured. When you do live shows, you never know what can happen, so you do have to have that warrior-going-into-battle mentality. No matter what, you just keep going.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

That’s intense. How long does it take you to come down from that?
I need about 20 minutes to cool down and go to my dressing room or my hotel room. I do vocal cool-downs. I drink tea for my throat. And I have to wait 20 minutes for the ringing in my ears to go away. Then I come back down to earth. After that, I like to have dinner and socialize in a small way. On tour, it’s too demanding — I can’t go out and party or drink or be crazy. That’s for everybody else. I’m the only one that doesn’t have fun on tour. I don’t want to be alone. Sometimes I get treatments: I get a massage or shiatsu or acupuncture. I watch films — things that get me out of my head and stop worrying. I tend to fixate on mistakes that were made or technical problems that happened. It takes me a couple of hours to unwind.

Rebel Heart, your 13th studio album, featured some of your most vulnerable material in years. Did it feel like you were baring your soul on stage at times with this tour?
I’m not really conscious of it. Sometimes I’m in the mood to share my inner feelings and I’m aware that I’m doing it and feel like it’s the right time. And other times I feel like being more mysterious. I’ve been playing that balancing act for my entire career. A lot of the songs I write are meant to be ironic and not taken literally, and some are just straight-up, “Open my veins, this is who I am.”
sddefault.jpg#404_is_fine

My favorite moments from this DVD are when you’re performing with just a ukulele or a guitar. What’s it going to take for fans to get a stripped-down, small-venues-only acoustic Madonna tour?
Well, I would probably use other instruments, not just a guitar. I’m definitely thinking about experimenting with other musical genres right now and working with musicians from around the world to create a show that continues to involve music and dance poetry and humor, something on the intimate level of Tears of Clown [Madonna’s experimental theater show, which is included in the Rebel Heart Tour DVD]. There would be still some small production with lights, but much simpler and in a much smaller venue. I really like doing that.

[B]As you brainstorm a new kind of show, are you also thinking about recording new music and what’s next on that front?
Yes, I’m doing it all!

Can you share anything about what direction you want to go in?
No! [Laughs] I don’t want to give it away! I’m traveling the world right now and listening to lots of different music. I’m getting inspired by people and I’m just soaking things up right now. I feel like I’ve pushed the whole big-production arena tour to the max and done it the best that I could for such a long time. It’s time for me to take a different approach and really get back down to the beauty and simplicity of music and lyrics and intimacy.

Was there anything you haven’t been able to do in an arena show that you’ve wanted to try?
One thing I wanted but was always told was too expensive or too crazy or too dangerous was water. I always wanted water features, like rain or something. But [I was told], “If we’re outside doing a stadium tour, it’s too dangerous if there’s wind. And what if the wind pushes the water into the audience and everyone gets wet? We’re going to have insurance problems. And carrying water around with us is too complicated — too many trucks, too many airplanes, too expensive.” Water was something I always wanted to use in my shows but never did. Beyoncé used it in her last show [the Formation World Tour], but I think she had a lot of problems with it too. It’s good if you don’t move, if you’re stationary and everything is fixed. And if it’s indoors, of course.

Most of your tours have been recorded or broadcast in some capacity. With your past few records, you’ve been putting out these live DVDs almost like clockwork. Why is it important for you to create this archive?
Tours are art. It’s like documenting and archiving your artwork. It’s a record of something I created with a lot of great and talented people: from the musicians I work with to the costumes that are designed, to the songs being arranged in new and different ways, to the political statements I might be making. They’re stages of my career, and they tell a story. They’re an important part of my legacy, so I’m documenting them. There are tours I haven’t documented, and I regret that. I get a lot of s— from people: Why don’t we have a DVD of this, why don’t we have a DVD of that? I’m trying to be more vigilant and document things more than I actually would want to. To film shows is really complicated. It messes up the show. It takes days to film it completely. It takes me three to six months to edit it and mix it. It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s important.

When you watched the footage of this show, was there anything that stood out to you or surprised you that you didn’t notice when you were in the thick of it?
Yeah, I didn’t think some songs would be so moving or so fun to watch, like “True Blue.” It’s such a simple song. I’m playing the ukulele and just sitting there on stage, but I couldn’t see the audience as closely as the camera did. Then [while watching the footage] I see all these couples together and people kissing and hugging — a real feeling of love and connection — and that really moved me. That was a pleasant surprise.

You worked with some notable fresh talent on Rebel Heart, like rising hitmaker MNEK and a pre-Coloring Book Chance the Rapper. Who has your ear right now?
Well, as you know I moved to Lisbon, and I’ve been listening to a lot of music here, like fado, which is the music of Portugal. There’s such a cultural mix of people and music here. You could go out every night and hear different kinds of music. There’s a great jazz scene here. So right now I’m listening to a lot of local artists I’ve never heard of before, and that’s been really inspiring.

[Nancy.]

Excerpt of Tear of a Clown.

MndRX_kBlh4

Not a fan of this Madonna, tbh. Leave the "comedy" to the comedians and **** and sing! :laugh:

[Niamh.]

and be a mom to Lourdes, she desperately needs mom love :(

You realise she's an adult now and not a child? :laugh:

[Nancy.]

Posted on Madonnanation:

Gaytimes crown Madonna the Queen of Queens in recent poll.

http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/87169/vote-ultimate-queen-pop-find-results/

"Just like a prayer, she’ll take you there… to pop music bliss, that is.

It’s a question that’s been debated by gay men since the beginning of time (well, almost). Who is the one true Queen of Pop?

Earlier this month, we asked you to cast your votes on who you think deserves to be crowned pop music royalty, and you responded in your thousands – literally, over 60,000 votes were cast.

But just who has been crowned by you as the Queen of Queens?

Well, we don’t think the result will be a surprise to many of you… it’s Madonna!

Yes, the original Queen of Pop has held onto her reign with over 11,000 votes.

As the highest-selling female artist of all time, with the highest-grossing tour for a female artist, and seven Grammy awards under her belt, Madonna is without a doubt one of the most influential artists of all time.

Coming in second place is Lady Gaga with 8,700 votes, with Britney Spears in third with 6,700 votes, Céline Dion in fourth with 5,200 votes, and Kylie Minogue rounding off the top five with 4,200 votes.

Check out the full ranking below."

Madonna (11,000 votes) :dance:
Lady Gaga (8,700 votes)
Britney Spears (6,700 votes)
Céline Dion (5,200 votes)
Kylie Minogue (4,200 votes)
Beyoncé (3,200 votes)
Cher (2,800 votes)
Christina Aguilera (2,200 votes)
Katy Perry (1,700 votes)
Janet Jackson (1,600 votes)
P!nk (1,600 votes)
Mariah Carey (1,600 votes)
Rihanna (1,400 votes)
Demi Lovato (1,200 votes)
Ariana Grande (1,200 votes)
Adele (962 votes)
Taylor Swift (902 votes)
Miley Cyrus (875 votes)
Kesha (801 votes)
Selena Gomez (637 votes)
Jennifer Lopez (592 votes)
Carly Rae Jepsen (533 votes)
Shania Twain (526 votes)
Kelly Clarkson (516 votes)

[Nancy.]

Madonna's kids dancing to her "Music".

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZLAI7DhCtb/?taken-by=xkir5tenx

:dance:

[Nicky91]

mess at Kelly below Shania :facepalm:

[Littlegreen]

Posted on Madonnanation:

Gaytimes crown Madonna the Queen of Queens in recent poll.

http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/87169/vote-ultimate-queen-pop-find-results/

"Just like a prayer, she’ll take you there… to pop music bliss, that is.

It’s a question that’s been debated by gay men since the beginning of time (well, almost). Who is the one true Queen of Pop?

Earlier this month, we asked you to cast your votes on who you think deserves to be crowned pop music royalty, and you responded in your thousands – literally, over 60,000 votes were cast.

But just who has been crowned by you as the Queen of Queens?

Well, we don’t think the result will be a surprise to many of you… it’s Madonna!

Yes, the original Queen of Pop has held onto her reign with over 11,000 votes.

As the highest-selling female artist of all time, with the highest-grossing tour for a female artist, and seven Grammy awards under her belt, Madonna is without a doubt one of the most influential artists of all time.

Coming in second place is Lady Gaga with 8,700 votes, with Britney Spears in third with 6,700 votes, Céline Dion in fourth with 5,200 votes, and Kylie Minogue rounding off the top five with 4,200 votes.

Check out the full ranking below."

Madonna (11,000 votes) :dance:
Lady Gaga (8,700 votes)
Britney Spears (6,700 votes)
Céline Dion (5,200 votes)
Kylie Minogue (4,200 votes)
Beyoncé (3,200 votes)
Cher (2,800 votes)
Christina Aguilera (2,200 votes)
Katy Perry (1,700 votes)
Janet Jackson (1,600 votes)
P!nk (1,600 votes)
Mariah Carey (1,600 votes)
Rihanna (1,400 votes)
Demi Lovato (1,200 votes)
Ariana Grande (1,200 votes)
Adele (962 votes)
Taylor Swift (902 votes)
Miley Cyrus (875 votes)
Kesha (801 votes)
Selena Gomez (637 votes)
Jennifer Lopez (592 votes)
Carly Rae Jepsen (533 votes)
Shania Twain (526 votes)
Kelly Clarkson (516 votes)

Kylie should be right there second to Madonna - not behind Brit and bloody Celine!!! What kind of gays are these??? :fist:

[Nancy.]

mess at Kelly below Shania :facepalm:

I'm more shocked about Jennifer Lopez getting ANY. :joker:

[Nicky91]

i must admit, i LOVE Ghost Town from Madonna :love:

[Nancy.]

Omg, she's so funny!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZVtzjLhCRN/?taken-by=madonna

:joker:

https://www.popsugar.com/beauty/Madonna-Fat-Jewish-MDNA-Skincare-Chrome-Mask-44054840

Madonna Teams Up With The Fat Jewish to Tease Her $600 Chrome Face Mask

September 21, 2017 by ALAINA DEMOPOULOS

Back in August, we caught a glimpse of Madonna's MDNA Chrome Clay Mask, which can be removed magnetically (in other words: without splashing water all over your face and ruining your sink with sticky goo).

Ever since then, we've been waiting patiently for the collection — which was previously only available in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan — to expand stateside. We now know that MDNA hits US stores on Sept. 26.

What's more, according to Madonna, it's given comedian The Fat Jewish (aka Josh Ostrovsky) "beautiful skin."

While the fact that the beauty icon teamed up with an Instagram-famous meme-maker to promote MDNA might sound strange at first, just take a look at the behind-the-scenes promo the pair shot together. To be honest, their spa day looks pretty relaxing, and their new friendship is totally something we can support.

"Bitch, you're Madonna," The Fat Jewish told the 59-year-old legend. "Bitch, you're right," she responded, in between clips of the chrome mask doing its work. We are obsessed with watching the magnetic skin rejuvenator tool pull off the artichoke leaf extract-infused mask. The gliding motion is graceful, gentle, and similar to those tranquil ASMR videos people watch to fall asleep or reduce stress. But it won't come cheap: the Chrome Clay Mask and Skin Rejuvenator Set retails for $600. The six-piece line also includes a serum ($240), rose mist ($120), face wash ($50), and eye mask ($50).

If the three-figure prices are too steep for your skincare budget, don't despair! The Material Girl hinted to WWD that a more moderately priced collection is in the works for Fall 2018.

[Nancy.]

Talking about the songs on her next album, Madonna says that we can expect political criticism.


Political criticism will be part of her next album, but Madonna specifies that she won’t necessarily talk about Donald Trump. “I already expressed my point of view on him,” says Madonna to Brazilian magazine Veja. Also because she doesn’t “know who will be the President when my album comes out.”

Her new songs will also be a political critic, but “not particularly about a person”.

“World leaders are sinking society into insensitive and conservative thoughts,” adds Madonna. “With the economy collapsing, people think that it is better to elect successful entrepreneurs to run a government. But that’s not how things work. Being the leader of a nation requires diplomacy, experience, and intellectual ability. It’s a colossal job, but more and more unqualified people are elected for that role.”

“On my songs I want to talk about how we got to this point,” Madonna says. “We can not continue to blame our leaders, we have to blame ourselves. We need to get involved and ask for the changes that we want.”

Veja: After thirty years of career, aren’t you tired of rebellion?

“No, no, no. I’m not tired. I feel even more energetic. Stronger to fight for what I believe. I’m a rebel and I’ll be rebellious till the end.”

Madonna adds that the cultural and musical scene in Portugal will be a big inspiration.

Talking about American Life album, Madonna says that “society does not feel comfortable with a woman, especially a pop singer, talking about politics.”

When American Life came out, “people were especially irritated because I criticized the United States – the lifestyle, the American dream, the belief system, government, politics,” adds Madonna. “Americans do not want to hear criticism. They want to think that they live in a country where there is justice and equality, an example of democracy and freedom. We know that none of this is true, especially today.”

[Nancy.]

Anyway,

I so can't wait for another political thought provking album from the queen. Sounds awesome!

[Nicky91]

me neither, i feel number 1 on the charts again for this legend :D

[Nancy.]

"The Immaculate Collection" still selling after 27 years.


Album: The Immaculate Collection

iTunes:
#16 Ireland
#18 United Kingdom
#41 Australia
#44 Italy
#72 Germany
#166 France

[Nancy.]

I can't believe I forgot it was "Music" 17th anniversary last Monday.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/27/Music_Madonna.png/220px-Music_Madonna.png

Great album.

[Littlegreen]

The Rebel Heart tour blu-ray has made me obsess over her again (what's new tbh) hence my new sig. :love:

[Nicky91]

I can't believe I forgot it was "Music" 17th anniversary last Monday.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/27/Music_Madonna.png/220px-Music_Madonna.png

Great album.

Music makes the people come together yeah , great lyric :clap1:

[Nancy.]

The Rebel Heart tour blu-ray has made me obsess over her again (what's new tbh) hence my new sig. :love:

The Blu Ray is amazing isn't it? Much better than the MDNA fiasco.
I love your collage. :hee:

[Littlegreen]

The Blu Ray is amazing isn't it? Much better than the MDNA fiasco.
I love your collage. :hee:

Thank you!

I actually love the MDNA tour blu-ray, but I think they nailed it with this tour. Plus I think the arrangements of the older songs are brilliant!

The only annoyance is Love Don't Live Here Anymore being removed.

[Nancy.]

Thank you!

I actually love the MDNA tour blu-ray, but I think they nailed it with this tour. Plus I think the arrangements of the older songs are brilliant!

The only annoyance is Love Don't Live Here Anymore being removed.

MDNA was a great show, but there are so many problems with the blu ray / dvd like sound issues, picture grain and bad editing. There's none of that on the RH tour dvd. Not sure why they removed LDLHA either unless it has something to do with the rights.

[Nancy.]

Getting ready for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/A7488D2B-28B5-4BA2-8BA5-8E061925FD5E.jpeg.656114dea3b64b8d1ba87832110b50d0 .jpeg

Love the tooth gap shirt. :laugh:

[Nancy.]

OMG: Work it, queen!

https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/p640x640/21910782_119592295424854_5533133413122310144_n.jpg

[Nicky91]

wow :clap1: :clap1:

such a diva

[Nicky91]

wow :clap1: :clap1:

such a diva

[Nancy.]

wow :clap1: :clap1:

such a diva

:hee:

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/AF9FA615-5F40-4D73-866F-E490255EC1A3.gif.c24ed900521243638b5afb52f2f04ce1. gif

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2017_09/CF5D8D60-DDCE-4C73-AD4D-17C0EB2817F6.gif.54be9adb12bd466f7379be993ef61e89. gif

[Nicky91]

i can be rude, but that would only backfire on myself, so i am just going to have respect for the music legends, and Madonna is a music legend :D

[Nancy.]

i can be rude, but that would only backfire on myself, so i am just going to have respect for the music legends, and Madonna is a music legend :D
Spill it, Nicky, i'm an adult. :laugh:

[Nicky91]

Spill it, Nicky, i'm an adult. :laugh:

:hee:

[Nancy.]

She must've had some work done on her hands - no wrinkles! That'll annoy the haters even more. :dance:

[Nicky91]

She must've had some work done on her hands - no wrinkles! That'll annoy the haters even more. :dance:

Madonna has nothing to lose after such a long career already :)


i hope she shows us a different side to her, something she hasn't done before in her new album

[Nancy.]

Madonna has nothing to lose after such a long career already :)


i hope she shows us a different side to her, something she hasn't done before in her new album

Every album she's recorded is different from the last, so she will.

[Nicky91]

Every album she's recorded is different from the last, so she will.

:amazed:

[Nancy.]

Rolling Stone just named "Justify My Love" the 3rd most sexiest MV in history. (Should've been #1, imo)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DKwYnxDW0AEdcVo.jpg

A five-minute homage to French cinema that snuck its way into the pop charts, the black-and-white clip for Madonna's woozy devotional "Justify My Love" featured bondage play and group sex amidst its dreamy tableau. "I didn't have any concept at all, except the idea that [Madonna] was arriving in the hotel tired, broken; and when she was going to leave the hotel, she was full of life, she was full of energy, full of everything," director Jean-Baptiste Mondino told Rolling Stone. Madonna's "energy source" proved to be so outré for 1990 that MTV refused to show it, leaving ABC's Nightline – and the revived concept of the "video single" – to pick up the slack. "Why is it," Madonna told The New York Times as the controversy blew up, "that people are willing to go to a movie and watch someone get blown to bits for no reason and nobody wants to see two girls kissing or two men snuggling? I think the video is romantic and loving and has humor in it."

[Nancy.]

LEGENDARY acts slaying iTunes worldwide with albums OLDER THAN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY...

https://image.ibb.co/kSWnMG/tw.jpg

:clap1:

[Nancy.]

Immaculate Collection still selling 27 years after release.

#33 New Zealand
#44 United Kingdom
#69 Italy
#89 Australia

:clap1:

[Littlegreen]

Immaculate Collection still selling 27 years after release.

#33 New Zealand
#44 United Kingdom
#69 Italy
#89 Australia

:clap1:

It's one of the best greatest hits albums, ever. Actually it could be the best!

I'm still obsessed with the Rebel Heart tour atm, the Chicago recording is incredible.

[Nancy.]

It's one of the best greatest hits albums, ever. Actually it could be the best!

I'm still obsessed with the Rebel Heart tour atm, the Chicago recording is incredible.

Hi Littlegreen, Yes, The Immaculate Collection is a stunning GH's album. It's literally hit after hit. Even "Rescue Me" reached #4 on the UK charts.

Have you seen M's performance of "Take A Bow" on the Japanese blu ray yet?

Hu-YJ10nv7g

[Nancy.]

Actually, I was wrong. I've just had a look and "Rescue Me" reached #3. :dance:

[Nancy.]

Madonna ties the record with Elvis Presley for most Top 10 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with 38 hits and 28 of these hits reached the top 5.

She remains the ONLY female artist to achieve this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_Billboard_Hot_100_Top_10_hits_by_arti st


"Lucky Star" (#4)
"Borderline" (#10)
"Like a Virgin" (#1)
"Material Girl" (#2)
"Crazy for You" (#1)
"Angel" (#5)
"Dress You Up" (#5)
"Live to Tell" (#1)
"Papa Don't Preach" (#1)
"True Blue" (#3)
"Open Your Heart" (#1)
"La Isla Bonita" (#4)
"Who's That Girl" (#1)
"Causing a Commotion" (#2)
"Like a Prayer" (#1)
"Express Yourself" (#2)
"Cherish" (#2)
"Keep It Together" (#8)
"Vogue" (#1)
"Hanky Panky" (#10)
"Justify My Love" (#1)
"Rescue Me" (#9)
"This Used to Be My Playground" (#1)
"Erotica" (#3)
"Deeper and Deeper" (#7)
"I'll Remember" (#2)
"Secret" (#3)
"Take a Bow" (#1)
"You'll See" (#6)
"Don't Cry For Me Argentina" (#8)
"Frozen" (#2)
"Ray of Light" (#5)
"Music" (#1)
"Don't Tell Me" (#4)
"Die Another Day" (#8)
"Hung Up" (#7)
"4 Minutes" (#3) (featuring Justin Timberlake)
"Give Me All Your Luvin'" (#10) (featuring M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj)

[Nicky91]

Give Me All Your Luvin'

I LOVE that song :lovedup:

[Nancy.]

The Queen celebrating the 25th anniversary of Erotica:

Madonna‏Verified account @Madonna
Erotica single celebrates its 25th Anniversary today!
#MadonnaErotica25

VtHVnMrmgjI

[Nancy.]

25 years ago, the "Erotica" music video had it's World PLANETARY Premiere on MTV at midnight. One of the most significant moments in Madonna's career.

Here's the teaser commercial from Thursday October 1, a clip of the scroll that ran during a block of Madonna videos in the hour leading up to "Erotica", Kurt Loder's original warning intro, and the text-based warning used in a repeat broadcast. The "Erotica" video was shown just 3 times on MTV, all in the middle of the night.

"If you're among those people who find such themes distasteful, you may want to call it a night right now or switch to another channel. Here's Madonna with Erotica..."

Sbj9uQ-6gzc

[Nicky91]

happy 25th anniversary i'd say :D

[Nancy.]

Oh Nicky....Donald Trump? really? I'm so disappinted. :fist:

Anyway, back on topic.

"Once in a Lifetime: Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mable-ivory/once-in-a-lifetime-michae_b_10109288.html

:clap1:

[Nancy.]

https://image.ibb.co/eK2H8w/2016_05_23_1464030647_4451001_Final_MJMadge_Prince .jpg

In the Beginning...

"The waters flowing through the Great Lakes region were magical in the spring and summer of 1958, as the births of Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson all occurred within a mere two months of each other. Prince Rogers Nelson was born June 7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone on August 16 in Detroit, Michigan, and Michael Joseph Jackson nearly two weeks later on August 29 in Gary, Indiana. Each of these musical innovators would become household names, putting their stamp on pop culture in their own, unique ways. While these artists’ styles and work have been compared and contrasted for decades, what’s often overlooked is the impact their formative years had on their young, developing minds, and ultimately their sense of self and worldview.

The precocious trifecta of future megastars grew up in devoutly religious households: Madonna’s family was Roman Catholic; the Jacksons were members of the Jehovah’s Witness faith; and Prince was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist. A foundational religious discipline would easily lend itself to the establishment of a strict and rigorous work ethic later in life. Each of these rising talents would have a pivotal childhood heartbreak, which forced them to grow up quickly and discover creative ways to cope with emotional trauma. At the age of 5, Madonna would lose her mother to breast cancer, never to regain the unconditional love and bond of a maternal figure. And at the age of 6, Michael Jackson would become the lead singer of the Jackson 5, forcing him out of the playground into the working world of show business. Prince’s parents would separate and divorce before he was 10 years old, leaving his family broken and home life scattered.

All three entertainers had strained relationships with their fathers, which would inspire some of their future work: In Prince’s movie, Purple Rain, we see his character grappling with a critical and abusive father and in Madonna’s autobiographical single “Oh Father,” she laments: “You can’t hurt me now, I got away from you, I never thought I would.”

Baby I’m a Star!

Budding stardom was recognized early on for these recording artists.

Michael Jackson stepped into entertainment at the age when most kids are making milestones in kindergarten. Led by his father/manager, Michael grew up on the road, in the studio and on the stage. “I am most comfortable on stage than any other place in the world,” he shared in a 1980 interview on the TV program 20/20. Michael recorded his first album with the Jackson 5, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, at the age of 11. Being a part of the Motown family at an impressionable age allowed Michael to learn from some of the greats — backstage at the Apollo watching legendary James Brown and Jackie Wilson captivate audiences with their soulful singing and breathtaking choreography, and in the studio quizzing producers on how the recording process works. By the age of 20, Michael would produce 15 more studio albums with the Jackson 5, and later the Jacksons, developing and perfecting his vocal style, dance skills and songwriting abilities, before the release of his smash hit, solo album debut, Off the Wall, at the age of 21.

Prince taught himself to play the piano at age 7, the guitar at age 13, and the drums at age 14. And at 14 years old, Prince began performing throughout Minneapolis with a local band called Grand Central. Three years later, Prince would have a masterful dexterity of 27 musical instruments and create his first demo tape of songs that he wrote, produced, performed and arranged himself. This demo would lay the foundation for Prince’s debut album, For You, released two months before his 20th birthday.

Madonna began studying dance at age 14. She was a stellar student, graduated high school, and continued her dance education at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 1976. After two years, Madonna moved to the Big Apple, where she studied for a short time with the Alvin Ailey dance troupe and worked as a professional dancer for two years. Madonna added singing to her artistic mix, and began performing as a singer and backup dancer. “I studied very hard on learning how to play guitar, and piano, and drums, everything, and then I started writing music, and I got my own band together, made a demo tape, took it around to the record companies and got my record deal,” said Madonna in a 1983 radio interview with Paris DJ Stephen. Madonna released two disco club hit singles, “Everybody” and “Burning Up/Physical Attraction” before getting a recording contract to produce a full album. Five years after leaving Michigan for New York City, Madonna’s self-titled debut album was released in July1983. She was 24 years old.

For all three rising solo artists from the Midwest, with their follow-up albums, they would skyrocket to global fame, define ‘80s pop culture, dominate the MTV music video landscape with their groundbreaking, uniquely stylized fusion of video storytelling through song and dance, break world records, color barriers and forever influence pop artists for generations to come.

With Michael Jackson’s sophomore solo album, Thriller, he would enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the Greatest Selling Album of All Time (over 65 million copies sold). Michael would continue to break world records, receiving an additional 30 Guinness World Records, including Most Successful Entertainer of All Time. Madonna would receive the Guinness World Record for the Greatest Selling Female Recording Artist of All Time. Prince would be the only one of the three to receive an Oscar for Best Original Song Score for “Purple Rain.” Prince would tie the record for 12 consecutive years with a Top 10 pop single on the Billboard 100 charts in the U.S. Globally, Prince has sold over 150 million albums, Madonna over 300 million and Michael over 750 million.

Working Day and Night

The artistic and creative gifts of Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince are innate in their DNA: Michael’s mother, Katherine, was a singer and pianist and his father, Joseph, was a guitarist with his own band, The Falcons, before he began to focus full throttle on developing the talent of his sons. Prince’s mother, Mattie, was a jazz singer and his father, John, was a jazz pianist and songwriter with his own group, The Prince Rogers Nelson Trio. “Prince Rogers Nelson” was a stage name for John Nelson. Prince’s late father said that he had named his son Prince because he wanted the artist to be a musician, like him. And, Madonna’s mother, Madonna Louise Ciccone, was formerly a dancer.

However, the epic success of all three icons would have been impossible without a relentless work ethic and a drive for excellence. “Study the greats, and become greater!” was one of Michael’s many mantras. R&B was an influence for these artists. Both Michael and Prince said that James Brown was one of their inspirations and exemplars — from the command of his band, his trademark original sound, and legendary choreography. And Hitsville U.S.A. struck a major chord with the Material Girl. “Motown is a really big influence with me ‘cause I grew up in Detroit, and I listened to all those old, Motown groups,” said Madonna in a 1983 interview with DJ Stephen on Radio Show.

NBA great Kobe Bryant discussed Michael Jackson’s work ethic in a 2016 Jimmy Kimmel Live interview: “He showed me how he composed songs, how he structured them, how he trained, who inspired him...He walked me step by step through things that he learned from [his influences] and how it made him a better entertainer. How he studied the Beatles, how he broke down every single note and felt like there was a certain emotional connection with each chord. It was just fascinating stuff. I thought I was working hard until I met him.”

In a 2016 ew.com interview, hit-making producer Jimmy Jam shared the following about Prince’s work ethic: “... He out-talented everyone by so much. In sports, it’d be like Michael Jordan. He walks into the gym and he’s the most talented player; that’s how Prince was. He walked in and he was more talented than everybody...He’d come to rehearsal, work with us, go work with his band, then he’d go to his studio all night and record. The next night he’d come to rehearsal with a tape in his hand and he’d say, ‘This is what I did last night!’ and it’d be something like ‘1999.’”

And celeb trainer Nicole Winhoffer told eoline.com in 2014: “Madonna stands as an icon. Her body, work ethic, and persistence is an inspiration to the people.”

Express Yourself

“It’s my own style. Unique and original. You won’t see it anywhere else.”
—Madonna, Paris interview with DJ Stephen on Radio Show (1983)

“I strive for originality in my work. And, hopefully it will be perceived that way.”
—Prince, first television interview on MTV (1985)

“My attitude is if fashion says it’s forbidden, I’m going to do it. In many ways an artist is his work, it’s difficult to separate the two. I think I can be brutally objective about my work as I create it, and if something doesn’t work, I can feel it, but when I turn in a finished album - or song - you can be sure that I’ve given it every ounce of energy and God-given talent that I have.”
—Michael Jackson, the autobiography, Moonwalk (1988)

The greatest gift that Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson have given to the world is their unique, artistic voice. Their collective ability to masterfully blend music, dance, live performance, music videos, film and fashion to create artistic expressions that resonated across generations and countries is unparalleled. Their influence on our culture is multi-dimensional, transformative and everlasting. The world before Madonna, Prince and Michael was one in which we’d watch artists sing and perform, and we might sing along to their music. When Madonna, Prince and Michael each had their meteoric rise in the ‘80s — and declared they were originals, were going to push boundaries, yet also perform with a level of creativity and innovation never before seen — they created a deeper level of engagement with their audience and the public. In addition to singing their songs, we began to emulate their dance moves and sartorial tastes. Their appeal was contagious, enchanting, universal and international: black, white, young, old, straight or gay, it was a cultural revolution, unlike any other:

* Madonna had young girls around the world wearing rubber bracelets, lots of lace, and big hair bows. Michael Jackson created a new look: a signature red leather jacket with black trim — the Thriller jacket — which sold internationally. And, how can we forget that purple became the most popular color on the planet, when Prince’s movie, Purple Rain, was released.

* Everyone wanted to perform the Moonwalk, seamlessly and flawlessly, just like Michael Jackson. Who didn’t attempt to do a full split and spin, after watching Prince do it in Purple Rain? Madonna introduced a formerly underground dance style performed at house balls for a mostly gay community, vogueing, to the mainstream.

Madonna, Prince and Michael will always be known as trendsetters and tastemakers. Yet, their bodies of work also move people’s spirits and emotions. Emanating from their creative expression are themes of freedom, rebellion, acceptance, inclusion, peace, joy, fun and romance. In their music and videos, they also tackle controversial topics such as race, religion, politics and sexuality.

Most of all, we find Madonna, Prince, and Michael likable and relatable, because we see and embrace their humanity, complexities and eccentricities. All three of them are cultural misfits, who never quite fit in, but somehow rose to the top and stayed there. They are our American heroes, the underdogs from Midwestern, working-class families who succeeded, against all odds. Prince was the short guy from Minneapolis who embraced androgyny and, despite his stature, was larger than life. In reality, Michael Jackson was shy, alone, and kept to himself. On stage, Michael Jackson was a breathtaking force — dynamic and otherworldly. Two distinctly different personas — offstage and onstage — within the same man. Madonna fought disappointment and loss from her youth with rebellion. She pushed her past aside, moved forward, always robustly, with a propensity for head-turning, over-the-top attire and behavior. In the imperfect, there lies perfection.

Gone Too Soon

With the recent loss of Prince, it is hard to imagine that, like Michael Jackson, the new music will be coming from a vault. There will be no more live performances, cameo appearances, philanthropic projects or political statements to be made. That untouchable trifecta of musical titans from the Midwest were all supposed to live forever, if only to continue the soundtrack for an aging Generation X, much like how baby boomers still have the Rolling Stones. While the legacies of Prince and Michael will be timeless, up-and-coming artists will look to them for inspiration; the Purple One and the King of Pop are the ascended masters and reference points. The pain will linger in knowing that the creative environment that allowed these legends to flourish has vanished.

The industry has changed along with the way music is produced. Songs aren’t as rich as they used to be. Instruments have been overpowered by synthesizers, samples and beats. Auto-Tune has replaced raw vocals in the studio. New and emerging artists don’t have the freedom or flexibility to be daring and different. There is a marketing and promotional formula that must be followed — people aren’t even buying music like in previous decades, so budgets have dwindled for things like artist development. What will the next generation of pop artists look like? Will the pipeline to a recording contract be dominated by reality TV competitions? Could a young artist, who can play over two dozen musical instruments even fathom getting a record deal or complete creative control?

We can never deny that in their heyday Prince, Michael and Madonna, now the surviving member of the trifecta, shoved the envelope and set the bar for trend-setting music makers who came after them. Many may not appreciate or comprehend Madonna’s impact today, but that can’t diminish her influence. What’s next for the queen of reinvention? Whatever is on the horizon, like a prayer, she might just take us there."

[Nancy.]

Amazingly, "Erotica" still holds the record for highest debut on the Billboard airplay chart...

https://i.imgur.com/UoAOlHI.png

[Samm]

sex anthem

[iRyan]

Erotica is one of my favorite Madge songs, it knocks

[Nancy.]

So guys, Madonna's first single, "Everybody" is now 35 years old.

35 YEARS OLD!!!

http://8680027.s21i-8.faiusr.com/2/ABUIABACGAAgh_PZvwUo456wzAUw2AQ42AQ.jpg

D:

Performing in Danceteria, NYC 1982:

PCeo3R546r4

[Nancy.]

2018 marks the 20th anniversary of Ray of Light, so it's interesting that Madonna's producer Pat Leonard is looking at the Ray of Light demos. Could we be finally getting a remaster full of goodies?

#madonna #demos #archives
Just had these transferred so I could hear them. Haven't heard them since we did them in 1997. Better than I remember. ##rayoflight #madonna #demos #archives

[Nancy.]

Sainsbury's were selling limited editions of Ray of Light (blue Vinyl) and Like A Virgin (Clear Vinyl) today, so naturally I had to have them. They're gorgeous!

[Nancy.]

iMClXZ0jQU0

I love how they couldn't believe the transition from Vogue to Take A Bow to Ray of Light. -Yes, that IS her, brats!
:joker:

[Nancy.]

The "Erotica" album is officially 25 years old today. Such a great (yet underrated) album.

https://img.discogs.com/4FxWgCvXlDIvh9g-ySOVekHxOYU=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():qualit y(90)/discogs-images/R-931338-1418886513-2858.jpeg.jpg

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https://img.discogs.com/1n5632ZyUMtTYfB8jMa7vet1FMI=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():qualit y(90)/discogs-images/R-931338-1375927989-7900.jpeg.jpg

https://www.cqout.com/getimg.asp?id=978613

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:cheer2:

[Nancy.]

Here's an article recently posted by Rolling Stone:

Madonna's 'Erotica,' 'Sex': Why Musical Masterpiece, Defiant Book Still Matter.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/madonnas-erotica-sex-misunderstood-masterpieces-w507057

In 1990, Madonna was as astronomically popular as a boundary-bulldozing, unapologetically bacchanalian performance artist could get. Drawing from Harlem drag balls, "Vogue" went Number One nearly worldwide. The tour showcasing it, Blond Ambition, mixed spectacle with social commentary so sharply that it reinvented the pop concert and yielded the smash documentary Truth or Dare. And that year's The Immaculate Collection, her first greatest-hits set, would eventually rank among the world's biggest-ever albums, despite MTV banning its gender-blurring and cinematically exquisite "Justify My Love" video.

Some loathed this classically trained dancer/DIY provocateur – a megastar peer of Prince and Michael Jackson since her 1984 blockbuster Like a Virgin – with a venom reserved for successful women forging their own path. But for her vast audience, she was nothing less than liberating, and her uninterrupted string of hits defined pop for a decade. What some considered violations of taste made her more commanding: Even the way she toyed with ordinarily unflappable talk show hosts like David Letterman was more rock & roll than actual rock stars.

Nearly everything changed two years later with Erotica and Sex. Released respectively on October 20th and 21st, 1992, the first fruits of her multimedia Maverick entertainment company weren't flops; her fifth studio album, Erotica racked up six million sales worldwide and yielded several hits, while Sex – an elaborate coffee table book created with fashion photographer Steven Meisel and Fabien Baron of Harper's Bazaar – sold out its limited 1.5 million printing in a few days, an unparalleled success for a $50 photography folio bound in metal and sealed in a Mylar bag to evoke condoms. It remains one of the most in-demand out-of-print publications of all time.

But both record and book, despite a few positive reviews, inspired widespread vitriol. "There's nothing erotic about it, unless one finds the idea of a singing death mask sexy." That was Entertainment Weekly's take on Erotica's rendition of "Fever," but it summed up many assessments of the entire album. Others appreciated Sex's forthright presentation of LGBTQ sexuality and S&M even less. "Of course, some of us actually like the opposite sex; some of us believe it is possible to have great sex without whips, third parties or domestic pets," groused not some reactionary macho windbag, but a female film critic for The New York Times.

Why did projects Madonna intended to open minds shut so many down?

As her stardom snowballed through the Eighties and early Nineties, AIDS decimated the scene that helped birth Madonna. Taking music and fashion cues from lower Manhattan's punk rebelliousness and midtown's disco hedonism, pre-stardom Madonna was a fixture in the bohemian underground chronicled by photographer Nan Goldin in her autobiographical The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, a likely Sex influence, along with the severe stylization of Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin and Robert Mapplethorpe. By 1992, AIDS claimed Goldin's subjects, Mapplethorpe himself, much of the art world (including Madonna's friend Keith Haring), and a growing chunk of Madonna's audience. It also killed and would go on to kill her cohorts, including Blond Ambition dancer Gabriel Trupin. Just as racism and the Black Lives Matter movement shaped Beyoncé's Lemonade, AIDS and ACT UP – the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, the direct action advocacy and educational group whose motto was "Silence = Death" – yielded Erotica and Sex.

Madonna previewed both works with the lead single and video for "Erotica," which boldly picked up where "Justify My Love" left off, and is narrated by Mistress Dita, her Sex dominatrix alter ego. "Give it up, do as I say," she growls over gritty funk that combines the clatter of R&B's New Jack Swing with house music's heavy bottom. "Give it up and let me have my way."

But in much of what follows on the LP, the woman behind the vixen doesn't get what she wants: Her relationships fall apart as she awakens from spells cast by deceptive lovers ("Bye Bye Baby," "Waiting," "Words"). Booze, chain–smoking, and anonymous sex can't numb the pain ("Bad Girl"), and a friend steals her man ("Thief of Hearts"). Meanwhile, comrades die ("In This Life") while kindred outcasts struggle ("Why's It So Hard"). "I'm not happy this way," she sings in "Bad Girl." Sensuality was merely part of the picture: Erotica is Madonna's concept album about love and intimacy under the shadow of plague.

In excerpts from his studio diary, Erotica's co-producer/songwriter Shep Pettibone – a skilled remixer who helped Eighties dance grooves evolve from disco to house music – archived the singer's feedback on the album's early slick mixes. "I hate them," she said. "If I had wanted the album to sound like that, I'd have worked with [earlier collaborator] Patrick Leonard in L.A." Instead, Madonna demanded rawness, "as if it were recorded in an alley at 123rd Street in Harlem."

And so her "Vogue" collaborator reverted to the rhythm-intensive immediacy of his remixes as he reworked much of the album until it boomed, banged and sizzled like his increasingly popular remixes: Pettibone's version of "Express Yourself" was the one heard in Madonna's massive video. Instead of composing a radio-targeted album later reshaped for the clubs, Pettibone, together with Madonna, and André Betts – a newcomer who co–produced "Justify My Love" with Lenny Kravitz – made Erotica resemble an alternately party-minded and private collection of 12-inch singles. Even ballads like "Bad Girl" take arrangement cues from club music; in this case, a somber, slo-mo slant on Black Box's piano-pounding house anthems.

Unlike Erotica, which contrasts moods and tempos but maintains a deep and yearning sonic continuity, Sex is varied in style and content. Some shots are straightforward, such as the introductory snaps of Madonna cavorting with two tattooed and pierced lesbian skinheads. The authenticity of her playmates accentuates the fastidiousness of her makeup and the newness of her fetish-wear, which makes Madonna look like a tourist. There's little less sexy than that.

Other photos are open to interpretation: One features four masculine figures standing at urinals with Madonna superimposed in pink. The clash of iconography and grain of the image means it takes some staring to notice one has a hand on another's ass – and even more scrutiny to realize these two apparent dudes are actually women; probably the same butches in the earlier tableau. Here Madonna looks like she's visited that same seedy men's room, and the double exposure insinuates it's on her mind. She's not alone: When bigots obsess over transgender folk in public restrooms, this is what they're imagining. They'd deny the compositional beauty of the image, but there it plainly is, contrasted and highlighted by the sleaze.

Clearly she intended to instigate more than that era's version of the far right: One of the most realistic photos depicts her in a gymnasium under a basketball hoop with books tossed about and a school uniform half off. One guy holds her between his legs, and another guy's hand is poised to explore her naked crotch. There's more than a suggestion of struggle: Only her strained smile signifies consent.

Penned by Madonna, the text also varies in tone. Sometimes she's acting out scenarios likely avoided in real life. Elsewhere she's clearly speaking her own mind, yet with the disclaimer, "Nothing in this book is true," which, to follow her logic, might be a lie. So when she wrote, "The women who are doing [porn] want to do it: No one is holding a gun to their head," critics lambasted the musician. Given that Madonna posed nude in 1978 when she was broke and couldn't stop Penthouse and Playboy from publishing the results in 1985, this statement comes across as atypically naïve.

Because Sex and Erotica launched Maverick and her renegotiated $60 million contract with Time Warner, speculation over the Material Girl's earnings framed nearly every critical analysis. But Madonna's moxie has never been just about profit and fame. As her charities and donations have attested for decades, she also aims to make the world a better place: She just opened a pediatric hospital in Malawi. Back then, she taught soft-core sex ed.

"I think the problem is that everybody's so uptight about [sex] that they make it into something bad when it isn't, and if people could talk about it freely, we would have people practicing more safe sex," she told Vanity Fair at the time. "We wouldn't have people sexually abusing each other, because they wouldn't be so uptight to say what they really want, what they really feel." Maybe that's a little simplistic, but it's genuinely humanitarian. At a time when the straight media essentially characterized all sex as dangerous, Madonna tried to illustrate that it could be safe and stimulating, particularly if we open our minds, free our bodies, and try something besides standard intercourse.

Nowadays, S&M and explicit LGBTQ imagery is never more than a few clicks away, but the internet was in its infancy in 1992: Photos of sexual activity were exclusive to specialty bookstores until Robert Mapplethorpe's headline–grabbing 1989 retrospective The Perfect Moment, which placed S&M and interracial gay sexuality onto museum walls. The resulting controversy – inflamed by North Carolina's obstructionist Senator Jesse Helms and his attempt to prevent the National Endowment for the Arts from funding "obscenity" – engaged viewers in a moral debate. Accordingly, Sex was never about pretty pictures.

Twenty-five years after publication, it's easier to differentiate between Sex's weaknesses and strengths. The sequence with pop rapper Vanilla Ice – Madonna's then-boyfriend – was always tacky, and the section in which she sandwiches herself between hip-hop's Big Daddy Kane and supermodel Naomi Campbell is more stilted than ever. Actress Isabella Rossellini – who appears in a man's suit caressing Madonna and her female friends with an emotional intimacy missing from those celebrity shots – nailed the book's major limitation when she told The Huffington Post in 2014, "Madonna was almost too beautiful, too perfect ... to have that vulnerability or the sense of shock that a regular, more normal, not-so-professional fitted body could convey." No matter how many personas the icon tries on like a pop-art Cindy Sherman, Madonna is Madonna when she takes off her clothes – maybe even more so.

And yet I recognize her intentions. Madonna and I are of the same generation, and before she was a star, we'd party at the same NYC clubs like Danceteria, where her career began. I lost my dad to cancer when I was young just as she lost her mom at age five, and so I know all too well how grieving reactivates that original deprivation, like when my very first lover died of AIDS 30 years ago. After that went co-workers, mentors and friends until the mid-Nineties, when combinations of antiviral medicines slowed and then ultimately stopped HIV's progression for many patients who followed their medication regimen with military precision.

But until then, if you lived in a major city and were gay or an intravenous drug user, sex worker or among their intimates, you were an endangered species. There was no cure, and our government was indifferent. Breaking their silence was essential to our survival and sanity. So when Madonna launched her business with Sex and Erotica, LGBTQ people knew she wasn't exploitative: She was trying to save our lives by politicizing her anger. The frustration of Erotica that critics of the era bemoaned, we applauded because it was our own. Sure, she borrowed some of our fabulousness, but she also gave back plenty.

Accordingly, Erotica is also filled with love. The album's steamiest – and funniest – cut, "Where Life Begins," celebrates cunnilingus with cheeky wordplay, but also sweetness and warmth: Crooning over Andre Betts' hip-hop ballad beats, she beckons the listener, "Go down where I cannot hide," as if to suggest her womanhood is this chameleon's constant truth.

The album's most driving dance track, the hit "Deeper and Deeper," revels in romantic surrender. But LGBTQ people interpret it more specifically about embracing same-sex attraction. "This feeling inside, I can't explain/But my love is alive, and I'm never gonna hide it again," Madonna belts in the concluding verse, hitting that declaration harder than anything in her catalog. Set in a pansexual nightclub much like Danceteria, its video pays tribute to Andy Warhol, here represented by actor Udo Kier – a Warhol graduate who also plays Sex's dungeon master. But it also tips a hat to Madonna's late mentor Christopher Flynn, who introduced the straight-A student and cheerleader to the gay discos of Detroit.

"I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't fit in anywhere," she told director Gus Van Zant in Interview in 2010. "But when he took me to that club, he brought me to a place where I finally felt at home."

Her elegiac "In This Life" offers gratitude to Flynn and her late roommate Martin Burgoyne while addressing AIDS head-on. "He was only 23/Gone before he had his time," she sings of Burgoyne; "He was like a father to me ... taught me to respect myself," she croons about Flynn. Like "This Used to Be My Playground," the similarly mournful League of Their Own chart-topper released four months before Erotica but written and recorded midway through the album, this lament reveals the wounded child concealed behind her workaholism. Her fragility makes the singing stronger.

This sincerity spills into "Rain," the sunny single that revived sales eight months after the album's release, and the final track, "Secret Garden." Madonna ponders her feminine essence as a hidden paradise of pleasure, a Garden of Eden, and she reveals insecurities ordinarily concealed, hoping they'll blossom into self-knowledge. "I wonder if I'll ever know/where my place is, where my face is/I know it's in here somewhere," she whispers over a thrusting bass line, a gyrating breakbeat and breezy jazz piano that wanders with her thoughts. When she does sing on the chorus, she's not the ballsy belter of her hits, but an aching, affectation-free spirit waiting for "a place that I can be born," as if the true Madonna hadn't yet arrived.

A quarter century after Sex and Erotica, the era's lingering image of the superstar is the shot of her fully naked – tresses teased and face painted like a Fifties starlet, a cigarette in her lips, and her feet in stilettos – thumbing a ride on a bucolic Florida street. Her nude femininity is perfectly sculpted, yet she exudes the assurance of a suited male bureaucrat. It's the book's most transgressive image, for it presents a woman self-objectifying, calling the shots instead of following them, sharing her amorous dreams with the pluck usually reserved for straight white men. There's no submissiveness; instead, its carnal opposite, flaunted while politicians and religious leaders preached abstinence as the only civilized response to a virus spreading throughout the world and claiming millions of lives. Instead, Madonna cast herself as Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Bunny.

This defiance flipped out men and women alike.

"I divide my career from before and after the Sex book," she told Spin four years later. "Sex was my fantasy, and I made money off of it. That is a no-no."

Her bravado lingered through Body of Evidence, a BDSM-charged thriller, and the Maverick-produced, straight-to-video drama Dangerous Game. Both were widely panned, as well as her 1994 Late Show appearance in which she asked David Letterman to smell her panties, smoked a cigar and said, "****" 14 times. In between, she staged her Erotica-centric Girlie Show World Tour, which furthered Blond Ambition's fearless exuberance, but only played three U.S. cities.

Madonna's sound and image then softened substantially with Evita, motherhood and wistful serenades like "Take a Bow" (her longest-running U.S. Number One) before she regained her audacity via 1998's soul-searching Ray of Light and 2000's experimental Music. And although some of her subsequent output has followed trends rather than setting them, she still puts on a rarely rivaled live show by foregrounding her body as the primary site of her art. That was daring in her Erotica/Sex period. Doing that today, as a 59-year-old woman, makes Madonna even more radical. Watch her fiery acceptance speech last December at Billboard's Women in Music shindig if you think she's lost her edge.

"I was called a ***** and a witch," she recalled of that epoch. "One headline compared me to Satan. I said, 'Wait a minute, isn't Prince running around with fishnets and high heels and lipstick with his butt hanging out?' Yes, he was. But he was a man. This was the first time I truly understood women do not have the same freedom as men. ...I [felt] like the most hated woman in the world."

Today, Erotica's melancholy desire is all over the boldest substantial pop from Lana Del Rey and Father John Misty to Frank Ocean and Beyoncé, and its dirty house grooves animate chart divas from Katy Perry on "Swish Swish" to underground rappers such as Zebra Katz on "Ima Read." Let's not forget that Grace Jones and Debbie Harry made Madonna possible. But there's an even more direct line between Madonna's unrepentant and emphatically female sensuality – particularly in this incendiary phase – and what followed from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Tove Lo and now Cardi B. Without Madonna, modern pop as we know it would be unimaginable. Meanwhile, Sex's provocations have permeated advertising, which was hardly the point. (Meisel's wood-paneled 1995 campaign for Calvin Klein evoked teen porn so brazenly that the Justice Department got involved and CK pulled the ads.)

However, popular music and art are no longer thoroughly defined by a straight white masculine perspective. Nearly everything is more sexualized, and that's not entirely positive, but alpha male artists and submissive female subjects don't dominate as much as they've done for centuries. We've finally hit a tipping point when popular culture is offering more viewpoints and voices: That's why there's a rise in fascism to suppress them. Sex and Erotica's greatest contribution remains their embrace of the Other, which in this case means queerness, blackness, third-wave feminism, exhibitionism and kink. Madonna took what was marginalized at the worst of the AIDS epidemic, placed it in an emancipated context, and shoved it into the mainstream for all to see and hear.

[Nancy.]

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[Nancy.]

From Billboard:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8006663/madonna-erotica-album-sex-book-oral-history?utm_source=twitter&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

Madonna's 'Erotica' Turns 25: An Oral History of the Most Controversial '90s Pop Album

"Twenty-five years ago, Madonna changed. Sure, Madonna was always changing, but with the release of Erotica on Oct. 20, 1992, she fully shed her ebullient '80s pop skin, donned a leather cat mask, and kicked open a rusty back alley door that previous chart-toppers only dared to scratch at.

You didn't need to pick up a copy of her celebrity nude-filled coffee table book, Sex, to realize it. You didn't even need to see Madonna Veronica Louise Ciccone, whip in hand, mugging for the camera in the video for the title track. All you needed to do was press play on the album and let the impossibly thick, libidinous bass line of "Erotica" start vibrating throughout your body. Forty seconds in, the sampled horns of Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" flare up, but instead of sounding reassuring and familiar, they seem disembodied and eerie. Then, Madonna's latest alter ego addresses you, low and firm: "My name is Dita / I'll be your mistress tonight."

If her earlier work was an invitation to celebrate sexuality without shame, Erotica was a challenge from Dita Parlo – Madonna's unashamed, unflinching dominatrix persona – to witness and perhaps even indulge in society's sexual taboos. Madonna may have addressed the male gaze before, but on Erotica, she wasn't just staring back – she was making the world her sub.

Erotica occupies a watershed place in the pop pantheon, setting the blueprint for singers to get raw while eschewing exploitation for decades to come. For its 25th anniversary, Billboard spoke to the players involved in Madonna's most creatively daring release. Here's what producer-writer Andre Betts, backup singer Donna De Lory, producer-writer Shep Pettibone, producer-writer Tony Shimkin and Living Colour bassist Doug Wimbish recall of the writing and recording of Erotica, the insane release party for the LP and book, and the collective societal pearl-clutching that followed.

The seeds of Erotica trace back to 1990's The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs: "Rescue Me" from Shep Pettibone and his assistant Tony Shimkin, and "Justify My Love" from Andre Betts and Lenny Kravitz. The gospel-house of the former hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the hip-hop-inflected latter – which scandalized the world with its leather-clad, ambisexual music video -- reached No. 1. For Erotica, Madonna reteamed with Pettibone and Shimkin for 10 tracks, and Betts for four.

Tony Shimkin: After doing The Immaculate Collection and "Rescue Me," she let us know she was working on a new album and wanted us to be involved in the writing. Seeing I was a musician and writer and Shep [Pettibone] was more of a DJ and remixer, we collaborated on the writing of the tracks for the Erotica album. We went up to meet with her in Chicago, post-"Vogue," when she was filming A League of Their Own. So we met with her and started to get to work on some music, and sent it to her as we were working our way through it. She would come into New York and have a book full of lyrics and melody ideas and we started working together in Shep's home studio. I believe the first time she was in New York for an extended period, we were working on "Deeper and Deeper" and "Erotica" and "Bye Bye Baby." She's very driven. There's was never a period of feeling it out -- it was diving in headfirst.

Doug Wimbish: I remember Madonna when she used to go to the Roxy before she got really put on. I'd see her at the Roxy when Afrika Bambaataa was down there or [Grandmaster] Flash, and she was down there jamming out. And not just being a spectator, but being engaged in the scene. Madonna's association with the dance music and the gay scene and the hip-hop scene merging in the downtown clubs in New York City, and her coming from Michigan, she got it.... And she knew Dre had something special. A song like "Where Life Begins" is right up his alley. She had a relationship with Dre for his rawness and realness. You gotta be around someone in this business who tells you, "No, I'm not digging that, that's why." And also keep the window open to listen. I think that's what Dre did.

Andre Betts: "Where Life Begins" was the first song we wrote on Erotica. I started working on the track and she started writing lyrics. She called me a few weeks before and asked me over the phone, "I'll be in New York in two weeks, do you want to work?" I'm like, "Yeah of course." She's like, "Find a studio, I don't want to work in a popular studio, I want to be low-key." [The studio I picked] was a hole in the wall for real. She came in, started writing, she's like, "What do you think about this direction and these lyrics?" I was like, "That sounds like something I'd write." Our session got interrupted because a big rat ran across the floor. I'm the only one that got the feet up so at first I didn't think she saw it, and she goes, "Dre, stop being a bitch, it's just a rat." [Laughs] She said, "I'm from Detroit, I'm not worried about a rat."

Shimkin: She really holds fast to a general rule, which is that she's in charge of lyrics and melody, and you're in charge of music. While she has her say in the music end, it's more about the arrangement and how it works with her vocal. She'll still be open to ideas you have about a vocal. One is her dominion, the other is yours, and they don't meet that often, but it's not unheard of to be able to comment either way.

Donna De Lory: She would completely just hear it in her head. Especially when we're doing vocals. Sometimes [backup singer] Niki [Haris] and I would be like, "How 'bout this? How 'bout that?" And she was like, "Nope, this is how it's going to be." And it ended up being great. She was open to other ideas, but I really respected that.

Wimbish: [My first day in the studio], she rolls up and she's got a box with these Playboy magazines from like the '60s. She comes in, Dre sees her and she's chilling, Dre's like, "Yo what's up Mo how you doing?" They start having a conversation. Dre says, "What do you got here in this box." Before she can say anything Dre takes one of the magazines and opens to the center section, is like, "Damn these old babes had some titties back then!" Dre's real straight up and down with her. She's Madonna, she's got that alpha female vibe -- and no disrespect. I'm like "yo, let me see that." She's like, "No, no, I don't want you to see anything 'til you play some bass." Our relationship was broken in based on Dre, that moment and Playboy magazines. Dre's looking at the centerfold, Madonna's doing her Madonna thing, saying, "no, no," and I'm like, "I'm not doing anything until I see some titties and ass."

Shimkin: I was 21, 22 years old at the time. While I'd worked on a lot of major artists' records and spoken to some of them, it can be intimidating at first. When we worked on "Vogue" I didn't speak to her that much, but when we started working in [Shep's] house [on Erotica] and you're there every day, you realize somebody is just who they are. One time, she was asking me if I was done on the computer. She asked me a few minutes later and I was like "not yet," and I started getting more nervous. The next time she asked me, I lost it and I thought it was the end of my career, I said, "I'm not done yet, make some ****ing popcorn and I'll let you know when I'm ready." And she was like, "Ah-k." I think she appreciated someone not being a sycophant and kissing her ass, and just being real. It became much easier as time went on. I think she enjoys having people around her who allow themselves to be themselves. She's really no different than what she puts out there to the public in a movie like Truth or Dare. There's not a persona and she doesn't hide who she is.

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The first single and title track, "Erotica," set the tone for her album and the Sex book (a Middle Eastern-flavored version entitled "Erotic" was included on a CD with copies of Sex). But unlike many of the other tracks on Erotica, "Erotica" underwent numerous radical changes during the album sessions.

Shep Pettibone: "Erotica" was four different songs throughout the process. She loved the groove. She would sing it one way, background vocals harmonies and all, then decide to erase everything and start over again. Every version was very good. Shame she made me erase stuff.

Shimkin: The original version of "Erotica" wasn't as slinky and sexy and grimy and dirty sounding until we were in the mixing process of the record, [which was] more toward the final stages. It was experimentation. When we realized it was going to be the first single and started working on the remix, it took on a different, darker vibe. That's when the character emerged, this Dita, when she ad-libbed the speaking parts. Then the character became something that took over.

Pettibone: At one point this was a finely tuned album. She scrapped that and wanted it dirty, murky and not polished.

De Lory: She was more grown up; she was more mature. She had her statements to make and you were there supporting her.

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If "Erotica" was a bold sonic departure for Madonna, the second single, "Deeper and Deeper," found her in more familiar disco and house territory – it even featured a lyrical shout-out to her No. 1 hit "Vogue," which "Deeper and Deeper" producers Pettibone and Shimkin also worked on.

Shimkin: The music [for "Deeper and Deeper"] was fairly complete when we handed it to her, with the exception of the middle break bridge section, which took on this Spanish flamenco feel. It had the disco-y feel, the chorus and the melody was all intact, but when we were in the studio transferring the demo elements and adding new elements and getting ready for the mix, I was sitting on the couch in the control room with a guitar and started futzing around with the guitar line in the flamenco guitar section. And she was like, "Yeah, let's do that." Then Shep came up with the idea, "If we're going to go for it, let's go for it – let's add castanets and really take it there." It was an odd thing -- it's not what you normally think of doing in a disco song or club song. But it was a creative process and a lot of fun. [Ed. note: Originally, "Deeper and Deeper" was Shimkin's only credited co-write on the album; he's since been officially credited as co-writer on six other tracks.]

De Lory: All the records with her, you'd show up at the session and you just couldn't wait to hear what she was doing now. By then I'd gotten to know the fans really well, and I thought "the fans are going to love this," especially when we did "Deeper and Deeper." Niki and I loved those songs because we wanted to belt it out. We had so much fun. I remember the brilliance of her vocal arrangements, how she'd wait 'til the end to bring something new in, and you don't want it to fade out, but it is fading.

Shimkin: We were in the process of adding background vocals [to "Deeper and Deeper"]. Most of the vocals came from a Shure SM57 and a quarter inch tape from the demo session, but we did recut some of the vocals. And Shep, while recording, was singing the "Vogue" line over "Deeper and Deeper." She heard it and emulated it, and it just made it. It's happenstance when the melody and key of an original song meld with another one. I think Shep may have suggested [keeping the "Vogue" reference] as a joke and she did it, and we decided to keep it.

Pettibone: Yes [that's what happened].

For as dark as Erotica is, there's actually quite a bit of humor on it, from the cheeky "Vogue" shout-out to the ridiculously boastful "Did You Do It," a rap freestyle set to the music of another album track, "Waiting." It wasn't originally intended for the commercial LP, but it's the reason there are two different official versions of the album.

Betts: What happened with "Did You Do It" was, we used to snap on each other and make jokes. Madonna and I used to talk a lot of **** to each other – a lot. The guys used to always ask me, "the way you guys talk to each other, I know you guys are doing something." They would ask me, "did you do it? Did you have sex with her?" I'm like, "helllllll no." And they're like, "you're lying, you're lying." One day she had to go somewhere, and I'm almost finished with this record, I'm mixing "Waiting." While she was gone, I was just like, "what are we gonna do now?" Everybody's laughing because it's the song "Waiting" and we're waiting for her. And I said, "give me a mic, I'm going to freestyle something." And as a joke, I told them, "guys I need you to sing this part, yell, 'did you do it,' and I'll do the rest." So when she came back she was expecting to hear "Waiting," but I didn't know she was going to come back with the guys from the [Sex] book. So she comes back with four guys in suits, and the song is cued up, ready to play. So I told my engineer, "play," and he goes "uh, no man, this is not the time." And Madonna goes, "stop being a bitch, play the freaking song." He wouldn't do it, so I hit play and sat back down. I'm thinking, "man I don't know how this is going to go down, but it doesn't matter, I'm already paid and this is the last week." So this is going to be one of the worst jokes of all. When I hit play, man, she leaned over behind me and she literally had tears in her eyes and goes, "You are ****ing crazy." Not long after that I was with Doug [Wimbish] in Massachusetts working on Living Colour's Stain album, she calls me and says, "Dre, I'm using that song on the album." I said "what? Hell no, I'm not a rapper, I didn't even write those lyrics, I just freestyled them," and she's like "I don't care, I think it's brilliant, I love it." Freddy DeMann [her manager] gets on and says, "What if we gave you 75/25?" And I said, "****, put that on the record. I don't care what I sound like now." [Laughs] That's really what happened.

Wimbish: Dre helped pave the road to making her explicit.

Betts: Then she called me back to blame my ass: "You know you're the reason I have to have an explicit sticker on my album." I was like, "okay, how you gonna blame me? You decided to put it on." I was like, "You guys want to go through all the trouble for this song to put two different records out?" Because Kmart wouldn't sell records with explicit stickers on them -- they wouldn't even put them in the store.

Erotica wasn't all libido and leather, though. The reflective, regretful "Bad Girl" is one of her most affecting lyrics, and "In This Life" is Madge at her most existential. Meanwhile, songs like "Bye Bye Baby" and "Why's It So Hard" find her experimenting with filtered vocals and reggae, respectively, and on her cover of Peggy Lee's "Fever," she marries chilly club music to a torch song of yesteryear. Taken together, the album shows Madonna's growing willingness to expand her horizons in terms of subject matter and studio techniques.

Shimkin: "Why's It So Hard" is really funny, because it was midpoint writing the record, and we were all a little burnt out. Everybody went on vacation, and Shep happened to go to Jamaica and I happened to go scuba diving in the Cayman Islands, and both places are heavily reggae-based culture. That's what we came back having listened to, so we decided out of nowhere to do a reggae track. And then my vocals appeared on it. Going to see the Girlie Show live and see my vocals lip synced and coming over the loudspeakers at Madison Square Garden was surreal for me.

De Lory: The song "In This Life" was very serious. It was just nice to go into the studio and share our own voices on that, which we could all relate to with what was going on, losing friends to AIDS.

Shimkin: "In This Life" had a really deep personal attachment to her, and [it has an] uncluttered nature to allow her vulnerability to come through. Obviously ["Bad Girl" was] a highly personal lyric. There's a raw element and simplicity that lends itself to a vulnerable vocal and lyric that she puts through. You really hear the emotion in her voice.

Pettibone: [I] never thought about [whether "Bad Girl" was autobiographical]. It was just a good song that I'm sure many people can relate to.

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Shimkin: "Bye Bye Baby" was committed to tape with the filtered vocal – it wasn't an afterthought, it was how she heard herself when doing the song. We went to tape with that effect, there was no removing that. Sometimes you apply treatments like that in the mix, but that was committed to tape. There were no restrictions. Everything was tried that was wanted to be tried.

De Lory: When I heard "Bye Bye Baby" and that vocal effect, it had a lot of attitude. There's a bit of girl power in there and that attitude to be able to say that to a guy. You can hear how ahead of its time it was.

Shimkin: We had a song called "Goodbye to Innocence" but that turned into a cover of Peggy Lee's "Fever"; it was something that evolved with the project. There was a song called "Shame" and "You Are the One" [from the sessions that didn't make the album]. I think "You Are the One" fell into what "Thief of Hearts" was feel-wise, and "Shame" probably could have made the record, but it had a happier vibe, it was a little more playful, so I see why it didn't. But they're sitting there in the vaults somewhere. Maybe one day the Basement Tapes will be dug up. Some of it can be found online. People, I think, went into Library of Congress, played demo tapes and somehow copied them. Madonna has such a rabid fan base, they're so interested in knowing everything she does.

De Lory: Niki and I recently did a cover of "Rain," we both love that song and love singing it live [the two still record and perform together]. When I listen to those records I'm so proud of her for being so innovative and being fearless, and to be part of that was incredible. To be on a recording that will be around for as long as forever will be for us humans, I'm so proud. Niki and I were really taken care of, we were paid well and respected and had a great time with Tony and Shep, and I think that comes across on the records.

While Madonna's turn toward transgression wasn't apparent to everyone during the sessions, her collaborators eventually realized the through-line that connected Erotica, her Sex book and the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. At the very least, they were certainly aware of the controversy that engulfed the album upon its release.

Wimbish: She knew how to deliver with shock and awe. The industry had a flow, she got it, and I'm not brownnosing her.

Shimkin: I'm 99.9 percent certain she had this [overarching theme] envisioned ahead of time. It wasn't as obvious to us before when we were doing songs like "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby" and "Why's It So Hard," but as it slowly came together, it became more obvious as we saw things alongside it. The Sex book, that was being worked on, and she was shooting the [Body of Evdience] movie with Willem Dafoe.

Pettibone: She kept the book very secret from me. It probably would have been a bigger album without all the controversy. But, after 25 years it still sounds good. Better than her newer albums actually. Whatever the matter, I'm still proud of it.
Cover of Madonna's 1994 album "Bedtime Stories."
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Wimbish: There's all this controversy going on. Here's the deal. From "Borderline" going on, she's a teenage pop idol. And now all the sudden them titties is out. Middle America and everybody else giving their daughters that $10 to buy that record are like, "hey, wait a minute…" Having a record come out with explicit can take sales away from a label. It's all bull****. People start freaking out and people are starting to cockblock. It's a business we're in. Anybody sees a possibility to shut stuff down, and it starts in the industry itself. But you wouldn't have some of the lanes that are there now without her putting that record out. Fact.

For the book/album release party, Madonna doubled down on the BDSM imagery and threw an infamous party at Industria Superstudio that (to paraphrase Morrissey) would have made Caligula blush.

Betts: Walking in, just showing up out front, is Hulk Hogan standing there trying to get in. He eventually got in. I walk up with my dreads and about three four people, they look at me walk in, I look back at Hulk Hogan like "****…he could probably whoop my ass." I'm thinking this will be regular party, whatever. The first thing I saw was a naked person suspended in the air on chains, and I say to myself, "oh ****, this will be one hell of a party."

Wimbish: That record launch party she had, oh my God, that was one of the best record release parties ever. By the time I got there it was way past full effect. She had folks behind glass, strippers, and she was like, "this is the way it's supposed to be done." This is no kissing and cuddling – I want to scare you. All y'all know what you're really doing behind closed doors, so let's get it on.

Betts: When I saw the sushi come by with two tits on the tray and the sushi surrounding the tits, I was like, "oh man." Then I saw this big tub of popcorn but the popcorn was moving because this naked woman was underneath the popcorn. I was like, "this is getting crazy now." My friend goes "what's all those doors over there?" So he looks in the first one and goes "oh **** Dre come here," and there's a girl playing with herself. And I go "wow, okay." So then he moves to the second one, there's a couple in there having sex. And he goes to the third one, and it's two guys. And he freaked the freak out, he's like, "oh ****! I've never seen that before." And there was two doors left and he goes "hell no, I don't know what I might see in those doors." The whole point of the party is you didn't know what you're going to see.

Wimbish: The record was one thing, but that party, in my opinion, changed the game.

Betts: She herself didn't do anything crazy that night. She was like, "I've had enough, I want to chill."

Erotica netted four top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including two top 10s ("Erotica" went to No. 3; "Deeper and Deeper" rose to No. 7), and hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It's sold 1.9 million copies to date, according to Nielsen. Even so, the album received mixed reviews, especially compared to the raves she got for Like A Prayer three years earlier. But Erotica has quietly grown in stature over the past quarter century, with critics and artists frequently citing it as a pivotal release in pop and one of her finest efforts. Perhaps the best postscript for Erotica comes from Madonna herself in this 1992 interview with MTV's Steve Blame: "A lot of the things I deal with in my music and the book are, in particular, with the repression that's going on in America right now.…There's a lot of really narrow-minded people. If I can change the way 1/100th of them thinks, then I've accomplished something."

[Nancy.]

Madonna’s erotica by the people who helped create it

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Exactly 25 years ago today, Madonna dropped her fifth album, Erotica. A day later, she released Sex, a glossy coffee table book featuring highly stylised photographs of Madonna and collaborators including Naomi Campbell and Vanilla Ice depicting everything from S&M to gay sex to rimming. It caused one of Madonna's career-defining controversies, and sold 150,000 copies in 24 hours.

The album was pretty explicit, too. "If I take you from behind / push myself into your mind / when you least expect it / will you try to reject it?" Madonna purrs on the title track as she introduces Dita, her dominatrix alter ego. A few songs later, on Where Life Begins, she issues an ultimatum to any sexual partner who's reluctant to go down on her: "It's not fair to be selfish or stingy -- every girl should experience eating out."

The collective impact of Erotica, the Sex book and Body of Evidence -- a dodgy erotic thriller starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe which opened the following January -- provoked a backlash. Some people, some prurient and conservative people, felt she'd finally gone too far. "People bash Madonna because she triggers them to think outside of the box. She's not a conventional person", says Carlton Wilborn, who danced with Madonna on her Blond Ambition and Girlie Show world tours. "The way she comes at life, and the way she comes at being female, it's challenging for a lot of people. She pushes people to look at their understanding of things in a new way, and the default for most people is to judge that before they become open to it, and realise it can help them grow." By most artists' standards, Erotica wasn't a flop, but it was easily Madonna's least successful album to date.

Yet among fans, it's grown in stature in recent years. Erotica isn't a flawless album, but it is a fascinating one filled with provocative and inspiring imagery and ideas. This week, drag queen Margo Marshall put on an Erotica tribute night at one of London's best queer venues, The Glory. "I had to do something because this era of Madonna is so iconic", 23-year-old Margo says. "I was 15 when I first saw the Sex book and heard this album, and I just thought it was incredible that she was displaying so much power. She was taking ownership of her sexuality and saying: "You think that's too sexual -- well look at this then!"

Back in 1992, Madonna's message was somewhat lost: this album isn't just about sex. Deeper and Deeper celebrates coming out, Bye Bye Baby is a fabulously blunt break-up song, In This Life pays tribute to Madonna's friends and collaborators taken by AIDS. "We all knew how much AIDS had affected Madonna because we all knew how much the gay community helped to shape her", recalls writer and pop cultural commentator Paul Flynn. "That song is the backbone of the record. It gives the album a purpose and resonance beyond this simply being Madonna's sex record next to her Sex book. And the fact she made Erotica and the Sex book at this time is important. Because of AIDS, sex was the news -- it was the news in people's lives. When AIDS happened, people lost control of this thing that's supposed to be so life-giving and enjoyable."

To celebrate the album's 25th birthday, i-D reached out to the people who helped Madonna to make it: her co-producers Shep Pettibone and André Betts, co-writer Tony Shimkin, and longtime backing singer Donna De Lory. This is the story of Erotica in their words.

Tony Shimkin [co-writer]: Shep and I would work on tracks and send them to her. She'd get her ideas together, then we'd all work on the tracks together in the studio in New York. We'd lay down vocals and melodies and develop the tracks further. Madonna always had a running book of lyric and melody ideas she was looking to incorporate into her music, so all she really needed was the inspiration of a track to spark that. At this particular time she was working on the Sex book, and I believe she always had a vision for this album. She's highly creative and determined and knows exactly what she wants to do. I don't think she ever goes haphazardly into the studio and just sees what happens.

Erotica
Shep Pettibone [co-producer]: Raw was the goal with this track. Erotica was very "musical" at one point. It went through many adaptations until it got to the final album version. The Kool and the Gang sample gave it the dark, mysterious vibe. Being a DJ first with DJ ears, I heard [their track] Jungle Boogie in my head over the song. I went and found the album in my library, rode it over the existing Erotica track and it worked!
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Fever:
Madonna was in the studio putting down tracks for the album and had just recorded a song called "Goodbye to Innocence". She was going through the final stages of production on the song and suddenly started singing the lyrics to "Fever" over "Goodbye to Innocence". Madonna liked the way it sounded so much that she recorded it. "Goodbye to Innocence" was never released on a Madonna album
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Bye Bye Baby
Shep Pettibone: There was a lot of experimentation going on -- Madonna wanted her voice to not sound natural, and the filter thing was just what she was looking for.

Tony Shimkin: Oh, this was fun! We had this really raw track and we'd rented some equipment to play around with. It wasn't like Madonna finished her vocal and then we said, 'Let's put this filter on it so it sounds like a telephone conversation'. We put the filter on this vocal as she was recording it, so we committed that effect to tape and there was no turning back. Everything kind of built off of that -- the effect inspired Madonna's performance because she heard her voice as she was recording it. I guess this song is the equivalent of breaking up with someone by text today!
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Deeper and Deeper
Tony Shimkin: I think this song was a big nod to her beginnings as an artist. The disco feel is her going back to her Danceteria and Jellybean days. Other songs on the album are more sultry and emotional, whereas this is a real party anthem.

Donna De Lory [backing singer]: Niki [Haris] and I were flown to New York to work on Madonna's record. We'd sung with her before so it was just a really comfortable relationship. And oh my God, this song! All Niki and I wanted to do was sing "SWEETER AND SWEETER AND SWEETER." Madonna was just like, "Belt it out!" So we did, and it was so much fun!

Tony Shimkin: When you have Madonna's enthusiasm for something, her determination even, she's not really someone you can say no to! You kind of have to go all in on it, so I think Shep did then embrace the idea. He was like, "If we're gonna do it, let's really do it." And then the castanets came into play.

Where Life Begins
André Betts: This is the first song Madonna and I wrote [for the album]. I think you know what it's about, right? She explains it in the very beginning when she says: "Dining out can happen down below." I wasn't surprised that she was being so explicit -- I'm not gonna lie, I was happy about it. I looked at it like this: "She's Madonna, she can say whatever she wants." And I got the album concept from the very beginning. One time she brought in all these old Playboys just to look through for ideas. I was like, "Oh man, she's crazy but I love it."

Bad Girl
Tony Shimkin: On this album, both Bad Girl and In This Life were highly emotional songs for Madonna. But I didn't really realise how emotional Bad Girl was for her until we were done with the record. When you see her videos, you get an even deeper meaning and a deeper feel for what she put into the song. It's one of those songs, like Oh Father or Papa Don't Preach, where she really calls on her own emotions and experiences. She's never afraid to expose herself emotionally.

Waiting
André Betts: For this track I actually sampled stuff from Justify My Love. I'd worked on that track too so I had the masters. The "waiting" part is actually Madonna's vocals from Justify My Love. That was an easy sell to Madonna: when you play her something with her own vocal already on it, she's gonna respond to it. You know, we had a lot of fun. It wasn't a stiff working environment at all. I'll never forget she was wearing this floor-length fur coat and she sat down to start writing and this rat ran by! She just looked at me and said: "What's wrong with you? Dré, don't tell me you're scared of that rat. I'm from Detroit - I can handle a rat."

Rain
Shep Pettibone: I came up with the song the night before she was coming in [to the studio]. It was a Sunday, it was raining - ha! - and she wrote the words, and sang the song and harmonies all in that day. Rain came together very quickly. She also sang the lead to This Used To Be My Playground the same day.
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Why's It So Hard
Donna De Lory: "I really liked recording this song because it just has such a universal message. It's all about peace and love.
Tony Shimkin: During a break from recording, we all went on vacation. I went to the Cayman Islands and Shep went to Jamaica, so we both heard a lot of reggae. So when we came back, inspired by that, we kind of put together this track for Why's It So Hard. One day after Madonna had left the studio, I started playing around with some background vocal ideas, not really expecting her to hear them. But the next day she came in without me noticing and said, What's that? I played it for her and she said: "I like it, let's record it." I'm not a singer by any means, but those kind of ethereal backing vocals I can do, and they wound up on the record. It was a fun song to work on because it was such a departure from the rest of the album, but at the same time, it fits.

In This Life
Shep Pettibone: Actually it was my idea to write a song for her friend Martin [Burgoyne, a Studio 54 bartender who died from AIDS]. I had come up with some chords before she came over that day, and when shewalked in, she said: "That's beautiful, but I don't know if it would work with my album." But she quickly came up with the words in about 15 minutes and that became In This Life.

Donna De Lory: I had also lost a really great friend to AIDS. I think nowadays, people don't really have a grip on what was going on at that time. And there was so much we didn't talk about. But here she was, talking about it. It's such a sad and beautiful song. Recording it, you know, it was sombre. She didn't really have to explain what the song was about; we just knew.

Did You Do It?
André Betts: One day Madonna went off for dinner with the Sex book guys. She and I had this playful way of talking, so some of the guys in the studio were asking if Madonna and me had done it -- you know, had sex. I just started freestyling: I recorded one of the guys saying, "Did you do it?" and then me saying, "You know I did it." Even though I didn't! When she came back from dinner with the guys in suits, she was like, "I want them to hear Waiting." But instead I played her Did You Do It? as a joke -- because it starts out sounding exactly the same as Waiting. When she heard what I'd done, she laughed so hard she got tears in her eyes. A few days later, she called me and said she wanted the song on the album. I was like, "No no no, Madonna, I'm not a rapper, I was just freestyling." She put her manager on the phone and he explained that I was gonna get a very generous cut of the publishing. So I was like, OK, the song's on the record! And because of Did You Do It?, the album got an explicit content sticker. Who else would do something like that?

Secret Garden
Secret Garden is described as Erotica's most personal song. In addition, "Secret Garden" is dedicated to the singer's intimate parts, "the secret place where she could enjoy herself." It features a jazz-house beat and was the B-side to "I'll Remember from the movie, "With Honors".

[Nancy.]

liUBb8K6eG4

mOdLtKVm6hU

ikoVP-cqLlc

VZ667-tZZhQ

[Nancy.]

http://madonnamania.homestead.com/Sex/IMG_1728_op_656x492.jpg

http://madonnamania.homestead.com/Sex/IMG_1729_op_656x492.jpg

http://madonnamania.homestead.com/Sex/IMG_1734_op_656x492.jpg

[Nancy.]

Madonna is also celebrating it's 25th Anniversary...

https://image.ibb.co/g2uqfm/Capture.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/bzuj6R/Captlre.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/j65D0m/Caplure.jpg

[Nicky91]

ooh wow 25th anniversary of Erotica :flutter:

[Nancy.]

ooh wow 25th anniversary of Erotica :flutter:

Yep, the single came out on Septembler the 29th, but the album is now 25 years old. Still can't believe it.

[LucyPinder'sLover]

Does Anyone Know if she is doing tours in the uk i would love to see her live i love her music she is a great singer

[Nancy.]

Love this shot of her.

https://image.ibb.co/ms3HbR/B3_HW7gx_CMAAyy6_J_jpg_large.jpg

[Nancy.]

Does Anyone Know if she is doing tours in the uk i would love to see her live i love her music she is a great singer

:wavey:

She was last here in December of 2015 for the Rebel Heart tour.
She's already started making plans to record her next album, so the tour will shortly follow.

[Nancy.]

Vintage album review:

http://logodatabases.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/The-Independent-Logo-500x131.gif

Wednesday 14 October 1992
REVIEW / Stripped down to basics: Giles Smith takes a peek at Erotica, Madonna's new album

"FIRST of all, Erotica is not the accompanying soundtrack for Sex, Madonna's book of saucy snaps. (Heaven knows what the soundtrack for Sex would sound like, but it's unlikely you could fit it on a single CD.) It doesn't come, as the book will, in some sort of thrilling, heat-sealed spacesuit, calculated to deny browsers while cajoling their curiosity. Nevertheless, it's still something of a rude shock to have it in your hands. It's sometimes hard to remember this, what with all the skin shots, the movie roles, the paparazzi mayhem, all the exposure: but, just occasionally, Madonna makes a record.

This is virtually the sole remaining area of Madonna's life which she hasn't regularly and graphically opened up about; so, weirdly, if you want to have a prurient interest in Madonna, her music is about the only one left. How does she do it in the studio? What does she get up to in there? Interestingly, in In Bed With Madonna, the star's show-it-and-be-damned film documentary, the cameras followed her everywhere - except into a recording studio. Meanwhile, Madonna now sits elsewhere, electing to dwell exclusively in the celebrity ether into which her records have launched her, barely referring to them, otherwise occupied.

Which wouldn't matter, if Erotica wasn't up to much. In fact, it reveals that, unlike Jackson and Prince and Springsteen and the rest of her established, major league competition, Madonna's albums are still getting better each time. (This thesis involves stepping quietly round 1990's I'm Breathless, but that was Madonna in her film role as Dick Tracy's moll and can be lightly ditched.)

Still, the hype around Sex is gigantic: for the first time in publishing history, a book may turn out to be louder than a record. Sex has reared its ugly head, and those who don't find the album obscured may at least be tempted to twin the projects: you've read the book - now find 14 different applications for the CD.

But anyone hoping to hear Anais Nin set to a suggestive drum machine is going to be sorely disappointed. For Madonna has made a dance album and one which, for the most part, either kicks free from or makes light of the self-involvement which surrounds her in most of her other roles. 'Rain' is as close to the Madonna of Like A Prayer as this album comes, a big and solemn ballad which pleads for release as a single more openly than most of the tracks around it. (The backwards tom-toms and the rhythmic synthesiser trick, like the noise of water in a pipe, seem, incidentally, to be lifted directly from Scritti Politti's 'Perfect Way' on the Cupid and Psyche '85 album. The sleeve notes conscientiously credit Kool & the Gang for a portion sampled on the title track, but say nothing about this.)

But most of the rest is built around that widely-used, distorted drum sample which sounds like someone clubbing a large box of cereal with a stick. The slinkier numbers lope along on the back of bleary saxophones and casually tapped piano figures. Where most pop stars choose to sing about sex as if they had just invented it, Madonna gives us a cover version of 'Fever'(1956). And on the best track, 'Deeper and Deeper', synthesisers blare, a Spanish guitar and some castanets spill in from nowhere and Madonna unwinds her voice through an oddly twisting chorus melody.

Erotica is the most satisfying setting she has yet found for that voice. We're used to hearing it doubled and tripled, thickened with repetitions of itself and then pasted in a shiny layer across the top of the song. Here, you generally hear her sing unsupported - a bold idea, given that, on her earliest recordings, Madonna sounded like someone with little natural aptitude supplemented by whole tanks of ambition. You could hear the effort tugging the throat so forcefully, the voice went thin and hard. Here, isolated against the backing, it somehow takes on a spotlit, cabaret feel.

The box bears the now traditional sticker warning against (or promising, depending on your stance) 'language that some people might find offensive', though a thorough scan of the lyrics printed inside reveals this to be a false alarm. True, the track 'Waiting' comes back towards the end of the album re-styled as a rap in which Mark Goodman and Dave Murphy quiz each other about some sex in the back of a car, but they never really come close to the bone, as it were.

Then again, there's also 'Where Life Begins': the title suggests something anthemic, the sort of song Whitney Houston might sing, prior to an Olympics. In fact, this is Madonna's ode to cunnilingus - except she puts it better. 'A lot of people talk about / Dining in and eating out.' Unlike Sex, Erotica's chief weapon is innuendo - and they don't yet have to put stickers on for that."

[LucyPinder'sLover]

:wavey:

She was last here in December of 2015 for the Rebel Heart tour.
She's already started making plans to record her next album, so the tour will shortly follow.

cheers i would love to watch her live does she do her older songs aswell.

[Nancy.]

cheers i would love to watch her live does she do her older songs aswell.

:hee: She performs quite a lot of the old stuff. I've seen her loads of times and think she's amazing. These so called younger artists we have today just can't put on a show like her. She's a genius. Next time she tours you should buy yourself a ticket. You'll have a blast. :dance:

[Nancy.]

Have to laugh at the troll saying i'm shoving Madonna in people's faces when they've been ramming their favourite down people's throats on here for years - literally! :joker:

Anyway, back to the thread...

CD that came with the book.

http://www.madonnatribe.com/i_39/sex_004.jpg

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

:hee: She performs quite a lot of the old stuff. I've seen her loads of times and think she's amazing. These so called younger artists we have today just can't put on a show like her. She's a genius. Next time she tours you should buy yourself a ticket. You'll have a blast. :dance:

Have to laugh at the troll saying i'm shoving Madonna in people's faces when they've been ramming their favourite down people's throats on here for years - literally! :joker:

Anyway, back to the thread...

CD that came with the book.

http://www.madonnatribe.com/i_39/sex_004.jpg


you seem bitter </3

[Nancy.]

Here's the Chinese punching puppet from the "Erotica" video...

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/292104994938-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

https://auctionimages.s3.amazonaws.com/66229/31133/22191336.jpg

“This amazing punching puppet is modeled after the Chinese hopping ghost. These ghosts are afraid of brooms, long-grained rice, eight sided Taoist mirrors, chicken blood, death blessings that quiet or settle unstable spirit, and the sound of bells.”

"A Hopping Ghost is an undecayed corpse whose main soul, the PO, has not yet left for the other world.If it can inhabit a corpse it can move about – hop.

Ghosts hop because they are so YIN. That is, they have so little mobile energy left that they can’t even bend their knees one of the signs – in human beings – of the ability to move. When they come in contact with even more YIN they over loaded and hop around.

Being light and bodyless they can sometimes fly. They smell horribly. They are armed with long, long fingernails that can tear. They sleep in coffins or graves and fear sunlight’s strong YANG energy.

If you chance upon such a pest DON”T BREATHE. The sound of breathing allows them to detect us. Paste a Taoist warning on their bodies to stop them. But if you are serious about getting rid of them burning their coffin with them in it is the major method.

Watch out for them grabbing your neck. Definitely an unpleasant experience. Oh, by the way, this is the traditional reasons Asian bridge zigzag because ghosts hate to cross running water (like in almost every culture in the world) and twisty bridges are the toughest. Also the doorways of temple have step-overs to prevent the entrance of spirit who can’t hop that high. Now, aren’t you glad you read all this?"

----
Concerning Chinese Hopping Ghosts
Study Conducted in Taiwan by Suzanne Thomas

The Chinese honor their dead out of both respect and fear. And for good reason. An unsatisfied soul could become a ghost and make life unbearable. Whether or not the Chinese truly believe in ghosts, they occupy a large part of their imagination, and the hopping ghost (with its recent star appearances on the Hong Kong move scene) is the most popular.

Q: What is a hopping Ghost?
A: Scientifically speaking, it's an undecayed corpse whose main soul, the po, has not yet left for the other world. Now, a po on the loose in the mortal world is bad news. It turns into an evil spirit. And a po with a corpse to occupy is even worse. It becomes a hopping ghost.

Q: What makes a hopping ghost hop?
A: Many things, but mostly when a homesick corpse, not wanting to be buried in an unfamiliar village, hops home, po and all. In documented cases, the hopping corpse is often accompanied by an entourage of monks, Taoist priests, and mourners.
Yin shock makes ghosts hop, too. The yin, as opposed to the yang, is dark, mysterious, and usually out to make trouble. (Cats and the moon are characteristically yin.) Should a fresh corpse somehow come into direct contact with a yin sort of energy, then it reacts, often becoming charged with superhuman powers. And it hops.

Q: How do you know when you've chanced upon a hopping ghost?
A: It's not terribly difficult to tell. Despite the corpse's superhuman energy, rigor mortis does set in, and the joints get stiff enough that it is forced to hop stiffly. According to some reports they have resorted to flying. As for appearances, a hopping corpse usually wears Qing Dynasty burial clothes. As these went out of fashion a hundred or so years ago, the corpses stick out like a sore thumb. And they don't worry too much about personal hygiene either. One hopping ghost stunk so badly that one whiff killed a relative and knocked another out cold. Some hopping ghosts are uglier than others. Some have tounges that hang down to their chest or eyeballs that aren't too firmly attached to their sockets. But all hopping ghosts have unusually long fingernails that are their most lethal weapon (especially being on the end of stiff outstretched arms). Hopping ghosts keep best in coffins or caves. They're not much for sunbathing. In fact, the sun's first rays are enough to stop a hopping ghost dead in its tracks.

Q: What should I do if I run into a hopping ghost?
A: Don't breathe. Hopping ghosts detect humans by smelling their breath. The old clove-of-garlic-keeps-the-ghost-away trick will not work here. You could try pasting a yellow and red Chinese death blessing on its forehead. This will quiet many unsettled souls. In the event that you don't have the above handy, just whip out any eight-sided Taoist mirror, a straw broom, long-grained rice, or just a few drops of fresh chicken blood. In a few seconds the corpse will be hopping scared.

Q: Just how dangerous are hopping ghosts?
A: Well, lethal. Normally the hopping ghosts hops forward until it has gouged the victim's neck and choked him/her to death. This is not a pleasant way to go. In one other case, the hopping corpse preferred to plop down on sleeping people's heads thereby smothering an entire hotel full of guests.

Q: What can I do to get rid of pesky hopping ghosts?
A: There's only one way to do it, and that is to burn them, coffin and all.

[Nancy.]

The Immaculate Collection is at #17 on the USA album chart. Not bad for a 27 year old album...

https://image.ibb.co/kphbMR/B1_AC6256_CEEA_47_F3_8587_E05_A08194453_jpeg_617f2 6ffc2f4e7116c3c57ef26b93ae0.jpg

[Nicky91]

a4tD8dy9Reg

i call this song, the microsoft windows theme song :laugh:

[Nancy.]

a4tD8dy9Reg

i call this song, the microsoft windows theme song :laugh:

:joker:

The title track from her most critically acclaimed album.

The album won 6 out of 9 nominations at the VMA's
4 Grammy's out of 6 nominations.

Ray of Light also gave Madonna several trophies from various international award shows.

It's a masterpiece!!!

https://moveonfirenze.com/wp-content/uploads/Madonna-Ray-Of-Light.jpg?x72705

[Nancy.]

ci-jfkA6zkw

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

can we all agree this is her best song ever

qYwgG2oyUbA

[reece(:]

can we all agree this is her best song ever

qYwgG2oyUbA
Only the queen of trance!

[Nancy.]

can we all agree this is her best song ever

qYwgG2oyUbA

:dance: Love that version.

[Nancy.]

This video is fab. It shows Madonna working on her MDNA tour and puts paid to the rumour that she doesn't have any creative input in anything she does.

Watch from 3:10

h8ZGtBuUqps

[Nancy.]

According to an article in the Portuguese media, Madonna is gathering ideas for her new album. The direction is going to be African rhythms mixed with contemporary dance. Craig Kostich the head of dance music at Warner Brothers Records did some remixes for her is supposedly involved.

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fblitz.sapo.pt%2Fprincipal%2Fupdate% 2F2017-11-05-Madonna-tira-notas-durante-festa-em-Lisboa.-Novo-trabalho-a-vista-&edit-text=&act=url

[Nancy.]

Even in rehearsals, she's still fabulous!

X3DFuHLCasw

c0T956XzBSY

[Nancy.]

March 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the "Ray Of Light" album. Looking forward to celebrating this award winning stunning record.

Where have all the years gone?

http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/7fb56313e23911e2083620c75f924a22?width=1024

[reece(:]

Like A Virgin's 33 anniversary is upon us!

[Nancy.]

Like A Virgin's 33 anniversary is upon us!

Omg, my mind was so focused on Ray of Light, I forgot about it, Reece.

Anyway, Today is the day! :dance:

[Nancy.]

So today marks the 33rd anniversary of one of the biggest and most successful album's of the 80's.

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From Billboard:
Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ at 33: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review

On her self-titled 1983 debut, Madonna sang perky little tunes about going on vacation (“Holiday”) and falling in and out of love (“Lucky Star” and “Borderline”). These were ideas grandma and grandpa could get behind, and yet the 20-something Michigan native caused a minor sensation, setting the stage for a total pop-culture takeover. Clearly, music was only one of her weapons.

While Madonna offered Middle American mallrats a taste of underground NYC dance culture, what really got people talking was the singer herself. This spunky, self-assured club kid with the belly shirts and rubber bracelets liked being a topic of conversation, and with her second album, Like a Virgin, she endeavored to keep her name on everyone’s lips.

Released 33 years ago today (Nov. 12, 1984), Like a Virgin is sometimes thought of as Madonna’s artistic coming-out party, the moment she swapped frivolous bubblegum for more thoughtful examinations of female sexuality. Such praise stems mostly from what we now know about Madonna. However, for all its merits -- and it has many -- Like a Virgin isn’t exactly The Feminine Mystique set to music. In fact, it’s not all that different from its predecessor.

As with her first record, Madonna went into Like a Virgin wrestling Warner Bros. for more artistic control. After her negative experiences working with Reggie Lucas, she wanted to handle more of the production herself, and she found a winning collaborator in Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers, who’d just worked on David Bowie’s Let’s Dance.

The first single, of course, is “Like a Virgin,” Madonna’s first No. 1 pop hit. It’s here that she most explicitly tackles sexual politics and explores that whole virgin-wh * re thing so central to her image. The other is “Material Girl,” a winking gold-digger anthem that can be taken a couple of different ways. The remaining eight songs range from explosive dance tunes (Into The Groove) to filler tracks (Shoo Bee Doo), but that was all it took to propel Madonna onto the same plain as Prince, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen.
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Read on to get our track-by-track take on this ‘80s landmark, an album that had young girls everywhere rocking lace tutus and fingerless gloves and bopping along to a cultural figure who could no longer be ignored.

“Material Girl”: Like so many ‘80s pop classics, this one is inextricably linked to its video, which features a pretty-in-pink Madonna paying homage to Marilyn Monroe. It’s also more clever than most people realize. She’s either making a sarcastic statement about the decade’s rampant materialism or promoting the kind of “I got mine, bitches” feminism that’s always been her guiding light. Either way, “Material Girl” is a stylish sign-of-the-times synth-funk jam she totally owned.
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“Angel”: Madonna never made an “Angel” video, so there are no candy-colored MTV memories to taint this underrated single, which she co-wrote with ex-boyfriend Steve Bray. It plays like a straightforward dance-pop love song, but when this lapsed Catholic starts singing about angels, you know there’s some religious subtext. The laughter up front and midway through is a reminder that Madonna is no wretch incapable of saving herself. When heaven sends her an angel, it’s game respecting game.
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“Like a Virgin”: Ask a hundred people what this song is about, and you’ll get a hundred interpretations -- none as hilariously vulgar as Quentin Tarantino’s in Reservoir Dogs, but each as valid. “Like a Virgin”, sits atop a bassline like the one heard in “Billie Jean” -- another complex song about purity and sex -- Madonna is coquettish yet knowing. “Like a Virgin” is about reconnecting with lost innocence through the act of lovemaking, a counterintuitive idea that was bound to confuse people. It didn’t exactly clarify things when she wore a wedding dress and humped the floor while performing the song at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards. "Like A Virgin" received positive reviews from contemporary as well as past critics, who frequently hailed it as one of the defining songs for her. It became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching the top of the charts in Australia, Canada and Japan, and the top-ten of other countries.
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“Over and Over”: The interplay between the shiny synths and clean, jangly guitar is reminiscent of what Prince was doing at the time, though the lyrics are pure Madonna. “You try to criticize my drive / If I lose I don't feel paralyzed,” she sings, managing to inject some of her go-getter personality into even a fairly skippable filler track.

“Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”: Originally a hit for Rose Royce in 1978, this ballad breaks the run of up-tempo tracks and puts the focus on raw emotion. Never known as a powerhouse vocalist, Madonna gives the soul-diva thing her best shot, and she powers through like she always does, making the most of her voice and even affecting some growls toward the end, right before she breaks down crying.

"Into The Groove" (Only on the 1985 re-issue edition)
As the album's fourth single. Madonna wrote the track for her friend, Mark Kamins, Madonna later decided to use it as the soundtrack of her film Desperately Seeking Susan. The song was appreciated by contemporary music critics as well as authors. The song was a commercial success, reaching the top of the charts in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom, where it was Madonna's first number-one single. In the United States, the song was only available as the B-side of the 12-inch single of "Angel", therefore it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 according to the rules at the time. By the end of the 1980s, "Into the Groove" was honored by Billboard magazine as the Dance Single of the Decade.
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“Dress You Up”: Dress You Up was released on July 31, 1985 as the album's final single. The song was the last track to be added to the album. Fashion was obviously a big part of Madonna’s appeal, and here, she proves that clothing can be a good metaphor for sex. Flirtatious lyrics like “silky touch” and “velvet kisses” are are laid on thick, but Rodgers skims away the cheese with his funky guitar tangles and that melodic solo, which could have come from Purple Rain.
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“Pretender”: Even when she gets snookered, Madonna is no sucker. “I know all about your kind,” she tells the finagler that inspired this brisk synth-pop groover. Yeah, she went back to his place, let things move too fast, and set herself up for heartbreak, but there’s a sense she saw it all coming.

“Stay”: The final track on the album. The coolest part comes at 2:15, when Madonna gets into the “scoop, scoop, scoop, scoodooly be-bop” spirit and makes like a Shangri-La with some spoken-word vocals: “Don’t’ be afraid / It’s gonna be alright.” and she was most definitely right. As she became the most successful female artist in the world and still is to this very day.

After its release, Like a Virgin received mixed reviews from the critics, but was a commercial success. It became Madonna's first number one album on the Billboard 200, while reaching the top of the charts in Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond for shipment of ten million copies across the United States. Worldwide it has sold 21 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.

To promote the album, she embarked on The Virgin Tour, which had shows in cities of North America only. Like a Virgin has attained significance as a cultural artifact of the 1980s. Madonna proved that she was not a one-hit wonder and was able to provide herself with a permanent footing in the music world. Her songs became a lightning rod for both criticism by conservatives and imitation by the younger female population, especially "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin". According to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, "Every important artist has at least one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist's magic moment; for Madonna, Like a Virgin was just such a defining moment."

[Nancy.]

Sainsburys limited edition clear vinyl:

https://todayinmadonnahistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/sainsburys-4.png?w=550&h=547

http://www.1stopmadonnashop.com/ekmps/shops/1stopshop/images/like-a-virgin-cassette-album-[3]-1584-p.jpg

2001 Remastered cd edition:
http://www.1stopmadonnashop.com/ekmps/shops/1stopshop/images/like-a-virgin-remastered-japan-cd-album-wpcr-11060--4599-p.jpg

[Nicky91]

ooh nice :hee:

[Nancy.]

On Top of the Pops before she became mega rich and famous:

TRZG-YiLHmk

[Nicky91]

On Top of the Pops before she became mega rich and famous:

TRZG-YiLHmk

love the pink hair :flutter:


she looked so hot there :love:

[Nancy.]

love the pink hair :flutter:

she looked so hot there :love:

Haha, Yes, she did and she was certainly enjoying the performance. :dance:

[Nancy.]

From the Virgin tour in 1985.

vVPGa4zaapE

[Nancy.]

Another (better) performance on Solid Gold. She sure loved that pink wig...

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[Nancy.]

EXCLUSIVE: Madonna Guest of Letterman for a Netflix Special.

https://www.drownedmadonna.com/2017/11/15/exclusive-madonna-guest-letterman-netflix-special/

Netflix is going to have a special with David Letterman called “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction”. where he interviews celebrities, and Madonna is one of them.

:dance:

Looks like she'll be sharing some juicy information on her plans for the future regarding the new album and movie. Can't wait.

[Nancy.]

"Like A Virgin" becomes Madonna's most streamed album on Spotify

https://image.ibb.co/fpXz8R/Screenshot_2017_11_20_Like_A_Virgin_becomes_Madonn a_s_most_streamed_album_on_Spotify.png

[Nancy.]

The Queen performing one of the King's classics...

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[Nancy.]

1983...
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As most Madonna fans know, "Everybody" was the first single that sent her on an astonishing journey and kickstarted her career into orbit. She is now the most influential female artist in music history! This video incapsulated her youthful looks. So babyfaced and fresh. Wonderful!

So carrying on from this...

"Burning Up" is a song written and recorded for her eponymous debut studio album (1983). It was released as the album's second single on March 9, 1983, in some countries as a double-A side single with "Physical Attraction", another song from the album. The song was presented as an early recorded demo by Madonna to Sire Records who green-lighted the recording of the single after the first single "Everybody" became a dance hit. Madonna collaborated with Reggie Lucas, who produced the single while John Benitez provided the guitar riffs and backing vocals. Musically, the song incorporates instrumentation from bass guitar, synthesizers and drums, and the lyrics talk of the singer's lack of shame in declaring her passion for her lover.

Released with "Physical Attraction" on the B side, the song was given mixed reviews from contemporary critics and authors, who noted the song's darker, urgent composition while praising its dance beats. The single failed to do well commercially anywhere, except the dance chart in the United States, where it peaked at three, and the Australian charts, where it was a top 20 hit. After a number of live appearances in clubs to promote the single, it was added to the set-list of the 1985 Virgin Tour. An electric guitar version was performed on the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour and the 2015–2016 Rebel Heart Tour.

The accompanying music video of the song portrayed Madonna in the classic submissive female positions, while writhing in passion on an empty road, for her lover who appeared to come from her behind on a car. The video ended showing Madonna driving the car instead, thereby concluding that she was always in charge. Many authors noted that the "Burning Up" music video was a beginning of Madonna's depiction of her taking control of a destabilized male sexuality.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8d/Madonna_-_Burning_Up_%28single%29.png/220px-Madonna_-_Burning_Up_%28single%29.png

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Completely forgot about this, so carrying on....

Sire Records released "Holiday" as the album's third single in September 7, 1983. "Holiday" later appeared remixed on the remix compilation You Can Dance (1987) and the greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection (1990), and in its original form on the greatest hits album Celebration (2009).

Madonna worked on the track with John "Jellybean" Benitez and altered its composition by the addition of a piano solo.

"Holiday" features instrumentation from guitars, electronic handclaps, a cowbell, and a synthesized string arrangement, while its lyrics speak about the universal sentiment of taking a holiday. Universally acclaimed by critics, the song became Madonna's first mainstream hit single in the United States, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK charts. It also became her first top-ten single in several countries, including Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. "Holiday" is one of her best known singles and regarded as a classic. She's performed it on most of her tours and it is generally included as a part of the encore.

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https://img.discogs.com/HONf_9Fa47QUDqh7tImcZoSlQBE=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():qualit y(40)/discogs-images/R-7927841-1451829483-8225.jpeg.jpg

[Nancy.]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Madonna-Visits-LIVE-WITH-KELLY-AND-RYAN-128-20171201

"Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest will sit down for an exclusive interview with the "Queen of Pop" herself, MADONNA, on Friday, December 8, on LIVE WITH KELLY AND RYAN. The global superstar, who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the best-selling female recording artist of all time, will update the hosts about the latest in her life, career, philanthropy, artistry and most recent projects, including her MDNA Skin care line.

This marks Madonna's sixth interview on "Live," and her first visit to "Live with Kelly and Ryan." Her last appearance took place on January 11, 2007.

Also during the hour, Ripa and Seacrest will make festive holiday wreaths with lifestyle expert Katie Brown, and pop band 98 Degrees will perform a Christmas favorite for the "Live" audience.

About "Live with Kelly and Ryan" "Live with Kelly and Ryan" is distributed in national Syndication by Disney|ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution. The show is produced by WABC-TV in New York and executive produced by Michael Gelman, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Visit "Live" on the web (KellyandRyan.com), Facebook and Instagram (@LiveKellyandRyan), and Twitter and SnapChat (@LiveKellyRyan)."

[Nancy.]

Billboard names Madonna as the Greatest female artist of all time.

https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-women-artists

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

princess superstar exists though?

[TomC]

Billboard names Madonna as the Greatest female artist of all time.

https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-women-artists

lady gaga: 22

billboard cancelled lmao

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

katy perry above beyonce aghhdghgfg

[Nancy.]

Pictures of Madonna arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport makes Vogue Magazine:

Madonna Channels an Urban Cowgirl at the Airport:

https://www.vogue.com/article/madonna-country-western-dressing-celebrity-airport-style

[Nancy.]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcaEszAjqLm/?taken-by=nycconcertsmusic

Fabulous!!!

[Nancy.]

Album and tour in 2018!!!!!!!

She just announced on the Kelly and Ryan show.

:dance::dance::dance:

[Nancy.]

She confirms it here around 2:58...

"2018, I'm coming back baby and i'm coming for you".

cUz3hEtXPVE

:cheer2:

[Nancy.]

Madonna's Daughter, Mercy is fantastic on the piano - and she's only 11. D:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcylhwzBi7c/?taken-by=madonna

[Pete.]

I need a date to get ready for the new bops

[Nancy.]

I need a date to get ready for the new bops

We all do, hon. The thought of it is giving me goosebumps.

:dance:

[Nancy.]

943331559674847232

:laugh:

[Nancy.]

So pleased Madonna said no to the residency.

Everyone in their right mind knows she doesn't NEED to do a residency when she's still popular enough to tour the world. Leave it to the has-beens and tacky circus performers.

[reece(:]

She would've been crucified by the stan world if she took that

[Nancy.]

She would've been crucified by the stan world if she took that

:laugh: That's because they know it's where once popular artists go to perform.

I mean, out of all the artists who have a residency, how many of them still manage to score #1 albums anymore? You could say Madonna's Rebel Heart didn't reach #1 in the UK / USA but she didn't do badly considering she's been around for 35 years.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

Madonna's Rebel Heart didn't reach #1 in the UK / USA

[Nancy.]

Madonna's Rebel Heart didn't reach #1 in the UK / USA

That's what I said in my previous post.

It still topped the itunes chart in over 50 countries and peaked at #2 in both the UK / USA.

[Nancy.]

Santa Baby turns 30...

5ycWObpi73Y

[Nancy.]

She looks so pretty here without the fillers...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdOJd77n2kI/?taken-by=xkir5tenx

[Nancy.]

L.A Weekly celebrates 35 years since Madonna's debut:

http://www.laweekly.com/music/we-picked-madonnas-top-20-singles-to-celebrate-35-years-since-her-debut-8998345

We Picked Madonna's Top 20 Singles to Celebrate 35 Years Since Her Debut
Michael Cooper | December 28, 2017 | 6:24am

It's hard to believe that at the beginning of 1982, the world didn't know who Madonna was. She would soon come to dominate the next three and a half decades, changing the landscape of pop music with her chart-topping singles, boundary-pushing music videos and Broadway-caliber concerts. Indeed, 35 years ago it all started with Madonna's first ever single, "Everybody." To celebrate its anniversary, L.A. Weekly has chosen the Material Girl's top 20 best singles. (Ed. note: The list is not based on chart success.)


20. "Miles Away" (2008)
The third single from Madonna's Hard Candy album may not have gotten much radio play, but it is quintessential Madonna. Co-produced and co-written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, the song foreshadowed things to come in Madonna's marriage to then-husband Guy Ritchie. "When I'm gone, you realize/That I'm the best thing that happened to you," she sings atop one of Timbaland's signature beats.
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19. "Ghosttown" (2015)
The second single from Madonna's most recent album, Rebel Heart, is a beautiful, edgy ballad with a chorus so catchy it'll be stuck in your head for days. The song surely would have been a huge smash for a younger pop star, but alas radio showed it no love. Even Diplo, who co-produced "Rebel Heart" but not "Ghosttown" (Jason Evigan helmed this one), told Rolling Stone, "No one seems to want [Madonna] to succeed. ... 'Ghosttown' was a guaranteed No. 1 for anyone else but she didn't get a fair shot." The music video, which featured a beautiful tango with co-star Terrence Howard, just adds to the majesty of the song.
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18. "Papa Don't Preach" (1986)
While "Like a Virgin" definitely stirred some controversy two years prior, no one was expecting pop music's It girl to release a song about a woman telling her father that she's pregnant and choosing (key word) to keep the baby. As Madonna told Rolling Stone in 2009, "[The song] just fit right in with my own personal zeitgeist of standing up to male authorities, whether it's the pope or the Catholic Church or my father and his conservative, patriarchal ways." Produced by longtime collaborator Stephen Bray and released as the first single off the True Blue album, "Papa Don't Preach" showed the world that Madonna was ready to talk about more than being a Material Girl.
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17. "Secret" (1994)
"Secret" was the first single off Madonna's Bedtime Stories album, her dip into the world of R&B. Co-produced by R&B mega-producer Dallas Austin, the mystery of the song continues to have fans guessing to this day just what the secret is (popular choices include being pregnant, finding out about a lover's child or coming out). The beautiful black-and-white video, shot in Harlem and featuring everyone in the neighborhood from drag queens to teenagers, just added to the song's intrigue.
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16. "Dress You Up" (1985)
The final single off Madonna's smash Like a Virgin album, "Dress You Up" is a fun, bubbly pop song produced by former Chic band member Nile Rodgers. While the song seems squeaky clean by today's standards, it was included on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy 15" list. PMRC founder Tipper Gore said she considered the lyrics "Gonna dress you up in my love" to be vulgar. "Popular culture is morally bankrupt ... and Madonna is worst of all," Gore said. The movement led to the creation of the parental advisory sticker.
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15. "Frozen" (1998)
"Frozen" found Madonna in perhaps her greatest reinvention: a post-motherhood, Kabbalah-studying yogi, experimenting in the world of electronica. Co-produced by two of Madonna's best producers, longtime collaborator Patrick Leonard and British electronica producer William Orbit, "Frozen" is a beautiful, haunting ballad complete with an orchestral string section — a departure from the dance hits of her earlier career. The memorable video, shot in the Mojave Desert, featured a majestic Madonna in all black morphing into crows, dogs and multiple versions of herself.
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14. "Rescue Me" (1991)
One of two new songs on Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation The Immaculate Collection (the other being the No. 1 hit "Justify My Love"), "Rescue Me" was a preview of things to come on Madonna's Erotica album, featuring a poetic, spoken-word style set against a blazing up-tempo house beat. "Rescue Me" may not be the most famous Madonna song (nor did it even get a video), but it was innovative for its time and perfectly bridges the gap between '80s and '90s Madonna.
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13. "Borderline" (1984)
"Borderline" was the last single from Madonna's self-titled debut album and was Madonna's first top-10 hit in the United States ("Lucky Star," which was released as a single before "Borderline," actually hit the top 10 after that song did). Produced by Reggie Lucas, the song has had incredible staying power, most recently being prominently featured in an episode of the "Will & Grace" revival earlier this year. When the song was released, it seamlessly paid homage to the disco sounds of the '70s while foreshadowing the '80s synth-pop Madonna would come to be known for. The music video, the first of many that Madonna had Mary Lambert direct, depicts the star as a commoner picked up by a photographer who puts her on a magazine cover, mimicking her burgeoning popularity in real life.
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12. "Music" (2000)
After the success of Ray of Light, Madonna continued to explore her electronica side with its follow-up, Music. Released as the first single, the title track is a funky, electro-pop song with a futuristic folky sound — "acid rock," as Madonna says on the track. France's Mirwais Ahmadzaï produced the song (and album), helping to cement Madonna as the queen of reinvention and getting the Material Girl her first No. 1 single in six years. The music video, which featured Madonna dressed as a pimp in the back of a limo and Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G character as the limo driver, helped make "Music" one of Madonna's most iconic singles.
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11. "Into the Groove" (1985)
Recorded for Madonna's big feature film debut, Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan, the song ultimately did not appear on the soundtrack despite being prominently featured in the film. Instead, it was included on the reissue of the Like a Virgin album. Produced by Stephen Bray, to this day "Into the Groove" continues to be known as one of Madonna's signature songs and a definite fan favorite.
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10. "La Isla Bonita" (1987)
The final single from Madonna's True Blue album appears to be one of her favorite songs, as she's included it in the set list on many of her world tours. The song was co-produced by famed Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard as a tribute to her Latin American fans. Featuring Spanish guitars, Cuban drums and maracas, "La Isla Bonita" was the first of many times throughout her career that Madonna would be inspired by the Latin community. The video, also directed by Mary Lambert, similarly showcased the song's Latin inspiration, with Madonna appearing as a flamenco dancer, one of two characters she plays in the clip.
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9. "The Power of Good-Bye" (1998)
The third single from Ray of Light is a beautiful ballad featuring electronica elements. Co-produced by Ray of Light captain William Orbit and longtime collaborator Patrick Leonard, its heartbreaking lyrics explore the themes of detachment and letting go of a love. The music video, helmed by acclaimed video director Matthew Rolston, uses the same themes as the song's lyrics. Its blue-green tint adds to the drama, as does Madonna and her lover's game of chess, inspired by The Thomas Crown Affair.
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8. "Deeper and Deeper" (1992)
The second single off Madonna's Erotica album fuses disco and house-pop. Co-produced by the man behind almost all the songs on the album, Shep Pettibone, "Deeper and Deeper" ends with a call-back to Madonna and Pettibone's mega-hit "Vogue" from two years prior. The music video, directed by Bobby Woods, features Madonna playing a character based on Edie Sedgwick. However, according to Madonna collaborator Dan Cadan in the liner notes from 2001's greatest-hits compilation GHV2, the song itself is actually about a man coming to terms with his homosexuality. "I can't help falling in love/I fall deeper and deeper the further I go," Madonna sings in the chorus. It may be subtle, but if Cadan is correct, "Deeper and Deeper" is yet another example of Madonna's long support of the LGBT community.
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7. "Take a Bow" (1994)
Madonna's longest-running No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Take a Bow" is an R&B-pop ballad co-produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. Backed by a full orchestra, the second single from the Bedtime Stories album also finds influences in Japanese music. While the song itself is one of Madonna's most beautiful sonically, some of its success no doubt was linked to its cinematic music video. Helmed by Michael Haussman and filmed in Ronda, Spain, it features Madonna as the neglected lover of a Spanish bullfighter. "Take a Bow" proved that the Madonna of the '90s was just as much a force to be reckoned with as she was in the '80s.
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6. "Holiday" (1983)
Another Madonna favorite to perform on tour (she's included it in eight out of her 10 world tours), "Holiday" was the third single released from her self-titled album. The previous two singles, "Everybody" and "Burning Up," failed to chart, making "Holiday" Madonna's first mainstream hit when it peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, "Holiday" remains not only a signature song in Madonna's career but also a signature song representing '80s music as a whole. While it may not be as sonically sophisticated as some of Madonna's later music, its simple four-bar sequence, featuring synth, guitar, hand claps and a cow bell played by Madonna herself, has made "Holiday" a timeless classic.
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5. "Express Yourself" (1989)
Long before Lady Gaga's LGBT-empowerment song "Born This Way" came Madonna's female-empowerment song "Express Yourself." Whether or not you considered "Born This Way" a reductive version of "Express Yourself," the Stephen Bray–produced song stands on its own as one of Madonna's best. The song, which brilliantly incorporates brass and saxophone, is considered by many to be a feminist anthem, with lyrics like, "Long stem roses are the way to your heart/But he needs to start with your head."
The video took these themes to a whole other level. Directed by David Fincher and inspired by the 1920s Fritz Lang film Metropolis, it depicts Madonna in chains in one scene while she wears a pantsuit and grabs her crotch in another. Half-joking about the scene where she crawls to a bowl of milk, Madonna told BBC Television in 1990 that the main theme of the video was that "pussy ruled the world." The song and video for "Express Yourself" represent quintessential Madonna: catchy, boundary-pushing pop with a message.
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4. "Hung Up" (2005)
Madonna chose to follow up her personal and introspective 2003 album American Life with something a little more light and fun: 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor. That album, which was co-produced by English producer/DJ Stuart Price, was an homage to the disco '70s. The album's first single, "Hung Up" brilliantly sampled ABBA's hit single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)," which Madonna personally asked the band for permission to sample. While the song and album were bigger hits overseas, "Hung Up" still managed to crack the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as Madonna's 36th top-10 single. The music video, which paid tribute to John Travolta and memorably featured Madonna in a pink leotard, helped ensure that the single became a highlight of her career.
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3. "Vogue" (1990)
Perhaps Madonna's most blatant love letter to the LGBT community, the song and music video paid tribute to the vogue dance style, which was becoming popular in the underground gay clubs of New York City. "Vogue" originally was meant to be a B-side to "Keep It Together," but record executives convinced Madonna it was too good for that. The song , which was co-produced by Shep Pettibone, went on to become the first single from Madonna's Dick Tracy soundtrack album, I'm Breathless. From the "Strike a pose" lyrics to the spoken name-check of golden-era Hollywood celebrities, "Vogue" is by far one of the biggest hits of Madonna's career. The famous black-and-white music video, directed by David Fincher, featured some of the original gay dancers who were vogueing as part of the gay ball scene, notably Jose Gutierez and Luis Camacho "Xtravaganza," (who also helped choreograph the video). "Vogue" is simply the cream of the crop in terms of pure pop perfection and has deservedly become an iconic part of pop culture.
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2. "Ray of Light" (1998)
Perhaps the most electronic-sounding single from Madonna's dip into the world of electronica, "Ray of Light" brilliantly blended the lines between the genres of electronic dance, techno, trance and pop, opening the door for other pop artists to experiment in electronic music. Produced by William Orbit, the second single off the album is based on a 1971 folk song by Curtiss Maldoon called "Sepheryn." Different from anything Madonna had released in the past, the song still managed to hold onto her signature style, a truly astonishing reinvention for an artist who had just turned 40 and had been topping the charts for 15 years already. The music video, directed by Jonas Akerlund, shows "a day in the life of the earth," featuring time-lapse images of everyday life, spliced in with clips of Madonna dancing. It perfectly fit into Madonna's new, more down-to-earth image that accompanied the album. The song and video also helped Madonna win two Grammy Awards, for Best Dance Recording and Best Short-Form Music Video, her first Grammys since winning one for the Blond Ambition Tour earlier in the '90s (the Ray of Light album also won Best Pop Vocal Album). The "Ray of Light" single not only made Madonna relevant to a new generation but also reinvigorated her reputation as a pop music innovator and trendsetter.
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1. "Like a Prayer" (1989)
"Like a Prayer" holds a place among the most iconic pop songs ever released. The first single from the eponymous album, and co-produced by Patrick Leonard, the song was considered at the time the most sophisticated single Madonna had released. Lyrically and musically, the song was more substantive than the simpler pop of her previous three albums. Musically the song blends pop and funk, throwing in a gospel choir and even a little R&B. Lyrically, the song mixes religious references with sexual undertones.The music video, directed by Mary Lambert, caused quite a stir upon its release, even causing Pepsi to pull out of a multimillion-dollar deal it had with Madonna (she got to keep the money). A message about racism, the video featured Madonna getting intimate with an African-American saint. Later in the video, he is falsely accused and arrested for the murder of a white woman. Madonna then is seen dancing in front of burning crosses, an obvious reference to the KKK symbol of racism. The themes of the video are sadly still relevant today, yet Madonna was speaking to them at a time when not many mainstream white artists were. The song has rightfully been included on many best song lists, including Blender's "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born," Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and even L.A. Weekly's "20 Best Pop Songs in History by Women Artists." The artistic caliber of "Like a Prayer" makes it the No. 1 single of Madonna's 35-year career.
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[Nancy.]

"Devil Pray" is such an underrated gem. I do wish she had released that instead of "Bitch, I'm Madonna".

The Rebel Heart" era was full of so many missed opportunities - mainly due to the leaks spoiling her plans.

Here's a fan-made video for "Devil Pray". Very artistic, but quite gory in parts.
MvsD7Us4S-4

and here's one from the tour rehearsals:
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Love that song so much. :dance:

[Nancy.]

Madonna's Rebel Heart tour will be shown at 10:30 PM on BBC2 the 13th of January

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0952xgk

"Shot around the world and featuring a collection of live and behind-the-scenes footage, Madonna Rebel Heart Tour is packed with visual theatrics, stunning costumes and intricate choreography, featuring new hits and beloved classic songs spanning all decades of Madonna's illustrious career, including Living for Love, Bitch I'm Madonna, Material Girl, Holiday and an acoustic version of Like a Prayer."

[Nancy.]

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[Nancy.]

Madonna 'moves into 18th Century Lisbon palace

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5251417/Madonna-moves-family-Lisbon-palace.html

[Nicky91]

:clap1: :clap1:

deservedly queen of pop, still rockin it at her age against the younger Taylor Swift :amazed:

[Nancy.]

:clap1: :clap1:

deservedly queen of pop, still rockin it at her age against the younger Taylor Swift :amazed:

:dance:

[Nicky91]

i'm so on your side Nancy :love:


Taylor flopping would be a cherry on the cake for us, and it would put her back to earth, instead of the pink cloud her fans put her on :hehe:

[Nancy.]

i'm so on your side Nancy :love:


Taylor flopping would be a cherry on the cake for us, and it would put her back to earth, instead of the pink cloud her fans put her on :hehe:

Have you seen her new video with Ed Sheeran, Nicky?

So pretentious.

[Nancy.]

Rolling Stone:
54 Most Anticipated Albums of 2018

New music from Justin Timberlake, Jack White and Cardi B, and other records we can't wait to hear

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/2018-album-preview-54-most-anticipated-records-w515067/madonna-w515158

Madonna

Album: TBA
Release Date: TBA
Now living outside Lisbon, Portugal, the shape-shifting superstar hinted that she'd be returning to the pop world when she dropped by Live with Kelly and Ryan in December. "2017 was soccer mom in Portugal – 2018, I'm coming back, baby," she told fellow guest Anderson Cooper, who asked about her tour plans. "I'm traveling the world right now and listening to lots of different music," she told Entertainment Weekly in September. "I'm getting inspired by people and I'm just soaking things up right now. ... It's time for me to take a different approach and really get back down to the beauty and simplicity of music and lyrics and intimacy."

[Nancy.]

Madonna's Rebel Heart tour tonight at 10:30 PM on BBC2.

[Nancy.]

952254686127689728

[Nancy.]

2018 - 20 years since this award winning album was released.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Ray_of_Light_Madonna.png

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[Nicky91]

8q2WS6ahCnY

:love: this song Cherish

https://78.media.tumblr.com/4e6879cca693f21e993975174f948100/tumblr_og3uvmYRWa1u501aoo1_400.gif

[Nancy.]

8q2WS6ahCnY

:love: this song Cherish

https://78.media.tumblr.com/4e6879cca693f21e993975174f948100/tumblr_og3uvmYRWa1u501aoo1_400.gif

Oh, Nicky, Cherish is such a great song. One of my favourites from the "Like A Prayer" album. It reminds me of "True Blue" in a way....

P51LunEV3Sk

[Nicky91]

Oh, Nicky, Cherish is such a great song. One of my favourites from the "Like A Prayer" album. It reminds me of "True Blue" in a way....

P51LunEV3Sk

i frequently hear this song on our dutch radio :D

[Nancy.]

i frequently hear this song on our dutch radio :D

:love:

[Nicky91]

:love:

her outfits in rebel heart tour were fab


she still looks so good for her age, and her voice still sounds good :D


no Taylor breaks a record with LWYMMD, a heavily overrated song


Madonna >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>> Taylor


the Queen of Pop is still Madonna :love:

[Nancy.]

her outfits in rebel heart tour were fab


she still looks so good for her age, and her voice still sounds good :D


no Taylor breaks a record with LWYMMD, a heavily overrated song


Madonna >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>> Taylor


the Queen of Pop is still Madonna :love:

Oh, I didn't know you watched the Rebel Heart tour, Nicky.

What was your favourite parts?

I enjoyed it all, but have to say my favourite was "Material Girl", "Like A Virgin" and "Deeper and Deeper". "Living For Love" was great too.

Taylor Swift won't last. Her album didn't get much praise at all compared to "1989".

[Nancy.]

https://78.media.tumblr.com/f544bc8ea29226d76206000590e91f12/tumblr_p2plzvykmU1qls92lo1_540.png

[Nancy.]

OMG, Pictures of the queen leaving a recording studio...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5280639/Madonna-exits-recording-studio-dollar-sign-scarf.html

:dance::dance::dance:

[Nancy.]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/01/17/18/483C43DB00000578-0-image-a-2_1516212894498.jpg

[Nancy.]

Going by the smile on her face, Madonna is obviously happy with the way things are going...

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2018_01/DT1Aq0kW4AEAHc8.thumb.jpg.509169070b4057ce5567c9b0 193b2589.jpg

[Nancy.]

I can't imagine Madonna eating Chocolate and Candy. She's always watched what she ate before so this seems...strange.

http://forums.madonnanation.com/uploads/monthly_2018_01/481DA11C-4609-44FA-8291-54F6AA987814.thumb.png.a5faf2200a1437c60059010782a 2593b.png

[reece(:]

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working with Starrah

[Nancy.]

Oh, didn't she work on Rihanna's last album?

What do you think, Reece?

[Nicky91]

oh i would wish Timor Steffens would perform with our kween on stage again :amazed:

[Nancy.]

oh i would wish Timor Steffens would perform with our kween on stage again :amazed:

Mmm, he's very good looking, Nicky. Great dancer too. :laugh:

[Nicky91]

Mmm, he's very good looking, Nicky. Great dancer too. :laugh:

yeah, he is a Judge on dance dance dance here in holland :hee:



Nancy i don't blame you or hate you

[Nancy.]

yeah, he is a Judge on dance dance dance here in holland :hee:


Nancy i don't blame you or hate you


Great.

He used to spend a bit of extra time with Madonna outside of performances.

I used to have a thing for her ex boyfriend / dancer Brahim Zaibat.

He's gorgeous, but a shame he cheated on her.

http://static1.puretrend.com/articles/8/82/01/8/@/940075-brahim-zaibat-580x0-2.jpg

https://mediaslide-europe.storage.googleapis.com/uno/pictures/134/30752/large-1508414405-2534d79822d88c05bff481c32bbac6b3.jpg

[Nancy.]

The word is that she's also working with producer Billboard again. (The guy who produced "Ghosttown" from Rebel Heart), So that's good to hear. "Ghosttown" was fabulous.

[Nicky91]

The word is that she's also working with producer Billboard again. (The guy who produced "Ghosttown" from Rebel Heart), So that's good to hear. "Ghosttown" was fabulous.

Ghosttown was really great :)


i also liked the music video, i Always love the apocalyptic scenarios :love:

[Nancy.]

Ghosttown was really great :)


i also liked the music video, i Always love the apocalyptic scenarios :love:

The video was amazing. Much better than Living For Love and Bitch, I'm, Madonna. In fact, Ghosttown could quite possibly be my favourite song from RH.

[Nicky91]

Madonna is a kween, right up there with the youth

[Nicky91]

Power of Goodbye such a beautiful song :worship:

[Nancy.]

Oh, I love TPOG. It's one of my favourites from the Ray Of Light album.

[Nicky91]

Oh, I love TPOG. It's one of my favourites from the Ray Of Light album.

yep one of my fave Madonna songs besides Like a Prayer, one dutch lady did a karaoke version on holland's got talent, she was pretty good :D

[Nancy.]

The Rebel Heart tour DVD/Bluray has flown up the charts again.

http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/music-video-chart/

https://image.ibb.co/nHrU8b/2222.jpg

[Nicky91]

:clap1: :clap1:

[Nancy.]

yep one of my fave Madonna songs besides Like a Prayer, one dutch lady did a karaoke version on holland's got talent, she was pretty good :D

:laugh: Do you have a video clip? I'd love to see it.

[Nicky91]

:laugh: Do you have a video clip? I'd love to see it.

can't really come up of the name of that lady but she was funny, some years ago

[Nancy.]

can't really come up of the name of that lady but she was funny, some years ago

Shame, I'd like to have seen it. :hee:

[Barry.]

B5OPMI13qng

One of my fav Madonna songs.

[Nancy.]

B5OPMI13qng

One of my fav Madonna songs.

:dance:
Even though it went to #1, "Sorry" seems to be one of her most underrated tracks. I can't recall a time when she last performed it. Was it "The Confessions Tour"?

Speaking of which, I haven't heard "Confessions On A Dancefloor" for a while, so I may give it a spin later on today. it sure is a fantastic album.