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Madonna (born 1958) is an American singer whose socio-cultural impact has been noted by popular press and media scholars from different fields throughout the late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries on an international scale.
Named byTime magazine as one of the most powerful women of the 20th century,[2] Madonna was included among remarkable American figures by some publications and cultural institutions, including theSmithsonian,Encyclopædia Britannica andDiscovery Channel. Furthermore, she has also been described by some publications as one of themost-written about figures in popular culture.
Her success led to some successive female singers being referred to as hernamesake. The way she was received bymedia,public andacademia was credited with shaping the way future generations of female singers are scrutinized, and was further credited for helping breakgender barriers. Madonna's influence on other entertainers was also articulated. Her musical impact ledBillboard staffers to claim that "the history of pop music can essentially be divided into two eras: pre-Madonna and post-Madonna". In her career, she amassed variousworld records, being recognized as thebest-selling female music artist by theGuinness World Records and other industry publications. She also received variousnicknames by the press, most notably the "Queen of Pop".
A complex figure, Madonna's evolving persona and work also attracted socio-cultural criticism from a variety of perspectives and approaches, which made her someone difficult to categorize, as noted by social critics likeStuart Sim. As her career advanced, Madonna's reputation fluctuated. She has faced substantial societal criticism ranging from censorship, boycotts and death threats from organizations and radicalized groups. The transcultural and globalized reach of Madonna was further conceptualized with terms such as "Madonna-economy" or the "Madonnization", drawing comparisons with that of theMcDonaldization orCocacolonization, while she was called ahyperglobalized example.
Madonna is an American musician whose impact transcended music.Billboard editor-in-chiefJanice Min considered her as "one of a miniscule [sic] number of super-artists whose influence and career transcended music".[3] Similarly, Robert Sickels wrote in100 Entertainers Who Changed America (2013), that her "music alone cannot tell the full story" of her "colossal success and influence".[4] In aThe Independent article dedicated to Madonna in 1998 discussing her figure and impact, she was described as someone who translates things into a "phenomenon" in comparison to other women performing the same tasks.[5]
According toThe New York Times in 2018, she had a "singular career" that "crossed boundaries".[6] She reportedly pioneered a multifaceted career that encompasses many aspects of culture, according to a Singaporean publication in 2005.[7] Robin Raven fromGrammy Awards' official website wrote that "Madonna redefined what it meant to be a powerful woman in music in many ways, and has since continued to challenge sexism in the music industry and beyond."[8]
Madonna has "provoked and sustained exceptional interest as a female cultural icon".
The subject of Madonna attracted significant commentary, both contemporaneously and retrospectively. The Romanian professor Doru Pop atBabeș-Bolyai University wrote inThe Age of Promiscuity (2018) that her impact has been "extensively analyzed by many authors".[10] She became the subject of a wide range of topics by multiple scholars from different fields.[11][12] In 2018, Eduardo Viñuela, a musicologist atUniversity of Oviedo explained that analyzing her was to delve into the evolution of various relevant aspects of society in recent decades.[13]
Some international media publications (includingEl Universal andThe A.V. Club) deemed Madonna as arguably the most analyzed, discussed or debated female singer since the 1950s.[14][15] In 2018, Laura Craik fromThe Daily Telegraph claimed that she has "contributed more to the cultural conversation than any female performer in history".[16] TheRock and Roll Hall of Fame regarded her as one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age",[17] while in 2023,The Cut's culture editor, Brandon Sanchez similarly referred to her as one of "the most-studied, most-written-about figures in U.S. cultural history".[18] In 1998, feminist scholarCamille Paglia stated "I think historically people will see the enormous impact that Madonna has had around the world".[5]
According to authors of theEncyclopedia of Women in Today's World (2011), her "cultural influence has been profound and pervasive".[11] In 2017,Billboard'sLouis Virtel, described the task of defining her impact as "brutal" .[19]
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Economic scholars have claimed that Madonna's career is closely linked to the "consolidation of globalization".[20] In 2014 scholar Jean Graham-Jones retrospectively called her "globalization's quintessential femicon".[21] Critics also hailed her an "icon ofWestern society"[22]
In 1989,Billboard wrote thatBananarama, Madonna andMichael Jackson were among the first Western musicians to have a release behind theBamboo curtain.[23] News agencies likeUnited Press International also wrote in 1988 how both these artists, Madonna and Michael Jackson, were among the first popular Western musicians approved byChina's government radio.[24] HistorianMózes Csoma documented references to Madonna inNorth Korea, particularly in the context of theirWorld Festival of Youth and Students in1989, which turned out to be the country's biggest ever international event.[25] Around 2002,Evita also became the first American film screened in the country.[26]
In 1989,Micromanía referred to the "symbol Madonna" as the "most palpable proof that Western society advances and changes".[27] A decade later, a political science article claimed that "the most public symbols of globalization consist ofCoca-Cola, Madonna and the news onCNN".[28] InIsrael (2003), historianEfraim Karsh cites an Israeli journalist who commented: "Madonna andBig Macs: the most peripheral of examples of 'normalness' which means, amongst other things, the end of the terrible fear of everything that is foreign and strange".[29]
Authors ofAmerican Icons (2006), said that she was long considered an icon ofAmerican identity.[30] A marketing professor also described how she was often described as a metaphor for American society.[31] According to historian Glen Jeansonne inA Time of Paradox: America Since 1890, she epitomized one of the cultural faces of the1980s, along with U.S. presidentRonald Reagan.[32] Political historian and commentator,Gil Troy similarly compared how both Michael Jackson and Madonna shaped the cultural sensibility in the 1980s during the Reagan era.[33] Biographer Gilbert B. Rodman compared her impact in the 20th-century American culture to that ofElvis Presley,[34] and media scholarsCharlotte Brunsdon andLynn Spigel toOprah Winfrey.[35] Her primary contribution to U.S. culture has been musical, according to American criticGina Arnold in 1996.[36] She was referred to as the "high priestess of American pop culture" in the 2010s and 2020s by theater historian Catherine Schuler and Swedish media.Sveriges Television,[37][38] British music critic forThe Guardian,Kitty Empire referred to her "Michigan's biggest export since theautomobile".[39] At the end of the 20th century, Madonna appeared in the top ten ofDetroit Free Press Michigan's 100 Greatest Artists and Entertainers.[40]
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During the late twentieth century, Madonna was seen by some as a reflection of the times.[44] ProfessorMarjorie Garber reflected that she perhaps "read the temper of the time" more than other entertainers.[45] In 1995, professorSuzanna Danuta Walters explained how she circulated "constantly" in various forms ofeveryday life,[46] with cultural criticGreil Marcus further saying that she was "undeniably part of our culture".[47] American poetJane Miller claimed that she "functione[d] as anarchetype directly inside contemporary culture".[48] At the end of the century, academicWilliam G. Doty reflected on Madonna inMythography (2000): "Nor can any late-twentieth-century theory satisfactorily explain" her momentary appeal.[49] She was dubbed the reigning "queen of popular culture" or the "queen of global culture" by writers and academicsMarsha Kinder and Vincent Ryan Ruggiero in the 1990s.[50][51]
Madonna's impact waned at the turn of the century, but she had already left her mark, and has been retrospectively recognized by others. Commenting on her multi-decades career,The New York Times reflected in 2018 that she "made real cultural change" despite the short memory of pop culture things.[6] InMorning in America (2013),Gil Troy said that her enduring celebrity made her a "cultural force".[52] Others, including scholars inAgeing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism (2014) andEllis Cashmore (2022), noted how her "status as a cultural icon is acknowledged" even in her sixties.[53][54] Some observers have also explored how she helped significantly change the pop culture landscape in her time.[55][56] Back in 2001, Noah Robischo forEntertainment Weekly elaborated that she "defined, transcended, and redefined pop culture".[57] In addition, Cashmore compared Madonna to other influential women of the past century likeMargaret Thatcher andRosa Parks, adding that "we can feel the effect of the changes she triggered in our everyday life".[56]
Others claimed that Madonna transcendedpop icon status and became acultural icon.[58][59] British authorGeorge Pendle noted in 2005, that she has been "consistently described as a 'cultural icon'".[60] Kathleen Sweeney wrote inMaiden USA (2008), that some entertainers like Madonna orMarilyn Monroe, "reach a status beyond mere celebrity in public consciousness to become enduring cultural icons".[61] In the 2010s and 2020s, authorMary Gabriel and scholarCamille Paglia deemed her as one of the "most significant figures of modern times" and ahistorical figure, respectively.[62][63]
According to cultural organizationMiratecArts in 2009, her impact even extended "into the subconscious world of imagination, fantasy and dreams".[64] On the lattermost point, editors ofMythic Astrology Applied (2004), commented: "Many men and women have reported Madonna appearing in their dreams. As she become a living archetype in our culture, it is no wonder that this is so".[65]Sandra Bernhard wrote in her bookConfessions of a Pretty Lady (1989), "I dream about Madonna more than anyone I know (or don't know)".[66] A decade later, in 1999,Prince dedicated an article titledAn Open Letter To Madonna in which he recounts a dream related to Madonna.[67]Andrew Morton also documented inMadonna (2001), the case of an artist dreaming about her every night for five years.[68]Folklorist scholar Kay Turner, devoted a book titledI Dream of Madonna: Women's Dreams of the Goddess of Pop (1993), which tells the dreaming of 50 women on Madonna.[69] TheNew York Social Diary dedicated adream analysis to a Madonna dream that she related in aVogue interview in 1996.[70] Virtel compared her career amounts to "living mythology".[19]
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Madonna's career was significantly measured through perspectives of race and multiculturalism, through her relationships and works. In 2018,National Geographic Society noticed the media attention from various sectors on Madonna's cultural influences.[72] TheEncyclopedia of Women in Today's World (2011) even considered her a "critical nexus of race",[11] andAustralasian Gay & Lesbian Law Journal described "it is not possible to read/interpret Madonna without a recognition of elements such as race, class [and] ethnicity", present in "almost" all around her.[73] In addition, Bowling Green State University's Matthew Donahue said that she blend diverse styles in her body of work, which includeworld music.[74] In 2012, American music criticAnn Powers complimented Madonna'sinclusivity andcultural diversity both in her life and work.[75]
Madonna explained her cultural influences in various interviews. For instance, she referred about Latin culture in her life and work, saying during an interview for Canadian websiteJam! in 1996, "I've always been very attracted and intrigued by Latin culture, I mean I'm half-Italian, so I suppose I'm Latin [...] I loveLatin music. I love Latin men. I feel an affinity toward the Latin world".[76] Madonna was reportedly raised in a multicultural-ethnic environment,[77] while her father made a "very deliberate effort to introduce his children to cultures".[78]
Some authors and publications furthered detailed either her cultural influences, reception or impact. Madonna was a leading figure to spread Orientalist fascination, asIndia Today said that in the mid-1990s, it took a new and mass-marketed turn with her.[79] Academics, includingGayatri Gopinath,Douglas Kellner orChristopher Partridge similarly explored how Madonna introduced elements of Asian cultures into the West and mainstream culture.[80][81][82]
Professor Santiago Fouz-Hernández, considered Hispanic/Latin as "perhaps the most influential and revisited 'ethnic' style in her work".[85] InBoricua Pop (2004),Frances Negrón-Muntaner largely explored Madonna's impact and relationship with both Boricuas and Hispanic culture in late twentieth-century American culture, saying "Madonna's nod created the illusion of insider status for Latinos of all sexualities in U.S. culture".[86] She also detailed how Madonna became the "first white pop star to make Boricuas the over object of her affections", believing that she produced a "queer juncture for Puerto Ricans representation in popular culture", and making Boricua men desirable to an "unprecedented degree (and through) mass culture".[86] Like Negrón-Muntaner, reviewers such as Carlos Pabón inDe Albizu a Madonna (1995) and Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo inThe Madonna Experience (2001) would discuss her impact or societal reception in Puerto Rican society of the 20th century.[87] Overall, Sal Cinquemani fromBillboard said in 2019, that she has been "fervently embraced by Latin audiences over the years".[88] Indeed, scholars like Fouz-Hernández would call her a precursor of the so-called "Latino boom" started in the 1990s with various American pop singers, due to her constant references to Latino community.[85]
As anItalian American, inThe Italian American Heritage (1998), authors said she served as a "vehicle for the expression of many of the qualities that are exclusive not only to Italian" but to Italian Americans.[89] InFeeling Italian (2005),Thomas Ferraro extensively analyzed herItalianness feeling that she has consistently talked about her background.[90] An independent record labelItalians Do It Better was named after Madonna's phrase on a T-shirt display in the video of "Papa Don't Preach" (1986).[84] InColored White (2003), historianDavid Roediger called her as the most popular United States Italian American entertainer of our time",[91] and author ofThe European American Experience (2010), called both Madonna andLady Gaga the most famous examples of the Italian American musical tradition in modern times.[92]
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Scholar José I. Prieto‐Arranz, wrote inThe Journal of Popular Culture (2012) that various critics agreed that rather than "export American music", she imported new and mostly European trends into her country.[93] Some like Fouz-Hernández found also influence of England heritage in her work, particularly when she was living in the United Kingdom, but said that her exploration of "intra-Caucasian identities" has received "little academic attention".[94]
Mostly during the height of her career in the late-twentieth century, Madonna's cultural perception among American Black culture found also a significant reception, including criticisms. Some likeMary Cross recall how she was subtly marketed as if she were a Black singer before her face was revealed to the public in her early career.[95] A 1990 article fromCineAction! referred that her "'blackness' is a common, though poorly articulated theme of popular press literature".[96]bell hooks was a vocal critic of Madonna in the 1990s, criticizing her when she declared that as a child she wanted to be Black.[97] Her relationships were even emphasized by Ferrero, calling her the "most accomplished Italian-to-black crossover artist in history", saying she was the "white pop star ever owing more to black male producers" as she spent more than other diva, "more time on camera and off with men of color, professionally and romantically".[98]
Details magazine referred to her as "Queen of Cultural Juice" in 2004.[99]Frances Negrón-Muntaner called her "last century's American transcultural dominatrix".[86] Professor George J. Leonard called her "the last ethnic and first postethnic diva".[100]
BBC Four broadcast the documentaryThere's Only One Madonna (2020) which charts "Britain's relationship with Madonna", "examining the influence" she has had "onBritish music and fashion".[101] In 2022,France 5 broadcast the documentaryIn France with Madonna, exploring her connectivity with the country.[102] Newspapers including,El País documented Madonna's relationship with Spain,[103]South China Morning Post with Hong Kong,[104] andClarín with Argentina.[105] With the later country,La Nación commented she achieved great milestones during her career in the country.[106]
Madonna has been equally criticized from different andvaried perspectives, making her a subject of social and moral criticism.[107][108][109]
Overall, social criticStuart Sim asserts inThe Routledge Companion to Postmodernism (2001) that she "attained the status ofcultural icon". However, he also described her as "extremely problematic one" because depending on one's point of view, leading him to conclude she is an icon "exceedingly difficult to categorize".[110] In 2019, Matthew Jacob fromHuffPost reflected that "it's hard to think" of any star with "as many singular achievements and such a durable place in Western media who provokes so much ire and indifference".[111]
In 2018,The New York Times staffers dedicated an article to her impact in which they also denoted she "caused a few cultural crises".[6]Mary Cross, inMadonna: A Biography (2007), wrote she has been considered for some a "corrupting influence".[112] EducatorJohn R. Silber even placed Madonna in the same category ofAdolf Hitler andSaddam Hussein.[113]
Madonna garnered significant criticism and generated debate from racial perspectives. On the issue, Jaap Kooijman fromUniversity of Amsterdam said in 2017 that she "provided a challenge views on racial perspectives".[114] In 1997, Canadian scholarKarlene Faith wrote that her mixed cultural diversity in her works, offended many opposing sexism, racism or classism.[115] ScholarDouglas Kellner noted she was particularly criticized by Black critics.[116] In early 1990s, for example,bell hooks problematized Madonna as a "cultural icon", calling her "dangerous" and the "Italian girl wanting to be black".[117] In her view Madonna never articulates the "cultural debt she owes to black females".[118] Barbadian-British historianAndrea Stuart, believes she "deliberately affected black style to attract a wider audience".[119]
Other criticisms were rooted within thecultural appropriation discourse, being labeled as the "Queen of Cultural Appropriation" byRichard Appignanesi and David Garratt in 2010.[120] British professorYvonne Tasker said that "her appropriation does at times work to question assumptions".[121] InRepresenting Gender in Cultures (2004), scholars referred that her "privileged position and her status as a powerful icon do little to improve the problems of minorities from which she borrows".[122] According to Australian magazineThe Music in 2019, she has been called a "culture vulture".[123] Editors such asMaura Johnston dedicated lengthy articles discussing in their views how she "stole" ideas.[124] Professor Mita Banerjee inGlobal Fragments: (dis)orientation in the New World Order (2007), even explored the idea if Madonna was "the beginning or the end of Western civilization as we know it" in which she analyzes Madonna "borrowing" aesthetics of Indo-Chic.[125]
In addition, inWomen and the Media: Diverse Perspectives (2005), authors wrote that Madonna challenged the American value system, and continued to challenge it.[126] InMadonnaland (2016), musician-turned writerAlina Simone explored aspects of how Madonna's hometown Bay City, Michigan reception and their refusal to have a commemoration sign about her.[127]
Some other criticism toward Madonna came from broad issues made by her critics in which she was sometimes placed center. This include criticism of globalization and interchangeable topics. Commenting overall on the issue inArticulating The Global And The Local: Globalization And Cultural Studies, professorAnn Cvetkovich said that "global phenomenon[s] like Madonna" can be "articulated in highly contradictory ways".[128] Retrospectively, she was called ahyperglobalist, in the likes ofMcDonald's.[129][130] Some coined terms which includes:
Many worry that a homogenized and Americanized global culture is destroying local traditions and religious customs. The invasion of Western icons irritates those who regard McDonald's restaurants and Madonna's music as affronts to their culture and religion.
Madonna also faced significant anti-sentiments sometimes with remarks fromAnti-Americanism orAnti-Western sentiments by other critics. During the height of her career, in the 20th-century, she was prominently mentioned along with other major symbols and figures. Examples include an Islamic political party in Pakistan, who "unsuccessfully demanded" Michael Jackson and Madonna as "cultural terrorists" for "destroying" humanity according to author Craig A. Lockard.[138] Similarly, academicMalise Ruthven cites a Pakistani religious scholar who called both singers as "torchbearers of American society with their cultural and social values",[139] while French sociologistBruno Étienne reacted with "horror" for both singers and their "ghettozoided" politics, as "the means by which values are transmitted in such society".[140] Then president of Israel,Ezer Weizman criticized theAmericanization of his country, blaming "the three Ms" (Madonna, Michael Jackson and McDonald's).[141] Similarly, Japanese artistYasumasa Morimura depicted the singers inPsychobor 22 (1994) as his critique of the Japanese obsession with both singers, which was a palpable sign of the growing global celebrity and the "Westernization" of East Asian culture as reported author Christopher R. Smit.[142] On the other hand, German authorJosef Joffe included Madonna as an example of U.S.soft power in his article forThe New York Times titled "The Perils of Soft Power" in 2006.[143] Other authors reported a rejection of some cultural groups to Madonna, in his case, Middle East scholarPatrick Clawson with Iranian "radicals" in 1994.[144]
Into the 21st century, Madonna continued to face similar reactions. In mid-2000s, political commentatorAaron Klein reported a rejection in groupings of the Middle East such as terrorists. He said that "everyone has heard of her [and] whensheikh cite samples of the U.S. attempting to pervert" they speak of Madonna.[145] During this time of her career, media theoristDouglas Rushkoff was quoted as saying that she "brought down theBerlin Wall" in a certain sense.[146] Similarly, a head of a British pro-North Korea group in 2016, blamed Madonna and other brands likePepsi for the "collapse" of Soviet Union by making people listen to "the most rubbishy aspects of bourgeois imperialist pop culture".[147] In 2012, Russian journalistMaksim Shevchenko referred to her as a "vivid symbol of everything superficial, deceitful and hateful that the West exhibits toward Russian".[148] In 2023, news agencyUkrinform informed that a fake Madonna's video served asRussian propaganda. They explained that Russian propaganda had used her name to spread fake propaganda in the past.[149]
Some of these cultural perspectives or anti-sentiments were leveled up against Madonna in form of censure or death threats. ScholarAlexei Yurchak explains that an "extensive list" of Western entertainers that included Madonna,Elvis Presley,Donna Summer, Michael Jackson andPink Floyd faced censorship in the former Soviet Union, because they challenged moral views to their society.[150] In 1987, USSR's official newspaperPravda informed that thecensorship against Madonna or Presley was lifted up, although they gone to criticize the performers.[151] In mid-2010s, some media outlets assumed that her name along with other Western brands likeNike, Inc. were banned by theIslamic State (ISIS) for "good measure".[152] TheInternational Music Council also informed that ISIS classified her music and performances asharam stating that they "represent anti-Islamic values" and specified that "anyone caught listening to her music will be punished with 80 lashes".[153]
In the mid-2000s alone, theAustralian Associated Press (AAP) informed that Palestinian terrorists threatened to kill her "because she represents many things they hate about the West".[154] Klein informed about a spokesman fromPopular Resistance Committees, who was recorded as threatening, he would personally kill Madonna and alsoBritney Spears.[145] In 2006, it was reported thatcrime bosses fromRussian mafia threatened to kill her when she was on tour, assumaly for her provocative performance of "Live to Tell" during theConfessions Tour.[155] In 2009, media reported again death threats fromMuslim extremists in Israel according toYossi Melman,[156] and same situation occurred in Serbia according toIANS agency.[157]
Scholars inRepresenting Gender in Cultures (2004) noted Madonna was categorized among those who denouncepopular culture as an "obedient mechanism of ideology".[122] In mid-1980s and beyond, Madonna and other high-profile artists were discussed during amoral panic among parents and conservative media for their influence on youth culture. On the issue, and with more emphasis on Madonna, director of the St. Clair College Women's Centre commented in 1985: "Madonna, like so many symbols before, provides a fantasy life for the youngster. The symbols have changed but the reality of dealing with them hasn't' changed".[158] Organizations likeParents Music Resource Center voiced similar concerns. In 1986,New York magazine explained that Madonna and artists likeMötley Crüe,Prince, Michael Jackson,Sheena Easton, andCyndi Lauper, were single out by members of the committee for their "destructive influence" on youth culture, highlighting their lyrical content, and equating rock music with the evils of "broken homes".[159] Around this time of her career, Madonna herself was considered by some to be the "lowest form of popular culture" according to authors ofThe Madonna Connection (1993).[107] On the other hand, philosopherIsaiah Berlin lamented the mass culture exemplified by the singer.[160]
Madonna's multivalent public image also became a defining aspect of public perception about her persona, provoking both criticism and praise. On the issue, scholar John Street inMusicologist, Sociologists and Madonna (1993), remarks that her "reception" has been "devoted almost exclusively to her image and appearance" for both her critics and defenders.[161] Similarly, her biography at theOhio State University explains that her "image became the source of endless debate among feminist and cultural scholars".[162] Brian Longhurst explains inPopular Music and Society (2007): "Madonna is not simply a recording artist, but an image that connects a number of different areas of culture".[163]
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Madonna's public persona has faced scrutiny. In 2006, Swedish author Maria Wikse said that "most of her critics" recognize her ever-changing persona and it influenced the way she was "read".[165] InAmerican Icons (2006), professor Diane Pecknold held that her persona also contributed to the rise of theMadonna studies.[30] In 1991, author Graham Cray fromThird Way opined that she has "skilfully developed a persona" complementing her as a "complex persona and phenomenon" that requires a "detailed analysis".[166] She was described as a woman constantly searching for a "new self",[167] andself-actualization.[168]
In her Madonna biography,Lucy O'Brien was critical in this aspect, saying: "I have always found her work clear and autobiographical, but her personality complex and disarmingly changeable".[164]Dick Weissman considered her the "Queen ofrole reversal", but also noting that "complex analyses of her persona" are "difficult".[169] InPopular Music: The Key Concepts (2002), lumps Madonna within general aspects of music star's changing personas (that may change across time).[170] Despite this, British music journalistPaul Morley commented: "What made her so ahead of her time, knowing it and not knowing it, is that you can use her, colourise her, mix her, remix her, as part of your own narrative of meaning".[171] For both her image changes and personas, authorJasmina Tešanović was overall positive, saying in 2013, "would you expect amagician to be sincere once he performs his tricks in order to marvel you? [...] I would call Madonna as one of the most honest performers in pop culture. She always showed us the dirty laundry in the pop business".[172]
Madonna was long considered calculated with her image, Chris Smith said in101 Albums That Changed Popular Music (2007) that it helped her reach a status of "near-legendary cultural phenomenon".[173] Fouz-Hernández even said that a research dedicated to her in 1993, showed that her image of taking control was seen positively.[174] To some, Madonna was labeled as "the first female" to have a "complete control" overly every aspect of her image/career.[162] On the point, Sonya Andermahr fromUniversity of Northampton elaborated: "She exercises more power and control over the production, marketing and financial value of her image than any female icon before her".[175] It also left a mark in her industry, although Karla Starr fromSeattle Weekly said in 2008, that "the fact she is seen as the first female artist with complete control over her image [...] is now so ingrained that we forget how significant it really is".[176]
Roger Blackwell and Tina Stephan agreed that her "personally usually overshadows her musical product".[177] She became known more for who she is than for what she does, in the view of American authorEthan Mordden.[178] However, Christopher Toh from Singaporean newspaperToday in 2011, defined "she's remembered for her antics outside of the recording studio as much as her ability to create some great music".[179]
Reinvention is a word that defined her career and it "fuelled a boom in jargon-filled academic studies about her" saidFinancial Times's art critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney.[180] She was called a "master of the unexpected".[181] The reputation prompted to critics of her works, like film criticRoger Ebert to describe that her changes images were quickly that she was "ahead" of her audience.[182]
Writing for MTV in 2019, Erica Rusell said that Madonna left a long lasting influence within the concept of reinveinting her image and styles.[183] British journalistMatt Cain even credited her for popularizing reinvention in popular music.[55] Madonna's impact on reinvention was even seen in somebusiness and corporations.Vanity Fair's Chris Murphy acknowledges her impact by saying she "laid the blueprint for aspiring female pop star to continue evolving [...] it wouldn't be a stretch to say Taylor Swift owes the entire concept of having various 'eras' to Madonna's legacy".[184]
During the height of her career, Madonna's changes introduced fresh connotations of female beauty as per was discussed by commentators. InHollywood Songsters (2003),James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts said that in the likes ofMarilyn Monroe andJean Harlow, she helped create a new generation ofblonde bombshell image.[185] She introduced a concept of celebrity beauty that was "more fluid and mobile", according to authors ofIcons of Beauty (2009) and it perhaps marked "the beginning of new era in celebrity beauty".[186] Even in early 1990s, Paglia considered that her "most enduring cultural contribution may be that she has introduced ravishing visual beauty and a lush Mediterranean sensuality".[187] To author Ken MacLeod, "Madonna's videos and live shows introduced a new physicality into female pop performance".[188] Spaniard music criticPatricia Godes opined that Madonna was the first white Caucasian celebrity to have an athletic physique with muscular legs and shoulders and felt "it changed a little the idea of female physique".[189]
In her career, Madonna was also considered a fitness,[190] and dance icon. Although opinions differed and she received criticism, WebMD, an American medical website, made remarks about her impact in 2006.[191] In 2020,Gulf Today reported she influenced a number of personal trainers, fitness influencers or bodybuilders from different ages.[192]Blond Ambition World Tour'sdance troupe (includingKevin Stea, Carlton Wilborn,Luis Xtravaganza Camacho andJose Gutierez Xtravaganza), were according to Jim Farber fromThe New York Times in 2016, "the only dance troupe on a pop tour ever to achieve a fame of their own".[193]
Having mentioned Madonna andCher as one of the first celebrities to hire a personal trainer, author Pete McCall described it resulted in "the explosive growth of women starting to exercise in order to achieve the lean and fit bodies of the stars".[194]Apple Fitness dedicated a full Madonna-devoted month in 2023 for their Pride playlist inspired in her workouts.[195] During the same year, a trend inTikTok called "The Madonna squat" challenge became viral.[196]Vogue's Liana Satenstein also said that Madonna "influenced the way we dress for the gym".[197] Her wide range impact in the sector was defined by L. Fuller inSport, Rhetoric, and Gender: Historical Perspectives and Media Representations (2006):
Perhaps the most pronounced example of a celebrity whose active body has been marketed and consumed in diverse and ambiguous ways is singer/actress Madonna, not an "athlete" per se. There are instances in thesociology of sport literature where bodies like Madonna's that transcend various popular culture genres are referred to.[198]
Madonna's interactions with others also became a focal point of opinions, playing both for and against her. Media referred as herprotégé figures in the industry such asNick Kamen andGuy Oseary,[199][200] with the latter crediting her "with pretty much everything" in his career.[201] Madonna reportedly mentored signed artists in her own record labelMaverick Records, most notoriouslyAlanis Morissette, who declared toRolling Stone in 2020, how "generous" she was as mentor.[202]
In her early career, Madonna earned a reputation of "using" and "discarding" people of both sexes, including boyfriends and whoever could help "advance" her career, including commentaries of critics likeChris Connelly.[203] InDesperately Seeking Madonna (1993), the author quotes Madonna saying: "If anybody wants to know, I never fucked anyone to get anywhere. [...] Yes, all my boyfriends turned out to be very helpful to my career, but that's not the only reason I stayed with them. I loved them very much".[203] As Madonna's responses to the subject were documented, the author ofProfile of Female Genius (1994), refers to "what confidence and positive perspective she has about a negative part of her career building".[204] In his view, Spaniard music journalistDiego A. Manrique forEl País in 2003, considered the "scandals" derived from the fact she never "deviated" from her goals, avoiding becoming the "puppet" of others, whether they were bedfellows or not, it would not shocked the music industry if the protagonist was a male artist.[205]
Madonna was also subjected to commentary regarding her interactions with younger female artists. Some media referred to hermatriarchy-like role, with an author noting that her "pop matriarch status" has been "atomized with exhaustive diligence" in some works.[206] She was noted to helped create hype for relatively unknown artists, includingKaty Perry.[207] From the 2010s onwards, journalists like Chris Richards of theWashington Post criticized Madonna and her reputation of "pop matriarch".[208] In 2012, music critic Ann Powers acknowledged her complex and sometimes controversial role, although ultimately reacted positively to her symbolic reputation naming her "Mother of Pop".[75] In 2015,MTV dedicated an article about "9 Princesses of Pop Who Have Earned Madonna's Blessing", noting her supporting manner.[209]
Madonna's age has also defined her career,[111] and on occasions generating a controversial reception and conversations related to her persona in topics likeageism.[211] O'Briend notes she herself contributed expanding the issue with her sometimes radicalized and deliberately anti-beauty statements.[212] In 2023,Jennifer Weiner opined retrospectively forThe New York Times that every new Madonna was both a look and a commentary on looking, a statement about the artifice of beauty, saying also that whatever her intentions now, she also set conversations.[213] Viral moments of Madonna's stage performances and appearances were sometimes attached to her age, with Maeve McDermott fromUSA Today compiling some of them in 2018.[214] Nonetheless, incidents like her performance at the 2015 Brit Music Awards saw a rise of life insurance sales closely related to Madonna.[215]
Various commentators dedicated pieces analyzing the focus and impact on her career, withCult MTL's Toula Drimonis saying that she was fighting ageism long before she was old.[216] Writing forThe New York Times in 2023,Mary Gabriel said that since her late 20s, in the 1980s, the press began aloud about when she might retire, but with each decade, the same question persisted with "varying degrees of cruelty".[217] Her entrance into her 40s, according to aBelfast Telegraph columnist in 2008, was a moment that many considered "was supposed to be the end of her creativity and influence".[218] Year prior, some media remembered aSmash Hits headline dedicated to her in 1993: "Madonna calm down grandma".[219]
Madonna's responses to remarks on age has been varied in tones over the times along with the varied focus she faced, withBethany Minelle fromSky News saying that her responses received "widespread media coverage".[220] At the age of 34, in 1992, she responded toJonathan Ross: "Is there a rule? Are people just supposed to die when they're 40?".[221] She would later made an emphasis on aged woman in media embracing their sexuality and certain behaviours, feeling in her view when they reach a certain age, they're not allowed to behave a certain way,[213] and that she felt responsible for opening that door.[222] In 2018, American commentatorMary Elizabeth Williams sees it as her most radical act, the fact she being as polarizing as ever, but calling her also a pioneer.[223]
Madonna's age also received a cultural response. Discussing her entrance in her 50s, in 2008, Australian newspaperThe Age commented that it represented "big news", and "so big" to the point a virtual clock counted down to the moment she reachers her half-century, also noting: "From trashy gossip magazines to esteemed cultural institutions, the queen of pop's entrance into middle age is being chewed over, preocessed and then dissected again".[224] Her entrance into her 60s, was defined by a member ofAARP forCampaign, as a "major pop culture event",[225] and media outlets includingThe Guardian, dedicated a "series" of articles celebriting that milestone, written by musicians and columnists.[226] Ahashtag #MadonnaAt60 was also used by some of her fans and celebrities.[227] Her entrance into her 40s, was reported as a "media frenzy" resulting an increase for her record sales in the U.S. and U.K charts according toBillboard andMusic Week, respectively.[228][229] It also ambiguously impacted her critical and academic reception. For instance, autors ofAgeing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism (2014), said "she has continued to dominate recent academic debate about the role of ageing women in pop",[53] and similarly, the authors ofGender, Age and Musical Creativity, described her as perhaps the "best known and most talked about female musician in her fifties".[230]
Correspondence between Madonna and critics have been noted, with musicologist Keith E. Clifton saying that her "stormy relationship with the critics is a well-established and crucial aspect" of her career.[231] As her career advanced, and Madonna took more risks, becoming controversial many times, she has alienated critics; some of them at first praised her, were reportedly been "disillusioned".[232] Other of her critics like authorJennifer Egan would retrospectively recognize positive point of views in their assessment towards Madonna, while labeling ascliché some of the criticisms.[233] On the other hand,John E. Seery cites that her critics are "many" and some of the critical issues include: "She is not to be taken seriously [...] she is, at bottom, a joke".[234] InUnderstanding Popular Music (2013), Roy Shuker said that she is a "star whom many critics [...] love to hate".[235]
As a contested figure, correspondence among critics were also noted. Academic John Street inMusicologists, Sociologists and Madonna (1993) compared the extravagant negative reactions saying that others have "defended" her in "equally extravagant terms".[161] Professor of marketing atUniversity of Ulster, Stephen Brown reflected in 2003, "what people say about Madonna says more about them that it says about the singer".[31] InMadonna as Postmodern Myth (2002), Frenchman Georges-Claude Guilbert similarly compared that some "journalists enjoy being particularly venomous when writing about Madonna", but feeling it also reveal "more about themselves than anything else".[236]
Thorught her career, she responded to her critics through her works, conduit and statements. Acknowledging her risks, she declared: "I've been popular and unpopular, successful and unsuccessful, loved and loathed and I know how meaningless it all is. Therefore, I feel free to take whatever risks I want".[237] She has responded to punctual criticisms, including historical charges about cultural appropriation amid the release of her albumRebel Heart in 2015.[238]
Madonna perpetuated an image of provocateur and controversialist. She acknowledges her reputation declaring: "I think it's kind of a wast of time to provoke just for the sake of provocation. I think you have to have a lesson or something that you want to share. You have to have a reason for it".[239] She maintened her view by saying at the2023 Grammy Awards audience that if an artist is labeled "scandalous" or "problematic" are "definitely on to something".[240] The same year, in a devoted article to her byVanity Fair Italia, Simone Marchetti noted Madonna as an artist "who challenged everyone", and remarks her words: "It was my destiny [...] I feel that it is a necessary part of the journey I am on and it's a price I have accepted".[241] Prior in 2013,Rolling Stone noted an opinion piece by Madonna inHarper's Bazaar: "I like to provoke; it's in my DNA [...] But nine times out of 10, there's a reason for it".[242]
In 2016, scholar Deborah Jermyn noted that "numerous academic studies have considered the way Madonna polarises views".[243] MacLeod condensed inLeaders of the Pack (2015) that "despite the criticisms, many have seen her vast contribution, lyrically, musically, and artistically to the world of popular culture".[109]
Scholars whose dedicated works to her and remarked positive aspects on Madonna, includingDouglas Kellner andE. Ann Kaplan, also remarked negative or ambiguous views in their assessment on the singer, calling her a site of contraditions, as Shuker remarks she "provides a range of contradictory readings and evaluations",[235] while Kaplan expanded, that "together produce the divergent images in circulations".[244] MusicologistSusan McClary, sees Madonna as engage to rewrite someWestern thought.[245]
Other reviewers have favoredrethinking and other approaches. For instance, Gayle Stever inThe Psychology of Celebrity (2018) noted how the "attention Madonna received from being controversial" also "opened up an entire new way of thinking" on others.[246] "There is no avoiding Madonna, so we might as well study her", wrote Maria Gallagher forThe Philadelphia Inquirer in 1992, where scholarCindy Patton considered her a "social critic in a certain way", and that she has an "instinct for not just what's going to get people upset, but what's going to get people thinking".[247] Similarly, during an international congress in 2005, Lydia Brugué fromUniversitat de Vic concluded she is an artist with "multiple messages" leading frequently to ambiguity and certainly, it "provokes" but "it goes beyond creating controversy".[248] In addition, ahead of the release of her studio albumHard Candy in 2008, chief music criticJon Pareles forThe New York Times describes: "Since the beginning of her career she has telegraphed her intentions and labeled herself more efficiently than any observer".[249]
In 2020,Glamour's Christopher Rosa, acknowledges her impact in the music industry, at the same notes a negative side, but feeling in his view it was "most of the time for the best".[250] Despite having received a significantfeminist reception, being both appreciated and castigated, some other reviewers also noted notable criticisms rooted withinmisogyny in their views, including scholar Lynne Layton inWho's That Girl? Who's That Boy? (1998).[251] In 2008, Guy Babineau from LGBT-targeted publicationXtra Magazine, compared that "men in music, industry and politics who are much richer and more powerful, and who do much worse things, are admired".[252]
Madonna and her likeness have been depicted in various domains; inMadonna as Postmodern Myth (2002), Guilbert explored and referred to "several domains", including museums depictions.[136] In 2011,The Guardian'sPeter Robinson felt and stated there is a "little bit of her in the DNA" in several "modern pop thing[s]".[253]
Madonna appeared in officialstamps in Grenada (1989),[254] inSt. Vicent (1991),[255] and was considered to be featured in early 1990s in the stamps by theUnited States Postal Service.[256] In 2001, a commemorativetartan, called "Romantic Scotland (Madonna)" was dedicated to her by theScottish Register of Tartans.[257] A segment was dedicated to her during theL'International des Feux Loto-Québec of 2015.[258] On science references,Echiniscus madonnae is awater bear specienamed after Madonna in 2006. The zoologists commented: "We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one of the most significant artists of our times".[259]Quadricona madonnae is a fossilBradoriid from theCambrian ofSouth Australia named after her; in reference to the nodes on eachvalve resembling herconical bustiers.[260]
Madonna made appearance in lists and references dedicated to significant personalities from the 20th century. She was included onTV Guide's101 People Who Made the 20th Century, season one, which was a "look" of influential people who made "dramatic impacts" during that century.[261] She was also included in theUltimate Biography: Inside the Lives of the World's 250 Most Influential People (2002), which is based on the longest-running, single-topic documentary seriesBiography byA&E.[262] She was also the highest ranking female musical artist, in any genre in theWho's Bigger?: Where Historical Figures Really Rank (2013), a rank of "1,000 people in history".[263]
| Year | Publication or institution | List or Work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Carol Publishing Group | The Italian 100 (A Ranking of the Most Influential Cultural, Scientific, and Political Figures, Past and Present) | [264] |
| 2002 | Life | 50 Most InfluentialBoomers | [265] |
| 2005 | Discovery Channel | 100 Greatest Americans | [266] |
| 2008 | Encyclopædia Britannica | 100 Most Influential Americans | [267] |
| 2008 | National Geographic Society | 1001 People Who Made America | [268] |
| 2013 | Steven Skiena | Who's Bigger?: Where Historical Figures Really Rank (1,000 people in history) | [263] |
| 2014 | Smithsonian Institution | 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time | [269] |
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Some have noted how she has been given and earned superlatives, includingThe A.V. Club's editors in 2019 and American journalistMeredith Vieira in 2006.[271][272]
Across her multi-decades career, Madonna has been celebrated as one of the greatest and influential female artists of all-time;[273] journalistNorman Mailer considered her "our greatest living female artist".[63] Madonna was further considered to be "the most influential female" in contemporary music. This was noted by announcerJuanma Ortega in 2020,[274] while American journalistMichael Musto claimed in 2015, that she emerged as "the most influential" for decades.[275] Specific examples include pieces from media outlets around the world, includingStephanie Busari fromCNN in 2008,Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (2008) andVogue Mexico (2020).[276][277][278] Other references include in "pop history",[279][280] or fromAmerican music history according toMTV orBET.[281][282] In 2018, Ben Kelly fromThe Independent argued that she "ensured her legacy as the greatest female artist of all time".[283]VH1 placed her twice as theGreatest Woman in Music, in 2002 as a result of a poll, and in 2012.[284][285]
According to Australian magazineThe Music in 2019, Madonna has been called "many things" both negative and positive.[123] InCelebrity Colonialism (2009),University of Tasmania's professor Robert Clarke also noted the "range of nicknames" in media reports referring to her "big business pop career".[286] On the point, Chilean magazineQué Pasa commented in 1996, that to "Madonna can be attributed many titles and never be exaggerated", further calling her the "undisputed Queen of Pop".[287] Other examples include "Queen of Rock" during the 20th century,[288] and "Queen of Music" industry over the years.[289]
Madonna began to be referred to as "Madge" in mid-80s by British music magazines likeSounds,[290] with their editorJohn Harris calling her in 1991, "Our Madge".[291] Turning the late 1990s, authors likeChristopher Zara noted how the generalized British press, especially tabloids, began to call her "Madge", connoting along with other meanings, a local shorthand for "Your Madgesty".[292] Press overseas later adopted both references,[293] with Alex Hopper fromAmerican Songwriter saying "she was given that title because of her Queenliness in the music industry".[294]
The history ofpop music can essentially be divided into two eras: pre-Madonna and post-Madonna
Madonna has been attributed to impact the industry, in terms of "sound, image, performance, sex, fandom and reinvention", said Greek author Constantine Chatzipapatheodoridis.[296]
In 2014, Xavi Sancho fromEl País considered that during the height of her career, her releases were not only mere musical and commercial events, but rather, they marked a way forward.[299] Author Marshawn Evans commented she helped revolutionize in her generation how music was performed, delivered to the public, purchased, packaged and downloaded.[300] A 1984 article insideBillboard, echoed that the simultaneous releases of LP, cassette and CD were pioneered by Madonna withinWEA-Warner branches.[301] Madonna would later have the biggest first-week album shipments in the history of Warner Music and one of the largestoverall, withRay of Light (1998) andMusic (2000).[302] Furthermore, Madonna popularized the usage of theKorg M1, asThe Vinyl Factory reports,[303] whileThe Immaculate Collection was the first album to implement theQSound effect.[304] Madonna would also affect music video industry, called as her "main contribution" to the industry by some insiders ahead of her induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in2008.[305] For instance, she released the firstvideo single in the U.S. "Justify My Love",[306] which remains the best-selling video single.[307] Madonna also influenced mainstream pop stage shows, particularly with herBlond Ambition World Tour, according toThe New York Times,[6] while her performance shows inspired others over decades, according to author ofThe Twisted Tale of Glam Rock (2010).[308]
Madonna's chief impact in music was in thepop music realm. She was a pioneer to popularizedance-pop according toArie Kaplan.[309] According to music criticStephen Thomas Erlewine, Madonna also had a "huge role" in popularizingdance music with her debut album, marked by a lack ofcredibility for disco music at that time.[310] At the end of the decade, an article published byThe Spokesman-Review also detailed her significant impact in the dance musical scene.[311] Bob Tannenbaum fromThe New York Times credits her for help to the evolution ofremixing from underground to a standard practice.[312] Other critics and scholars credited Madonna for help to introduceelectronic music into the stage of popular music to the masses,[313] or at least within mainstream American pop culture, according to British scholarDavid Gauntlett,[314] as the genre was most popular outside of America. In 2019, MTV's Erica Russell stated she "reignite interest" in theconcept album within mainstream pop after the decline of the rock-oriented concept album in the 1980s.[183]
More than any other artist, Madonna deconstructed the roles that women play, not only in music but in all of popular culture [...] for the first time placed female voices at the center of pop discourse, as actors rather than spectators.
According to theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, she helped dissolve gender boundaries.[17] Tony Sclafani fromMSNBC said the word "female" is significant in her assessment,[316] and English music journalistDylan Jones referred she was "genuinely influential".[317] InMusic in American Life: A-C (2013), scholar Jacqueline Edmondson studied different female artists and said about Madonna that she "deserves special attention", labeling her "legacy" as "important to understanding issues surrounding gender and the music industry in the twenty-first century".[318]
A number of international music critics, authors, and publications, addressed how Madonna played a major role in establishing the contemporary global pop music stage.[319] Deborah Wilker, pop music writer forSun Sentinel commented in 1996, that Madonna expanded the role of woman in pop further that others.[320] In 2017, British music journalistDavid Hepworth said that "most of biggest of pop music" are woman and Madonna "is the person who proved that this was possible, who opened up a new world for them to grow into".[321] In 2014, Spaniard music journalistDiego A. Manrique described the dominance of female singers onrecord charts as the "Madonna era".[322] Gillian Branstetter fromThe Daily Dot, who also dedicated a lengthy article to her influence, said: "The vast majority of the top artists in the world were men" when Madonna debuted.[280] InPopular Texts in English (2001), authors referred to her as an "atypical female phenomenon in the world of pop",[323] while German mediaDeutsche Welle would later call her as "the first woman to dominate the male world of pop".[324]Washington Post's Richard Harrington said in 1990, that Madonna heralded "the arrival of female mega-stars".[325]
Her impact was further attested in the way future generations of female popular singers were subsequently scrutinized. On this, aVice contributor said that "reviews of her work have served as a roadmap for scrutinizing women at each stage in their music career".[326] Similarly, scholars inAgeing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism (2014) agreed that her figure is "widely considered to have defined the discursive space for examining female popular music".[53] Eric Thompson fromCity Pages also commented in 2011, that her influence is "felt in the way modern female musicians are viewed, regarded and accepted".[327] In 2013, Dutch scholars inCelebrity Studies noted how female artists were "very often measured against the yardstick that Madonna has become".[12]Linda Lister classifies three categories of "deification of modern female pop stars" in 2001, includingprima donnas known for their vocal abilities, and Madonnas, for their innovation.[319]
However, Madonna attained significant criticisms amid the rock scene in the 1980s, remarked by authors such asJennifer Egan whom she retrospectively included herself in 2002 among that perception.[233][328] Noting also the criticism, Paglia said "our minds were formed byrock music".[264] As early as 1985,The Canberra Times would referred her impact saying she "nearly reversed the typical pattern of rock idol analysis",[329] while theEncyclopedia of American Social History (1993) describes her as "the antithesis of the women found in early rock and roll".[330] According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, she became an emblem ofwomen in rock;[17] scholar Landon Palmer, recalls that she was frequently described as a "rock star" by media and official institutions, saying that Madonna served as an example of how the label exceeded the distinctions of genre.[331]
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During the height of her career, her role as a musician was said to be placed second compared to both her image and impact. However, her artistry would proven found also impact. According to music criticRobert Christgau inGrown Up All Wrong (2000), Madonna was "honored less as an artist than as a cultural force".[332] A scholar also noted how in the "field ofmusicology, serious discussion of Madonna has been even rarer than in the popular press".[231]
InRepresenting Gender in Cultures (2004), authors also explained that she has been "consistently denied a status of a 'real' musician".[333] One of the focal critical views is a general agreement that her own "artistic talents" are considered to be "limited" by critics.[109] Other critics have also complained that the content of her songs are "empty".[334]
To musicologist Ketih E. Clifton atCentral Michigan University, Madonna as a composer, arranger and singer, is anything but "one-dimensional" artist.[231] In 1990, criticStephen Holden commented forThe New York Times that her "abilities as a singer and songwriter were developed" after she became famous.[335]
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Madonna's vocals would define her career, mostly generally marked by a mixed-to-negative perceptions; as noted authorLucy O'Brien inMadonna: Like an Icon (2007): "Over the years many have criticized Madonna's vocal ability, saying she is a weak singer".[336] InPopular Music and the Politics of Hope (2019), authors similarly stated that "she is routinely dismissed by scholars, critics, and fellow artists alike as someone who 'can't sing'".[328]
Despite criticism, other were symphatetic and appreciated her evolution. Musicologist Clifton recognizes her vocal "metamorphosis" saying is a "under-theorized aspect of her career".[231] He notes how her voice evolved and shifted, identifying five "vocal styles" or "vocal tropes", but also saying it was "difficult to establish a single prevailing vocal style".[231] Similarly, Dutch linguistTheo van Leeuwen cited her as perhaps "the first singer who used quite different voices for different songs".[337] InPopular Music and the Politics of Hope (2019), authors said that her voice has "certainly changed since the 1980s, showing the signs of age, vocal coaching, and rigorous vocal exercises".[328] O'Brien cited a guitarist as saying that she is an enough "strong interpreted [that] doesn't over-embellish things".[336]
She also received other positive reactions, though detailed with other aspects. In 1986, Dr. Karl Podhoretz fromUniversity of Dallas called her a "revolutionary voice who has altered the very meaning of sound in our time".[338] In their list of the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time in 2013,Rolling Stone included Madonna'sfirst album, recognizing her impact and describing her as "the most important female voice in the history of modern music".[339] Other critics and authors favored her voice more for the context of pop music stage. In 2008,Financial Times's art critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney considered that her critics "do not understand" that pop singers "do not require the vocal technique ofMaria Callas".[180] The authors ofThe SAGE Handbook of Popular Music (2014), similarly commented that for pop singers in the style of Madonna, "brilliant singing ability is not of utmost important" compared to performers of Soul and R&B music, "whose considerable vocal skill" are a crucial aspect in their image.[340] SociologistStanley Aronowitz labeled her more aperformance artist, saying that she deploys pop music with her singing as a vehicle "for something else going on" and this is a plus or surplus that elicits "the excitement about Madonna".[341]
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Aside criticisms, Madonna also found success and impact as a songwriter. Named one of the100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time byRolling Stone, she once held records such as the songwriter with most number-one songs on theBillboard Hot 100,[342] and was also recognized by theGuinness World Records as the "most successful female songwriter in Britain".[343]Spin's Barry Walters called her a "great songwriter" in 1995.[344] WriterAndrew Morton called her a "musical poet in motion",[345] and biographer Carol Gnojewski a "prolific writer".[346]
MusicologistSusan McClary noted that she writes or co-writes most of her own material.[245] In 1998,The Straits Times calledMariah Carey as "the only singer in the pop diva league besides Madonna who writes and produces her own material".[347] WhileAmerican Songwriter commented her image as a pop star led some people assume "she didn't write her own songs",[348] Maria Muller fromW said that Madonna "normalized the idea that pop stars could and should write their own songs".[349] She was reportedly to influence other singer-songwriters.[218] For instance, Australian music editor Marc Andrews noted howKylie Minogue was influenced in part by Madonna to start writing her own songs.[350] In 2015, producerDiplo said Madonna "showed me a whole other level of dedication and old school work ethic when it comes to writing".[351]
A number of scholars noted criticisms about how Madonna has worked with various producers—especially men—in her career, assuming they were the solely responsible for her creative output.[352][353] In 1995, criticGina Arnold commented forMetro Silicon Valley, that she certainly hires "well-producers" but applauded Madonna's consistency and personal injection, further considering her as the most "consistent than any of other artist of the last decade" with a vision of "incredibly broad".[36]
During an interview withPeter Robinson in 2005, producerStuart Price told: "You don't produce Madonna, you collaborate with her... She has her vision and knows how to get it".[354]Billboard magazine made similar remarks.[355] ProducerGuy Sigsworth similarly states, Madonna is not one of the artists that hire a producer and expect them to do all the work. She instead, is very "intimately involved in the whole creative process as a collaborator and producer" and is a side "ignorated by people so fixated on her image".[164]
Madonna would also impact the career of some producers, mostly from then-underground scene, includingWilliam Orbit,Mirwais Ahmadzaï and Price, asBillboard commented she "plucked" them from "electronic music obscurity".[355] According to theGuinness World Records, Madonna is the most remixed act.[210]
Madonna's role as a source of inspiration or influence on other entertainers was also commented. Some devoted articles discuss it, includingThe Spokesman-Review in 1989 among dance-music performers.[311] In 2018, theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation dedicated a listicle of Canadian artists influenced by Madonna,[358] while in early 2000s, British media scholarDavid Gauntlett discussed her influence on other female performers denoting "four key" themes, calling many of them as Madonna's "musical daughters" in the "very direct sense" they grew up listening to and admiring her.[314] Spaniard music journalistDiego A. Manrique similarly called various high-profile female artists as her "heirs".[322] Discussing her 20-years plus career, in 2003, BBC's Ian Youngs said "her influence on others has come as much from her image as her music". In addition, he called Madonna the "pop queen mother".[359]
Commentators particularly noted how her career and works influenced generation of female pop stars, including MacLeod who said she influenced "many girls" in popular music.[109] Noting constant citations from diverse artists, scholars inAgeing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism (2014), said that "judging by the citations she receives from almost every female pop star", she remains "the single biggest female influence on the nature and style of pop music over the course of the late twentieth century".[53]
Madonna's career and works has inspired numerous international vocalists and popular singers from diverse genres across decades. The following are illustrative examples:
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Since the 1980s, Madonna's music has been covered and sampled by multiple artists, includingKelly Clarkson whom made various covers, including during her first-everAmerican Idol audition in2002.[425]Beyoncé's sampled Madonna's "Vogue" for the remix of "Break My Soul", which is also a collaborative project among the pair, and where Beyoncé calls her "Queen Mother".[372]
Musicians includingKylie Minogue andthe Weeknd once declared to desire work with her,[426] while artists likeTony Bennett have expressed admiration towards Madonna.[427] In a tribute article dedicated to Madonna atThe Guardian in 2018,Sophie described "Her work is so vast" that "there's a reference for any situation" and she also considered that Madonna "created the blueprint of modern stars".[428]
Madonna would impact or influence a number of other entertainers and professionals, includingpainters,designers/videographers, andauthors/editors. Writing her first-ever-article—a review of Madonna'sErotica album for the LondonEvening Standard—Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Anita Barraud said that it helped launchEmma Forrest career.[429]The Herald reporter Lorna Martin achieved the 2001 Scoop of the Year at theScottish Press Awards, after revealing details of Madonna's wedding withGuy Ritchie, which was labeled to had a "worldwide impact and significance" that world's press descended uponDornoch.[430]
Aspects of Madonna's career and works also influenced other entertainment fields, including videogames and movies. She influencedphotorealism forAvatar (2009), which leadCinemaBlend to conclude her influence "know no bounds" as she affected virtually, every inch of pop culture.[431] She also influenced the haunting atmosphere ofSilent Hill 2.[432]
Madonna's impact and criticisms on Madonna through other areas:
Culture aspects
Groupings and subcultures
Academia and media
Statistics and achievements
RECOGNISED as one of the greatest female artists of alltime, Madonna is playing her first European tour since 1993
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