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| 1958–81: Early life and career beginnings | 3>
Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. Her father, Silvio Anthony Ciccone, is a first-generation Italian American (with roots in Pacentro, Italy), while her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French Canadian descent.[1] Her father later worked as a design engineer for Chrysler and General Motors. As Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonni".[2][3] The third of six children from her father's first marriage, her full-blood siblings are: Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.[3] Madonna was raised Roman Catholic. Upon receiving confirmation, she adopted Veronica as an additional confirmation name.[4] She was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now part of Rochester Hills).
Her mother died of breast cancer at the age of 30 in 1963.[5] Months before her mother's death, Madonna noticed changes in her behavior and personality from the attentive homemaker she was, although she did not understand the reason.[5] Mrs. Ciccone, at a loss to explain her dire medical condition, would often begin to cry when questioned by Madonna, at which point Madonna would respond by wrapping her arms around her mother tenderly. "I remember feeling stronger than she was," Madonna recalled, "I was so little and yet I felt like she was the child."[5] Madonna later acknowledged that she had not grasped the concept of her mother dying. "There was so much left unsaid, so many untangled and unresolved emotions, of remorse, guilt, loss, anger, confusion ... I saw my mother, looking very beautiful and lying as if she were asleep in an open casket. Then I noticed that my mother's mouth looked funny. It took me some time to realize that it had been sewn up. In that awful moment, I began to understand what I had lost forever. The final image of my mother, at once peaceful yet grotesque, haunts me today also."[6]
Madonna turned to her grandmother in the hope of finding some solace and some form of her mother in her. The Ciccone siblings resented housekeepers and invariably rebelled against anyone brought into their home ostensibly to take the place of their beloved mother.[5] In an interview with Vanity Fair, Madonna commented that she saw 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 and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades ... I wanted to be somebody."[5] Terrified that her father could be taken from her as well, Madonna was often unable to sleep unless she was near him.[5] Her father married the family's housekeeper Joan Gustafson in 1966, and they had two children: Jennifer and Mario Ciccone.[3] At this point, Madonna began to express unresolved feelings of anger towards her father that lasted for decades, and developed a rebellious attitude.[5] She attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and then West Middle School. She was known for her high grade point average, and achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior: she would perform cartwheels and handstands in 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.[7]
Rochester Adams High School, where Madonna studied
Madonna later attended Rochester Adams High School where she became a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad.[8] After graduating, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan.[9] She convinced her father to allow her to take ballet lessons[10] and was persuaded by Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, to pursue a career in dance.[11] In 1978, she dropped out of college and relocated to New York City.[12] She had little money and worked as a waitress at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes.[13] Madonna said of her move to New York, "It 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."[14] She started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. During a late night, Madonna was returning from a rehearsal, when she was dragged up an alleyway by a pair of men and forced to perform fellatio at knifepoint. Madonna had later commented that "the episode was 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."[15] While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour,[7] Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. They formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club,[16][17] for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. In 1980[3] or 1981[18] she left Breakfast Club and, with her former boyfriend Stephen Bray as drummer, formed the band Emmy. Their music impressed DJ and record producer Mark Kamins who arranged a meeting between Madonna and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.[18]
| Tags:Confirmation Name,Bay City,New York,Genres,Pop,Rock,Dance,Labels,Sire,Maverick,Warner Bros.,Live Nation,Interscope,/tʃɪˈkoʊneɪ/,World's Top-selling Female Recording Artist Of All Time,Guinness World Records,Time,Bay City, Michigan,Breakfast Club,Like A Virgin,Papa Don't Preach,Like A Prayer,Vogue,Frozen,Music,Hung Up,4 Minutes,Desperately Seeking Susan,Golden Globe Award,Best Actress In Motion Picture Musical Or Comedy,Evita,Recording Industry Association Of America,Certified,Billboard,The Beatles,Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,Vh1,Italian American,Pacentro,French Canadian,Chrysler,General Motors,Christopher,Roman Catholic,Veronica,Pontiac,Rochester Hills,Breast Cancer,Grade Point Average,Monkey Bars,Rochester Adams High School,University Of Michigan,Ballet,Dunkin' Donuts,Modern Dance,Fellatio,Patrick Hernandez,Stephen Bray,Mark Kamins,Sire Records,Seymour Stein,Singles,Everybody,Madonna,Reggie Lucas,John Jellybean Benitez,Holiday,Linn Drum Machine,Moog Bass,Ob-x Synthesizer,Borderline,Lucky Star,Maripol,Capri Pants,Fishnet Stockings,Mtv Video Music Awards,Sean Penn,Vision Quest,Crazy For You,Into The Groove,Vincent Canby,Material Girl,The Virgin Tour,Beastie Boys,Penthouse,Playboy,Live Aid,Blond Ambition World Tour,True Blue,Rolling Stone,Live To Tell,Open Your Heart,La Isla Bonita,Shanghai Surprise,David Rabe,Who's That Girl,Title Track,Causing A Commotion,Who's That Girl World Tour,You Can Dance,Pepsi,Symbols,Stigmata,Vatican,Patrick Leonard,Express Yourself,Cherish,Musician,Warren Beatty,I'm Breathless,Sooner Or Later,Stephen Sondheim,Academy Award For Best Original Song,The Laserdisc Release, 1982–85: | 3>
After Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire, her debut single, "Everybody", was released on April 24, 1982, and became a dance hit.[19] She started developing her debut album Madonna, which was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas, a Warner Bros. producer. However, she was not happy with the completed tracks and disagreed with Lucas' production techniques, so decided to seek additional help. Madonna moved in with boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez, asking his help for finishing the album's production. Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced "Holiday", which was her third single. The overall sound of Madonna is dissonant, and is in the form of upbeat synthetic disco, utilizing some of the new technology of the time, like the Linn drum machine, Moog bass and the OB-X synthesizer.[20][21] The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, and yielded the hit singles "Holiday", "Borderline" and "Lucky Star".[22][23]
"I was surprised by how people reacted to "Like a Virgin" because when I did that song, to me, I was singing about how something made me feel a certain way—brand-new and fresh—and everyone interpreted it as 'I don't want to be a virgin anymore. Fuck my brains out!' That's not what I sang at all. 'Like a Virgin' was always absolutely ambiguous."
—Madonna on the backlash for "Like a Virgin"[24][25]
Gradually, Madonna's look and manner of dressing, her performances and her music videos started influencing young girls and women. Her style became a female fashion trend of the 1980s. It was created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol and the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix, bracelets, and bleached hair.[26] She achieved global recognition after the release of her second studio album: Like a Virgin in 1984. It topped the charts in several countries and became her first number one album on the Billboard 200.[22][27] The title track, "Like a Virgin", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks.[23] It attracted the attention of organizations who complained that the song and its accompanying video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values,[28] and moralists sought to have the song and video banned.[29] Madonna came under further fire when she performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) where she appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake, wearing a wedding dress and white gloves. The performance is noted by MTV as an iconic performance in VMA history.[30] In later years, Madonna commented that she was actually terrified of the performance. She recalled, "I remember my manager Freddy shouting to me, 'Oh my God! What were you doing? You were wearing a wedding dress. Oh my God! You were rolling around on the floor!' It was the bravest, most blatant sexual thing I had ever done on television."[31] Like a Virgin was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and sold more than 21 million copies worldwide.[32][33]
Madonna married actor Sean Penn (above) on her birthday in 1985.
Madonna entered mainstream films in 1985, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in Vision Quest, a romantic drama film. Its soundtrack contained her U.S. number one single, "Crazy for You".[34] She also appeared in the comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), a film which introduced the song "Into the Groove", her first number one single in the United Kingdom.[35] Although not the lead actress for the film, her profile was such that the movie widely became seen (and marketed) as a Madonna vehicle.[36] The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named it one of the ten best films of 1985.[37] While filming the music video for the second single from Like a Virgin—"Material Girl"—Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn and married him on her birthday in 1985.[38]
Beginning in April 1985, Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America, The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys as her opening act.[39] Madonna commented: "That whole tour was crazy, because I went from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas. I played a small theater in Seattle, and the girls had flap skirts on and the tights cut off below their knees and lace gloves and rosaries and bows in their hair and big hoop earrings ... After Seattle, all of the shows were moved to arenas."[40] In July, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of nude photos of Madonna, taken in New York in 1978. She had posed for the photographs as she needed money at the time, and was paid as little as $25 a session.[41] The publication of the photos caused a media uproar, but Madonna remained defiant and unapologetic. The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000.[41] She referred to the whole experience 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."[42][43]
| Tags: 1986–91: | 3>
Madonna during the Blond Ambition World Tour
In June 1986, Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue, which was inspired by and dedicated to Sean Penn.[44] Rolling Stone magazine was generally impressed with the effort, writing that the album "sound[s] as if it comes from the heart".[45] It spawned three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart", and two more top-five singles: "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita".[23][34] The album topped the charts in over 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented achievement at the time.[46] She also starred in the critically panned film Shanghai Surprise, and made her theatrical debut in a production of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Penn.[47] The next year, Madonna's second feature film Who's That Girl was released. She contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track and "Causing a Commotion".[23] In July 1987, she embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour which continued until September.[48] Regarding the tour, Madonna commented "I realized that I could go from being unmolded clay, and over time and with the help of people, I could turn myself into something else. This tour is the reflection of that belief and it's as if saying to me 'Who are you girl?' Hence the name, it's the new me."[49] Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, entitled You Can Dance, which reached 14 on the Billboard 200.[50][22] Madonna and Penn filed for divorce in December 1987, citing irreconcilable differences, with Madonna's lawyer pointing to Penn's drinking problem and his abusive nature. The divorce was finalized in January 1989.[51] Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna later said, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."[38]
"In Like a Prayer I've been dealing with more specific issues that mean a lot to me. They're about an assimilation of experiences I've had in my life and in relationships. They're about my mother, my father and my bonds with my family about the pain of dying, or growing up and letting go. [The album] was a real coming-of-age record for me emotionally ... I had to do a lot of soul-searching and I think it is a reflection of that."
—Madonna talking about the inspiration behind Like a Prayer.[52][53]
In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. In one of her Pepsi commercials, she debuted her song "Like a Prayer". The corresponding music video featured many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses, and a dream about 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.[54] The song was included on Madonna's fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, which was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.[55] Rolling Stone wrote that it was "as close to art as pop music gets".[56] Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 13 million copies worldwide, with 4 million copies sold in the U.S. alone.[22][57] Six singles were released from the album, including "Like a Prayer", which reached number one, and "Express Yourself" and "Cherish", both peaking at number two.[23][34] By the end of the 1980s, Madonna was named as the "Artist of the Decade" by media such as MTV, Billboard and Musician magazine.[58][59][60]
Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in the film Dick Tracy (1990), with Warren Beatty playing the title role.[61] 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 U.S. number one hit, "Vogue",[62] and "Sooner or Later", which earned songwriter Stephen Sondheim an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1991.[63] While shooting the film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty which dissolved by the end of 1990.[64][65] In April 1990 she began her Blond Ambition World Tour, which continued for nearly four months. Regarding the tour, Madonna commented "I know that I'm not the best singer and I know that I'm not the best dancer. But, I can fucking push people's buttons and be as provocative as I want. The tour's goal is to break useless taboos."[66] Rolling Stone called it an "elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza" and proclaimed it "the best tour of 1990".[67] The tour was met with strong reaction from religious groups for her performance of "Like a Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation.[48] The Pope asked the general public and the Christian community not to attend the concert.[68] A private association of Catholics calling themselves Famiglia Domani also boycotted the tour for its eroticism.[69] In response, Madonna said, "I am Italian American and proud of it ... 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"; she declared that the Church "completely frowns on sex ... except for procreation."[70] The Laserdisc release of the tour won Madonna a Grammy Award in 1992 for Best Long Form Music Video.[71]
The Immaculate Collection, Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album, was released in November 1990. It included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me".[72] The album was certified diamond by RIAA and sold over 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history.[32][73] "Justify My Love" reached number one in the U.S. and top ten worldwide.[34][74] Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage, same-sex kissing and brief nudity.[75][76] The video was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the network.[75] Madonna responded to the banning: "Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling? ... MTV has been good to me, and they know their audience. If it's too strong for them, I understand. Although, half of me thought I was going to get away with it."[77] The second single, "Rescue Me", became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in Hot 100 chart history at that time, entering at number 15 and peaking at number nine.[72]
In December 1990, Madonna decided to leave Jennifer Lynch's film Boxing Helena, which she had previously agreed to star in, without any explanation to the producers.[78] From late 1990 to early 1991, Madonna dated Tony Ward, a model and pornography performer who appeared in her music videos for "Cherish" and "Justify My Love". She also had an eight-month relationship with rapper Vanilla Ice.[79] Her first documentary film Truth or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America) was released in mid-1991. The documentary chronicled her Blond Ambition World Tour.[18]
| Tags: 1992–96: Maverick, | 3>
Madonna's portrayal of Eva Perón (above) in the film Evita garnered her critical acclaim.
In 1992, Madonna had a role in A League of Their Own as Mae Mordabito, a baseball player on an all-women's team. She recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground", which became a Hot 100 number one hit.[34] The same year, she 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 was a joint venture with Time Warner and paid Madonna an advance of $60 million. It gave her 20% royalties from the music proceedings, one of the highest rates in the industry, equaled at that time only by Michael Jackson's royalty rate established a year earlier with Sony.[80] The first release from the venture was Madonna's book, entitled Sex. It consisted of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by Steven Meisel. The book caused strong negative reaction from the media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each in a matter of days.[81][82] At the same time she released her fifth studio album, Erotica, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.[22][82] Its title track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.[34] Erotica also produced five further singles: "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Fever", "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby".[83]
The provocative imagery that was her trademark continued in the 1990s with the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, a film which contained scenes of sadomasochism and bondage. It was poorly received by critics.[84][85] She also starred in 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."[86] In October 1993, she embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour, in which she dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers.[87] The show faced negative reaction, specifically in Puerto Rico where she rubbed the island's flag between her legs on stage.[48] In March 1994, she appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, using profanity that was required to be censored on television and handing Letterman a pair of her underwear and asking him to smell it.[88] The releases of her sexually explicit films, albums and book, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman all made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. She faced strong negative publicity from critics and fans, who commented that "she had gone too far" and that her career was over.[89]
According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, the ballad "I'll Remember" (1994), was an attempt to tone down her provocative image. The song was recorded for Alek Keshishian's film With Honors.[90] 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 in order to sustain her popularity.[91] With her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), Madonna employed a softer image to reconnect with the general public.[91] The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and produced four singles, including "Secret" and "Take a Bow", the latter topping the Hot 100 for seven weeks.[34] At the same time, she became romantically involved with fitness trainer Carlos Leon.[92] Something to Remember, a collection of ballads, was released in May 1995. The album featured three new songs: "You'll See", "One More Chance", and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You".[34][93] In later years, Madonna commented that she was very fond of the albums between Like a Prayer and Something to Remember, "though I would agree that all of these albums were watershed moments for me".[94]
"This 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 it was the farthest I've ever had to push myself creatively. At every level, I had a great education. And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done."
—Madonna talking about Evita and her role as Eva Perón.[95]
The following year saw the release of Evita in which she played the title role of Eva Perón.[96][97] For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Perón and even wrote to director Alan Parker, explaining how she would be perfect for the part. After securing it, she underwent vocal training and learned about the history of Argentina and Perón. During shooting she fell sick many times, commenting that "The intensity of the scenes we have been shooting and the amount of emotional work and concentration needed to get through the day are so mentally and physically exhausting that I'm sure I will need to be institutionalized when its over." It was on the set of Evita Madonna found out that she was pregnant, which further complicated the shooting for her.[98] Evita was a period drama and almost 6,000 costumes were needed for the scenes. Madonna herself wore 370 different costumes, earning her a Guinness World Record for the most costume changes in a film.[97] After its release, the film garnered critical appreciation. Zach Conner from Time magazine commented "It's a relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well cast and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations. She plays Evita with a poignant weariness and has more than just a bit of star quality. Love or hate Madonna-Eva, she is a magnet for all eyes."[99][100] Madonna won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for the role.[101] She released three singles from the Evita soundtrack album including "You Must Love Me" (which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1997) and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina".[102] On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, her daughter with Leon.[103]
| Tags: 1997–2002: | 3>
Madonna performing on the Drowned World Tour
After Lourdes' birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah. She was introduced to Jewish mysticism by actress Sandra Bernhard in 1997.[104] Her seventh studio album, Ray of Light, (1998) reflected this change in her perception and image.[105] She commented: "This record, more than any other records, covers all the areas of life. I had recently joined Kabbalah and I had left off partying—but I had just had a baby, so my mood was complete, and I was incredibly thoughtful, retrospective and intrigued by the mystical aspects of life."[106] The album garnered critical acclaim and Slant Magazine declared it as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s".[107] Ray of Light was honored with four Grammy Awards, and listed as one of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[108][109] Topping the charts in Australia, Canada, UK and mainland Europe, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200—held off from the top spot by the soundtrack to the film Titanic—and sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[22][110] The album's first single, "Frozen", became Madonna's first single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the U.S. it became her sixth number two single and set another record for Madonna as the artist with the most number two hits.[34][111] The song was banned in Belgium, however, adjudicated to be plagiarized from Belgian songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva's 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp".[112] The second single, "Ray of Light", debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[113] Madonna's relationship with Leon ended in December 1998; she declared that they were "better off as best friends."[114] Following their break-up, Madonna signed to play a violin teacher in the film Music of the Heart but left the project, citing "creative differences" with director Wes Craven.[115] She followed the success of Ray of Light with the single "Beautiful Stranger", recorded for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It reached number 19 on the Hot 100 solely on radio airplay and earned Madonna a Grammy Award for "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media".[34][71]
In 2000, Madonna starred in the film The Next Best Thing, and contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack: "Time Stood Still" and the international hit "American Pie", a cover version of Don McLean's 1971 song.[116] She released her eighth studio album, Music, in September 2000. It featured elements from the electronica-inspired Ray of Light era, and catered to her gay audience.[117] 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."[117] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic felt that "Music blows by in 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."[118] The album took the number one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days.[108] In the U.S., Music debuted at the top, and became her first number one album in eleven years since Like a Prayer.[119] It produced three singles: the Hot 100 number one "Music", "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl".[34] The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing murders and involved in car accidents, and was banned by MTV and VH1.[120]
Around the same time of the Music album, Madonna became involved in a relationship with Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. On August 11, 2000, she gave birth to their son, Rocco Ritchie.[121] In December, Madonna and Ritchie were married in an exclusive ceremony in Scotland.[122]
Her fifth concert tour, entitled Drowned World Tour, started in April 2001.[48] The tour visited cities in the U.S. and Europe and was the highest-grossing concert tour of the year by a solo artist, earning $75 million from 47 sold-out shows.[123] She also released her second greatest-hits collection, entitled GHV2, to coincide with the home video release of the tour. GHV2 debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200.[124] Madonna starred in the film Swept Away, directed by Ritchie. Released direct-to-video in the UK, the film was a commercial and critical failure.[125] Later that year, she released "Die Another Day", the title song of the James Bond film Die Another Day, in which she had a cameo role. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated both for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song.[34][126]
| Tags: 2003–06: | 3>
Madonna performing at the Live 8 benefit concert (2005)
Following Die Another Day, Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer Steven Klein in 2003 for an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It included photography from a photo shoot in W magazine, and seven video segments. The installation ran from March to May in New York's Deitch Projects gallery. It then traveled the world in an edited form.[127] Madonna released her ninth studio album, American Life, which was based on her observations of American society, and received mixed reviews.[128] She commented, "[American Life] 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."[129] Larry Flick from The Advocate felt that "American Life is an album that is among her most adventurous and lyrically intelligent ... It is like the flip side to 2000's Music, and turns out to be a lazy, half-arsed effort to sound and take her seriously."[129][130] The title song peaked at number 37 on the Hot 100.[34] Its original music video was canceled as Madonna thought that the video, featuring violence and war imagery, would be deemed unpatriotic since America was then at war with Iraq.[131] With only four million copies sold worldwide, American Life was the lowest selling album of her career.[132] She gave another provocative performance later that year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, while singing "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera suggestively during the performance, triggering a tabloid frenzy.[133][134] In October 2003, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music".[135] 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.[136] Madonna also signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to be the author of five children's books. The first of these books, entitled The English Roses, was published in September 2003. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other.[137] Kate Kellway from The Guardian commented "[Madonna] is an actress playing at what she can never be—a JK Rowling, an English rose."[138] 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.[51]
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 the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own.[139][140] 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.[139] In mid-2004 Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning $125 million.[141] She made a documentary about the tour named I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.[142] Rolling Stone ranked her at number 36 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[143] In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song "Imagine" at Tsunami Aid.[144] She also performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London.[145]
"I tried several different things when Stuart [producer Stuart Price] brought me music. And it was like divine inspiration. It just clicked, like: 'This is the direction of my record.' That's what we intended, to make a record that you can play at a party or in your car, where you don't have to skip past a ballad. It's nonstop."
—Madonna talking about Confessions on a Dance Floor.[146]
Her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, was released in November 2005. Musically the album was structured like a club set composed by a DJ. The songs on the album started out light and happy, and as it progressed, it became intense, with the lyrics dealing more about personal feelings, hence "Confessions."[147] Keith Caulfield from Billboard commented that the album was a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop."[148] The album won a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album".[71] Confessions on a Dance Floor and its lead single, "Hung Up", went on to reach number one in 40 and 41 countries respectively, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.[149] "Sorry", the second single, became Madonna's twelfth number one single in the UK.[35] She embarked on the Confessions Tour in May 2006, which had a global audience of 1.2 million and grossed over $194.7 million, becoming the highest grossing-tour to that date for a female artist.[150] 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.[151] The Vatican protested the concert, as did bishops from Düsseldorf.[152] Madonna responded: "My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole."[153] In the same year, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced officially that Madonna had sold over 200 million copies for her albums alone worldwide.[154] In June 2006, Madonna was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame.[155]
While on tour, Madonna participated in the Raising Malawi initiative by partially funding an orphanage in and traveling to that country.[156] On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy from the orphanage, David Banda Mwale. He was later renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie.[157] The adoption raised strong public reaction, because Malawian law requires would- | Tags: Confirmation Name,Bay City,Websites related to: Funny Dancing Videos |