Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records.
She is considered to be one of the most influential figures in contemporary music and is also known continuously reinventing both her music and image.
From when she first burst into the music world Madonna became a style icon with her wacky and entirely new style of dressing which influenced many young girls and women. Her style became a female fashion trend of the 1980s as she wore lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry showing the crucifix and bleached hair.
This influencial trend started after she achieved global recognition after the release of her second studio album: Like a Virgin in 1984. The track ‘Like a Virgin’ attracted the attention of family 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 and this was the very beginning of her provocative image.
In 1989 she was landed a contract with Pepsi adverts in which she debuted her latest hit ‘Like a Prayer’ The music video shows many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses, and a dream about making love to a saint, which made the Vatican to ban the video. Religious groups wanted to ban the advert and Pepsi products which resulted in her drop from the advert.
Her trademark provocative image continued in the 1990s with the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. The releases of her sexually explicit films, albums and book 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.
In 1996 Madonna landed a part in Evita and also a new image as she toned down her appearance and video’s. Evita was well received by critics and the public and landed her several awards. On 14th October 1996, Madonna gave birth to her daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. In 1998 she release he 7th album which reflected her change in image and lifestyle as she gave up partying and became a mother. In later years she married Guy Richie and had another child as she maintained more reserved being.
Madonna's Style:
1990 as she became World famous for her singing and for her style
1996 at the Evita Premiere. Her style has become less wild after her slaying by critics and the public and she shows a more mature woman who has proved herself as an actress and also a new mother.
2005. An older more matured woman with a husband and family. She has become alot less wild and provocative but shows that despite her age she's still got it.
2010. This photo shows Madonna as she is now. Older but still very attractive withouth the need for her old style.
In the video ‘Like a Virgin’ the record company is trying to sell Madonna as something different as she is new to the music world. Her costume is 80’s style but slightly wackier as this shows her as something different. The song is also different and would definitely be noticed as it was very sexualised and perhaps imoral by showing her in a wedding dress? But the whole image was to get her noticed and established. There are lots of closeups of Madonna throughout the video as would be expected to establish her.
Madonna always seems to play a character in her video’s as she has a wild dress sense and seems to want to shock the public and push the boundreys that little bit further in her early career before she calmed but in her later videos such as: ‘Hung Up’ in 2005 she shows off her dancing and performing skills more as she shocks by showing how she is still fit and in shape at 50. Her costumes became a little smaller and tighter again as she showed that she’s still ‘got it’ while not being quite as wild as her early days now she has a family and responsibilites.
I think Madonna is a representantive of girl power as she shows a lot of independence but she is very femine and her whole music career has a stong sense of sexual reference which maes her a powerful woman with out being a feminist as such.
Madonna has changed a lot over the decade as she started as a bold individual who brought and entirely new definition to pop and dress trends. She has slowly become less and less sexualised in her music and she has tamed dramatically as she aged but still maintains a lot of sexappeal in her music and in her image. Her sound has changed with age and her dress taste has changed along with the millions who strive to be just like her. Whether you love her or hate her she has changed pop music and was and still is the worlds top selling recording artist of all time!
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