Regarding the Guinness World Records, Madonna is recognised as the best-selling female recording artist of all time, having sold more than 300 million records worldwide. According to Billboard, Madonna is the most successful solo act on the Hot 100 singles chart, overall second to The Beatles as well as being the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time. She has earned a staggering $1.31 billion from her concert tickets since the year 1990... Let those facts sink in.
The woman is an icon.
Madonna moved to New York City in 1977 to become a dancer, however fate took her by the hands and led her into a musical route in 1982 - she was signed to a record company. The following year she released her debut album, Madonna - singles included 'Holiday', 'Lucky Star' and 'Borderline'. 80's Madonna consisted of hair, glamour, mesh and bangles. Already showing signs of an incredible entertainer, she captured the eyes of EVERYONE. She was eccentric, she was flirty, she was a diva. Her unique taste in fashion was intriguing and it was one of the first times a woman could continuously pull off any type of clothing. No one had seen a woman so powerful in the music industry. She released following albums such as Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986) and Like a Prayer (1989) in the 80's; however continues to release music still today.
Her popularity was further enhanced by her roles in movies such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) , Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992) and Evita (1996). She also paved the way for the emergence of MTV in the 1980's as her music videos pushed boundaries. They were frequently reinventing both her image and music which kept everyone fascinated.
Madonna's initial music videos reflected her American street style combined with ostentatious glamour. Academics have noted that with her videos, Madonna was subtly reversing the usual role of male as the dominant sex. This portrayal is 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, as well as singing in front of burning crosses. This resulted in massive controversy at the time. In 2003, MTV gave her the title of "The Greatest Music Video Star Ever". To allow for greater movement while dancing and singing, Madonna was one of the first adopters of hands-free headset microphones; because of her prominent usage, the microphone design became known as the "Madonna mic".
Rolling Stone of Spain wrote that "She became the first viral Master of Pop in history, years before the Internet was massively used. Madonna was everywhere." Alan McGee from The Guardian felt that Madonna is 'a post-modern art, the likes of which we will never see again'. Madonna's influence has even crossed over into the male community, inspiring rock front-men Liam Gallagher of Oasis and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park.
She is the first lady of pop; the queen of reinvention and the queen of controversy. Madonna is music royalty.
