Madonna

On August 16th, 1958, a star was born. And at the time, the world was completely unaware of her.  Her name was Madonna Louise Ciccone.  We now know her simply as Madonna.  Madonna was born and raised in Michigan.  She convinced her father to let her take ballet lessons and she eventually received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan.  At the urging of her ballet teacher, Madonna moved to New York City to pursue a dance career. 

She danced with dance troupes for a while, and then eventually formed a rock band that received local attention in the New York dance clubs.  In 1982, Madonna’s music career officially began.  She signed a deal with Sire Records and released her first single, “Everybody.”  

Most people have come to know Madonna from her second album, “Like a Virgin”, which went to number one in the United States. Teenagers loved her bleached hair, lace tops, leggings, jewelry, and Boy Toy belt.  Madonna was no one-hit wonder.  Her success continued.   “Like a Virgin” was followed by 12 more albums, 19 films, and too many number one hits to count. 

Through it all, she has been married to and divorced from Sean Penn, and linked to stars such as Warren Beatty, Dennis Rodman, and Vanilla Ice.  Madonna has 3 children.  Her relationship with fitness trainer Carlos Leon produced her daughter, Lourdes in 1996.  In 2000, she bore a son, Rocco, with current husband Guy Ritchie.  In 2006, Madonna and Guy Ritchie adopted their son David, from Africa.

Madonna is no stranger to controversy.  Though she has regularly received criticism for her provocative style of dress, her first big controversy arose in 1989 when Madonna signed an endorsement deal with Pepsi to do a commercial using the song “Like a Prayer.”  The commercial was almost exactly the same as the music video, which the Vatican condemned due to the Catholic symbols and sensual undertones.  Pepsi, unable to distance themselves or their commercial from the controversy, cancelled their contract with Madonna.  This did nothing to slow down her career.  She moved on, only to find that the Pope encouraged Italians not to attend her concerts.  She remained unaffected, and then MTV banned her Justify My Love video due to the same sex kissing, brief nudity, and bondage.  Looking back, it seems that all this controversy only served to make Madonna more popular.  Those who loved her before still loved her, and those that hated her couldn’t ignore her.

Despite all of the above, Madonna is mostly revered for her music and sensational dance performances.  Her music never goes out of style – she still has her fans from the 80’s. And since she keeps reinventing herself, she also has new fans.  She performs with current pop stars, which is only fitting, since she has paved the way for so many of them. She has received an exhaustive list of awards, including numerous Grammy’s and MTV awards. Madonna turned 50 last week and is currently on her “Sticky and Sweet” tour.  50 years and Madonna’s star is still shining brightly.The Material Girl is on the road again this year so get your Madonna Tickets.  Madonna - Vogue MTV