273-467: American Life is the ninth studio album by American singer Madonna . It was released on April 21, 2003, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records . The album, produced by the singer and Mirwais Ahmadzaï , features references to many parts of American culture. The album is a concept album , with themes panning the American Dream and materialism . These themes reject the reputation Madonna held in
546-731: A Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media . Madonna starred in the 2000 comedy-drama film The Next Best Thing , directed by John Schlesinger . The film opened at number two on the US box office with $ 5.9 million grossed in its first week, but this quickly diminished. She also contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack—a cover of Don McLean 's 1971 song " American Pie " and an original song "Time Stood Still"—the former became her ninth UK number-one single. Madonna released her eighth studio album, Music , in September 2000. It featured elements from
819-612: A cameo role , described by Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian as "incredibly wooden". The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song . In 2003, Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer Steven Klein for an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS, which ran from March to May in New York's Deitch Projects gallery, and also travelled
1092-530: A cult following . Editor Matthew Rettenmund commented "many of the songs are on par with her best work". "Easy Ride", "X-Static Process" and "Nobody Knows Me" were included among Madonna's greatest deep cuts in rankings by publications such as Slant Magazine , PopMatters , VH1 and the Official Charts Company . A re-review by The Guardian described the album as a "brilliantly odd peek behind fame's velvet rope" and "tantalising", and
1365-451: A "punchy octave synth figure" synchronized with a drum and bass beat. After three minutes of the song, Madonna performs a rap naming the people who were working for her. The second track and single " Hollywood " is introduced with sounds of tweeting birds, before an acoustic guitar starts with a four chord sequence that has been compared to songs by the band Red Hot Chili Peppers . The texture grows with addition of drums and synths, until after
1638-448: A "revolution of wireless ad campaigns". The release of American Life has been also noted for Madonna's forays fighting online piracy , with various labeling her stunt as a response not just to file-sharing community, but also against the very notion of free culture . Madonna's fake tracks to peer-to-peer communities as her own strategy to stop piracy of the album, were called by media "WTF". Although according to author Matt Mason ,
1911-468: A $ 50 book". In Canada, H.B. Fenn and Company, distributors of Sex , reported an order for more than 45,000 copies from bookstores across the country by October 22. In the United States, Sex sold 150,000 copies on its release day, with additional 500,000 units a week later. The book also reached the number one on both The Washington Post and The New York Times Best Seller list , topping
2184-431: A Dance Floor (2005). She has amassed a catalog of various high-charting songs, including " Holiday ", " Like a Virgin ", " La Isla Bonita ", " Like a Prayer ", " Vogue ", " Take a Bow ", " Frozen ", " Music ", " Hung Up " and " 4 Minutes ". Madonna's popularity was enhanced by roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992) and Evita (1996). While
2457-660: A Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) that same year, for shipping 100,000 copies of the release. In Australia the album peaked at number three, before descending rapidly down the ARIA Albums Chart . Nevertheless, it gained a Platinum certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipping 70,000 copies. Overall, American Life became
2730-463: A Prayer ", the lead single and title track from her fourth studio album . The music video featured Catholic symbols such as stigmata and cross burning , and a dream of making love to a saint, leading the Vatican to condemn the video. Religious groups sought to ban the commercial and boycott Pepsi products. Pepsi revoked the commercial and canceled her sponsorship contract. "Like a Prayer" topped
3003-521: A Public Service Announcement (PSA) supporting Rock the Vote 's efforts in voter registration. Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album , The Immaculate Collection (1990), was released in November including two new songs, " Justify My Love " and " Rescue Me ". The album was certified diamond by RIAA and sold over 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling compilation album by
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#17327662419413276-428: A Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation. In response, Madonna said, "The tour in no way hurts anybody's sentiments. It's for open minds and gets them to see sexuality in a different way. Their own and others". The live recording of the tour won Madonna her first Grammy Award , in the category of Best Long Form Music Video . In October 1990, Madonna lent her voice to
3549-472: A Yamaha O2R mixer . He did not want "Hollywood" to sound like the music being played at the nightclubs, so he recorded Madonna's vocals with heavy compression in her headphones. Two machines were used for the vocal editing in "Hollywood". Madonna preferred the Antares Auto-Tune plug in, while Ahmadzaï chose an AMS pitch shifter . Madonna wanted Auto-Tune because she wanted "Hollywood" to have
3822-406: A baby to me fresh and full of life. I love my pussy, it is the complete summation of my life." Sex contains statements like " ass fucking is the most pleasurable way to get fucked and it hurts the most too". "There is something comforting about being tied up. Like when you were a baby and your mother strapped you in the car seat. She wanted you to be safe. It was an act of love". "I wouldn't want
4095-628: A bold, post-feminist work of art besides being labeled a "cultural book". Martin Amis of The Observer wrote an essay discussing the book's cultural meaning. Critical theorist Douglas Kellner affirmed that with Sex "Madonna became herself, an artifact of pop culture ". French academic writer Georges-Claude Guilbert described Sex as "one of the most successful publicity stunts in history", whereas Russell W. Belk, author of Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing , feels its success
4368-674: A book of erotic photographs. She wrote it as a character named "Mistress Dita", inspired by 1930s film actress Dita Parlo . It was influenced by punk rock and fashion figures including Guy Bourdin , Helmut Newton and Robert Mapplethorpe . The photos were shot in early 1992 in New York City and Miami, in locations including hotels, burlesque theaters, and city streets. The book includes cameos by actress Isabella Rossellini , rappers Big Daddy Kane and Vanilla Ice , model Naomi Campbell , gay porn star Joey Stefano , actor Udo Kier , and socialite Princess Tatiana von Fürstenberg . The cover
4641-486: A book titled Madonna's Book of Erotica and Sexual Fantasies . She told Regan that DeMann would call her and work out the book's details. However, Madonna never got back to Regan who assumed she did not want to go ahead with the idea. Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg has never confirmed nor denied Regan's claim they had an agreement. According to Benatar, Madonna began working on Sex before wrapping up shooting A League of Their Own . At first, Warner Bros. Records and
4914-517: A box set version containing both the album and the remix collection, Remixed & Revisited , in a cardboard sleeve entitled Édition Spéciale 2CDs: American Life + Remixed & Revisited . To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the album's release, Madonna announced the release of an exclusive Record Store Day remixed EP of the album, in memory of Peter Rauhofer . A portion of the proceeds from this sale will be given to charities specialising in brain cancer research. To counter illegal downloads of
5187-583: A calming effect on the singer, making her more matured and easing her temper. Concentrating on her music career, Madonna was busy throughout 2001 on her Drowned World Tour . On September 11, 2001 , suicide bombers hijacked two jet airliners and crashed into the World Trade Center , resulting in the death of nearly 3,000 people. The event had a profound effect on American society, with the cultural mood being bleakness and paranoia. People, including Madonna, started asking questions about their culture and
5460-697: A career in dance. Madonna later attended Rochester Adams High School and became a straight-A student as well as a member of its cheerleading squad. After graduating in January 1976, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan and studied over the summer at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina . In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She said of her move to New York, "It
5733-676: A child, both in the same year. She had reached another turning point in her career, reinventing herself and her image with the public." Her relationship with Carlos Leon ended in May 1997 and she declared that they were "better off as best friends". After Lourdes's birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah , introduced to her by actress Sandra Bernhard . Her seventh studio album, Ray of Light , (1998) reflected this change in her perception and image. She collaborated with electronica producer William Orbit and wanted to create
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#17327662419416006-604: A confirmation name when getting confirmed in the Catholic Church in 1966. In 1966, Tony married the family's housekeeper Joan Gustafson; they remained married for 58 years until Joan's death in 2024. They had two children, Jennifer (born 1967) and Mario (born 1968). Madonna attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and West Middle School. She was known for her high grade point average (GPA) and achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior. Madonna would perform cartwheels and handstands in
6279-718: A cover of Marvin Gaye 's " I Want You ". An enthusiastic collector of modern art , Madonna sponsored the first major retrospective of Tina Modotti 's work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1995. The following year, she sponsored an exhibition of Basquiat's paintings at the Serpentine Gallery in London. The following year, she sponsored artist Cindy Sherman 's retrospective at the MoMA in New York. This
6552-475: A defining phase in Madonna's career. Sex is noted for its social and cultural impact and is considered a bold post-feminist work. According to Giselle Benatar of Entertainment Weekly , two versions explain how Madonna came up with the idea for the book. One is that she conceived the idea of an erotic photography book during the shooting of the film A League of Their Own in the summer of 1991. The other
6825-472: A documentary on the problems faced by Malawians; it was directed by Nathan Rissman, who worked as Madonna's gardener. She also directed her first film, Filth and Wisdom . The plot of the film revolved around three friends and their aspirations. The Times said she had "done herself proud" while The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort [but] Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job." On March 10, 2008, Madonna
7098-477: A drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy & The Emmys, she rose to solo stardom with her 1983 eponymous debut studio album . Madonna followed it with a series of successful albums , including all-time bestsellers Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990), the critically acclaimed Like a Prayer (1989), as well as Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on
7371-418: A fuzzy dream" and "It was just greed", also proclaiming that once she was "stupider than stupid" before stating "Everybody's stupid" towards the end of the song. The fourth track " Love Profusion " starts with another acoustic guitar introduction, with rhythm being produced by a bass drum with synth-strings added later in the song. Vocally, the line "I got you under my skin" is repeated, while a male voice acts as
7644-752: A giant wedding cake and then rolled around suggestively on the floor. MTV retrospectively considered it one of the "most iconic" pop performances of all time. The second single, " Material Girl ", reached number two on the Hot 100. While filming the single's music video, Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn . They married on her birthday in 1985. Madonna entered mainstream films in February 1985, beginning with her cameo in Vision Quest . The soundtrack contained two new singles, her US number-one single, " Crazy for You ", and another track " Gambler ". She also played
7917-541: A global audience of 1.2 million and grossed over $ 193.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing tour to that date for a female artist. Madonna used religious symbols, such as the crucifix and Crown of Thorns , in the performance of "Live to Tell". It caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia to urge all their members to boycott her concert. At
8190-551: A hatred of it. [...] The book is not erotic. It's all somehow, astonishingly, dead. As sexy as a body chart at the doctor's office. Because it's just as precise and soulless. [ Sex ] is a con job because instead of being flagrant pornography, it dresses itself up as Great Art. The text is pretentious and derives most, if not all, of its impact from the fact that it's Madonna talking, quite a lot... Any other model would sound no more or less coarse, just uninteresting. With Sex , Madonna broke several worldwide records . The retail price of
8463-403: A journal and I note down ideas I get from newspapers and books". Madonna also remembered Ahmadzaï's downbeat existentialism regarding the condition of society around them, and the long discussions they had into the night, which ultimately reflected into the songwriting as anxiety they felt in their heart. American Life was deemed by some as a concept album featuring political themes based around
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8736-430: A kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style and substance. It has so many depth and layers that it's easily as self-aware and earnest as Ray of Light ." The album took the number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days. In the US, Music debuted at the top, and became her first number-one album in eleven years since Like a Prayer . It produced three singles:
9009-489: A knife to her crotch. It was considered too violent to be used. While the book was being produced some of the photographs were stolen but were quickly recovered by the FBI . According to New York magazine, there were approximately 80,000 photographs taken for the book; only a handful of them were used. It took 15 days to print the book. The total production process took about eight months. Warner Bros. commented that Sex
9282-403: A lot to get off my chest. I made a lot of political statements. But now, I feel that I just want to have fun; I want to dance; I want to feel buoyant. And I want to give other people the same feeling. There's a lot of madness in the world around us, and I want people to be happy. —Madonna talking about Confessions on a Dance Floor . Her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor ,
9555-436: A man can do it, I can do it." In 2002, Naomi Campbell said she had "a lot of respect for Madonna being bold enough to come out and do a book on sex. I've never reneged on that." In 2009, rapper Vanilla Ice confessed to being unhappy with the book once he saw it. "My friends were like, 'Dude, that's cool man', but I was like, 'I'm dating her, it's not cool to see your girlfriend with all these other people' [...] It kinda ruined
9828-406: A matter of days, becoming the fastest-selling coffee table book in history. It remains the best-selling coffee table book of all time. In 1999, Ed Brown from Fortune called Sex the best-selling illustrated book in history, further comparing that "for most publishers, selling 20,000 copies of a coffee-table book is a minor miracle". By December 1992, Paul Craig from McClatchy called it
10101-568: A meeting with Madonna and Seymour Stein , the president of Sire Records , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records . Madonna signed a deal for a total of three singles, with an option for an album. Kamins produced her debut single, " Everybody ", which was released in October 1982. In December 1982, Madonna performed the song live for the first time at Danceteria. She made her first television appearance performing "Everybody" on Dancin' On Air in January 1983, although it had actually been filmed
10374-419: A military theme, with Madonna posing in dark green and black clothes, combat boots, and guns. As with 1989's album Like a Prayer , Madonna's hair was dyed dark brown to signify "seriousness", and on the cover of the album Madonna wore a beret, referencing Guerrillero Heroico , a famous image of Guevara. In an interview with Veja magazine, she described Guevara as "an icon instantaneously identified with
10647-550: A minute the instrumental is pulled out, leaving just Madonna's vocals and the acoustic guitar accompaniment where she alludes to the Beatles ' Norwegian Wood . During the final sequence, Madonna raps, as is featured in the first song, with the repeated phrase "Push the button". Lyrically, like the first track, it discusses American culture and greed focusing on Hollywood , California, as a place of stars and illusory dreams. The next track "I'm So Stupid" features an introduction with
10920-608: A month prior. In February 1983, she promoted the single with nightclub performances in the United Kingdom. Her second single, the double A-side " Burning Up " / " Physical Attraction ", was released in March 1983. Both this single and "Everybody" reached number three on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. "Burning Up" / "Physical Attraction" also charted at number 13 in Australia. During this period, Madonna
11193-570: A more dance-like feel to it, although Ahmadzaï was against it. The track "I'm So Stupid" had gentle vocals, then the singing was frozen using a Roland VP-9000 . When Madonna sings "Aaaaaahhhhhh", the vocals freeze and the process sounds natural, but in reality is not. When it came to adding the beats, he experimented by programming the drums in Logic Pro and changing the timing of the beats. The producer combines different samples of songs from his own collections and keeps on trying until something new
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11466-451: A name in the porn industry , and earned her the title of S&M 's first cultural ambassador earning her praise for recreating "porn-chic". Humberto Quiroga Lavié pointed out because Sex was considered pornographic that helped it to become a bestseller . Steve Bachmann, in his book Simulating Sex: Aesthetic Representations of Erotic Activity pointed out that "perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Madonna's sexual phenomenon
11739-635: A number of nude photos of Madonna, taken when she moonlighted as an art model in 1978. She had posed for the photographs because she needed money at the time, and was paid as little as $ 25 a session. The publication of the photos caused a media uproar, but Madonna remained "unapologetic and defiant". The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $ 100,000. She referred to these events at the 1985 outdoor Live Aid charity concert, saying that she would not take her jacket off because "[the media] might hold it against me ten years from now." In June 1986, Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue , which
12012-471: A penis. It would be like having a third leg. it seems like a contraption that would get in the way. I think I have a dick in my brain". Dita also points out "A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want". Since they recovered stolen pictures during the making of Sex , Madonna thanked the FBI for "rescuing photographs that would have made J. Edgar Hoover roll over" in
12285-631: A place in Guinness World Records . The song contained a sample of ABBA 's " Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) ", only the second time that ABBA has allowed their work to be used. ABBA songwriter Björn Ulvaeus remarked "It is a wonderful track—100 per cent solid pop music." " Sorry ", the second single, became Madonna's twelfth number-one single in the UK. Madonna embarked on the Confessions Tour in May 2006, which had
12558-518: A point in her life where she could be comfortable. By 2003, Madonna suggested that she was in a revolutionary mood, which led to journalistic discussions that another image makeover would take place for her. Still recovering from the commercial disappointment of Swept Away , Madonna changed her image completely to resemble that of a fighter, with inspirations from pictures of Argentinian guerrilla leader Che Guevara . French design team M/M Paris (Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak) were responsible for
12831-445: A pound for each book. The designers oversaw the production of the front and back covers, which were stamped and anodized while the aluminium was rolling on a press. The book opens with the introduction: "Everything you are about to see and read is a fantasy, a dream, pretend." Throughout Sex , Madonna offers poems, stories, and essays. She used the pseudonym "Mistress Dita" as an homage to German actress Dita Parlo ; her friends in
13104-536: A production of David Rabe 's Goose and Tom-Tom ; the film and play both co-starred Penn. The next year, Madonna was featured in the film Who's That Girl . She contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track and " Causing a Commotion ". Madonna embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour in June 1987, which continued until September. It broke several attendance records, including over 130,000 people in
13377-562: A relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well cast and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations." For the role, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy . The Evita soundtrack , containing songs mostly performed by Madonna, was released as a double album . It included " You Must Love Me " and " Don't Cry for Me Argentina ";
13650-482: A revolution spirit. That goes for the whole album: the current moment, I feel a revolutionary state of mind". Author Santiago Fouz-Hernández wrote in his book, Madonna's Drowned Worlds: New Approaches to Her Subcultural Transformations , that the inclusion of Guevara as an inspiration for the cover was one of the many instances of Madonna incorporating Hispanic identity and the Latino subculture in her work. The album cover
13923-522: A sealed bag as a reference to a condom package. The metal cover was Madonna's idea. She was inspired by the 1979 album Metal Box by Public Image Ltd . Melcher recalls, "We were talking about materials for the cover, and we went into her kitchen. [Madonna] pointed at the metal plate at the back of her stove and said, 'I want something like this'. I was very impressed with the way she interacted with her world to source things". The company bought about 1,500,000 pounds (680,000 kg) of aluminium , roughly
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#173276624194114196-465: A show near Paris, which was then a record for the highest-attended female concert of all time . Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance , which reached number 14 on the Billboard 200. After a tumultuous two years' marriage, Madonna filed for divorce from Penn on December 4, 1987, but withdrew the petition a few weeks later. She made her Broadway debut in
14469-477: A similar category at the 2004 NRJ Music Awards and 2003 Shangay Awards. In 2004, the album was nominated at the 46th Grammy Awards in two categories " Best Short Form Music Video " and " Best Dance Recording ", both for the song "Die Another Day." It was also nominated for " Best Video from a Film " at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards . All tracks are written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï , except where noted. Credits and personnel adapted from
14742-515: A singer-songwriter, really. And William Orbit provided her with that." The album garnered critical acclaim, with Slant Magazine calling it "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" Ray of Light was honored with four Grammy Awards —including Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording —and was nominated for both Album of the Year and Record of the Year . Rolling Stone listed it among " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ". Commercially,
15015-539: A sky blue backdrop. Three different types of paper were used for the printing. Madonna and Baron & Baron Inc. (consisting of Fabien Baron and the photographer Siung Fat Tjia), who also collaborated with her designing the cover art for her fifth studio album, Erotica , oversaw the design. As this was Maverick's first project, the packaging was crucial. Madonna had no faith in Warner Book's "mass-market" publication process, however, so Baron suggested they transfer
15288-431: A softer image to try to improve the public perception. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and generated two US top-five hits, " Secret " and " Take a Bow ", the latter topping the Hot 100 for seven weeks, the longest period of any Madonna single. Something to Remember , a collection of ballads, was released in November 1995. The album featured three new songs: " You'll See ", " One More Chance ", and
15561-467: A solo artist in history. "Justify My Love" reached number one in the US becoming her ninth number-one on the Hot 100. Her then-boyfriend model Tony Ward co-starred in the music video, which featured scenes of sadomasochism , bondage , same-sex kissing, and brief nudity. The video was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the network. Her first documentary film, Truth or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America),
15834-436: A songwriter on American Life hence what transpired was Madonna's wholesale adaptation of the producers style and sound. He explained that there are some influences from his work, but Madonna mostly wanted a minimalist structure for the album. This was beneficial for him since he did not like working with a lot of people, and hence it became a close collaboration. Since electronic music was already popular, Ahmadzaï felt that it
16107-468: A sound that could blend dance music with pop and British rock. American music critic Ann Powers explained that what Madonna searched for with Orbit "was a kind of a lushness that she wanted for this record. Techno and rave were happening in the 90s and had a lot of different forms. There was very experimental, more hard stuff like Aphex Twin . There was party stuff like Fatboy Slim . That's not what Madonna wanted for this. She wanted something more like
16380-470: A special called The Day in Madonna , hosted by Kurt Loder (a pun on the title of their daily show The Day in Rock ). It profiled the release of Madonna's Sex and her album Erotica , even taking the book to the streets to allow people, including a sex therapist and a group of real-life New York City dominatrices , to view it. MTV also interviewed people who had looked at the book on the day of its release at
16653-406: A special commemorative box set to celebrate her 20th anniversary in the music business and the release of her first studio album, Madonna , in 1983. The plan for the box set was eventually cancelled and Remixed & Revisited was released in its place. The compilation contains remixed versions of four songs from American Life and a previously unreleased song called "Your Honesty". Preceding
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#173276624194116926-534: A thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." The adoption was finalized in May 2008. Madonna released and performed the song " Hey You " at the London Live Earth concert in July 2007. She announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records, and declared a new $ 120 million, ten-year 360 deal with Live Nation . In 2008, Madonna produced and wrote I Am Because We Are ,
17199-636: A top customs official as saying the book would be seized under a section of the Customs Act prohibiting entry of indecent literature. Citizens of Alexandria, Louisiana , filed a complaint with the city's police department on behalf of the Rapides Parish Chapter of the American Family Association , claiming Sex violated Louisiana's anti-obscenity laws. U.S. Southern Baptists did not want their Bibles printed on
17472-399: A two-chord electric guitar which leads to a minor drum beat, with the guitar later changing to a three-chord. The composition throughout is generally minor, but at the 2:15 mark, different pitched synths change manically, and towards the end the synths become less prominent as the guitars become the main focus. Lyrically, the song expresses disillusionment with Madonna singing "I used to live in
17745-436: A vague yet fiery frustration with her outrageously privileged station in the world". Ed Howard from Stylus Magazine gave the album a negative review calling the album "about Madonna" instead of American culture explaining, "it's Madonna who, surprisingly, has simply run out of things to say". BBC 's Ian Young also gave a negative review, saying that "the tunes are bland and weak, the lyrics are uninspired and self-absorbed and
18018-453: A very repressed society, and I deal with erotic themes. The point I try to make is: Why should we feel ashamed of our sexuality?". She stated later that the book "does not condone unsafe sexual practices". Nicholas Callaway of Callaway Arts & Entertainment said the book was "inevitably going to be controversial. The book explores every aspect of sexual fantasy. It's hard to calculate the effect, [but], Sex should be considered 'art'". It
18291-491: A warning label. Michael Kilian of the Chicago Tribune published a tongue-in-cheek article on October 7, 1992, about the coming release: "Prepare thyself, [...], The mega-event of the millennium is to occur in precisely two weeks. It's an event far more mega than the November election, the collapse of communism or even the crowning of Leanza Cornett as the new Miss America ." Kilian went on to write: "The word on
18564-656: A week". In 2017, Matthew Jacobs from the HuffPost wrote that it was "an audacious thesis statement, calculated enough to piss people off but seemly enough to maintain artistic integrity. No one today would dare emulate it", calling it "the most radical career move a pop star has ever made". From November 29 to December 4, 2022, Madonna partnered with Yves Saint Laurent for an art pop-up exhibition titled Sex by Madonna , at Art Basel in Miami Beach . Curated by Madonna and Anthony Vaccarello , large format prints from
18837-494: A writer and philanthropist. In an interview with Larry King in October 2002, she said that she wanted to give the album a Hebrew name. Madonna then considered Ein Sof , which means endlessness, as a possible title for the album. However, as the months went on and the album became more of a meditation on the difficulty of leading a spiritual life in the glamour industry, the title was changed to Hollywood with Madonna saying that it
19110-412: Is an album that is among her most adventurous and lyrically intelligent", while also condemning it as "a lazy, half-arsed effort to sound and take her seriously." The original music video of its title track caused controversy due to its violence and anti-war imagery, and was withdrawn after the 2003 invasion of Iraq started. Madonna voluntarily censored herself for the first time in her career due to
19383-543: Is as good a showstopper as ' Live to Tell ' ... [but] it's no wonder that a record about feeling confused ends up sounding confused". Jon Pareles from The New York Times felt that Madonna tried to be honest with the concept of American Dream in the album, but ended up producing songs akin to the "folkie psychobabble" of songwriters like Jewel . James Hannaham from Spin compared the album's introspective themes to her previous albums Ray of Light and Music and also noted Madonna spends much of American Life bemoaning
19656-407: Is bad. I think the problem is that everybody's so uptight about it and have turned it into something bad when it isn't. If people could talk about it freely, we would have more people practicing safe sex, we wouldn't have people sexually abusing each other. – Madonna discussing the backlash surrounding the book Critics, conservative, feminist and anti-porn groups reacted negatively to
19929-410: Is better for what it promises than what it delivers, and that it is better in theory than practice. Kelefa Sanneh from Blender awarded the album three stars out of five. "Just as disjointed as Music and much more severe ... Without a compelling back story, her songs seem diminished". Dorian Lynskey from Q magazine also rated it three out of five, stating "'Nothing Fails', the album's centerpiece,
20202-480: Is developed. The mixing for the tracks was done by Mark "Spike" Stent at the Westlake Recording Studios at West Hollywood, California , while Tim Young did the mastering of the songs at Metropolis Studios in London. Michael Colombier did the string arrangement with Geoff Foster acting as the strings engineer, conducting at AIR Studios . "'Mother and Father' is a way to free me from
20475-507: Is ironic that after the triumph of Like a Prayer , she hits this bathos. Being a blond again set her off in the wrong direction. It was as if with the Sex book she showed the underside of the Hollywood dream. In Sex [Madonna] of course, was saying exactly what she wanted, warts and all... Indeed, this idea that she was penning her own sexual narrative was perhaps the most shocking part of
20748-455: Is made of aluminium , spiral bound and wrapped in a Mylar sheet. Madonna's publishers were apprehensive about the release and the book's commercial potential. It was released on October 21, 1992, the day after Madonna's fifth studio album Erotica . A CD single was also packaged with the book which contained the song "Erotic", a song similar in composition to her similarly named single "Erotica". It sold over 150,000 copies on its first day in
21021-573: Is neither groundbreaking (save that it features a major star) nor particularly sexy [...] Sex is convincing only when it's playful, as when she appears nude in a Miami pizzeria, chewing a slice while a baffled customer looks on. Elsewhere, she's simply undressed with no place to go." Richard Harrington of The Washington Post , in a mixed review, wrote: "Is Sex shocking? Not really. Mostly because it's Madonna, and somehow we've come to expect this from her. Is Sex boring? Surprisingly, yes." British author Zoë Heller of The Independent wrote that it
21294-482: Is not a "masterpiece" compared to her 1992 studio album, Erotica . "It's frequently self-indulgent, misguided, unpleasant, difficult to listen to, silly and humorless, but it's also consistent, uncompromising and unapologetic," Cinquemani opined, ending with the deduction that American Life stood for the last time Madonna made music without the primary objective of making a hit. Giving the album three out of five stars, Ben Ratliff from Rolling Stone summarized that
21567-440: Is that Judith Regan , vice-president and editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster , armed with a proposal for a collection of photo-erotica, flew to Los Angeles in March 1991 to meet with Madonna and her manager Freddy DeMann . She verified Regan had not approached other celebrities with the concept as she was only interested in the project if it was a unique idea. By the end of the meeting Madonna had agreed "in principle" to do
21840-543: Is the extent to which her book marked a new threshold in the pornographic franchise". McNair wrote in his book that, " Sex brought out the personal underground to the surface of pop culture". London art critic Sarah Kent wrote in Time Out that the timing of Sex was "impeccable. Obsession about the human body was in vogue. Along with Madonna's book were artist Andres Serrano 's " cumming shots " and Jeff Koons ' The Jeff Koons Handbook portraying fairy tale pictures of
22113-641: Is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time. And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done. —Madonna talking about her role in Evita In February 1996, Madonna began filming the musical Evita in Argentina. For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Argentine political leader Eva Perón and wrote to director Alan Parker to explain why she would be perfect for
22386-538: The Billboard 200 . It yielded two top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 , " Borderline " and " Lucky Star ". In late 1983, Madonna's new manager, Freddy DeMann , secured a meeting for her with film producer Jon Peters , who asked her to play the part of a club singer in the romantic drama Vision Quest . In January 1984, Madonna gained more exposure by performing on American Bandstand and Top of
22659-511: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time , featuring an article about her written by Britney Spears. In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song " Imagine " at Tsunami Aid . She also performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London in July 2005. When I wrote American Life , I was very agitated by what was going on in the world around me, ... I was angry. I had
22932-474: The 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with American recording artists Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera , performing a medley of " Like a Virgin " and "Hollywood". American rapper Missy Elliott also performed her song " Work It " halfway through the performance. After "Hollywood" was performed by Madonna, she engaged in kissing with both Spears and Aguilera becoming an infamous moment for all three acts and in television history. In 2003, Madonna planned to release
23205-510: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater , and eventually performing with Pearl Lang Dance Theater. She also studied dance under the tutelage of the noted American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham . Madonna started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. One night, while returning from a rehearsal, a pair of men held her at knifepoint and forced her to perform fellatio . She later found
23478-410: The American Dream , which had been a long-lasting ideal for many. When Madonna started working on her ninth studio album, American Life , she wanted answers to her queries and an appropriate response to the 9/11 disaster and the ensuing Iraq war of 2003 . She believed that the ensuing months with the war would lead to a politically charged atmosphere throughout the country, and wanted to express that in
23751-681: The Billboard 200. Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone complimented it as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour", while BBC correspondent Mark Savage panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market". Sex (book) Sex is a 1992 coffee table book written by American singer Madonna , with photography by Steven Meisel Studio and Fabien Baron . It was edited by Glenn O'Brien and published by Warner Books , Maverick and Callaway . The book features adult content including softcore pornography and simulations of sexual acts including sadomasochism . Madonna developed Sex after Judith Regan of Simon & Schuster publishers suggested
24024-497: The Billboard Hot 100. The 1998 edition of Guinness Book of World Records documented that "no female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world". Madonna founded Ray of Light Foundation which focused on women, education, global development and humanitarian. She recorded the single " Beautiful Stranger " for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me , which earned her
24297-712: The Breakfast Club , for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. While with the band, Madonna briefly worked as a hat-check girl at the Russian Tea Room, and she made her acting debut in the low-budget indie film A Certain Sacrifice , which was not released until 1985. In 1980, Madonna left the Breakfast Club with drummer Stephen Bray , who was her boyfriend in Michigan, and they formed
24570-746: The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), for shipment of 100,000 copies of the album. In the United Kingdom, American Life debuted atop the UK Albums Chart , with sales of 65,013 copies, much less than the opening sum of 2000's Music , which debuted with sales of 151,891 copies. The next week, it was pushed down to the third position, by Justin Timberlake 's album, Justified , and The White Stripes album, Elephant . It continued its downward movement, falling to number five in its third week on
24843-529: The Q Awards , Elton John accused Madonna for lip-synching in her shows which gained great controversy but was denied by Madonna's representatives. Although musician Prince 's Musicology Live 2004ever tour was initially projected to be the highest grossing tour of 2004, Billboard Boxscore published that the Re-Invention Tour had sold 55 out of the 56 shows and grossed $ 125 million. At the 2004 Billboard Touring Awards , Re-Invention Tour received
25116-548: The Ray of Light Foundation in 1998 and Raising Malawi in 2006, and advocates for gender equality and LGBT rights . With sales of over 300 million records worldwide, Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time . She is the most successful solo artist in the history of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and has achieved 44 number-one singles in between major global music markets . She became
25389-590: The Re-Invention World Tour in the US, Canada and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning around $ 120 million and became the subject of her documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret . In November 2004, she was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as one of its five founding members, along with the Beatles , Elvis Presley , Bob Marley and U2 . Rolling Stone ranked her at number 36 on its special issue of
25662-415: The Re-Invention World Tour , which was the highest-grossing tour of 2004 earning $ 125 million. The tour was chronicled in the documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret , which led to Madonna's first-ever live album of the same name . During the early 1990s, Madonna had focused on a number of provocative releases, like the erotic pictorial book Sex , the sadomasochist inspired album Erotica , and
25935-468: The Sex book came after a record-breaking album and tour felt like a shrink-wrapped curve ball. But Madge was expressing something unique." Elan felt the book was part of a "slower reveal that began with confessional tracks such as ' Oh Father ' (from 1989's Like a Prayer ) and continued with the many scenes of narcissism captured in In Bed With Madonna ". Several writers consider Sex
26208-550: The UK Singles Chart . Madonna promoted the album during a small promotional tour in April and May 2003. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , she performed alongside Britney Spears , Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott a medley of " Like a Virgin " and "Hollywood", and engaged in open-mouth kissing with Aguilera and Spears gaining great controversy and publicity. American Life was supported by Madonna's sixth tour ,
26481-599: The West End play Up for Grabs . She returned to the Olympic Recording Studios and Sarm West Studios in late 2002 and finished off the sessions in London and Los Angeles in early 2003. For the instrumentation featured in some of the songs, Ahmadzaï played the guitars, and Stuart Price played the piano. Tom Hannen and Simon Changer, both of them worked as assistant engineer during the recording. Unlike Music , Madonna had enlisted Ahmadzaï also as
26754-427: The electronica -inspired Ray of Light era, and like its predecessor, received acclaim from critics. Collaborating with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï , Madonna commented: "I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about—the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. Music is the future of sound." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic felt that " Music blows by in
27027-520: The greatest woman in music by VH1 , and as the greatest music video artist ever by MTV and Billboard . She was also listed among Rolling Stone ' s greatest artists and greatest songwriters of all time. Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958, to Catholic parents Madonna Louise (née Fortin) and Silvio Anthony "Tony" Ciccone. Her father's parents were Italian emigrants from Pacentro while her mother
27300-475: The "50 Genuinely Horrible Albums by Brilliant Artists", characterizing "the whole project [...] hopelessly muddled when it wasn't just downright embarrassing". American Life also achieved award nominations. At the Hungarian Music Awards of 2004 and 2005, the album was nominated both times in the category of "International Pop Album of the Year", but failed to win. Another nomination was for
27573-433: The 1980s, earned by her 1984 Billboard Hot 100 number-two hit, " Material Girl ". American Life is a folktronica and eurotechno album, influenced by acoustic music . American Life initially received mixed reviews upon release; critics found the album confusing and "about Madonna". Critics also found it "difficult to listen to" due to its awkward and brash production in some songs. However, retrospective reviews of
27846-516: The 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan , released a parody of the book's photo sessions, where she simulated sex with a giant stuffed bear . In 2010, writer-performer Greg Scarnici released a book titled Sex in Drag , which featured over 70 images parodying photos in Sex . In a deleted scene from a 1993 episode (" Krusty Gets Kancelled ") of the animated sitcom The Simpsons , aired as part of " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular ", Krusty
28119-406: The 20 years behind me and I realized that a lot of things that I'd valued weren't important", she concluded. Discussing her thoughts on the conception of the album, she told Q magazine that through her 20 years of being in the entertainment industry, she would have a correct opinion on fame and fortune and its perils, which would be the base of the album. When Madonna started writing the songs on
28392-454: The 20th and 21st centuries, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called her one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age" in 2008. Various scholarly reviews, literature , and art works have been created about her along with an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her called Madonna studies . Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in dance. After performing as
28665-545: The 32nd bestselling album of 2003, and sold five million copies worldwide. American Life achieved an impact in the Internet culture of the time; it sparked debate according to Lynette Holloway from The New York Times . In Branding Unbound (2005), Rick Mathieson explained the album was promoted in wireless markets. He explored how Madonna's foray into the medium inspired other marketers and advertisers, cementing her "reputation for innovation and staying power" and sparking
28938-456: The Clown attempts to market a book like Sex to resolve his financial woes. He is seen in a suggestive pose on the front cover. Unlike Madonna, however, Krusty apparently never appeared fully nude, as he quickly claimed that he used a body double . In 2008, People magazine ranked Madonna's look and attire at the Sex pre-release party as one of her 50 Looks We Can't Forget. In April 2012,
29211-609: The Eighties." Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 15 million copies worldwide. Other successful singles from the album were " Express Yourself " and " Cherish ", which both peaked at number two in the US, as well as the UK top-five " Dear Jessie " and the US top-ten " Keep It Together ". By the end of the 1980s, Madonna was named as the "Artist of the Decade" by MTV, Billboard and Musician magazine. Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney in
29484-483: The HMV music store in New York City. To celebrate its release, the store held a Madonna look-alike contest and set up a booth where people could view the book for one dollar a minute, with the proceeds going to Lifebeat, the music industry organization founded to help fund AIDS research. "I don't think sex is bad. I don't think nudity is bad. I don't think that being in touch with your sexuality and being able to talk about it
29757-463: The Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks. It attracted the attention of conservative organizations who complained that the song and its accompanying video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values, and moralists sought to have the song and video banned. Madonna received huge media coverage for her performance of "Like a Virgin" at the first 1984 MTV Video Music Awards . Wearing a wedding dress and white gloves, Madonna appeared on stage atop
30030-473: The Hot 100 number-one " Music ", " Don't Tell Me ", and " What It Feels Like for a Girl ". The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing acts of crime and vandalism, and was banned by MTV and VH1 . Madonna met director Guy Ritchie in mid-1998, and gave birth to their son Rocco John Ritchie in Los Angeles on August 11, 2000. Rocco and Madonna suffered complications from
30303-691: The Phonographic Industry (IFPI) awarded American Life Platinum certification, signifying sales of over one million copies across Europe. The album also gained Platinum certifications in countries such as France, Russia, and Switzerland, and Gold certifications in Brazil, Greece, and the Netherlands. In Japan, the album peaked at number four on the Oricon Weekly Albums chart remaining there for 13 weeks, and went on to gain
30576-468: The Pops . Her image, performances and music videos influenced many young girls and women. Madonna's style became one of the female fashion trends of the 1980s . Created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol , the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants , fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix , bracelets and bleached hair. Madonna's popularity continued to rise globally with
30849-635: The SEX photographs . The auction will feature over 40 photographs that will go on sale, with proceeds going to Madonna's charity Raising Malawi. Darius Himes, Christie's Deputy Chairman describes the photos as sitting "at a moment in art history of the late 20th century that both summarizes a moment, playful and prescient, and hints at the future of public stardom driven by image-conscious figures. These images are nothing short of brilliant". Sex has also become an object of modern culture references. American performance artist Ann Magnuson , who worked with Madonna on
31122-545: The Top Tour while Madonna's tour manager Caresse Henry was awarded the Top Manager award. A documentary, titled I'm Going to Tell You a Secret , which chronicled the tour, was released in 2005. Upon its release, American Life faced favorable to mixed reviews from music critics, holding a score of 60/100 on music review website Metacritic , based on 17 professional reviews. Billboard ' s Michael Paoletta noted
31395-540: The UK, the film was a commercial and critical failure. In May 2002 she appeared in London in the West End play Up for Grabs at the Wyndhams Theatre (billed as 'Madonna Ritchie'), to universally bad reviews and was described as "the evening's biggest disappointment" by one. That October, she released " Die Another Day ", the title song of the James Bond film Die Another Day , in which she also had
31668-490: The US, failed to chart in the Hot 100, becoming Madonna's first single in twenty years not to do so since " Burning Up " (1983). The song was a top five hit in Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom. " Nothing Fails " was released in October 26, 2003 as the third single, and backed with remixes of "Nobody Knows Me". It was a minor chart success, but did not match the success of previous singles from American Life , charting outside
31941-499: The United Kingdom, Sex sold 100,000 copies in its first day, including 80,000 units in the first half an hour in London according to Creative Camera . Sex ended as the second best-selling hardcover book of 1992 in the UK, behind Andrew Morton 's Diana biography. In France, Madonna held the record for the highest first-month sales for a book in history, before being surpassed by Thierry Meyssan with L'Effroyable Impasture in 2002. In Paris alone, 23,000 copies were sold in
32214-421: The United States, and 300,000 shipments in the United Kingdom, respectively. It became the 32nd best-selling album of 2003 and has sold five million copies worldwide. American Life garnered two nominations at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004. Four singles were released from American Life . The title track was released as the lead single to a generally negative critical reception, with Blender naming it
32487-654: The United States, and topped the New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks . In a matter of days, Sex went on to sell more than 1.5 million copies worldwide and remains the best and fastest-selling coffee table book. It also remains as one of the most in-demand out-of-print publications of all time. Sex attracted extensive media attention and backlash, but Madonna remained unapologetic. Though it initially received negative reviews from fans and critics, who felt she had "gone too far", later reviews have been more positive, with academics deeming it
32760-463: The United States, with Madonna explaining that she felt "like America has changed over the years and that a lot of our values seem to be materially oriented and so superficial. And we all seem to be obsessed with fame just for the sake of fame, no matter what — sell your soul to the devil if that's what it takes. And we're also completely obsessed with the way we look." Madonna recalled that even she had been through such trials and those musings came out in
33033-607: The Virgin Tour , with the Beastie Boys as her opening act. The tour saw the peak of Madonna wannabe phenomenon, with many female attendees dressing like her. At that time, she released two more songs, " Angel " and " Dress You Up ", making all four singles from the album peak inside the top five on the Hot 100 chart. "Angel" also topped the Australian charts. In July, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published
33306-421: The ability to hire help to do her bidding. Dimitri Ebrlich of Vibe magazine gave a positive review for American Life , saying that Madonna "stayed still" in the album, and commenting that "This may be the first time Madonna hasn't pushed herself to explore new ground, but at least she's chosen a good place to rest." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine gave the album a mixed review, stating that American Life
33579-521: The album and answered questions from the audience. Madonna also performed at the HMV store on Oxford Street, London to 500 people. While in the United Kingdom, she performed "American Life" and "Hollywood" at BBC One 's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Top of the Pops . Another performance on Tower's Fourth Street in Manhattan was presented to around 400 people. A stage was built in preparation for
33852-405: The album as " folktronica ", while Ben Ratliff, in his review for Rolling Stone , described the album's sound as "diluted Eurotechno." Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times , characterized the album's sound as a "mixture of acoustic guitar-picking, ticking drum machines and swooping, buzzing synthesizer lines", adding that "The guitar signals the sincerity of a singer-songwriter, while all
34125-535: The album have been much more positive, particularly noting its lyrical depth. American Life reached number one in 14 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, and also charted within the top-five of most markets . The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) both certified the album Platinum in recognition of one million shipments in
34398-408: The album peaked at number-one in numerous countries and sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. The album's lead single, " Frozen ", became Madonna's first single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the US, it became her sixth number-two single, setting another record for Madonna as the artist with the most number-two hits. The second single, " Ray of Light ", debuted at number five on
34671-467: The album release, "Die Another Day" was released as a single to promote the twentieth James Bond film of the same name. The song peaked at number eight in the United States, and number three in the United Kingdom. The production costs for the music video were over six million dollars, making it the third most expensive music video ever made, after " Work Bitch " by Britney Spears , and " Scream " by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson . "American Life"
34944-501: The album wasn't a commercial success, but that's what makes it all the more special. It's a reminder of an era and a statement about the present". The publication concluded that the album acts as a time capsule and "as an example of how music can be used to challenge the status quo and make us think about our own values and beliefs". Retrospective reviews of the album have been more positive, with some reviewers praising Madonna's risks making political statements. The album has also developed
35217-502: The album's cohesiveness. Another contributor from the magazine, Jon O'Brien, commented "its lyrics were a little more revolutionary". While reviewing the album and her discography, Saeed Saeed from The National commented that "even Madonna's worst albums are considered a solid offering when compared to other artists". Mike Wass from Idolator headlined American Life as an "underrated gem". Conversely, in January 2023, Rolling Stone ranked American Life at number 26 on their list of
35490-622: The album's liner notes. Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( / tʃ ɪ ˈ k oʊ n i / ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as the " Queen of Pop ", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting and visual presentation. Madonna's works, which incorporate social, political, sexual , and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A cultural icon spanning both
35763-562: The album's songs. The website was closed after the attack for about 15 hours. Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's spokesperson, told The Smoking Gun that the defacement was not a marketing ploy. The hack was linked to Phrack, an online hacker magazine, but Phrack representatives denied knowledge. The hacked page also contained a derogatory reference to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the federal law aimed at cracking down on digital and online piracy. In addition,
36036-402: The album, Madonna's associates created a number of false MP3 files of similar length and size. Some delivered a brief message from Madonna saying "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" followed by minutes of silence. Madonna's website was hacked and the hacker added a message appearing on the main page, saying "This is what the fuck I think I'm doing..." followed by download links for each of
36309-422: The album, she was inspired by different situations, like having guitar lessons and getting an idea, or sometimes Ahmadzaï would send over a rough demo to her without the basic chord progression . The songs on American Life and their lyrics were developed like that. Explaining her writing process, Madonna told Q magazine that the "music has to jar my brain in terms of lyrics. Sometimes I write free verse. I have
36582-578: The artist having sex with his pornographic actor wife, Cicciolina . "There's a lot of really narrow-minded people. If I can change the way 1/100th of them thinks, then I've accomplished something." —Madonna Sex has also become an important book in the LGBT community. Mark Blankenship , of the LGBT-oriented website New Now Next said that "literature changed forever" with the publishing of Sex . Madonna's portrayal of lesbian love scenes in
36855-416: The artwork of American Life . The duo are best known for their collaborations with musicians and Madonna hired the duo after discussing the concept for just six minutes. The photo shoot for the album was done by photographer Craig McDean in January 2003 at Los Angeles, and cost a reported $ 415,000. McDean had already worked with Madonna for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine in October 2002; this shoot had
37128-608: The audience, among them a priest , presented their arguments why The Girlie Show concert tour by "this morally clueless singer" should not be allowed in Mexico. Later, during the Mexican concert, in response to these comments, Madonna wore a charro sombrero and simulated an orgy with her dancers onstage. Continuing her provocative work, Madonna starred in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence , which features her fully nude engaging in simulated sexual acts. In March 1994, she
37401-533: The audience. In March 1994, she appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman , using profanity that required censorship on television, and handing Letterman a pair of her panties and asking him to smell it. The releases of her sexually explicit book, album, and film, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman all made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. Critics and fans reacted negatively, commenting that "she had gone too far" and her career
37674-594: The author of five children's books. The first of these books, titled The English Roses , was published in September 2003. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. The book debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list , and became the fastest-selling children's picture book of all time. Madonna donated all of its proceeds to a children's charity. The next year Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost
37947-421: The backing for the track as the final words, "feel good", are performed with no backing instrumental. " Nobody Knows Me " is the fifth track, featuring vocoder treated vocals. The song is accompanied by bleeping synths and a heavy drum part. The title is repeated throughout the song as she references "social disease" which is also repeated. A recurring theme of American Life is the acoustic guitar introduction to
38220-792: The band Emmy and the Emmys. They rekindled their romance and moved into the Music Building in Manhattan. The two began writing songs together and they recorded a four-song demo tape in November 1980, but soon after, Madonna decided to promote herself as a solo artiste. In March 1981, Camille Barbone, who ran Gotham Records in the Music Building, signed Madonna to a contract with Gotham and worked as her manager until February 1982. Madonna frequented nightclubs to get disc jockeys to play her demo. DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria took an interest in her music and they began dating. Kamins arranged
38493-402: The big studio; that can be very dangerous because you can lose perspective. But all initial directions of the tracks were made in my home studio." American Life is suffused with Ahmadzaï's characteristic production techniques, like stuttering instruments and vocals, oscillating loop tones recalling 1950s Sonar pulses , morphing vocals consisting of grunts and squeals and treatments that make
38766-428: The biggest wonder of the year in literature. Giselle Benatar described Sex as "the publishing event of the century". A day prior its release, Tyra Braden of The Morning Call concluded that the book "might become a collector's item a few years down the road". Writing for San Francisco Chronicle in 1999, Joel Selvin noted the prices for the book on the web, ranging from $ 200 to $ 500 for sealed copies; ten times
39039-454: The birth due to her experiencing placenta praevia . He was christened at Dornoch Cathedral in Dornoch , Scotland, on December 21, 2000. Madonna married Ritchie the following day at nearby Skibo Castle . After an eight-year absence from touring, Madonna started her Drowned World Tour in June 2001. The tour visited cities in the US and Europe and was the highest-grossing concert tour of
39312-462: The book and her behavior were a barrier to shield her from the world. She was tired of the extreme scrutiny from the public and media which she had provoked. Annoyed, Madonna fought back by creating the persona of a renegade, someone so outrageous as to defy explanation, someone found objectionable by most people. Taraborrelli said that in Madonna's view, "she had no other way of fighting back". According to some writers, Sex also helped Madonna make
39585-443: The book because of its sexually explicit photographs, which many characterized as hardcore pornography . J. Randy Taraborrelli, in his biography of Madonna, wrote that much of the book appears surprising, not shocking. He derided the concept as childish and impetuous. Though Madonna insisted she was trying to demystify sexuality altogether, he believed she just wanted to publish pornographic text and pictures and get away with it: "She
39858-506: The book is going to be mistaken for pornography". Vanity Fair deemed it "the dirtiest coffee table book to ever be published". Caryn James, in The New York Times , wrote: "There is plenty here to offend the meek (whips and chains), the self-righteous (gay men and lesbians), not to mention the tasteful (a tacky and cluttered art design)". The Times ' Vicki Goldberg was dismissive, writing, "Unfortunately, not many of
40131-512: The book sparked debates about her own sexual orientation. This was an adjunct to her public relationship with comedian Sandra Bernhard with whom she visited lesbian nightclubs and partied. The LGBT community felt it was an important portrayal for them. They debated whether Madonna was "ripping" them off for publicity. Carolin Grace of Diva said: "Madonna became meaningful in the early nineties, when Sex came out, and at that point lesbian culture
40404-506: The book was $ 50 in the United States, or around $ 109 in 2023 dollars. Across Europe, Sex was sold for £25 in the United Kingdom, and for pta 7500 in Spain (an equivalent of $ 70 at the time or $ 152 in 2023). The most expensive sales were found in Argentina with a retail price of $ 89, which is about $ 193 in 2023 dollars. The initial print run for the first edition was one million copies in five continents and in five languages. It set
40677-472: The book were shown in a temporarily constructed art gallery on the beach. 800 copies of the Sex book were re-issued, with a handful personally signed by Madonna. The price ranged from $ 1500–3000 and the signed copies were held up for auction, to raise proceeds for Raising Malawi . Various celebrities attended the event. On May 10, 2023, Christie's announced a collaborative auction on October 6, 2023, with Madonna and Steven Meisel titled Madonna x Meisel –
40950-495: The book's credits. The book's imminent release caused a great deal of controversy. One photo showed a nude Madonna wearing a rabbit's tail, shaving the pubic hair of a naked man, and cavorting outdoors with a dog, suggesting bestiality . The Vatican urged its followers to boycott the book, saying that it was "morally intolerable". Indian customs officials said the book offended the country's public morality. The Press Trust of India (PTI), India's domestic news agency, quoted
41223-531: The book's photo sessions along with porn star Joey Stefano and actor Udo Kier . Many of the Miami photo sessions took place at Madonna's Coconut Grove mansion that she had recently purchased before beginning the Sex book project, while other sessions were done on several beaches and streets close to her home. One morning during the four-day Florida shoot Madonna was prancing naked around her 14-bedroom house in Miami when someone jokingly suggested she go out on
41496-430: The book's publisher, the agreement she signed with Time Warner over the content in Sex was null and void. Sex ' s stylized, sado-masochistic look had a range of influences from punk rock, to early fashion iconoclasts like Guy Bourdin and his surrealism, and Helmut Newton . Photographs from Brassaï 's 1933 book Paris de nuit ( Paris by Night ) also inspired several of the book's series of images. The book
41769-427: The book. Its heterosexual photos involve only Madonna and Vanilla Ice. Madonna herself is featured partially or completely naked. One of the book's most famous photographs shows a naked Madonna hitchhiking in Miami. The book also reflects Dita's perspective towards her own sexuality. She writes that her " pussy " is a temple of learning and exposing it, is really an homage to it. "It's hard to describe it smells like
42042-482: The centerpiece of the album as a triptych of love songs for Ritchie. Beginning as a humble track that musician-producer Guy Sigsworth wrote for his wife, "Nothing Fails" also has lyrics by singer Jem Archer , who was asked to collaborate with Sigsworth and Madonna during the first collaborative sessions of American Life . The track is followed by the folk-inspired "Intervention" and "X-Static Process," both being reflective and emotional. Her reflective mood continued with
42315-454: The channel "has not previously seen such concentrated response rate for a dotcom programming feature before" when they launched their web-based album previews in 1999. Madonna also became the second artist in history to debut with a song based on Internet sales alone on the Billboard Hot 100 with album's title track . The digital release was touted as an alternative to fighting illegal downloading and seeking to "inspire other artists to do
42588-551: The chart and was out of the top ten by its fifth week. It was present for a total of 19 weeks on the chart, ranking at number 52 on the UK year-end tally. American Life sold 335,115 copies by July 2008 and earned a Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In European countries, the album topped the charts in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Belgium (Wallonia), Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The International Federation of
42861-418: The charts in many countries, becoming her seventh number-one on the Hot 100. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album Like a Prayer with Patrick Leonard , Stephen Bray , and Prince . Music critic J. D. Considine from Rolling Stone praised it "as close to art as pop music gets ... proof not only that Madonna should be taken seriously as an artist but that hers is one of the most compelling voices of
43134-478: The community, while being flippant and commercial. She used the example of the death of pornographic actor Joey Stefano , one of the models in the book, from a drug overdose. Stefano had been thrilled to be a part of the book but was underpaid. Once Madonna and her team were done with the shoot, "they packed up and left the Gaiety ... They left behind the mundane reality and the boys who have to deal with it seven days
43407-504: The company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares, owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, were purchased by Warner. Madonna and Dashev's company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warner Music, but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract. In mid-2004, Madonna embarked on
43680-423: The eighth track, starts once again with acoustic guitars and throughout there are vocal harmony lines in addition to an organ part. Lyrically, like the title track, it questions modern life as Madonna sings "Jesus Christ will you look at me, don't know who I'm supposed to be". "Mother and Father" is the album's ninth track, with a drum and bass beat paired with an electric guitar present in the instrumental. Lyrically,
43953-548: The emptiness of celebrity culture. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian responded well to parts of the record saying " American Life ' s best tracks make a mockery of virtually all other current pop music" however his conclusive point in the review was that there was not enough of good songs. The Village Voice ' s Jessica Winter called Madonna's voice "redundant" and commented that "she ironizes 'the American dream' only to pitch woo at her English husband and articulate
44226-489: The end of the music video, then-President of the United States, George W. Bush is portrayed by a lookalike lighting a cigar. The anti-war content of its music video was interpreted as being unpatriotic, making Madonna withdraw its release from American music channels. She also released a statement saying she did so because she believed it was not appropriate to air it at that time, and that she did not want to risk offending anyone who could misinterpret its meaning. A second video
44499-441: The erotic thriller, Body of Evidence , all of which she deduced was due to "a lot of rage and anger" within herself. However, by the beginning of the new millennium, Madonna was living a calmer, more introspective and wholesome life with her husband Guy Ritchie , their son Rocco, and Madonna's daughter Lourdes from a previous relationship. According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli , the presence of Ritchie in Madonna's life had
44772-487: The executive directors of Time Warner were reluctant to allow Madonna to publish such a book, but finally agreed. Madonna had to sign a contract that forbade the book from including images of child pornography , bestiality , or religious imagery . Not long after signing the agreement, Madonna founded Maverick , a multi-media entertainment company in partnership with Time Warner. Since by contract she had total artistic control over any work released by Maverick, who were now
45045-548: The fact that she takes all forms of pornography and systematically demystifies it by putting it under her control", in an article in 1996. Brian McNair, author of Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratisation of Desire (2002) praised this period of Madonna's career, saying she had "porno elegance" and that " Sex is a cultural phenomenon of global proportions" which "established her iconic status and cultural influence". Priya Elan of The Guardian , wrote: "That
45318-478: The film Dangerous Game , which was released straight to video in North America. The New York Times described the film as "angry and painful, and the pain feels real." In September 1993, Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show , in which she dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers. In Puerto Rico she rubbed the island's flag between her legs on stage, resulting in outrage among
45591-441: The film Dick Tracy (1990), with Warren Beatty playing the title role. The film went to number one on the US box office for two weeks and Madonna received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress . To accompany the film, she released the soundtrack album, I'm Breathless , which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It also featured the US number-one song " Vogue " and " Sooner or Later ". While shooting
45864-469: The film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty, which dissolved shortly after the premiere. In April 1990, Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour , which ended in August. Rolling Stone called it an "elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza" and proclaimed it "the best tour of 1990". The tour generated strong negative reaction from religious groups for her performance of "Like
46137-400: The first ever woman to accumulate US$ 1 billion in concert revenue , with six of her solo headlining tours having grossed over US$ 100 million each. Forbes has named her the world's highest-paid female musician a record 11 times across four separate decades (1980s–2010s). Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, her first year of eligibility. She was ranked as
46410-518: The first hour of release. Sex sold 7,220 units in Spain within its first two days, and 2,000 copies in the first five-hours in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In Italy, the book moved 5,000 copies. By October 24, a spokeswoman for Australian distributors, Octopus Publishing , informed thousands of copies of Sex had been sold in Western Australia . Despite the censorship, Sex was able to sell 150,000 units of an edited version of
46683-465: The first museum retrospective for her former boyfriend artist Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. In October 1992, Madonna simultaneously released her fifth studio album, Erotica , and her coffee table book , Sex . Consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by Steven Meisel , the book received strong negative reaction from
46956-428: The future. You can lose everything because you can lose yourself." The beginning of the album cleared away what was not important for her, so Madonna could concentrate on the things that did matter. So, in contrast to the first three tracks, the later songs on American Life also deal with issues close to the singer's heart, like talking about her relationship with her parents on the track "Mother and Father". When Madonna
47229-497: The gizmos add the retro catchiness of the synth-pop music now being revived under the name electroclash." " American Life ", the title track, is the first song on the record. Starting with Madonna's multi-tracked voice questioning, "Am I gonna be a star", "should I change my name", the lyrics then develop into what Rikky Rooksby of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna states as a complaint about modern-day life. The lyrics accompany
47502-682: The hallways between classes, dangle by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and pull up her skirt during class—all so that the boys could see her underwear. She later admitted to seeing herself in her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms or legs, and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades... I wanted to be somebody." Madonna's father put her in classical piano lessons, but she later convinced him to allow her to take ballet lessons. Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, persuaded her to pursue
47775-625: The help of friends from the music, film and fashion industry. She hired Fabien Baron as the art director, fashion photographer Steven Meisel , editor Glenn O'Brien , make-up artist Francois Nars and hairstylist Paul Cavaco. Madonna originally wanted the book to be an oval shape to simulate a condom , but its printing and manufacturing would have been too expensive. Meisel would later comment: "Madonna and I can keep up with each other", noting "I'm doing things to make people think too. It's not really to antagonize or to push people's buttons. It's really to present another way of seeing things." During
48048-475: The ideal response the book tirelessly seeks. The potency of Sex ' s subject matter is dissipated by Madonna and Meisel's self-congratulatory – and silly – sense of their own 'bravery,' as if their naughty games were somehow revolutionary." Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant said some passages from the book were "too dirty to quote ... even the funny ones". The Daily Beast said "the book
48321-477: The images are very good photographically. Many are just pictures, or just porn." Writing for Spin , Bob Guccione, Jr. gave the book a particularly unfavorable review: Madonna has overstayed her welcome. She's becoming the human equivalent of the Energizer Bunny , flashing us her breasts in every magazine that'll let her. [...] Her book Sex , is a rip-off. Because it's not about sex, it's more about
48594-751: The incident to be "a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all the strong-girl show. I could never forget it." In 1979, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy . Shortly after meeting him, she successfully auditioned to perform in Paris with French disco artist Patrick Hernandez as his backup singer and dancer. During her three months with Hernandez's troupe, she also traveled to Tunisia before returning to New York in August 1979. Madonna moved into an abandoned synagogue where Gilroy lived and rehearsed in Corona, Queens . Together they formed her first band,
48867-623: The initial printing in Japan, topping the national best-selling list upon its release. According to the Chinese state newspaper , the book sold 5,000 copies in the first-week in the city of Shanghai alone. Although the book was censored shortly after its publication, several hundred of copies were sold in the Irish capital. Worldwide, the book sold 700,000 units in its first day. In summary, Sex went on to sell 1.5 million copies worldwide in
49140-620: The inside and hard metal coating on the outside". Like the text—which was mostly printed on the photographs—they are highly sexual and depict nudity , simulations of sexual acts, bondage , homosexuality and analingus , with accessories such as knives, whips, masks and chains; however, intercourse is never shown. Actress Isabella Rossellini , rappers Big Daddy Kane and Madonna's then-boyfriend Vanilla Ice , model Naomi Campbell , gay porn star Joey Stefano , actor Udo Kier , socialite Princess Tatiana von Fürstenberg , and nightclub owner Ingrid Casares and unknown models are featured in
49413-562: The invitations with "Dita" her Sex alter ego . She dressed as Little Bo Peep carrying a stuffed toy lamb. Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg expressed concern at first about "what the parents of America's impressionable teens will soon be thinking" of Madonna, but said that it "all depends on your idea of lovemaking, which in Madonna's case, should give new meaning to the word erotic". Waldenbooks and Barnes & Noble prepared corporate statements store managers could share with customers who were offended by Sex . (Both statements defended
49686-491: The kind of people who are buying it because it's smut and dirty pictures. People are interested in it as art." Sex was released on October 21, 1992, the day after Madonna's fifth studio album Erotica . A comic book title Dita in The Chelsea Girl and a promotional single titled "Erotic", wrapped in packaging representing a condom wrapper, was included with the book. "Erotic", a stripped-down arrangement of
49959-492: The last track "Easy Ride," which was inspired by the imagery of a full-circle and symbolized life for the singer. The album was mostly composed and entirely produced by Madonna and Ahmadzaï. Both had previously collaborated on Madonna's studio album Music (2000). The recording sessions for American Life started in late 2001, then was put on hold as Madonna filmed Swept Away on location in Malta and Sardinia and starred in
50232-522: The latter for three weeks . By the end of the year, Sex ended among the Top 15 of the best-selling titles in the United States with sales of over 750,000 units. The book became a "huge bestseller " in Canada after a "careful review" by customs authorities according to Quill & Quire . It sold out 45,000 copies across the country, becoming one of the fastest-selling books in Canadian history. In
50505-616: The latter reached number one in countries across Europe. Madonna was presented with the Artist Achievement Award by Tony Bennett at the 1996 Billboard Music Awards . On October 14, 1996, she gave birth to Lourdes "Lola" Maria Ciccone Leon , her daughter with fitness trainer Carlos Leon. Biographer Mary Cross writes that although Madonna often worried that her pregnancy would harm Evita , she reached some important personal goals: "Now 38 years old, Madonna had at last triumphed on screen and achieved her dream of having
50778-426: The lattermost won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress , many of her other films were not as well received. As a businesswoman , she founded the company Maverick in 1992, which included Maverick Records, one of the most successful artist-run labels in history. Madonna's other ventures include fashion brands , written works , health clubs and filmmaking. She contributes to various charities , having founded
51051-440: The lyrical differences from past albums such as Ray of Light positively, saying " American Life relies less on spiritual introspection and more on woman-in-the-mirror confrontation." Entertainment Weekly ' s Ken Tucker generally responded well, saying that at its best, the album offers blunt, questing and decisive music but the weakest point was Madonna sounding like a girl who's grown content with her husband and kids and
51324-452: The materialistic objects that she herself had been using and doing. They had an instrumental breakdown in "American Life", where the producer encouraged Madonna to add a rap about her everyday life. "Because I was always drinking soy lattes in the studio, and I drive my Mini Cooper to the studio, I was just like, 'OK, let me just talk about the things that I like'. So I went and it was just total improv [ sic ] and obviously it
51597-636: The materialistic themes of the record and her personal encounters which have led to the composition with MTV saying: "Who better to say those things don't matter than somebody who's experienced them? [People may say], 'How can you say they don't matter? How can you say that money won't bring you happiness if you don't have a lot of money? How can you say that fame and fortune are not a guarantee for happiness and joy and fulfillment in your life?' You have to have that experience to know. 'Cause you have all those things, I've had all those things, and I've had nothing but chaos around me. So I'm just sharing what I know with
51870-516: The mayhem with the explicit content in the music video for "Erotica", walking bare breasted at designer Jean Paul Gaultier's fashion show and posing nude in Vanity Fair magazine. A writer for The Sacramento Bee said that since the press wanted "controversy", Madonna was willing to give them "fodder" with her "antiques". Madonna claimed she was publishing Sex "to liberate America — free us all of our hang-ups". She told Spin: "We live in
52143-461: The media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies at $ 50 each in a matter of days. The widespread backlash overshadowed Erotica , which ended up as her lowest selling album at the time. Despite positive reviews, it became her first studio album since her debut album not to score any chart-topper in the US. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number two. It yielded the Hot 100 top-ten hits " Erotica " and " Deeper and Deeper ". At
52416-415: The messages on the album are dour, but complimented Madonna for talking about the then-current situation of the nation. Johny Davis from NME gave the album a rating of seven out of ten, saying that technically the album sounds good, but overall it felt like an unnecessary sequel to Madonna's previous endeavors like Ray of Light and Music . Allmusic 's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated that American Life
52689-481: The music freeze in between rhythms. The producer hoped that using stuttering would become a rage in the future world of recording. He believed that people think it is not natural to skip and stutter the music. But he used it to create a new groove. With the help of Pro Tools , he froze the audio at any point he wanted to change the rhythm of the tracks. Madonna discussed the recording of the title track stating that Ahmadzaï had encouraged her to rap spontaneously, about all
52962-462: The ninth worst song of all time. It charted at number 37 in the United States, while it entered the top-ten in most markets, peaking at number two in the United Kingdom. A controversial music video was pulled after scenes of war and violence were criticized which led to an edited version being released. Its following single, " Hollywood ", became her first single not to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1983. " Nothing Fails " and " Love Profusion ",
53235-448: The original $ 50 cover price. According to Barry Walters from Rolling Stone in 2019, Sex remains one of the most in-demand out-of-print publications of all time. A long-lasting title at BookFinder.com 's lists, Sex featured as the most requested out-of-print publication from 2011 to 2015. In their database, AbeBooks recalls: "The most famous out-of-print book of modern times is Madonna's Sex book, which remains in demand but
53508-437: The packaging job to Nicholas Callaway 's bespoke Callaway Editions. Charles Melcher, the book's co-publisher with Callaway, said they usually published "exquisite art books, $ 100 high end, beautiful things". It was a challenge for them to process Madonna's ideas into reality. The artist wanted the packaging to be sealed, so the reader had to tear it open to read the book. They considered various kinds of clasps before deciding on
53781-564: The page included an impromptu marriage proposal to Morgan Webb , the host of the daily technology show The Screen Savers . To start marketing the album, Madonna embarked on a promotional tour across the United States and Europe. One of these performances, presented at the Total Request Live studios in New York, was shown by MTV in a special named Madonna on Stage & on the Record . Hosted by Carson Daly , she sang songs from
54054-401: The pain caused by my mother's death, but without putting myself a medal for finding my way in life without even asking for compassion just because I went through a hard time. Neither using it as an excuse, as: 'I'm rebel because I had suffered a hard time when I was a child'. All these excuses are rubbish because in the end you have to be responsible for your own actions." —Madonna discusses
54327-489: The part. After securing the title role, she received vocal coaching and learned about the history of Argentina and Perón. During filming Madonna became ill several times, after finding out that she was pregnant, and from the intense emotional effort required with the scenes. Upon Evita ' s release in December 1996, Madonna's performance received praise from film critics. Zach Conner of Time magazine remarked, "It's
54600-469: The performances with long dark drapes and large speakers, and according to Billboard was so that over one thousand fans nearby could hear the performance. She also performed a private concert in Paris, France, at restaurant Cantine du Faubourg to people who won tickets on a promotion hosted by NRJ Radio , and also some of her French friends including designer Jean-Paul Gaultier , director Luc Besson and producer Ahmadzaï. On August 27, 2003, Madonna opened
54873-464: The photo sessions for Sex , photographer Steven Meisel was accompanied by art director Fabion Baron who filmed the shoots on Super 8 film for use in the music video for the song " Erotica ". The photo sessions took place in New York City and Miami. Locations in New York City included the Hotel Chelsea and Times Square's all-male burlesque Gaiety Theatre whose dancers participated in one of
55146-480: The political climate of the country, saying that "there was a lynch mob mentality that was going on that wasn't pretty and I have children to protect." The song stalled at number 37 on the Hot 100, while the album became her lowest-selling album at that point with four million copies worldwide. Madonna gave another provocative performance later that year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , when she kissed singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera while singing
55419-551: The pop star refuses to republish it". The book, though widely panned by the press, is regarded as one of the factors that shaped the social reaction and criticism of Madonna during the early 1990s. Her fifth studio album Erotica was affected by the negative press surrounding the book. In March 1993, Spin wrote an article praising the book. Months later in Mexico, social communicologist Nino Canún dedicated an episode of his morning talk show ¿Y usted qué opina? (English: So what's your opinion? ), to Madonna. Some members of
55692-700: The production of Speed-the-Plow at the Royale Theatre from May to August 1988. According to the Associated Press , Madonna filed an assault report against Penn after an alleged incident at their Malibu home during the New Year's weekend. Madonna filed for divorce on January 5, 1989, and the following week she reportedly asked that no criminal charges be pressed. In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft-drink manufacturer Pepsi . In one Pepsi commercial, she debuted " Like
55965-568: The record for the largest first printing of an illustrated book in publishing history. Callaway pointed out the book was an "unprecedented hit", because the print run of an average art book ranges between 5,000 and 10,000 units. Hundreds of copies of the book were pre-ordered , prompting book sellers to say that Sex was "shattering their sales records for advance purchases". John Robinson from Santa Cruz Sentinel informed that many booksellers agreed that " Sex sold, like nothing else before" and "they've never seen anything like it, especially for
56238-491: The record. Like her 2000 studio album, Music , Madonna enlisted the help of French DJ and producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï . Always interested in adapting herself and her music to the contemporary compositions, Madonna was inspired by the new Massive Attack and Lemon Jelly albums. "We set out to put the two worlds of acoustic and electronic music together," said Madonna, adding "It is another step on, but I've never wanted to repeat myself. I don't ever want to repeat myself or make
56511-498: The release of her second studio album, Like a Virgin , in November 1984. It became her first number-one album in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the US. Like a Virgin became the first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the US. It was later certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold over 21 million copies worldwide. The album's title track served as its first single, and topped
56784-439: The release, it was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying shipment of one million copies in the US alone. However, it became the fourth lowest selling studio album by Madonna behind her 2012 release MDNA , her 2015 release Rebel Heart and her 2019 release Madame X , with sales of 680,000 copies as of October 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan . It ranked at number 125 on
57057-428: The right of bookstores to provide "diversity and choice" to customers, saying censorship is not the role of bookstores.) Many book stores stated the book would not be sold to anyone under 18 and it would only be on display behind the cash register. Bookstore owner David Epstein said, "The feeling of most people who have ordered the book is that Madonna is something special, that this is cutting-edge art [...] they're not
57330-452: The same printing presses as Sex and threatened to stop doing business with the printer RR Donnelley . The Nashville-based Baptist Sunday School Board, a division of the Southern Baptist Convention , reviewed their $ 2.1 million ($ 4,559,545 in 2023 dollars ) printing contract with Donnelley. Board President James Draper said he was infuriated Donnelley printed "such an obscene book". Entertainment Tonight reported Madonna had initiated
57603-493: The same record twice." American Life became Madonna's final studio album with Maverick Records , and marked the end of an eleven-year recording history with the label. In an interview with VH1 titled Madonna Speaks , the singer discussed her 20 years in the music industry, and revealed her motivations behind American Life , about "material things" being unimportant. "I have lots of 'material' things and I've had lots of beliefs about things and what's important, and I look back at
57876-1063: The same time, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced officially that Madonna had sold over 200 million copies of her albums alone worldwide. While on tour, Madonna founded the charitable organization Raising Malawi , and partially funded an orphanage in and traveling to that country. While there, she decided to adopt a boy named David Banda in October 2006. The adoption raised strong public reaction, because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting, which Madonna did not do. She addressed this on The Oprah Winfrey Show , saying that there were no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulated foreign adoption. Madonna described how Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when they first met. Banda's biological father, Yohane, commented: "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing ... They want me to support their court case,
58149-638: The same". American Life became the first album in history to have seven top ten hits on the US Dance Club Songs . Lucy O'Brien commented American Life marked a "significant dip" in her career, but like a lot of her peers, she had been "compromised as an artist" when a cultural "atmosphere of fear" invaded the United States. Commercially, the album was regarded a failure according to Madonna's own "hitmaking precedent". In 2005, Madonna acknowledged American Life as her lowest-selling album in her career up to that point, but referred to it as one of her catalog's favorite records. Queerty magazine commented, "sure
58422-414: The semi-Ibiza backing music is bare and recycled—and we are convinced that she has lost it." After its release, American Life debuted at number one on the United States Billboard 200 chart with 241,000 copies sold in its first week. The sales were less than Madonna's previous studio album, Music , which debuted with 420,000 copies in 2000, but was the only one that week to sell over 200,000 copies. It
58695-486: The song " Erotica ", offered an alternate vocal take not used on the album version. Upon its release, the book was banned in India, Ireland, Japan and some Australian states. Given the controversy surrounding the book there was no need for Madonna to promote it. One of the few promotions she did, however, was to appear on the cover of the October edition of Vogue , dressed in "Hippie trip" fashion. These photographs were taken by Meisel. On October 22, 1992, MTV aired
58968-458: The song as Madonna states "I'm not religious" but she wishes to pray. Acoustic guitars introduces the seventh track, "Intervention". It starts with a three chord minor sequence which changes to a four chord one during the chorus section and a bass section starts at the end of the track. Lyrically, the song is an optimistic track about how a relationship will last as Madonna says "the road looks lonely but that's just Satan's game". "X-Static Process",
59241-469: The song reflects on Madonna's childhood including her mother's death and her father's reaction, and the effect on their relationship. The tenth track is " Die Another Day ", the theme to the James Bond film of the same name which featured dominating string and synth parts. The eleventh and final track on the album, "Easy Ride", is a heavily string-oriented song. It addresses Madonna's feelings towards old age, wanting to live forever, and coming full circle to
59514-402: The songs, and is yet again featured in the sixth track " Nothing Fails ". The guitar is accompanied by a "light" drum section and low-pitched vocals from Madonna. The song also features a cello in the first part, and a church choir in the second part. Lyrically, the song discusses a lover who is the one, and how their meeting was not just chance. A reference to the " tree of life " is made during
59787-434: The stories are Bunny, Dex, Stella, Chiclet and Stranger. According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, a big part of the book reads like a letter to a pornographic magazine . Madonna wanted to explore the notion of power in Sex . Melcher said she wanted to talk about "gentle and hard, soft and violent [in Sex ]. She was playing out all those elements in her book. That was reflected in the materials: uncoated, soft paper on
60060-403: The street (which is precisely where it belongs) is that this is the hottest Truly Twisted personal sexual fantasy picture book in all Christendom, that it goes far beyond all previous Truly Twisted personal sexual fantasy picture books-perhaps beyond all imagining what such a book could be. On October 15, Madonna threw a pre-release party at New York City's Industria Superstudio having signed all
60333-489: The street, which she did on two occasions – topless with Vanilla Ice and completely nude while pretending to hitchhike. According to Baron on the street "cars screeched to a halt, motorists whistled, and one entranced cyclist fell off his bike". During the photo shoots Baron said, "[Madonna]'d do something crazy and then we'd come up with something even crazier". One of the most shocking photographs features two women in post-punk attire flanking Madonna with one of them holding
60606-507: The studio's SSL mixing consoles , the album's recording process was often laborious but was sparse in the musical arrangements of the songs. About the musical composition, Ahmadzaï told to Remix magazine that they "tried to under-produce many tracks to make them sound rougher than the average international pop production. We wanted to do something totally modern and futuristic but not very apparent. You have to be very minimalist and choose every sound very carefully. Some tracks were composed in
60879-400: The third and fourth singles respectively, featured a lack of promotion resulting in poor commercial performances. Despite this, all singles peaked at number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Preceding the album release, " Die Another Day " was released as a single to promote the James Bond film of the same name , and peaked at number eight on the US Hot 100 and number three on
61152-427: The time Madonna had been dating rapper Vanilla Ice and she at one point proposed to him; they broke up following the release of Sex , with Ice claiming that he was included in the book without his consent. Madonna continued her provocative imagery in the 1993 erotic thriller , Body of Evidence , a film which contained scenes of sadomasochism and bondage . Critics poorly received the film. She also starred in
61425-414: The time, and remains Madonna's bestselling studio album, with sales of 25 million copies. True Blue was featured in the 1992 edition of Guinness World Records as the bestselling album by a woman of all time. Madonna starred in the critically panned film Shanghai Surprise in 1986, for which she received her first Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress . She made her theatrical debut in
61698-464: The title role in the 1985 comedy Desperately Seeking Susan , a film which introduced the song " Into the Groove ", her first number-one single in the UK. Her popularity caused the film to be perceived as a Madonna vehicle, despite how she was not billed as a lead actress . The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named it one of the ten best films of 1985. Beginning in April 1985, Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America,
61971-646: The top ten on that chart, and first since " One More Chance " (1996). The promotional releases, " Nobody Knows Me " and "Mother and Father", became very successful in American clubs, peaking at number four and number nine, respectively, on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart. American Life became the first album to achieve seven top ten songs on this chart. In 2003, Madonna collaborated with photographer Steven Klein for an art installation project called X-Static Process . The installation portrayed Madonna in different incarnations of her spiritual practices – from yogi, prophet, queen to freak and pole dancer. The publication
62244-552: The top twenty in some countries. It peaked in the top ten in Canada and Spain. In late 2003, "Nothing Fails" was remixed as "Nothing Fails (Nevins Mix)" for Madonna's remix EP Remixed & Revisited . " Love Profusion ", was the fourth and final single from the album, released on December 8, 2003. It peaked in the top ten only in Greece and Canada, her fifth top ten Canadian hit from the album and thirteenth top ten in-a-row. Also, it debuted and peaked at eleven on UK Singles Chart, becoming Madonna's fifth single, of fifty-six, to miss
62517-416: The tour used one of the images from the installation project. It featured Madonna in a seventeenth-century-style dress, crawling on all fours towards the camera. The central theme of the show was unity versus violence. It was divided into five acts with different themes: French Baroque - Marie Antionette Revival, Military - Army , Circus - Cabaret , Acoustic and Scottish-Tribal segments. During
62790-428: The track " Hollywood ". In October 2003, she provided guest vocals on Spears' single " Me Against the Music ". It was followed with the release of Remixed & Revisited . The EP contained remixed versions of songs from American Life and included "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions. Madonna also signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to be
63063-472: The track "Mother and Father". Slant Magazine ' s Sal Cinquemani stated that "Madonna couldn't possibly have intended to make a pop album. American Life is a folk album in the purest definition of the term—and it's reflected right in the title" and added that it has "an often ugly, lo-fi demo quality." Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune called the record an "electro-folk album" with electronic beats and synthetic burps. Priya Elan of NME described
63336-491: The tracks became viral movilizing hackers , remixers and hacktivists and soon radio stations and clubs around the world were playing pirate remixes of "WTF". Fifteen of the best illegal remixes were compiled and released on an album by an independent label , and a website called "Madonna Remix Project" was created. American Life also achieved early record-breaking streaming figures on websites such as MTV , Launch.com , MSN and AOL . According to MTV's representatives,
63609-407: The vacuousness of Madonna's remarks about porn and abuse, she did not understand that behind the fantasies the "reality is too hard" for a woman to endure, referring to the daily hustles that women have to face in red light districts and brothels. The author felt that despite the courageous premise of genuine exploration of queer sex, the book crossed over into pornography and was a wrong portrayal for
63882-616: The whole enterprise. And while it was easy to critique Sex , it should be applauded for this balls-to-the-wall honesty. —Priya Elan discussing the book. Madonna responded to the huge backlash with the song " Human Nature ", from her next album Bedtime Stories (1994), with the lyrics "Did I say something wrong? Oops, I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex," while declaring "And I'm not sorry. It's human nature." She later explained: "I wouldn't say I regret it. I've made mistakes and learned from them. Most people want to hear me say that I regret publishing my Sex book. I don't. The problem
64155-410: The whole thing with the Malcolm X movie started. At first I thought, 'Fuck it, it's a really good symbol and I thought of it first'. But I realized it might be confusing or look like I was copying Spike [Lee]. Besides, Sex is almost as powerful: it's universal, it doesn't need translation – and it's only two letters more than X." Madonna hired top-notch talent for the book's development, and counted on
64428-399: The whole thing. I wonder what her kids think of that book? Here she is writing kids' books now but they're going to see it and go, 'Mommy, what were you thinking?'" Another of the book's models, actress Isabella Rossellini, told Out that she regretted her participation: "I don't think the book worked, even though the photos were extraordinary, and some of them quite memorable. I think there
64701-412: The world in an edited form. The same year, Madonna released her ninth studio album, American Life , which was based on her observations of American society. She explained that the record was "like a trip down memory lane, looking back at everything I've accomplished and all the things I once valued and all the things that were important to me." Larry Flick from The Advocate felt that " American Life
64974-463: The world. 'Cause I do think that we've become completely consumed with being rich and famous, our society has. And I just want to tell people, take it from me, I have all those things and none of them ever brought me one minute of happiness." The glamorous world of Hollywood also reflected in her writing, especially in the second track of the same name. Describing it as a metaphor, Madonna said that "in Hollywood you can lose your memory and your vision of
65247-465: The writing of the first three songs, the title track , " Hollywood " and "I'm So Stupid". John Norris from MTV described them as a trilogy, and an indicator of Madonna's reassessment of her life while discussing things she wishes to put behind her. Madonna partly agreed, saying that the tracks are extensions of one another, and portray her desire of giving importance to less noteworthy things, and how she could come out of that "illusion". Madonna discussed
65520-413: The year by a solo artist, earning $ 75 million from 47 sold-out shows. She also released her second greatest-hits collection, GHV2 , which compiled 15 singles during the second decade of her recording career. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 and sold seven million units worldwide. Madonna starred in the film Swept Away , directed by Ritchie. Released direct-to-video in
65793-475: The year in the US. She recorded the film's theme song, " This Used to Be My Playground ", which became her tenth number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, the most by any female artist at the time. In April, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick , consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing, and merchandising divisions. The deal
66066-418: The year-end ranking of the albums by Billboard . In Canada, the album debuted at the top of the Canadian Albums Chart with sales of 18,000 copies on May 10, 2003. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the sum was considerably less than her previous studio efforts, Ray of Light (1998) and Music (2000), which debuted with 59,000 and 50,000 copies respectively. It gained a Platinum certification one month later from
66339-421: Was "a reflection of my state of mind and a view of the world right now". Still, she was not satisfied with the name, and finalized on American Life . American Life is Madonna's second album to bear a " Parental Advisory " label after Erotica (1992), due to the profanity used in the title song. The album was released in the United States on April 22, 2003 and eight months later, Warner Music France released
66612-426: Was "the women who once saw Madonna as a witty feminist role model who have been most alarmist about her latest pornographic incarnation ... Previously, they say, Madonna played with traditional images of feminine sexuality in a subversive, 'empowering' way. But now, with sado-masochism and rape fantasies, she has gone too far." Calvin Tomkins , author and art critic for The New Yorker , wrote that "unfortunately,
66885-475: Was Madonna's second consecutive number one debut, and her fifth number one album overall in the US. The next week, sales dropped by 62% to 91,000 copies, and the album slid from the top of the chart to number eight. It continued to decrease in sales down the chart and fell off the Billboard 200. In September 2003, following Madonna's performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, the album saw a sales gain of 19%, but did not chart back. On July 7, 2003, just months after
67158-404: Was a guest on Late Show with David Letterman , used profanity, and handed Letterman a pair of her underwear asking him to smell it. The release of her sexually explicit works, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman led some critics to see Madonna as a sexual renegade. She also faced a strong negative reaction from critics and fans who commented that "she had gone too far" and that her career
67431-496: Was a joint venture with Time Warner and paid Madonna an advance of $ 60 million. It gave her 20% royalties from the music proceedings, the highest rate in the industry at the time, equaled only by Michael Jackson 's royalty rate established a year earlier with Sony . Her company later went on to become one of the most successful artist-run labels in history, producing multi-platinum artists such as Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch . Later that year, Madonna co-sponsored
67704-553: Was a little bit of a moralistic sort of 'I'll teach you how to be free!' – and that bothered the hell out of me." Later reviews of Sex have been more positive. The authors of The Porning of America: The Rise of Porn Culture, What It Means, and Where We Go from Here (2008) commented that "the book is particularly interesting in the way that, like many of Madonna's works, it portrays sex in terms of domination and power". Jane Raphaely , editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan (South Africa) praised Madonna's "liberated behavior in Sex [...]
67977-427: Was a product of marketing . Despite the negative feedback, sales of Sex generated more than US$ 20 million ($ 43.42 million in 2023 dollars ) for Madonna in 1992 from its first print-run. It was deemed as an "unprecedented entrepreneurial coup". Overall, Sex generated US$ 70 million in sales at retail. Taraborrelli commented in his book, Madonna: An Intimate Biography , that Madonna's friends knew
68250-418: Was a worldwide success, leading to a number of exhibitions in New York, London, Paris, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Florence. After the exhibition was over, Madonna was inspired by the images from the exhibitions and decided to incorporate them into her then unplanned tour and asked Klein to help her with the task. She then began developing her sixth concert tour called Re-Invention World Tour . The poster released for
68523-481: Was also compared to an infamous 1970s photo of kidnapped newspaper heiress, Patty Hearst . The cover also had military styled stenciled lettering. The title American Life is written in blood red color and has a punk rock style. Inside the CD booklet, she wielded an Uzi submachine gun , her body in various martial art poses, spelling out her name. By late 2003, she had wiped out the military image completely, and followed with another subtle toned-down image of that of
68796-415: Was also influenced by Robert Mapplethorpe 's infamous three-part XYZ portfolio, particularly the X portfolio. Madonna had considered using X as a title during the formative stages of Sex , but she changed her mind when promotion for Spike Lee 's film Malcolm X began. (It was released three weeks after the book). She would go on to tell Vogue magazine: "We were gonna call it X [...] but then
69069-464: Was being a brat, not a revolutionary." Author Lucy O'Brien declared the book a bold, harrowing exercise in frustration, and despite Madonna's attempt at invincibility, it appeared to be "a curious act of self-destruction". Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone said "The overwhelming effect of the book is numbing". Describing the photographs as "derivative", he wrote that "Madonna herself seems far too eager to shock; that, not even prurient arousal, seems
69342-439: Was dissatisfied with the completed tracks and disagreed with Lucas' production techniques, so she decided to seek additional help. She asked John "Jellybean" Benitez , the resident DJ at Fun House, to help finish the album's production and a romance ensued. Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced " Holiday ", which was her first international top-ten song. The album was released in July 1983, and peaked at number eight on
69615-601: Was five, her mother died of breast cancer and the track was "a way of letting go of the sadness and moving on." According to Lucy O'Brien , author of Madonna: Like an Icon , another concept of American Life was about "nothingness". This was evident in the titles of the songs like " Nobody Knows Me ", usage of "no" in " Love Profusion ", as well as " Nothing Fails ". Usage of the negative tone led Madonna to be sarcastic on people's assumptions about her and emphasize about her knowledge of romantic love. But "Nothing Fails", along with tracks "Intervention" and "X-Static Process," became
69888-401: Was in a relationship with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and living at his loft in SoHo . Basquiat introduced her to art curator Diego Cortez , who had managed some punk bands and co-founded the Mudd Club . Madonna invited Cortez to be her manager, but he declined. Following the success of the singles, Warner hired Reggie Lucas to produce her debut album, Madonna . However, Madonna
70161-603: Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. She did not sing at the ceremony but asked fellow Hall of Fame inductees and Michigan natives the Stooges to perform her songs "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light". Madonna released her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy , in April 2008. Containing R&B and urban pop influences, the songs on Hard Candy were autobiographical in nature and saw Madonna collaborating with Justin Timberlake , Timbaland , Pharrell Williams and Nate "Danja" Hills . The album debuted at number one in 37 countries and on
70434-435: Was inspired by and dedicated to her husband Penn. Rolling Stone was impressed with the effort, writing that the album "sound[s] as if it comes from the heart". Five singles were released—" Live to Tell ", " Papa Don't Preach ", " True Blue ", " Open Your Heart ", and " La Isla Bonita "—all of which reached number one in the US or the UK. The album topped the charts in 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented achievement at
70707-451: Was necessary to go back to its underground roots and focus on the songwriting, rather than the technical aspects of recording and mixing. Describing it as modified songwriting, he said that although the concept "might sound simple at first, even rough. But when you pay attention, there is a lot of technology underneath". This approach was an imperative for American Life . Recorded at three different studios using Ahmadzaï's own gear along with
70980-616: Was of French-Canadian descent. Tony Ciccone worked as an optics engineer for Chrysler Defense and its successor, General Dynamics Land Systems , on military projects. Since Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonnie". Her mother died of breast cancer on December 1, 1963. She was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills ), alongside her two older brothers—Anthony (1956–2023) and Martin (born 1957) —and three younger siblings—Paula (born 1959), Christopher (1960–2024), and Melanie (born 1962). Madonna adopted Veronica as
71253-601: Was over. Around this time, Madonna briefly dated rapper Tupac Shakur and basketball player Dennis Rodman . Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli described her ballad " I'll Remember " (1994) as an attempt to tone down her provocative image. The song was recorded for Alek Keshishian 's 1994 film With Honors . She made a subdued appearance with Letterman at an awards show and appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno after realizing that she needed to change her musical direction to sustain her popularity. With her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), Madonna employed
71526-412: Was over. Author Lucy O'Brien commented: The perfect iconic goddess of True Blue had all gone. In the same way that sixties beauties like Nico , Marianne Faithfull and Brigitte Bardot set about destroying their beauty after they were famous, the very thing they felt limited them, Madonna annihilated hers. Within a few short years she moved from teasing flirtation to desperate sexual display. It
71799-452: Was picked it up by their staffers as one of her best albums. In 2015, Billboard magazine staffers called it an "uneven album" but "not as bad as some detractors would have you believe". They stated, "you have to applaud the album's adventurous melange of electronica, folk and pop music – not to mention the incisive, skeptical lyrics". Chuck Arnold from the same magazine, noted American Life as "underappreciated", "ambitious" and complimented
72072-472: Was produced, showing Madonna donning military clothing and singing in front of the various flags of the world. The song debuted at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100 , and peaked at number thirty-seven on the chart, becoming Madonna's 45th Top 40 hit in the chart. The song also peaked at number two in the UK, seven in Austria and Australia, and ten in France and Germany. The second single, " Hollywood ", released on July 3, 2003 in Europe and July 8, 2003 in
72345-400: Was really changing." She felt women were coming out about their sexuality and the book's handling of the taboo issue was "a legacy, our contribution to the show", stressing "[t]he lesbian sub-cultural references borrowed by Madonna aren't our only possessions." O'Brien argues in her book Madonna: Like an Icon , the book had a confusing philosophy. According to female critics, who pointed out
72618-425: Was released as the lead single from the album on April 8, 2003 in the United States and on April 14, 2003 in Europe. Blender magazine listed the song as the ninth worst song ever. There are two music videos. The first version is based on a fashion runway, with extras including children dressed in provocative war inspired outfits. The scene descends into violence and fighting to which the audience find amusement. At
72891-409: Was released in May 1991. Chronicling her Blond Ambition World Tour, it became the highest-grossing documentary of all time (surpassed eleven years later by Michael Moore 's Bowling for Columbine ). In 1992, Madonna starred in A League of Their Own as Mae Mordabito, a baseball player on an all-women's team. It reached number one on the box-office and became the tenth-highest-grossing film of
73164-451: Was released in November 2005. Musically the album was structured like a club set composed by a DJ. It was acclaimed by critics, with Keith Caulfield from Billboard commenting that the album was a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop." The album won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album . Confessions on a Dance Floor and its lead single, " Hung Up ", went on to reach number one in 40 and 41 countries respectively, earning
73437-429: Was releasing my Erotica album at the same time. I love that album and it got overlooked." In 2003, Madonna said: "I'm not apologizing in any shape or form [...] I was interested in pushing buttons and being rebellious and being mischievous and trying to bend the rules. There was a lot of irony in the Sex book and I am poking fun at a lot of things and I am being kind of silly and adolescent and I am being very f you, if
73710-431: Was rumored that Time Warner was nervous about the book's release, however, in an interview with Vanity Fair , William Sarnoff, president of Warner Books, said he felt Madonna "should pursue all avenues of creativity as she defines it". The Warner company said they would make sure Sex reached its target audience . They reminded the public the book was safely wrapped in a Mylar bag to prevent in-store peeping and contained
73983-488: Was sloppy at first, but I got out all my thoughts and then I wrote everything down that I said and then I perfected the timing of it. So it was totally spontaneous," she added. For "Hollywood", he used a drum kit and percussion from an E-mu Emulator and also added extra drum sounds to give the song an old, disco vibe. Wanting to have a loud bass synth sound, Ahmadzaï used a Nord Lead synthesizer with lot of filtering manipulations. But he faced problems with it, so he used
74256-433: Was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $ 35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." Madonna soon found an apartment in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village and had little money while working as a hatcheck girl for the Russian Tea Room , an elevator operator at Terrace on the Park , and with modern dance troupes, taking classes at
74529-424: Was very difficult to produce, requiring contributions from many printing companies. They noted that to make a profit the book needed to sell at least 350,000 copies. Wrapped and sealed in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Mylar bag, Sex has 128 pages and is spiral bound with an aluminium cover that has the word "Sex" stamped in the middle and a warning label. The front page shows Madonna against
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