On August 16, 1958, in the American state ofMichigan, in the small town of Bay City, the future singer Madonna Louise Ciccone was born. She was born after two brothers, Martin and Anthony. In the family circle, the girl was called Little Nonnie, so as not to confuse her with the elder Madonna. And in our case, this name is not of Italian origin, as many believe, but French-Canadian - the singer's mother's relatives traced their lineage to the Canadian French. Over her more than twenty-year career, Madonna has achieved the fact that she has become one of the most inimitable and popular stars in world pop music.
The first steps on the way to a dream
At the age of fourteen the girl began to studydancing, which she was fond of throughout her school life, and then at university. In 1978, following her dream, she moved to the largest city in the United States of America - New York - and took private dance lessons from the virtuoso of choreography Alvin Ailey. In order to somehow feed herself and save some money for life, the future star worked part-time as a model. In 1980, she was invited to participate in the show of disco singer Patrick Hernandez, where she met Dan Gilroy. Upon returning to New York, they formed a group called Breakfast Club. A year later, Madonna left the group and, together with her boyfriend Steve Bray, recorded a couple of dance songs. Thus, her career gradually began to develop, and in 1982, with the help of Mark Kamins, a famous New York DJ, she released the single “Everybody” and signed a contract with the recording studio Sire Records. A year later, her first debut album appears on store shelves, and the song "Holiday" presented on the disc gains immense popularity and subsequently enters the top twenty singles in America, and then the best European ten. In order not to lose the fame she had just acquired, in 1984 the singer releases a second disc with the original title "Like A Virgin", the title track of which (written by Tom Kelly) brings her eleventh place in the hit parade of the United States of America. A video is filmed for the next song "Material Girl", and Madonna appears before fans in her, probably, most striking and spectacular image - Marilyn Monroe. The audience applauds, the singer's singles begin to be played on all radio stations, in clubs, thus, within a year Madonna becomes a superstar of national scale. Perhaps her marriage to Sean Penn (American actor), which, however, did not last very long, also played a role in her unprecedented and rapidly growing popularity.
The long-awaited popularity: successes and falls
From 1985 to 1987 the singer gained even morefame: now her songs are sung all over the world. Thus, the single “Crazy For You” leads all the charts in the USA, and the disco, catchy melody “Into The Groove” occupies the first position in the UK. Also successful were such tracks as “Live To Tell”, “Papa Don’t Preach” and “I will dress you exquisitely” (“Dress You Up”). In 1986, her new work was released - the video “True Blue” for the song of the same name, as well as “La Isla Bonita” and “Open Your Heart”, which are not inferior in popularity to Madonna’s previous creations. The singer always wanted to develop and conquer new heights, so in 1980, even before her stunning popularity, she first starred in a small episode in the film “A Certain Sacrifice”. This is how her film career begins. Later, in 1985, two more films with her participation were released, and then together with her husband Sean Penn she played in “Shanghai Surprise”. However, this film was not a great success with the audience. Things did not work out with Sean Penn himself - in 1988, Madonna filed for divorce. With her behavior, extravagant image and ambiguous lyrics, the already adult Louise Ciccone generates a lot of debate and talk around herself. Thus, the video clip for the song “Like A Prayer” was met with delight by her fans and at the same time received sharp and harsh censure from Catholics. As a result, not wanting to spoil its name, the Pepsi company broke the advertising contract with her. However, this only plays into the hands of the restless singer: the excitement around the disc of the same name only fuels the public's interest and makes the album an absolute bestseller. A new wave in Madonna’s career was marked by her role in the film “Dick Tracy”, where she starred with Warren Beatty. Then followed an extravagant world tour called “Blond Ambition”, which, according to critics, became a free and provocative mix of songs, religion, wild sexuality and fiery dances. Among the famous hits of the early 1990s, one can single out “Justify My Love” recorded with Lenny Kravitz, “Vogue”, “Rescue Me”, and also “Hanky Panky”. In 1992, it becomes clear that Madonna is not only a singer, but also a talented, tenacious businesswoman. She organizes the Maverick company and signs a long-term contract with the Time Warner brand for 60 million dollars to publish her books, release films and albums. Thus, her printed creation with the screaming title “Sex” sent the girl to the top of the charts and became an absolute bestseller. However, at the end of this year, there is a slight decline in her career - the album "Erotica", unlike its predecessors, does not take first place in the charts. Despite this, Madonna, along with the popular American TV host Oprah Winfrey, were named the most successful ladies of show business. Some sources reported that, starting in 1986, the singer earned about twenty million dollars annually. And recently, her income has increased significantly.
Return of the pop queen
The return to the top of fame occurs aftercollaboration with producer Nell Hooper and the release of the album “Bedtime Stories”, the title track of which was written together with Bjork. The track “Take A Bow”, consisting, according to Madonna, of hip-hop, pop, and rhythm and blues, occupies the first positions in all charts and brings back the popularity lost for a time. In 1995, a new disc called “Something to Remember” is presented to the public’s eyes and ears, which became successful thanks to the song “You’ll See”. A year later, two significant events take place in both the singer’s personal and professional life – the birth of her first child (a girl named Lourdes Maria) and work with the famous film director Alan Parker. The result of this collaboration was the leading role in the film “Evita”, based on real events. Madonna’s next success came from her collaboration with William Orbit. Thanks to him, as the singer has repeatedly noted, she was able to find a completely new sound and expand her musical horizons. This is how her new creation “Ray Of Light” (1998) is born, and the tracks “The Power Of Goodbye”, “Frozen”, “Nothing Really Matters” become world hits. In tandem with the same producer, Madonna records the soundtrack to the film “Best Friend”, in which she plays the main role. The next musical work is the disc “Music”, which has gained incredible popularity. Despite her constant employment and active creative work, the singer’s personal life does not stand still. In 2000, her second child is born - son Rocco, and in December of the same year she enters into a legal marriage with Guy Ritchie, a director of English origin. After some time, Louise Ciccone goes on a grandiose tour “Drowned World” in order to advertise the album “Music”. In 2002, according to a survey of one famous American television channel, the singer was named one of the greatest divas in the history of music. In collaboration with producer Mirve Ahmadzai in 2003, Little Nonnie, as Madonna was called in her distant childhood, released the album “American Life”. As she admits, this is her most personal and frank work. However, despite this, the disc sells much worse than her previous works. Its singles are such compositions as “Nothing Fails”, “Love Profusion”, as well as “Hollywood” and the well-known “American Life”. And “Die Another Day” is the soundtrack to the film of the same name about agent James Bond. The singer organizes a world tour “Re-Invention” in support of the album and goes with her concert to America, Portugal, Britain, France, Ireland and Holland, gathering, as always, a sea of audiences.
New Madonna
In 2004, Madonna dramatically changed her image -begins to dress more democratically and restrainedly, writes a children's book with the fragrant title "English Roses", which became the best-selling debut of the beginning author. Then five more of her works were published, and the world saw the second and third less than twelve months after the release of the first book. In the winter of the same year, the singer performed at a charity concert organized to help people affected by the tsunami that occurred in Southeast Asia. And in July 2005, at another similar event - the London part of the "Live 8" show. At the end of the summer of 2005, celebrating her 47th birthday, Madonna lost her balance and fell from a horse. She was taken to hospital with multiple fractures - ribs in several places, arms and collarbone. However, despite the rather serious injuries, the singer was discharged the next day. Soon after, she had to take the lead role in the filming of the video for the song “Hung Up” from her new album “Confessions on the Dance Floor”. Later, giving interviews, Madonna commented on the work process as follows: “I couldn’t dance because of the pain, since the broken collarbone had not yet healed. So I had a novocaine blockade. Of course, many people think that I shouldn’t have tortured myself like that. But that’s not my style. How can I record a dance track, but I don’t move at all in the video.” This disc became one of the singer’s most successful creations. In just a few months, it sold five million copies and soared to the top of the charts in forty countries around the world. The album was produced and supervised by Stuart Price, a famous musician who specializes in disco music and performs under the fictitious name Jacques Lu Conte. The song “Hung Up” featured the melody of the Abba group “Gimme”, recognizable to everyone from the first sounds. This was a huge rarity, since its copyright holders and former soloists of this group are very scrupulous about issues related to the licensing of Abba songs. In numerous interviews, they noted: “We always refuse requests of this kind. But in this case, we responded positively. It simply could not be otherwise. Madonna’s assistant came to us with a ready-made single, we listened to it and understood - we had to agree. It was recorded so well”. The world tour, which the singer planned to organize in support of the disc, was postponed until 2006. And all because ahead lay painstaking, but incredibly interesting work - to “give” her voice to one of the heroes of the animated film adaptation of the children's book written by Luc Besson - “Arthur and the Minimoys”. Madonna's biography is contradictory and multifaceted. Sometimes she acts as a sexy, sometimes even depraved pop singer, and then with the birth of her children she becomes a proper and exemplary mother who writes books and voices cartoons. But despite such transformations, one thing is clear - she is an infinitely talented, eccentric and bright personality. We recommend reading:
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