Madonna

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MadonnaMadonna performing in , during her in November 2015BornMadonna Louise Ciccone August 16, 1958 , U.S.Other namesVeronica (Catholic name)OccupationYears active1979–presentHome town, U.S.Net worthU.S. $570–$800 millionSpouse(s) Partner(s)Carlos Leon (1995–1997)Children6Musical careerOrigin, U.S.GenresInstrumentsLabelsAssociated actsWebsiteMadonna Louise Ciccone (; Italian:; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the "" since the 1980s, Madonna is known for pushing the boundaries of songwriting in and for the visuals she uses onstage and in music videos. She has frequently reinvented her music and image while remaining completely in charge of every aspect of her career. Her diverse works, which incorporated social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both critical acclaim and controversy. Madonna is often cited as an influence by .

Born and raised in , Madonna moved to in 1978 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands and Emmy, Madonna signed with in 1982 and released her the next year. She followed it with a series of , including (1984) and (1986) as well as winners (1998) and (2005). Madonna has attained many throughout her career, including "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", and "".

Madonna's popularity was further enhanced by such as (1985), (1990), (1992), and (1996). While Evita earned her a for , many of her other films received poor reviews. As a businesswoman, Madonna founded an entertainment company called (including the label Maverick Records) in 1992. Her other ventures include , , health clubs, and filmmaking. She contributes to various charities, having founded Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and in 2006.

Having sold more than 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is certified as the by . According to , Madonna is the most successful solo artist in its chart history. She holds the by a female artist in , , , , and the . She remains the , accumulating U.S. $1.4 billion from her concert tickets. Madonna was inducted into the in 2008, her first year of eligibility. ranked her atop the , while listed her among the and the .

Contents Life and career 1958–1981: Early life and career beginnings Madonna Louise Ciccone was born to Catholic parents Madonna Louise (née Fortin; 1933–1963) and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone in , on August 16, 1958. Her father's parents were Italian emigrants from , while her mother was of French-Canadian descent. Tony worked as an engineer designer for and . Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonni". Madonna later commented about her name, "How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would either have ended up a nun or this." She has two older brothers, Anthony and Martin, and three younger siblings, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.

Upon being in the in 1966, she adopted as a . She was raised in the Detroit suburbs of and Avon Township (now ). Months before her mother died of at age 30 on December 1, 1963, Madonna noticed changes in her behavior and personality, although she did not understand the reason. Her mother was at a loss to explain her medical condition, and often began to cry when Madonna questioned her about it. Madonna later acknowledged that she had not grasped the concept of her mother dying.

Madonna turned to her paternal grandmother for solace. The Ciccone siblings resented housekeepers and rebelled against anyone brought into their home who they thought would try to take the place of their beloved mother. Madonna later told that she saw herself in her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades... I wanted to be somebody." Terrified that her father Tony could be taken from her as well, Madonna was often unable to sleep unless she was near him.

Madonna's stepmother and father, Joan and Tony Ciccone (2009)In 1966, Tony married the family's housekeeper Joan Gustafson. They had two children, Jennifer and Mario. Madonna resented her father for getting remarried, and began rebelling against him, which strained their relationship for many years afterward. She attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and West Middle School. Madonna was known for her high , and achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior. She would perform cartwheels and handstands in the hallways between classes, dangle by her knees from the during recess, and pull up her skirt during class—all so that the boys could see her underwear.

Madonna's father put her in classical lessons, but she later convinced him to allow her to take lessons. Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, persuaded her to pursue a career in dance. She later attended where she became a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. After graduating, she received a dance scholarship to the and studied over the summer at the in .

In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She said of her move to New York, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." She had little money while working as a waitress at and with troupes, taking classes at the and eventually performing with Dance Theater. She also studied dance under the tutelage of , the noted American dancer and choreographer. Madonna started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. One night, while returning from a rehearsal, a pair of men held her at knifepoint and forced her to perform . She later found the incident to be "a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all the strong-girl show. I could never forget it."

While performing as a backup singer and dancer for the French disco artist on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy and they lived in an abandoned synagogue in . Together, they formed her first rock band, the , for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. In 1980 or 1981 she left Breakfast Club and, with her then boyfriend as drummer, formed the band Emmy. The two began writing songs together, but Madonna later decided to promote herself as a solo act. Her music impressed DJ and record producer who arranged a meeting between Madonna and founder .

1982–1985: Madonna, Like a Virgin, and first marriage After Madonna signed a deal with Sire, her debut single, "", was released in October 1982, and the second, "", in March 1983. Both became big club hits in the United States, reaching number three on chart compiled by magazine. After this success, she started developing her debut album, , which was primarily produced by of Warner Bros. However, she was not happy with the completed tracks and disagreed with Lucas' production techniques, so decided to seek additional help.

Madonna moved in with boyfriend , asking his help for finishing the album's production. Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced "", which was her third single and her first international top-ten hit. The overall sound of Madonna was dissonant and in the form of upbeat synthetic disco, using some of the new technology of the time, like the , and the . The album was released in July 1983 and peaked at number eight on the six months later, in 1984. It yielded two top-ten singles on the , "" and "".

Madonna with her crew on , 1985Madonna's look and style of dressing, her performances, and her music videos influenced young girls and women. Her style became one of the female . Created by stylist and jewelry designer , the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over , stockings, jewelry bearing the , bracelets, and bleached hair. Madonna's popularity continued to rise globally with the release of her second studio album, , in November 1984. It became her first number-one album in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US. Like a Virgin became the very first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the U.S. It was later certified , and has sold over 21 million copies worldwide.

The album's served as its first single, and topped the Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks. It attracted the attention of conservative organizations who complained that the song and its accompanying video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values, and moralists sought to have the song and video banned. Madonna received huge media coverage for her performance of "Like a Virgin" at the first . Wearing a wedding dress and white gloves, Madonna appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake and then rolled around suggestively on the floor. MTV retrospectively considered it one of the "most iconic" pop performances of all time. The second single, "", reached number two on the Hot 100 and was promoted by a music video recreating 's performance of "" from the 1953 film . While filming this video, Madonna started dating actor . They married on her birthday in 1985.

I was surprised by how people reacted to "Like a Virgin" because when I did that song, to me, I was singing about how something made me feel a certain way—brand-new and fresh—and everyone interpreted it as "I don't want to be a virgin anymore. Fuck my brains out!" That's not what I sang at all. "Like a Virgin" was always absolutely ambiguous.—Madonna on the backlash for "Like a Virgin"

Madonna entered mainstream films in February 1985, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in , a romantic drama film. Its soundtrack contained two new singles, her U.S. number-one single, "", and another track "". She also played the in the 1985 comedy , a film which introduced the song "", her first number-one single in the UK. Her popularity caused the film to be perceived as a Madonna vehicle, despite how she was not billed as a . The New York Times film critic named it one of the ten best films of 1985.

Beginning in April 1985, Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America, , with the as her opening act. She progressed from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing large sporting arenas. The tour saw the peak of phenomenon, with lots of female attendees dressing like her. At that time, she released two more hits, "" and "", making all four singles from the album peak inside the top five on the Hot 100 chart. In July, and magazines published a number of nude photos of Madonna, taken in New York in 1978. She had posed for the photographs as she needed money at the time, and was paid as little as $25 a session. The publication of the photos caused a media uproar, but Madonna remained "unapologetic and defiant". The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000. She referred to these events at the 1985 outdoor charity concert, saying that she would not take her jacket off because "[the media] might hold it against me ten years from now."

1986–1991: True Blue, Who's That Girl, Like a Prayer, and Dick Tracy In June 1986, Madonna released her third studio album, , which was inspired by and dedicated to her husband Penn. was impressed with the effort, writing that the album "sound[s] as if it comes from the heart". Five singles were released—"", "", "", "", and ""—all of which reached number one in the US or the UK. The album topped the charts in 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented achievement at the time, and remains Madonna's best-selling studio album, with sales of 25 million copies. True Blue was featured in the 1992 edition of as the best-selling album by a woman of all time.

Madonna performing during the , 1987Madonna starred in the critically panned film in 1986, for which she received her first for . She made her theatrical debut in a production of 's Goose and Tom-Tom; the film and play both co-starred Penn. The next year, Madonna was featured in the film . She contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the and "". Madonna embarked on the in June 1987, which continued until September. It broke several attendance records, including over 130,000 people in a show near Paris, which was then a record for . Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, , which reached number 14 on the Billboard 200. After an annulment in December 1987, Madonna filed for divorce from Penn in January 1989, citing irreconcilable differences.

In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft-drink manufacturer . In one Pepsi commercial, she debuted "", the lead single and title track from her . The music video featured such as and , and a dream of making love to a saint, leading the to condemn the video. Religious groups sought to ban the commercial and boycott Pepsi products. Pepsi revoked the commercial and canceled her sponsorship contract. "Like a Prayer" topped the charts in many countries, becoming her seventh number one on the Hot 100.

Madonna co-wrote and co-produced Like a Prayer with , , and . Music critic from Rolling Stone praised it "as close to art as pop music gets ... proof not only that Madonna should be taken seriously as an artist but that hers is one of the most compelling voices of the Eighties." Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 15 million copies worldwide. Other successful singles from the album were "" and "", both peaked at number two in the US, as well as the UK top-five "" and the US top-ten "". By the end of the 1980s, Madonna was named as the "Artist of the Decade" by MTV, Billboard and magazine.

Madonna starred as in the film (1990), with playing the title role. The film went to for two weeks and Madonna received a nomination for . To accompany the film, she released the soundtrack album, , which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It also featured the U.S. number-one song "" and "". While shooting the film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty, which dissolved by the end of 1990.

Madonna performing with a lookalike during the , 1990In April 1990, Madonna began her , which was held until August. Rolling Stone called it an "elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza" and proclaimed it "the best tour of 1990". The tour generated strong negative reaction from religious groups for her performance of "Like a Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation. In response, Madonna said, "The tour in no way hurts anybody's sentiments. It's for open minds and gets them to see sexuality in a different way. Their own and others". won Madonna her first , in the category of .

, Madonna's first greatest-hits , was released in November 1990. It included two new songs, "" and "". The album was certified diamond by RIAA and sold over 31 million copies worldwide, becoming the compilation album by a solo artist in history. "Justify My Love" reached number one in the U.S. becoming her ninth number-one Its music video featured scenes of , , same-sex kissing, and brief nudity. The video was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the network.

In December 1990 Madonna decided to leave 's film, , which she had previously agreed to star in, without any explanation to the producers. Around this time, Madonna had an eight-month relationship with rapper ; he ended their relationship because of Madonna's book. Her first documentary film, (known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America), was released in May 1991. Chronicling her Blond Ambition World Tour, it became the highest-grossing documentary of all time (surpassed eleven years later by 's ).

1992–1997: Maverick, Erotica, Sex, Bedtime Stories, Evita, and motherhood In 1992, Madonna starred in as Mae Mordabito, a baseball player on an all-women's team. It reached and became the tenth highest-grossing film of the year in the U.S. She recorded the film's theme song, "", which became her tenth Hot 100 number-one hit, the most by any female artist at the time. The same year, she founded her own entertainment company, , consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing and merchandising divisions. The deal was a joint venture with and paid Madonna an advance of $60 million. It gave her 20% royalties from the music proceedings, the highest rate in the industry at the time, equaled only by 's royalty rate established a year earlier with .

The first two projects released simultaneously from the venture were Madonna's fifth studio album, , and her coffee table book, . Consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by , the book received strong negative reaction from the media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each in a matter of days. The widespread backlash overshadowed Erotica, which ended up as her lowest selling album at the time. Despite positive reviews, it became her first studio album since her debut album not to score any chart-topper in the U.S. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number two and yielded the Hot 100 top-ten hits "" and "". Madonna continued her provocative imagery in the 1993 , , a film which contained scenes of and . It was poorly received by critics. She also starred in the film , which was released straight to video in North America. The New York Times described the film as "angry and painful, and the pain feels real."

Madonna performing during , 1993In September 1993, Madonna embarked on , in which she dressed as a whip-cracking surrounded by topless dancers. In Puerto Rico she rubbed the island's flag between her legs on stage, resulting in outrage among the audience. In March 1994, on the , using profanity that required censorship on television, and handing Letterman a pair of her panties and asking him to smell it. The releases of her sexually explicit book, album and film, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman all made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. Critics and fans reacted negatively, who commented that "she had gone too far" and that her career was over.

Biographer described her ballad "" (1994) as an attempt to tone down her provocative image. The song was recorded for 's film . She made a subdued appearance with Letterman at an awards show and appeared on after realizing that she needed to change her musical direction in order to sustain her popularity. With her sixth studio album, (1994), Madonna employed a softer image to try to improve the public perception. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and generated two U.S. top-five hits, "" and "", the latter topping the Hot 100 for seven weeks, the longest period of any Madonna single. , a collection of ballads, was released in November 1995. The album featured three new songs: "", "", and a cover of 's "". Around this time Madonna started dating rapper , but it ended in 1994. The next year, Shakur revealed in a letter to Madonna that he ended the relationship because she was white. She later became romantically involved with fitness trainer Carlos Leon.

In the 1996 musical, , Madonna played the title role of . For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Perón and wrote to director to explain why she would be perfect for the part. She said later, "This is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time. And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done." After securing the role, she had vocal training and learned about the history of Argentina and Perón. During filming Madonna became ill several times, after finding out that she was pregnant, and from the intense emotional effort required with the scenes. After Evita's release in December 1996, Madonna's performance was praised by film critics. Zach Conner from magazine commented, "It's a relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well cast and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations." Madonna a for for the role.

The , containing songs mostly performed by Madonna, was released as a . It included "" and ""; the latter reached number one in countries across Europe. Madonna was presented with the Artist Achievement Award by at the 1996 . On October 14, 1996, she gave birth to Lourdes "Lola" Maria Ciccone Leon, her daughter with Leon. Biographer writes that although Madonna often worried that her pregnancy would harm Evita, she reached some important personal goals: "Now 38 years old, Madonna had at last triumphed on screen and achieved her dream of having a child, both in the same year. She had reached another turning point in her career, reinventing herself and her image with the public." Her relationship with Carlos Leon ended in May 1997 and she declared that they were "better off as best friends".

1998–2002: Ray of Light, Music, second marriage, and touring comeback After Lourdes's birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and , introduced to her by actress . Her seventh studio album, , (1998) reflected this change in her perception and image. She collaborated with electronica producer and wanted to create a sound that could blend dance music with pop and British rock. American music critic explained that what Madonna searched for with Orbit "was a kind of a lushness that she wanted for this record. and were happening in the 90s and had a lot of different forms. There was very experimental, more hard stuff like . There was party stuff like . That's not what Madonna wanted for this. She wanted something more like a singer-songwriter, really. And William Orbit provided her with that."

Madonna performing on the , 2001The album garnered critical acclaim, with calling it "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" Ray of Light was honored with four —including and —and was nominated for both and . Rolling Stone listed it among "". Commercially, the album peaked at number-one in numerous countries and sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. The album's lead single, "", became Madonna's first single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the U.S. it became her sixth number-two single, setting another record for Madonna as the artist with the most number-two hits. The second single, "", debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The 1998 edition of documented that "no female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world".

Madonna founded Ray of Light Foundation which focused on women, education, global development and humanitarian. She signed on to play a violin teacher in the 1999 film but left the project, citing "creative differences" with director . She recorded the single "" for the 1999 film , which earned her a . Madonna starred in the 2000 film , and contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack; "Time Stood Still" and a cover of 's 1971 song "".

Madonna released her eighth studio album, , in September 2000. It featured elements from the -inspired Ray of Light era, and like its predecessor, received acclaim from critics. Collaborating with French producer , Madonna commented: "I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about—the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. Music is the future of sound." from felt that "Music blows by in a kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style and substance. It has so many depth and layers that it's easily as self-aware and earnest as Ray of Light." The album took the number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days. In the U.S., Music debuted at the top, and became her first number-one album in eleven years since Like a Prayer. It produced three singles: the Hot 100 number-one "", "", and "". The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing acts of crime and vandalism, and was banned by MTV and .

She first met director , who would later become her second husband, in the summer of 1998 and gave birth to their son Rocco John Ritchie on August 11, 2000 in Los Angeles. Rocco and Madonna suffered complications from the birth due to her experiencing . He was christened at in , Scotland, on December 21, 2000. Madonna married Ritchie the following day at nearby . After an eight-year absence of touring, Madonna started her in June 2001. The tour visited cities in the U.S. and Europe and was the highest-grossing concert tour of the year by a solo artist, earning $75 million from 47 sold-out shows. She also released her second greatest-hits collection, titled , to coincide with the . GHV2 debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200.

Madonna starred in the film , directed by Ritchie. Released in the UK, the film was a commercial and critical failure. In May 2002 she appeared in London in the West End play at the (billed as 'Madonna Ritchie'), to universally bad reviews and was described as "the evening's biggest disappointment" by one. That October, she released "", the title song of the film , in which she had a , described by Peter Bradshaw from as "incredibly wooden". The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a and a .

2003–2006: American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor Following Die Another Day, Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer in 2003 for an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It included photography from a photo shoot in magazine, and seven video segments. The installation ran from March to May in New York's gallery and also traveled the world in an edited form. The same year, Madonna released her ninth studio album, , which was based on her observations of American society. She explained that the record was "like a trip down memory lane, looking back at everything I've accomplished and all the things I once valued and all the things that were important to me." Larry Flick from felt that "American Life is an album that is among her most adventurous and lyrically intelligent" while condemning it as "a lazy, half-arsed effort to sound and take her seriously." The peaked at number 37 on the Hot 100. Its original music video was canceled as Madonna thought that the clip, featuring violence and war imagery, would be deemed unpatriotic since America was then at . With four million copies sold worldwide, American Life was the lowest-selling album of her career at that point.

Madonna performing "" during military segment of the , 2004Madonna gave another provocative performance later that year at the , when she kissed singers and while singing the track "". In October 2003, she provided guest vocals on Spears' single "". It was followed with the release of . The EP contained remixed versions of songs from American Life and included "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions. Madonna also signed a contract with to be the author of five children's books. The first of these books, titled , was published in September 2003. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. The book debuted at the top of and became the fastest-selling children's picture book of all time.

The next year Madonna and Maverick sued and its former parent company , claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares, owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, were purchased by Warner. Madonna and Dashev's company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music, but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract.

In mid-2004 Madonna embarked on the in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning around $120 million and became the subject of her documentary . In November 2004, she was inducted into the as one of its five founding members, along with , , , and . Rolling Stone ranked her at number 36 on its special issue of the , featuring an article about her written by Britney Spears. In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the song "" at . She also performed at the benefit concert in London in July 2005.

Madonna performing on the , 2006Her tenth studio album, , was released in November 2005. Musically the album was structured like a club set composed by a DJ. It was acclaimed by critics, with Keith Caulfield from commenting that the album was a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop." The album won a for . Confessions on a Dance Floor and its lead single, "", went on to reach number one in 40 and 41 countries respectively, earning a place in Guinness World Records. The song contained a sample of 's "", only the second time that ABBA has allowed their work to be used. ABBA songwriter remarked "It is a wonderful track—100 per cent solid pop music." "", the second single, became Madonna's twelfth number-one single in the UK.

Madonna embarked on the in May 2006, which had a global audience of 1.2 million and grossed over $193.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing tour to that date for a female artist. Madonna used religious symbols, such as the and , in the performance of "Live to Tell". It caused the and the to urge all their members to boycott her concert. At the same time, the (IFPI) announced officially that Madonna had sold over 200 million copies of her albums alone worldwide.

While on tour Madonna founded charitable organization and partially funded an orphanage in and traveling to that country. While there, she decided to adopt a boy named David Banda in October 2006. The adoption raised strong public reaction, because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting, which Madonna did not do. She addressed this on , saying that there were no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulated foreign adoption. She described how Banda had been suffering from after surviving and when she first met him. Banda's biological father, Yohane, commented, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing ... They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." The adoption was finalized in May 2008.

2007–2011: Filmmaking, Hard Candy, and business ventures Madonna and Nathan Rissman at the premiere of at the 2008 Madonna released and performed the song "" at the in July 2007. She announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records, and declared a new $120 million, ten-year with . In 2008, Madonna produced and wrote , a documentary on the problems faced by Malawians; it was directed by Nathan Rissman, who worked as Madonna's gardener. She also directed her first film, . The plot of the film revolved around three friends and their aspirations. The Times said she had "done herself proud" while The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort [but] Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job." On March 10, 2008, Madonna was inducted into the in her first year of eligibility. She did not sing at the ceremony but asked fellow Hall of Fame inductees and Michigan natives to perform her songs "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light".

Madonna released her eleventh studio album, , in April 2008. Containing and influences, the songs on Hard Candy were autobiographical in nature and saw Madonna collaborating with , , and . The album debuted at number one in 37 countries and on the Billboard 200. Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone complimented it as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour", while BBC correspondent Mark Savage panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market".

Madonna performing on the 2009 leg of the , which was the second highest-grossing tour of all time"" was released as the album's lead single and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Madonna's 37th top-ten hit on the chart and pushed her past as the artist with the most top-ten hits. In the UK she retained her record for the most number-one singles for a female artist; "4 Minutes" becoming her thirteenth. At the 23rd , Madonna received her fifth Artist of the Year trophy from , the most for any artist. To further promote the album, she embarked on the , her first major venture with Live Nation. With a total gross of $408 million, it ended up as the second highest-grossing tour of all time, behind 's . It remained the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist until ' surpassed it in 2013.

In July 2008, Christopher Ciccone released a book titled , which caused a rift between Madonna and him, because of unsolicited publication. By fall, Madonna filed for divorce from Ritchie, citing irreconcilable differences. In December 2008, Madonna's spokesperson announced that Madonna had agreed to a divorce settlement with Ritchie, the terms of which granted him between £50–60 million ($66.67–80 million), a figure that included the couple's and residence and in England. The marriage was dissolved by District Judge Reid by at the clinical Principal Registry of the Family Division in , London. They entered a compromise agreement for Rocco and David, then aged eight and three respectively, and divided the children's time between Ritchie's London home and Madonna's in New York, where the two were joined by Lourdes. Soon after, Madonna applied to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James from Malawi in May 2009, but the country's High Court rejected the application because Madonna was not a resident there. She re-appealed, and on June 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of Malawi granted her the right to adopt Mercy.

Madonna concluded her contract with Warner by releasing her third greatest-hits album, , in September 2009. It contained the new songs "" and "" along with 34 hits spanning her musical career with the label. Celebration reached number one in several countries, including Canada, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. She appeared at the to speak in tribute to deceased pop singer . Madonna ended the 2000s as the best-selling single artist of the decade in the U.S. and the most-played artist of the decade in the UK. Billboard also announced her as the third top-touring artist of the decade—behind only and —with a gross of over $801 million, 6.3 million attendance and 244 sell-outs of 248 shows.

Madonna performed at the concert in January 2010. Her third live album, , was released in April, debuting at number ten on the Billboard 200. It also became her 20th top-ten on the , breaking the Beatles' record for the most top-ten album by an international act in Japan. Madonna granted American television show, , the rights to her entire catalog of music, and the producers created featuring her songs exclusively. She also collaborated with Lourdes and released the clothing line, inspired by her punk-girl style when she rose to fame in the 1980s. In October, she opened a series of around the world named , and three months later unveiled a second fashion brand called which included footwear, perfumes, underclothing, and accessories.

Madonna directed her second feature film, , a about the affair between and . Co-written with , the film was premiered at the in September 2011. Critical and commercial response to the film was negative. Madonna contributed the ballad "" for the film's soundtrack, which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

2012–2017: Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, MDNA, and Rebel Heart In February 2012, Madonna headlined the at the in , Indiana. Her performance was visualized by and and featured special guests , , and . It became the then most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history with 114 million viewers, higher than the game itself. During the event, she performed "", the lead single from her twelfth studio album, . It became her record-extending 38th top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Madonna performing during , 2012. The tour became the tenth highest-grossing tour of all time after its completion.MDNA was released in March 2012 and saw collaboration with various producers, including William Orbit and . It was her first release under her three-album deal with , which she signed as a part of her 360 deal with Live Nation. She was signed to the record label since Live Nation was unable to distribute music recordings. MDNA became Madonna's fifth consecutive studio record to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. The album was mostly promoted by , which lasted from May to December 2012. The tour featured such as violence, firearms, human rights, nudity and politics. With a gross of $305.2 million from 88 sold-out shows, it became the highest-grossing tour of 2012 and then-tenth highest-grossing tour of all time. Madonna was named the top-earning celebrity of the year by , earning an estimated $125 million.

Madonna collaborated with Steven Klein and directed a 17-minute film, , which was released on in September 2013. With the film she launched the Art for Freedom initiative, which helped to promote "art and free speech as a means to address persecution and injustice across the globe". The website for the project included over 3,000 art related submissions since its inception, with Madonna regularly monitoring and enlisting other artists like and as guest curators.

By 2013, Madonna's had built ten schools to educate 4,000 children in Malawi at a value of $400,000. When Madonna visited the schools in April 2013, accused her of exaggerating the charity's contribution. Madonna was saddened by Banda's statement, but clarified that she had "no intention of being distracted by these ridiculous allegations". It was later confirmed that Banda had not approved the statement released by her press team. Madonna also visited her hometown Detroit during May 2014 and donated funds to help with the city's . The same year, her business ventures extended to products with the launch of in Tokyo, Japan.

Madonna's thirteenth studio album, , was released in March 2015, three months after its thirteen leaked onto the Internet. Unlike her previous efforts, which involved only a few people, Madonna worked with a large number of collaborators, including , and . Introspection was listed as one of the foundational themes prevalent on the record, along with "genuine statements of personal and careerist reflection". Madonna explained to of that although she has never looked back at her past endeavors, reminiscing about it felt right for Rebel Heart. Music critics responded positively towards the album, calling it her best effort in a decade. Rebel Heart became Madonna's first album to miss the top position of the Billboard 200 since Ray of Light, but reached number one in other major music markets, including Australia, Canada, Germany and Italy.

Madonna performing during the , 2015From September 2015 to March 2016, Madonna embarked on the to promote the album. The tour traveled throughout North America, Europe and Asia and was Madonna's first visit to Australia in 23 years, where she also performed a for her fans. Rebel Heart Tour grossed a total of $169.8 million from the 82 shows, with over 1.045 million ticket sales. While on tour, Madonna became engaged in a legal battle with Ritchie, over the custody of their son Rocco. The dispute started when Rocco decided to continue living in England with Ritchie when the tour had visited there, while Madonna wanted him to travel with her. Court hearings took place in both New York and London. After multiple deliberations, Madonna withdrew her application for custody and decided to resolve the matter privately.

In October 2016, Billboard named Madonna its . Her "blunt and brutally honest" speech about ageism and sexism at the ceremony received widespread coverage in the media. The next month Madonna, who actively supported during the , performed an impromptu acoustic concert at in support of . Upset that won the election, Madonna spoke out against him at the , a day after . She sparked controversy when she said that she "thought a lot about blowing up the White House". The following day, Madonna asserted she was "not a violent person" and that her words had been "taken wildly out of context".

In February 2017, Madonna adopted four-year-old twin sisters from Malawi named Estere and Stella, and she moved to live in , Portugal in summer 2017 with her adoptive children. In July she opened the in Malawi, a children's hospital built by her Raising Malawi charity. The chronicling the Rebel Heart Tour was released in September 2017, and won Best Music Video for Western Artists at the 32nd . That month, Madonna launched MDNA Skin in select stores in the United States, after getting "tired of hearing people complain here that they can't get it in America". A few months earlier, the auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll had put up Madonna's personal items like love letters from , cassettes, underwear and a hairbrush for sale. Darlene Lutz, an art dealer who had initiated the auction, was sued by Madonna's representatives to stop the proceedings. Madonna clarified that her celebrity status "does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy, including with regard to highly personal items". Madonna lost the case and the presiding judge ruled in favor of Lutz who was able to prove that in 2004 Madonna made a legal agreement with her for selling the items.

2018–present: Madame X and other projects Madonna during performing during the , 2020In January 2018, Madonna revealed that she had started working on her 14th studio album. She later clarified the album would be infused with Portuguese music, with its release scheduled in 2019. Four months later, she appeared at the and performed a new song called "", along with "Like a Prayer" and a cover of 's "". At the , Madonna paid tribute to singer , who had died the previous week. In October, she contributed guest vocals to the track "Champagne Rosé" on American rapper 's debut album, . Her other projects include directing the , Taking Flight, based on ballet dancer 's memoir, as well as adapting 's novel, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, into a film.

On April 14, 2019, Madonna revealed that would be the title of her upcoming fourteenth studio album. The first single, a collaboration with Colombian singer called "", was released on April 17. Madonna also features on the track "Soltera" on Maluma's 2019 album . She also announced the , focused on small venues in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In May, Madonna was the interval act at the ; she performed "Like a Prayer", and then "" with rapper . Madame X was released on June 14 and debuted at number one on the .

Artistry Musical style and songwriting [Madonna] is a brilliant pop melodist and lyricist. I was knocked out by the quality of the writing [during Ray of Light sessions]... I know she grew up on and , and to my ears she embodies the best of both worlds. She is a wonderful confessional songwriter, as well as being a superb hit chorus pop writer.—, on co-writing with Madonna.

Madonna's music has been the subject of much analysis and scrutiny. , author of Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2005), commented that what has brought Madonna success is "certainly not outstanding natural talent. As a vocalist, musician, dancer, songwriter, or actress, Madonna's talents seem modest." He asserts Madonna's success is in relying on the talents of others, and that her personal relationships have served as cornerstones to the numerous reinventions in the longevity of her career. The author believed that Madonna's approach was far from the music industry wisdom of "Find a winning formula and stick to it". Her musical career has been a continuous experimentation with new musical ideas and new images and a constant quest for new heights of fame and acclaim. Grant concluded that "having established herself as the queen of popular music, Madonna did not stop there, but continued re-inventing." According to Thomas Harrison in the book Pop Goes the Decade: The Eighties, Madonna was "an artist who pushed the boundaries" of what a female singer could do, both visually and lyrically.

Throughout her career Madonna has been involved in writing and producing most of her own music. , one of her past collaborators, said that "You don't produce Madonna, you collaborate with her. She's a really good producer herself and obviously a great writer too. She has her vision and knows how to get it." Madonna's early songwriting skill was developed during her time with the in 1979. According to Carol Gnojewski, her first attempts at songwriting are perceived as an important "self-revelation". Madonna later became the sole writer of five songs on her debut album, including "Lucky Star" which she composed on . As a songwriter, she has registered a total of 287 songs to , including 18 songs written entirely by herself. Rolling Stone has named her "an exemplary songwriter with a gift for and indelible lyrics." According to Freya Jarman-Ivens, Madonna's talent for developing "incredible" hooks for her songs allows the lyrics to capture the attention of the audience, even without the influence of the music. Despite having worked with producers across many genres, Rolling Stone writes that Madonna's songs have been "consistently stamped with her own sensibility and inflected with autobiographical detail." She has criticized "songwriting camps" which she had to undergo during album cycles for Rebel Heart and MDNA, due to the fact that people are always in a hurry. She clarified her preference for writing material with other artists "from beginning to the end" of a record, and described her songs as "meant to be ironic and not taken literally, and some are just straight-up, 'Open my veins, this is who I am'." Madonna has been nominated for being inducted into the three times, for 2014, 2016 and 2017 ceremony. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Madonna at number 56 on the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time" list.

Madonna spent her early years dabbling in with Breakfast Club and Emmy. While performing with Emmy, Madonna recorded about 12–14 songs that resemble the of that period. Her early rock roots also can be found on the demo album . noted that with her self-titled debut album, Madonna began her career as a diva, in an era that did not have any such divas to speak of. In the beginning of the 1980s, disco was an anathema to the mainstream pop, and according to Erlewine, Madonna had a huge role in popularizing as mainstream music. The album's songs reveal several key trends that have continued to define her success, including a strong dance-based idiom, catchy hooks, highly polished and Madonna's own vocal style. Her second album, Like a Virgin (1984), foreshadowed several trends in her later works. It contained references to classical works ( synthesizer line that opens ""); potential negative reaction from social groups ("" was blacklisted by the ); and retro styles ("Shoo-Bee-Doo", Madonna's homage to ).

Her mature artistic statement was visible in True Blue (1986) and Like a Prayer (1989). In True Blue, she incorporated in order to engage an older audience who had been skeptical of her music. Like a Prayer introduced live recorded songs and incorporated different genres of music, including dance, , and . Her versatility was further shown on I'm Breathless, which consists predominantly of the 1930s Broadway -flavored , and tracks. Madonna continued to compose ballads and dance songs for Erotica (1992) and Bedtime Stories (1994). Both albums explored element of , with Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly saying that "she could actually be viewed as new jack swing's godmother." She tried to remain contemporary by incorporating samples, drum loops and into her music. With Ray of Light, Madonna brought from its underground status into massive popularity in mainstream music scene.

Madonna experimented with more and in Music (2000) and American Life (2003). A change was noted in the content of the songs in Music, with most of them being simple love songs, but with an underlying tone of melancholy. According to magazine, American Life was characterized by "a thumping techno rhythm, liquid keyboard lines, an acoustic chorus and a bizarre Madonna rap." The "conventional rock songs" of the album were suffused with dramatic lyrics about patriotism and composition, including the appearance of a gospel choir in the song "". Madonna returned to pure dance songs with Confessions on a Dance Floor, infusing club beats and retro music with and lyrics. She moved to an urban direction musically with Hard Candy (2008), mixing R&B and hip hop with dance tunes. MDNA (2012) largely focused in electronic dance music, which she has embraced since Ray of Light.

Voice and instruments Madonna playing the of "A New Level" by band during the in 2008Possessing a , Madonna has always been self-conscious about her voice, especially in comparison to her vocal idols such as , , and . , author of Madonna: Blonde Ambition, called her "the perfect vocalist for lighter-than-air songs", despite not being a "heavyweight talent." According to critic Tony Sclafani, "Madonna's vocals are the key to her rock roots. Pop vocalists usually sing songs "straight," but Madonna employs subtext, irony, aggression and all sorts of vocal idiosyncrasies in the ways and did." Madonna used a bright, girlish vocal in her early albums which became passé in her later works. The change was deliberate since she was constantly reminded of how the critics had once labelled her as "Minnie Mouse on helium". During the filming of Evita, Madonna had to take vocal lessons, which increased her range further. Of this experience she commented, "I studied with a vocal coach for Evita and I realized there was a whole piece of my voice I wasn't using. Before, I just believed I had a really limited range and was going to make the most of it."

Besides singing, Madonna has the ability to play several musical instruments. She learned to play drum and guitar from her then-boyfriend Dan Gilroy in the late 1970s, before joining the Breakfast Club line-up as the drummer. This helped her to form the band Emmy, where she performed as the guitarist and lead vocalist. Madonna later played guitar on her . On the liner notes of , wrote: "I've always thought she passed up a brilliant career as a rhythm guitarist." After her career breakthrough, Madonna focused mainly in singing but was also credited for playing on Madonna (1983) and synthesizer on Like a Prayer (1989). In 1999, Madonna had studied for three months to play the violin for the role as a violin teacher in the film Music of the Heart, before eventually leaving the project. After two decades, Madonna decided to perform with guitar again during the promotion of Music (2000). She took further lessons from guitarist to improve her guitar skill. Since then, Madonna has played guitar on every tour, as well as her studio albums. At the 2002 , she received nomination for Les Paul Horizon Award, which honors the most promising up-and-coming guitarist.

Influences According to Taraborrelli, the defining moment of Madonna's childhood was the death of her beloved mother. As they grew older, Madonna and her sisters felt deep sadness as the memory of their mother began drifting away from them. They would study pictures of her and come to think that she resembled poet and Hollywood actresses. This experience would later raise Madonna's interest in poetry, with being her favourite poet. Later, Madonna commented: "The anguish of losing my mom left me with a certain kind of loneliness and an incredible longing for something. If I hadn't had that emptiness, I wouldn't have been so driven. Her death had a lot to do with me saying—after I got over my heartache—I'm going to be really strong if I can't have my mother. I'm going to take care of myself." Taraborrelli believed that the devastation and abandonment Madonna felt at the loss of her mother taught her "a valuable lesson, that she would have to remain strong for herself because, she feared weakness—particularly her own."

Author opines that the impact of the sexual assault Madonna suffered in her young adult years was the motivating factor behind everything she has done, more important than the death of her mother: "It's not so much grief at her mother's death that drives her, as the sense of abandonment that left her unprotected. She encountered her own worst possible scenario, becoming a victim of male violence, and thereafter turned that full-tilt into her work, reversing the equation at every opportunity."

Madonna was influenced by (left) and (right), whom she called "strong, independent women who wrote their own music and evolved on their own".In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "" by ; she said it summed up her own "take-charge attitude". As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art, and music, and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was , and loved and because she liked their "feminine quality". Madonna's major influences include , , , and , as well as dancers and . She also grew up listening to , whose show was the first rock concert she ever attended.

Madonna's Italian-Catholic background and her relationship with her parents are reflected in the album Like a Prayer. It was an evocation of the impact religion had on her career. Her video for the title track contains Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. During The Virgin Tour, she wore a and prayed with it in the music video for "La Isla Bonita". The "Open Your Heart" video sees her boss scolding her in the Italian language. On the Who's That Girl World Tour, she dedicated the song "Papa Don't Preach" to . Her album (2012) has also drawn many influences from her Catholic upbringing, and since 2011 she has been attending meetings and services at an center, a Catholic institution that encourages spirituality through every day life.

During her childhood, Madonna was inspired by actors, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny ... and I saw myself in them ... my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence." Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's look in the song "", from the film (1953). She studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the film Who's That Girl. The video for "Express Yourself" (1989) was inspired by 's (1927). The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of photographs, in particular those by , and imitated the poses of , Carole Lombard, and , while the lyrics referred to many of the stars who had inspired her, including , described by Madonna as an idol. However, Madonna's film career has been largely received negatively by film critics. Stephanie Zacharek stated in Time that, "[Madonna] seems wooden and unnatural as an actress, and it's tough to watch, because she's clearly trying her damnedest." According to biographer , "Madonna puts a brave face on the criticism, but privately she is deeply hurt." After the Swept Away (2002), Madonna vowed that she would never again act in a film, hoping her repertoire as a bad actress would never be discussed again. In 2016, a career retrospective, titled Body of Work, was shown at New York's Metrograph hall. According to The Guardian's Nigel M. Smith, Madonna's film career suffered mostly due to lack of proper material supplied to her, and given a chance "[she] could steal a scene for all the right reasons".

Influences also came to her from the art world, such as through the works of Mexican artist . The music video of the song "Bedtime Story" featured images inspired by the paintings of Kahlo and . Madonna is also a collector of 's paintings and has included them in her music videos and tours. Her video for "" (2003) was an homage to the work of photographer ; Bourdin's son subsequently filed a lawsuit for unauthorised use of his father's work. Pop artist 's use of sadomasochistic imagery in his underground films were reflected in the music videos for "Erotica" and "Deeper and Deeper".

Madonna is dedicated to , and in 2004 she adopted the name which in means "star". She has donated millions of dollars to New York and London schools teaching the subject. She faced opposition from rabbis who felt Madonna's adoption of the Kabbalah was sacrilegious and a case of celebrity . Madonna defended her studies, saying: "It would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi Party", and that her involvement with the Kabbalah is "not hurting anybody". The influence of the Kabbalah was subsequently observed in Madonna's music, especially albums like Ray of Light and Music. During the Re-Invention World Tour, at one point in the show, Madonna and her dancers wore T-shirts that read "Kabbalists Do It Better".

Music videos and performances See also: In The Madonna Companion biographers Allen Metz and Carol Benson noted that more than any other recent pop artist, Madonna had used MTV and music videos to establish her popularity and enhance her recorded work. According to them, many of her songs have the imagery of the music video in strong context, while referring to the music. in his book Nots (1993) felt that the form par excellence is video and the reigning "queen of video" is Madonna. He further asserted that "the most remarkable creation of MTV is Madonna. The responses to Madonna's excessively provocative videos have been predictably contradictory." The media and public reaction towards her most-discussed songs such as "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", or "Justify My Love" had to do with the music videos created to promote the songs and their impact, rather than the songs themselves. Morton felt that "artistically, Madonna's songwriting is often overshadowed by her striking pop videos."

Madonna's initial music videos reflected her American and Hispanic mixed street style combined with a flamboyant glamor. She was able to transmit her avant-garde downtown New York fashion sense to the American audience. The imagery and incorporation of Hispanic culture and Catholic symbolism continued with the music videos from the True Blue era. Author noted, "such 'multiculturalism' and her culturally transgressive moves turned out to be highly successful moves that endeared her to large and varied youth audiences." Madonna's Spanish look in the videos became the fashion trend of that time, in the form of boleros and layered skirts, accessorizing with rosary beads and a crucifix as in the video of "La Isla Bonita".

Madonna using the "Madonna mic" during the 1990 . She was one of the earliest adopters of hands-free headsets.Academics noted that with her videos, Madonna was subtly reversing the usual role of male as the dominant sex. This symbolism and imagery was probably the most prevalent in the music video for "Like a Prayer". The video included scenes of an African-American church choir, Madonna being attracted to a statue of a black saint, and singing in front of burning crosses. This mix of the sacred and the profane upset the and resulted in the Pepsi commercial withdrawal. In 2003, MTV named her "The Greatest Music Video Star Ever" and said that "Madonna's innovation, creativity and contribution to the music video art form is what won her the award."

Madonna's emergence occurred during the advent of MTV; Chris Nelson from spoke of pop artists like Madonna saying, "MTV, with its almost exclusively videos, ushered in an era in which average music fans might happily spend hours a day, every day, watching singers just mouth the words." The symbiotic relationship between the music video and lip-syncing led to a desire for the spectacle and imagery of the music video to be transferred to live stage shows. He added, "Artists like Madonna and set new standards for showmanship, with concerts that included not only elaborate costumes and precision-timed pyrotechnics but also highly athletic dancing. These effects came at the expense of live singing." Thor Christensen of commented that while Madonna earned a reputation for lip-syncing during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, she has subsequently reorganized her performances by "stay[ing] mostly still during her toughest singing parts and [leaves] the dance routines to her backup troupe ... [r]ather than try to croon and dance up a storm at the same time."

To allow for greater movement while dancing and singing, Madonna was one of the earliest adopters of hands-free radio-frequency , with the headset fastened over the ears or the top of the head, and the microphone capsule on a boom arm that extended to the mouth. Because of her prominent usage, the microphone design came to be known as the "Madonna mic". Metz noted that Madonna represents a as she is often perceived as living her whole life as a performance. While her big-screen performances are panned, her live performances are critical successes. Madonna was the first artist to have her concert tours as reenactment of her music videos. Author Elin Diamond explained that reciprocally, the fact that images from Madonna's videos can be recreated in a live setting enhances the realism of the original videos. She believed that "her live performances have become the means by which mediatized representations are naturalized".

Taraborrelli said that encompassing multimedia, latest technology and sound systems, Madonna's concerts and live performances are "extravagant show piece[s], [and] walking art show[s]." Madonna always films her concert tours, saying: "It's like documenting and archiving your artwork. It's a record of something I created with a lot of great and talented people... They're stages of my career, and they tell a story. They're an important part of my legacy, so I'm documenting them," she explained. Madonna has expressed her desire to create a stripped-down, acoustic only concert "that continues to involve music and dance [but also] poetry and humor". She also wanted to involve water elements in her productions but had been discouraged due to logistical problems.

Legacy See also: , , , , , , and Various music journalists, critical theorists, and authors have noted Madonna's legacy and deemed her the most influential female recording artist of all time. She topped 's "" list and 's "20 Greatest Female Artists" list. According to , "saying that Madonna is just a pop star is as inappropriate as saying that is just a . Madonna is one of the classic symbols of ." wrote, "She became the first master of in history, years before the internet was massively used. Madonna was everywhere; in the almighty music television channels, 'radio formulas', magazine covers and even in bookshops. A pop dialectic, never seen since 's reign, which allowed her to keep on the edge of trend and commerciality." Laura Barcella and in the book Madonna and Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop (2012) wrote that "Madonna changed everything the musical landscape, the '80s look , and most significantly, what a mainstream female pop star could (and couldn't) say, do, or accomplish in the public eye." William Langley from felt that "Madonna has changed the world's , has done more things as more different people than anyone else is ever likely to." writer called Madonna ", the likes of which we will never see again" and asserted that she and invented the terms .

Madonna's wax statue at According to Tony Sclafani from , "It's worth noting that before Madonna, most music mega-stars were guy rockers; after her, almost all would be female singers ... When the Beatles hit America, they changed the paradigm of performer from solo act to band. Madonna changed it back—with an emphasis on the female." Howard Kramer, curatorial director of the , asserted that "Madonna and the career she carved out for herself made possible virtually every other female pop singer to follow ... She certainly raised the standards of all of them ... She redefined what the parameters were for female performers." According to Fouz-Hernández, subsequent female singers such as , , , the , , , and were like her "daughters in the very direct sense that they grew up listening to and admiring Madonna, and decided they wanted to be like her." Madonna has also influenced male artists, inspiring rock frontmen of and of to become musicians.

Madonna's use of sexual imagery has benefited her career and catalyzed public discourse on sexuality and feminism. As Roger Chapman documents in Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices, Volume 1 (2010), she has drawn frequent condemnation from religious organizations, social conservatives and parental watchdog groups for her use of explicit, sexual imagery and lyrics, religious symbolism, and otherwise "irreverent" behavior in her live performances. The Times wrote that she had "started a revolution amongst women in music ... Her attitudes and opinions on sex, nudity, style and sexuality forced the public to sit up and take notice." Professor noted that the sense of empowerment that Madonna offers is inextricably connected with the pleasure of exerting some control over the meanings of self, of sexuality, and of one's social relations. In Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture (2009), the authors noted that Madonna, as a female celebrity, performer, and pop icon, is able to unsettle standing feminist reflections and debates. According to lesbian feminist , Madonna represents woman's occupancy of what calls the category of sex, as powerful, and appears to gleefully embrace the performance of the sexual corvée allotted to women. Professor has referred to Madonna as "an almost sacred feminist icon."

Madonna has received acclaim as a role model for businesswomen in her industry, "achieving the kind of financial control that women had long fought for within the industry", and generating over $1.2 billion in sales within the first decade of her career. According to Gini Gorlinski in the book The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time (2010), Madonna's levels of power and control were "unprecedented" for a woman in the entertainment industry. Professor Colin Barrow from described her as "America's smartest businesswoman ... who has moved to the top of her industry and stayed there by constantly reinventing herself." academics called her a "dynamic entrepreneur" worth copying; they identified her vision of success, her understanding of the music industry, her ability to recognize her own performance limits (and thus bring in help), her willingness to work hard and her ability to adapt as the keys to her commercial success. Morton wrote that "Madonna is opportunistic, manipulative, and ruthless—somebody who won't stop until she gets what she wants—and that's something you can get at the expense of maybe losing your close ones. But that hardly mattered to her."

Achievements Main articles: and Madonna was the first person to be inducted into the in London, England.Madonna is the wealthiest woman in the , with an estimated between US$590 million to $800 million. She has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. The acknowledged her as the best-selling female recording artist of all time. According to the (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the third , with 64.5 million album units. Madonna is the most certified artist of all time in United Kingdom, with 45 awards from the (BPI) as of April 2013.

Madonna remains the , with over US$1.4 billion earned from her concert tours throughout her career. As of 2016, Billboard Boxscore ranked Madonna as the third highest-grossing touring act of all time, with over $1.31 billion in concert gross since 1990, behind only ($1.84 billion) and ($1.67 billion). Madonna also remains the only woman in history with ; her 's concert in , Paris, drew over 130,000 audience, while her 's concert in , Rio de Janeiro, drew over 120,000 audience. Madonna has also won seven and twenty , including the 1986 for which she became the first female recipient.

According to , Madonna is the most successful solo artist in the Hot 100 chart history (second overall behind ) and the most successful dance club artist of all time. With a total of 50 chart-toppers, Madonna became the artist with the most number-one songs on any single , pulling ahead of with 44 number-one songs on the chart. She has also scored 38 top-ten singles on the Hot 100, more than any other artist in history. Internationally, Madonna holds the record for the most number-one singles by a female artist in (11), (25), (23), (21), and the (13). At the 40th anniversary of the , Madonna was ranked as the most successful singles artist in German chart history.

Discography Main articles: , , and Filmography Main article: Films starred

Films directed

Tours Main article: Enterprises See also: See also References Citations Print sources See also: External links Madonnaat Wikipedia's Preceded by , & Final Interval act Succeeded by TBDStudio albumsSoundtrack albumsCompilation albumsBox setsMusic video releasesLive releasesConcerts and toursFilms directed DocumentariesTelevisionBooksCompanies and brandsWorks about MadonnaRelated articles1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010sWorst Screen Couple (1994–2009)Worst Screen Couple/Worst Screen Ensemble (2010)Worst Screen Couple (2011–2012)Worst Screen Ensemble (2011–2012)Worst Screen Combo (2013–present)Best Contemporary Album (1968)Best Pop Album (1995–2000)Best Pop Vocal Album (2001–present)1988–20002001–present1980s1984 — ""1985 — ""1986 — ""1987 — ""1988 — "/"1989 — ""1990s1990 — ""1991 — ""1992 — "" 1993 — ""1994 — ""1995 — ""1996 — ""1997 — ""1998 — ""1999 — ""2000s2000 — ""2001, , and — ""2002 — ""2003 — ""2004 — ""2005 — "" 2006 — ""2007 (featuring ) — ""2008 — ""2009 — ""2010s2010 — ""2011 — ""2012 (featuring ) — ""2013 — ""2014 — ""2015 (featuring ) — ""2016 — ""2017 — ""2018 (featuring ) — ""2019 — "" – DomesticInternational – PerformersNon-performers (Ahmet Ertegun Award)Sidemen (1970–1989) [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1]Retrieved from "": Hidden categories: Madonna shares video of son dancing to Michael Jackson to 'honor ...

Madonna shares video of son dancing to Michael Jackson to 'honor ...

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