Madonna

Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16 1958) is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, film producer, actress and author. A multiple Grammy and Golden Globe award winner, she is known for the use of sexual, social and religious themes in her work and has been nicknamed the "Material Girl" and "Queen Of Pop" by the media.

Since her debut in 1982, Madonna has released many chart-topping albums and singles, and has sold more than 232 million albums worldwide and 150 million singles worldwide. Billboard reported that her 2006 Confessions Tour holds the record for the top-grossing concert tour by a female artist. According to both the 2007 Guinness Book of Records, and Forbes, she is the top earning female singer in the world with an estimated net worth of over $325 million. In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records listed Madonna as the "World’s Most-successful Female Musician". In the UK she is the most successful female in the UK album chart history with her compilation The Immaculate Collection having sold 3.9 million copies there alone.

Early life and career

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

Madonna was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills). She is a distant relative of Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall. Madonna's mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963. Her father later married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children, Jennifer and Mario.

Madonna convinced her father to allow her to take ballet classes. As a young girl, Madonna attended St. Frederick's Elementary School and St. Andrew's Elementary School (present day Holy Family Regional) and West Middle School. She attended Rochester Adams High School, becoming a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. Madonna received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.

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

When I came to New York, it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done.

While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez, on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club in New York. In it, she sang and played drums and guitar before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. Disc jockey and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.

1982–1985: Breakthrough

In 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a new wave label belonging to Warner Bros. Records. Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982. The song went on to become a huge dancefloor hit and was heard all over the radio in the Summer of 1982. October 6, 1982 saw its commercial release. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Chart. Next was "Burning Up" in March 1983, also peaking at #3 on the U.S. dance charts. The results convinced Sire Records to finance an entire album by Madonna. On May 5, 1983 a double A-sided promotional 7" single for "Physical Attraction" was released to U.S. radio.

Her debut album, Madonna, a collection of dance songs, was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas, who had also produced for several R&B singers including Stephanie Mills. Madonna felt Lucas would be the producer to get the best vocals from her as he had experience working with many established R&B singers. After finishing several songs, however, she was dissatisfied with the outcome. She felt her vocals were fine but was displeased with Lucas' music tracks. Madonna took the finished product to her then-boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez, who remixed and rearranged them. He also added a song ("Holiday"). the album peaked at number eight on the U.S. albums chart.

Madonna's look and manner of dress, portrayed in photographs, live performances and music videos, became increasingly influential among young girls and women. Defined by lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, and bleached hair, this distinctive style became an iconic female fashion trend in the 1980s.

Her follow up album, Like a Virgin, became her first number one album on the U.S. albums chart, buoyed by the success of its title track, "Like a Virgin", which reached number one in the U.S. with a six week stay at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Other hits included "Material Girl" (U.S. #2), Angel" (U.S. #5) and "Dress You Up" (U.S. #5). The album sold eight million copies in the US and another four million worldwide at its time of release. It currently stands at 17 million copies worldwide. She performed the title song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, during which she writhed on the stage, on top of a wedding cake, wearing a combination bustier/wedding gown, lacy stockings, garters, and her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt.

In 1985, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. The soundtrack to the film contained her second U.S. number one pop hit, the Grammy-nominated ballad "Crazy for You", as well as the UK hit "Gambler". The songs were released by Geffen Records during the run of Madonna's Like a Virgin album. Sire Records stopped releasing material after the release of the singles "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl" as not to overlap Geffen's releases from the soundtrack. After the Geffen songs had run their course, Sire would continue promotion on the album by releasing additional singles; "Angel" and "Dress You Up". Later that year, she appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan. The film introduced the dance song "Into the Groove", which was released as the B-side of the U.S. 12" single "Angel", and became an international hit, her first number one in the UK.

Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in the U.S. in 1985 titled The Virgin Tour, with The Beastie Boys. In July that year, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s. The publications caused public controversy. Madonna took legal action to try and block them from being published, but when that failed she became unapologetic and defiant. Speaking to a global audience at the outdoor Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and stated she would not take her jacket off, despite the heat, because "they might hold it against me ten years from now".

1986–1991: Artistic development

Madonna's 1986 album True Blue prompted Rolling Stone to declare, "singing better than ever, Madonna stakes her claim as the pop poet of lower-middle-class America." The album included the ballad "Live to Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn. It was also the first to credit her as producer. She collaborated with composer Patrick Leonard, who would become a long-time collaborator and friend. True Blue reached #1 in various countries and sold over eleven million copies worldwide at its time of release. It produced five successful singles, which all reached the top five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Live to Tell” (U.S. #1), “Papa Don't Preach” (U.S. #1), “Open Your Heart” (U.S. #1), “True Blue” (U.S. #3) and “La Isla Bonita” (U.S. #4).

The music videos for the album displayed Madonna’s methods of fusing music with cinematic style such as art direction, cinematography, characters and plot. An example was the "Open Your Heart" video. Though Madonna had already made videos expressing her sexuality, she added religious iconography, gender archetypes, and social issues to her oeuvre, and these concepts would continue through her work.

In 1987, Madonna starred in Who's That Girl, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the film's title track. Its second single, "Causing a Commotion" peaked in the U.S. at #2. The same year, Madonna embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour, at the time the highest-grossing tour in music history, beginning her long association with backing vocalists and dancers Donna DeLory and Niki Haris, and moving closer to the more elaborately staged theater-inspired concert tour. It also marked her first run-in with the Vatican, with Pope John Paul II urging fans not to attend her performances in Italy. Later that year, Madonna released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance, which included one new song, "Spotlight." The album sold over one million copies in the U.S. and 5 million worldwide. In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro, Italy, planned to construct a 13-foot (4 m) statue of Madonna in a bustier. The statue was intended to commemorate the fact that some of Madonna's ancestors had lived in Pacentro.

Madonna's fourth album, Like a Prayer, released in 1989, was co-written and co-produced with Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray. She teamed up with Prince on a duet, and he also played guitar on two songs. Like a Prayer garnered Madonna the strongest reviews of her career and attracted a more mature audience. All Music Guide described the album as "her best and most consistent", while Rolling Stone hailed the album as "..as close to art as pop music gets". Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the US album chart and sold seven million copies worldwide, with 4 million copies alone sold in the U.S. The album produced five hit singles: the title track, “Express Yourself" (U.S. #2), “Cherish" (U.S. #2), “Oh Father” and “Keep It Together" (U.S. #8). The title song hit number one and became her seventh #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In January of 1990, "Oh Father" peaked in the U.S. at #20 and broke Madonna's string of 17 consecutive Top 10 hits from "Borderline" (1984) to "Cherish" (1989).

In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. She appeared and debuted her new song, “Like a Prayer,” in a Pepsi commercial and also made a separate music video which was not related to Pepsi. Although the commercial itself was not controversial, the video for “Like a Prayer” caused an uproar. The video premiered on MTV and featured many Catholic symbols, such as stigmata. The video depicted a black man who comes to the aid of a white woman being murdered by white men but the black man is arrested for the crime. Madonna, who has witnessed the crime, secures his release. Since the commercial and music video were nearly identical in visual terms, Pepsi was unable to convince the public that their commercial actually had nothing that could be deemed inappropriate. Pepsi revoked the commercial and allowed Madonna to keep her five million dollar fee, as the contract was nullified.

In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in a film adaptation of the popular comic book series Dick Tracy. To accompany the launching of the film, in May 1990 she released I'm Breathless, which included songs from and inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It featured her eighth U.S. #1 house music anthem "Vogue", the Gershwin-esque "Something to Remember", and three songs by Stephen Sondheim, including "Sooner or Later", which won an Academy Award for 'Best Original Song', I'm Breathless was a success in Europe, Australia and the United States, and sold 7 million copies worldwide. The second single released from "I'm Breathless" was "Hanky Panky" which peaked in the U.S. at #10.

From April until August 1990, Madonna toured Japan, North America, and Europe on her Blond Ambition World Tour, which the singer likened to musical theatre. Featuring now familiar religious and sexual themes and symbolism, the tour drew controversy from Madonna's performance of "Like a Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation.

In November 1990, Madonna released her first greatest hits compilation album, The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs: “Justify My Love” and “Rescue Me.” Considering that Madonna did not want to release "Rescue Me" as a single, it became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in U.S. chart history, entering the U.S. charts at number 15 and eventually peaking at #9. The music video for “Justify My Love,” again directed by Mondino, showed Madonna at the Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris, in suggestive scenes with her then-lover, model/actor Tony Ward, as well as scenes of S&M, bondage with gay and lesbian characters, and brief nudity. It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV, and was subsequently banned from the station. Warner Bros Records released the video as a video single — the first of its kind — and it became a very successful music video. "Justify My Love" became her ninth #1 single in the U.S. The album to date has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide.

In 1991, Madonna starred in her first documentary film, Truth or Dare (also known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America), which chronicled her successful 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League of Their Own with a mostly critically praised (one of her few film honors) portrayal of Italian American Mae Mordabito, and recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground", which became her tenth #1 single in the United States.

1992–1997: "Sex" controversy and "Evita"

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"Bedtime Story" (1995) featured images of Madonna inspired by paintings of Frida Kahlo and Remedios Varo.

Erotica, produced primarily with Shep Pettibone, featured three overtly sexual songs: "Erotica", "Where Life Begins", and "Did You Do It?". The album peaked at number two in the U.S. and produced six singles, the most successful being its title track “Erotica” (U.S. #3). "Erotica" became the highest-debuting single in the history of the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay chart entering at #2. Other singles released included "Deeper and Deeper" (U.S. #7), "Bad Girl" (U.S. #36) and "Rain" (U.S. #14). "Fever" and "Bye Bye Baby" went on to be Top 10 singles in other parts of the world. The album coincided with the release of her coffee table book Sex.

The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993 featured Madonna dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers, including Luca Tommassini and Carrie Ann Inaba. The controversy surrounding the tour continued when she caused an uproar in Puerto Rico by rubbing the island's flag between her legs on stage, while Orthodox Jews protested against her first ever show in Israel.

In the spring of 1994, after the backlash she received from the album Erotica and the book Sex, Madonna released the single "I'll Remember" (U.S. #2). She recorded the song for Alek Keshishian's film "With Honors" and put her back in good graces with American radio and the American buying public.

Madonna released her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories in 1994, co-produced by Nellee Hooper and Dallas Austin. At the time, she was inspired by R&B/rock singer Joi's debut album Pendulum Vibe, and was so in love with it that she recruited producer Dallas Austin to help with her project. The album features Madonna turning to a more R&B-flavored sound. It was a success in Europe, Australia, and the United States, where it peaked at #3 and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. With its title track partially written by Björk, the album gave a hint of what would come musically a few years later. It produced four singles - the lead off single "Secret" (U.S. #3), "Take a Bow" (Co-written and produced with Babyface), "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature". "Take a Bow" was a success on the Billboard Hot 100, staying #1 for seven consecutive weeks. The Michael Haussman Spanish-themed video, meanwhile, would later help her win the lead role in Evita. The latter two singles would struggle on the U.S. chart with "Bedtime Story" peaking at #42 and "Human Nature" peaking at #46. This was the first time in the U.S. since 1983 that a Madonna single did not enter the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

On November 7, 1995, Madonna released Something to Remember, a collection of her best ballads, which featured three new tracks, including a cover of the Marvin Gaye song “I Want You,” which she recorded with the British band Massive Attack, and the top ten song “You'll See.” The album peaked at #6 on the U.S. charts.

In 1996, Madonna’s most critically successful film, Evita, was released. She portrayed the main part of Eva Perón, a role first played by Elaine Paige in the West End. The film's soundtrack became her twelfth platinum album and produced two successful singles, “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” - her version hit #8 in the U.S., and “You Must Love Me” (U.S. #18), the latter of which was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics) specifically for the film. “You Must Love Me” won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song From a Motion Picture the following year. Madonna herself also won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy but failed to receive an Academy Award nomination.

1998–2002: "Ray of Light"

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Madonna at the Madrid premiere of Evita.

Madonna's 1998 album Ray of Light debuted at #2 on the U.S. albums chart. After some errors in her pronunciation of Sanskrit shlokas on Ray of Light, the BBC, London, arranged for her to take telephonic lessons to learn the basic correct pronunciation of Sanskrit words from eminent scholar Dr B P T Vagish Shastri. She then made the necessary pronunciation corrections on the album. Amazon.com described the album as "her richest, most accomplished record yet", while Rolling Stone credited Madonna and her co-producer William Orbit for "creating the first mainstream pop album that successfully embraces techno", stating that musically Ray of Light is her "most adventurous record" yet. Ray of Light produced five singles, including "Frozen". The album won three awards at the 1999 Grammy Awards and has been ranked #363 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Microsoft used the Ray of Light title track in its 2001 advertising campaign Yes you can, to introduce Windows XP. Other singles released include "Ray of Light" , "The Power of Good-Bye", and "Nothing Really Matters". The song "Drowned World/Substitute For Love" went on to be a Top 10 hit in other parts of the world. In 1998, Madonna was signed to play the role of violin teacher Roberta Guaspari Demetras in the film Music of the Heart, and studied for many months to play the violin for the role, but left the project before filming began, citing "creative differences" with director Wes Craven. The children of Opus 118 - Harlem School of Music, led by Roberta Guaspari, performed with Madonna twice in 1998: "Frozen" at the Annual Rain Forest Benefit at Carnegie Hall, New York and at the 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards performing "The Power of Good-Bye".

Madonna followed the success of Ray of Light with the top-twenty single, "Beautiful Stranger" (U.S. #19), a late 60s psyche-pop song she wrote with William Orbit and recorded for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack (1999). In 2000, Madonna starred in The Next Best Thing, her first film since Evita. Madonna contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, "Time Stood Still" and the U.S. Top 40 (#29) / British chart-topper "American Pie", a cover version of the 1970s Don McLean single.

Music, her eighth studio album, had Madonna in house music. Despite this, she retained the moodiness of Ray of Light in "Paradise (Not for Me)" and introduced folk guitars in the top ten song “Don't Tell Me” and the ballad “Gone.” Music debuted at #1 on both the US and UK album charts. Mainly co-written and produced with French house musician Mirwais Ahmadzai, the album produced three singles including the title track.

In 2001, Madonna embarked on the Drowned World Tour, her first tour in eight years. It was the subject of a television special in the US and was released on DVD in November 2001 to coincide with the release of her second greatest hits album, GHV2.

In 2002, Madonna starred in the film Swept Away. Later that year, she released the theme song to the James Bond film Die Another Day, in which she had a brief role. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song.

2003–2006: Commercial fluctuations and adoption controversy

Madonna released her ninth studio album, American Life, in April 2003. The lyrics were themed on the aspects of the American dream, fame, fortune and society. The record received mixed reviews. The music video for the first single, "American Life", caused controversy, as it contained scenes depicting war, explosions, and blood. The day before the video was to air on European television, Madonna pulled it and released an edited version, which showed her singing in front of flags from around the world. The song peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it reached number two on the charts. Having sold four million copies, American Life became the lowest selling album of her career.

Later that year, Madonna performed the song "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott at the MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera during the performance, resulting in tabloid press frenzy. That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears's single "Me Against the Music".

During the Christmas season of 2003, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, a remix EP that included rock versions of songs from American Life, as well as "Your Honesty", a left-over from 1994's Bedtime Stories album. The collection did not chart in the Billboard top 100.

In 2004, Madonna embarked on The Re-Invention World Tour, which featured fifty-six dates in the U.S., Canada, and Europe and became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning $125 million. She made a documentary about the tour named I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, which debuted on MTV and was directed by Jonas Akerlund. Also in 2004, Madonna was involved in a brief legal battle with Warner Music Group, with whom she co-owned record label Maverick. The legal dispute ended with Warner Music Group buying Madonna's shares in the record label. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her #36 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song "Imagine" on the televised U.S. aid concert "Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope", which raised money for the tsunami victims in Asia.

Madonna's tenth studio album, the Grammy-winning Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) which sold more than 11 million copies, was built on a continuous mix of dance songs, with musical elements borrowed from the '70s, and current dance music. The album received positive reviews and was considered a return to form after the negative reception to American Life. It produced four singles including "Hung Up" which reached #1 in a record breaking 45 countries and peaked at #7 in the U.S. With "Hung Up" crossing over into the Top 10, Madonna had her 36th Top 10 hit and is now tied with Elvis Presley for the most Top 10 singles by any artist in the U.S. Madonna opened the 2006 Grammy Awards with "Hung Up", alongside the nominated computer-generated band, Gorillaz.

"Sorry" then became Madonna's twelfth number one in the UK, making her the female artist with the most #1 singles in the UK charts.

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Madonna at the Live 8 benefit concert on July 2, 2005.

"Sorry" peaked at #58 in the U.S.. The third single, "Get Together", reached the UK Top 10 and became her thirty-sixth number one dance hit in the U.S. but did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The fourth and final single was "Jump", another U.S. Dance Chart #1 (this became her 37th #1 on that chart) and charted at number nine in the UK.

In mid-2006, Madonna signed on to become the worldwide face of H&M. Included in the deal was a specially designed track suit, created by Madonna. The next year M by Madonna, launched in the United States, and internationally. In its first week, the line took in $15 million. The company has ordered a second and third line for late 2007.

Madonna's Confessions Tour began in late May 2006 and ended its 60-date run in Tokyo on September 21, 2006. It grossed a reported $260.1 million and was the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist in history, with a global audience of 1.2 million. But the use of religious symbols such as the crucifix and crown of thorns in the performance of "Live to Tell" caused controversy. But she justified herself, saying:

I am very grateful that my show was so well received all over the world. But there seems to be many misinterpretations about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it myself once and for all.

There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My 'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up the Cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.

My specific intent is to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can. The song ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew:

For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me and God replied, "Whatever you did for the least of my brothers... you did it to me."

Please do not pass judgment without seeing my show.

In October 2006, Madonna flew to Malawi to help build an orphanage, which she also funded, as part of the Raising Malawi initiative. While there, she took custody of a baby boy, named David, with the intent of adopting him. The effort was highly publicised and culminated into legal disputes. Madonna gave television interviews to defend herself against the negative reaction. U2 lead singer and humanitarian activist, Bono, defended her by commenting "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable and giving him a better chance in life. Baby David is lucky to have been adopted by someone who can give him a chance of survival in this world and I don't think it's fair that people are criticising her."

2007-Present: Current projects

On May 16, 2007, a song was released by Madonna called "Hey You", released in anticipation of Live Earth. Madonna performed 'Hey You' amongst other songs at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London on July 7, 2007. Madonna directed her first film, Filth and Wisdom from May 14 to May 29, 2007 and has started production on her next album, which is expected to be released in early 2008. Madonna is also working on a documentary on the problems and difficulties faced by people in Malawi, called I Am Because We Are.

Madonna was a guest vocalist on the song "Sing" on the Annie Lennox 2007 album Songs of Mass Destruction. The song involved twenty-three female artists joining Lennox for the collaboration. This "powerful feminist anthem" was born out of Lennox's involvement with Nelson Mandela’s 46664 and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) – organisations fighting for human rights, education and health care for those affected by the HIV AIDS virus. 'Sing' was released as a single on December 3, 2007.

On October 16, 2007, Madonna announced she was not renewing her recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and had entered a $120 million, 10-year contract with Live Nation Inc., and will become the founding artist in its new Artist Nation division. The deal consists of all future music and music-related businesses including albums, concert tours, merchandising, fan club/web site, DVDs, music-related television and film projects, and associated sponsorship agreements. Madonna releases a statement saying she signed the new deal because of the changes in the music business: "The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift. For the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is unlimited. I've never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new partnership, the possibilities are endless." Under the terms of the deal, Madonna will receive a signing bonus of about $18 million and a roughly $17 million advance for each of three albums, and she is expected to do 4 concert tours within the 10-year period.

On October 18, 2007, Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg told Hollywood Insider that Madonna's forthcoming studio album could be released in early 2008 and a greatest hits package is slated for a release in late 2008 or early 2009.

On December 13, 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Madonna as one of the five inductees of the class of 2008. The ceremony, which will also include fellow inductees John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, the Ventures, and the Dave Clark Five, will take place on March 10, 2008.

Influences

Madonna has cited her Catholic and Italian background as major influences in her life and career. She has also noted on various occasions that her mother's premature death left a lasting emotional burden throughout her adolescence and adulthood. As an entertainer, Madonna has occasionally touched on these subjects in her song lyrics and visual presentation.

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

Madonna's Italian heritage has also been referenced in her work. The video for Like a Virgin, filmed in Venice, Italy, features her in Venetian settings. The "Open Your Heart" video sees her boss yelling at her in Italian. In the "Papa Don't Preach" video, Madonna wears a shirt with the slogan, "Italians Do It Better". The 1988 video release of her Who's That Girl Tour, titled Ciao, Italia! - Live From Italy, was filmed mainly in Turin, Italy. In it, Madonna performs the song Papa Don't Preach while a portrait of the Pope appears on the screen behind her. "Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope". In her 2005 documentary I'm Going To Tell You a Secret, she has been quoted as jokingly stating that she has "big, fat, Italian thighs."

In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and that it summed up her take-charge attitude. As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art, and music, and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was baroque, and loved Chopin because she liked his "feminine quality". In a 1999 interview with Larry King, Madonna identified a wide range of musical influences that impacted her such as Karen Carpenter, Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde saying they "paved the way" for her. Her song "Rain" is inspired by Karen Carpenter. In an interview with the Observer, Madonna professed her inspirations — Detroit natives The Raconteurs and The White Stripes, as well as New York band "The Jett Set". Madonna has also commented that she enjoys Frank Sinatra, and especially likes to sing, "My Way" in the shower. Yet the most influential person in her formative years was her younger brother Christopher who influenced all aspects of her life and career; Madonna danced and choreographed with him in the early days, and he has advised her on everything from clothes to music, to home design, to boyfriends.

During her childhood, Madonna became fascinated by films and film stars, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny...and I saw myself in them...my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence". Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" number from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the Who's That Girl? film. The video for "Express Yourself" placed a femme fatale character alongside an androgynous figure in male attire, which was compared to Marlene Dietrich and was inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis movie. The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her. Among those mentioned was Bette Davis, described by Madonna in a Rolling Stone interview as an idol, along with Louise Brooks and Dita Parlo. Dietrich remarked on numerous occasions how vulgar she thought Madonna's actions were as both a performer and as a person.

Relationships

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Madonna dated Dan Gilroy, with whom she formed the band Breakfast Club. In the early 1980s, she also dated musician Stephen Bray, who later co-produced songs such as "Into the Groove" and "Express Yourself", artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, DJ and record producer Mark Kamins, and musician Jellybean Benitez, who produced tracks and remixed her debut album Madonna.

While filming the music video for "Material Girl" in 1985, Madonna began dating actor Sean Penn and married him later that year. After filing and withdrawing divorce papers in December 1987, they separated on New Year's Eve of 1988 and were officially divorced in September 1989. Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna later told Tatler, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."

Madonna began a highly publicized relationship with Warren Beatty while working on the film Dick Tracy early in 1989. Despite rumors that the two had become engaged in May 1990, the couple's relationship seemed to have ended by the summer. In a 1991 interview with Vanity Fair, Madonna said, "I'd go, 'Warren, did you really chase that girl for a year?!?' And he’d say, 'Nah, it's all lies.' I should have known better. I was unrealistic, but then, you always think you're going to be the one."

In late 1990, Madonna dated Tony Ward, a young bisexual model and porn star who starred in her music videos for "Cherish" (1989) and "Justify My Love" (1990). Their relationship ended by early 1991, and Madonna later began an eight-month relationship with rapper Vanilla Ice, who appeared later in her Sex book.

Madonna dated actor John Enos and her bodyguard James Albright in 1992, and basketball player Dennis Rodman for four months in 1994.

In September 1994, while walking in Central Park, Madonna met fitness trainer Carlos Leon who became her personal trainer and lover. On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to his child, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon in Los Angeles, California. The couple ended their relationship in 1997. Madonna then began dating Andy Bird, who sold his story to the newspapers in a tell-all about their eighteen-month relationship in late 2000/early 2001.

On August 11, 2000, Madonna gave birth to a son, Rocco John Ritchie in Los Angeles, California, with Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. On December 22, 2000, Madonna and Ritchie were married in Scotland. As of 2007, Madonna resides in Marylebone, London and her country estate in Wiltshire, with Ritchie and their 3 children.

David Banda adoption

On October 10, 2006, during her trip to an orphanage in Malawi, Madonna filed adoption papers for a baby boy named David Banda Mwale, born on September 24, 2005 and renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. After a passport and visa were issued, Banda was flown out of Malawi on October 16. The adoption raised public controversy about whether special treatment was given to Madonna considering the fact that Malawian law requires one year of residence for potential adoptive parents.

Madonna appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 25, 2006, to refute the allegations. During the half-hour interview, the singer claimed that there are no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulate foreign adoption and that she had been planning to adopt for two years. She also claimed that Banda had been in critical condition and was suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when she had found him in the orphanage. In addition, Madonna blamed the media for "doing a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa, period, not just the orphans of Malawi", by discouraging people from adopting children from African nations. She stated, "I wanted to go into a Third World country—I wasn't sure where—and give a life to a child who might not otherwise have had one." She also describes Banda's father as a "Simple man from a village."

On October 22, 2006, it was reported that Yohane Banda, David Banda's biological father, did not understand what adoption meant and that he had not realized that he was losing his son. He had assumed that this arrangement was more like a fostering agreement. A few days later, after Winfrey interview, he said, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing." He was also reported to say, "They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." On November 1, 2006, Madonna responded to Banda's comments on an Dateline NBC interview with Meredith Vieira by saying that Yohane Banda had known what he was doing, having refused to accept her offer to financially support him and the child without adopting the child.

Work at the Kabbalah Center

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

Controversy erupted again before the release of Confessions on a Dance Floor. Many Israeli rabbis condemned its song "Isaac" because they believed the song to be a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria, also known as Yitzhak Luria (1534–1572), one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, and claimed that Jewish law forbids using a holy rabbi's name for profit. In interviews, Madonna had called this song "The Binding of Isaac" and rumors spread that it was based on the major episode in the life of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac. Despite continued accusations that the song is about Isaac Luria, Madonna has repeatedly denied such accusations, claiming she could not think of a title for the song and, therefore, named it after Yitzhak (Isaac) Sinwani. In the song, Madonna sings with Sinwani, an Israeli singer, who is chanting a Yemenite Jewish song. Said Madonna: "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about? I don't know enough about Isaac Luria to write a song, though I've learned a bit in my studies."

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

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

Political views

Madonna opposes United States President George W. Bush. She endorsed Wesley Clark's Democratic nomination for the 2004 United States presidential election in an impassioned letter to her fans, saying at the time that "the future I wish for my children is at risk." In the autumn of 2006, she expressed her support for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election. Most recently, she stated that she would be behind Al Gore if he decided to run for the 2008 elections after seeing his documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth. She also urged her fans to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

Criticism

Madonna's lyrics have been panned as simple or even dull by some, though several critics view Madonna as a talented artist.

Moments of her career in which Madonna has been heavily criticized include her 1989 music video for "Like a Prayer", the publication of the book Sex and album Erotica in 1992, her 2003 album American Life, her 2006 performance of "Live to Tell" during the Confessions Tour, her adoption of Malawian infant David Banda in 2006 and virtually all of her attempts at acting on stage and screen.

Much of her career has seen rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church, which has generated criticism in the past. In 1990, when Madonna toured Italy with the Blond Ambition Tour, the Pope encouraged citizens not to attend the concert. A private association of devout Roman Catholics, called Famiglia Domani, also boycotted the show for many of the same displays of sexual innuendos and eroticism the Pope had denounced.

In response, in a 1990 press conference in Italy, Madonna declared, "I am Italian American and proud of it." In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Madonna said that the Pope's reaction hurt, "because I'm Italian, you know", but in another interview the same year stated that she had ceased to practice Catholicism because the Church "completely frowns on sex... except for procreation". In the summer of 2006, Madonna drew criticism from Vatican officials when she took her Confessions Tour to Rome. Vatican officials claimed that Madonna's performance while hanging off a cross and wearing a crown of thorns was an open attack on Catholicism and should not be performed in the same city as the pope's residence.

In the documentary Italians in America - Our Contribution, author Gay Talese relates Madonna's rebellion against the Catholic Church to her Italian ancestry. Talese claims that Madonna's paternal ancestors come from a region of Southern Italy with a long tradition of rebellion against the Catholic Church. Despite her alleged rebellion, Madonna had both of her biological children baptized in a Roman Catholic Church.

Madonna has received criticism from animal rights groups for wearing fur coats and in the past, was criticized for renting out her house for hunting parties.

Influence on science

In 2006 a new water bear species (Latin:Tardigrada), Echiniscus madonnae was named after Madonna. The paper with the description of E. madonnae was published in the international journal of animal taxonomy Zootaxa in March 2006 (Vol. 1154, pages: 1-36). The authors' justification for the name of the new species was: "We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one of the most significant artists of our times, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie". The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) number of the species is 711164.

Discography

Main article: Madonna discography

See also

• Madonna on Letterman
• Madonna and the gay community
• MTV Video Music Awards and nominations for Madonna
• List of awards and achievements for Madonna
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best selling music artists in U.S.
• UK Best selling singles artists of all time
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
• List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

External links

• Official Site
• Madonna discography at Discogs
• Madonna discography at MusicBrainz
• Template:MySpace-music
• Madonna at IMDb
• Madonna in the Yahoo! Directory
• Madonna UNPlugged

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