We’ll let you catch your breath for a second because, holy heck, we cannot believe that Madonna is 60 either. She’s still reigning and shows no signs of slowing down, and why would she? The below This Is Madonna playlist shows just how diverse and spectacular she’s been for over 30 years in the industry, and below we outline just why she is the ultimate Queen of Pop.
It’s hard to imagine the world without Madonna in it, she’s a singer, an actress, a director, a record producer, an author, a dancer, a humanitarian and, above all, an inspiration to all female pop artists that came after her.
Don’t believe us? Well just check out Dua Lipa reppin’ the iconic Madonna cone bra look on The Graham Norton Show…
British-Albanian singer @DUALIPA makes her Later… debut with the chart-topping summer anthem New Rules https://t.co/1e80QLEvuj pic.twitter.com/iaG5XfxFh8
— Later… on BBC Two (@BBCLater) November 1, 2017
…Or Rita Ora covering the HECK out of “Like A Virgin”…
…Or Bebe Rexha telling ABC News how the Queen of Pop helped her overcome her anxiety…
Honestly, we could go on all day but we’re here to countdown and countdown we will! Here’s why Madonna is the ultimate pop Queen.
She Backs Down For No One
It’s no secret that a number of songs from our Queen have generated massive amounts of controversy.
Case in point, police threatened to SHUT DOWN the Toronto show of her 1991 Blond Ambition tour because of her “provocative dance moves” during “Like A Virgin”.
What was Madonna’s response to her tour manager explaining that there would be police intervention if she continued with the routine as planned?
She went ahead with the routine and police didn’t dare interrupt the proceedings.
Madonna’s mixing of sexual imagery and religious paraphernalia got a lot of people upset in the video for 1989’s “Like A Prayer”.
And by a lot of people, we mean the Vatican.
Well, after immense pressure from the public Pepsi cancelled their associated ad campaign.
Madonna’s response after the clip won Video Of The Year at the ‘89 MTV Music Awards?
“I would really like to thank Pepsi for causing so much controversy.”
QUEEN.
She Redefined The Rules For Women In Pop
Madonna’s first single “Everybody” came out in 1982 when she was just 24 which means that she’s racked up an enormously impressive 30+ years in the biz and she’s still putting out wildly successful music
“Do not age, because to age is a sin,” she said. “You will be criticised, you will be vilified, and you will definitely not be played on the radio.”
“I mean, who made those rules? Who says? I’m going to keep fighting it,” she said.
“10 to 20 years from now, it’s going to be normal. People are going to shut up.”
And she was right, let’s name a handful of the world’s biggest female artists; Kylie Minogue, P!nk, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera…
All incredibly successful, all still releasing music more than 20 years into their careers. Yeah, Madonna made that happen.
QUEEN.
She Has Set The Bar For How Successful A Female Musician Can Really Be
Over 13 albums Madonna has racked up more records than is feasible to count but let’s count off a couple of the biggest ones for illustration’s sake.
– Recognised by Guinness World Records as the best-selling female recording artist OF ALL TIME
– Recognised by Guinness World Records as the fourth best-selling overall recording artist OF ALL TIME (behind Elvis, The Beatles and Michael Jackson)
– The highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time, with over US$1.4 billion earned from her concert tours throughout her career.
– Madonna holds the record for the most number-ones on all combined Billboard charts, including twelve number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and eight number-one albums on the Billboard 200.
And, honestly, that’s just a small handful of them.
She’s inspired countless musicians, made countless hits and has managed to remain relevant and loved over three decades.
So, there’s only one more thing to say.