As promised, this is the last of my female pop star chart blogs. What can I have left to say about Madonna? She's been referenced & quoted in MANY of my blogs in the past 3 years. She's amassed 38 #1 singles on the US Dance chart. A record for any artist & the only artist that comes close is Janet Jackson with 18. She has 12 #1 singles on the US chart, 13 in the UK, 11 in Australia & a whopping 20 in Japan. She recently passed Elvis with the most top 10 singles ever by an artist in the US at 38 singles. In the UK that # is actually 61. There is no denying her Icon status. So now it's time to discuss M's chart statistics. So for everyone wanting to read about my life, I promise the next one will be all about me hee hee. Also, in case any of you doubt this feel free to go to Wikipedia.

In 1982, after being in NYC for 5 yrs, Madonna was signed to a singles deal with Sire/Warner Bros. The first single released was Everybody which found major success on the Billboard Dance chart. It barely missed the Hot 100. Follow up double A side single Burning Up/Physical Attraction was a hit as well on the dance chart & as Burning Up was garnering airplay on MTV, Sire ok'd the release of her debut album. On July 27th, 1983 (just a few days before my 5th bday) the debut album was released. The next single released was Holiday in September & as we all know that's the one that started her chart fame. The singles found success on the dance chart, hot 100 & even the R&B chart. The album stayed on Billboard's top 200 for over a year & eventually peaked at #8. To date the album has sold 8 million copies worldwide. In the UK the album was re-released as Madonna the First album in 1985, after the major success of Like A Virgin. Holiday was released there on 3 different occasions & eventually peaked at #2, being held out of the top by Into The Groove. But that's getting a head of myself.

1. Everybody #3 Dance
2. Burning Up/Physical Attraction #3 Dance #13 Australia
3. Holiday #16 US Pop #25 R&B #1 Dance #6 UK(re-release #2 1985, #5 1991) #4 Australia
4. Borderline #10 US Pop #4 Dance #56 UK(re-release #2 1986) #12 Australia
5. Lucky Star #4 US Pop #42 R&B #14 UK #36 Australia

In Nov. 1984 she was full on ready to take over the world. She had debuted the song Like A Virgin at the first ever MTV VMA's to scandalous reviews. This was the era where she was all over the pop charts. Songs from the album, songs from films such as Vision Quest & Desperately Seeking Susan were all over MTV & the radio. She had also made news by some nude photos that were taken way back in her modeling days. Playboy & Penthouse published them & at the LIVE AID she made a statement in her jacket on the hot day by saying, "I ain't taking shit off today!" Originally, people thought she'd be a one hit wonder & the real star would be Cyndi Lauper. Kudos to Cyndi & all but we know how this turned out. The single became her first #1 in December staying put for 6 weeks & the album followed suit in February of 1985. Worldwide it has sold 22 million to date. During this time she also embarked on the Virgin tour.

1. Like A Virgin #1 Pop/Dance/Australia #9 R&B #3 UK
2. Material Girl #2 Pop #1 Dance #49 R&B #3 UK #4 Australia
3. Crazy For You #1 Pop/Australia #80 R&B #2 UK (re-released #2 1991
4. Angel #5 Pop/Adult Contemporary/UK #1 Dance #71 R&B #1 Australia
5. Into The Groove #1 Dance/UK/Australia #19 R&B (in the US it was released as the bside to Angel)
6. Dress You Up #5 Pop/UK/Australia #3 Dance #64 R&B
7. Gambler #4 UK
8. Love Don't Live Here Anymore #2 Japan

Live To Tell was released in March of 1986 & it was in the film At Close Range, starring then husband Sean Penn. They would go onto be in the commercial flop Shanghai Surprise, but let's discuss True Blue. It was released in June of '86 & to date is the album that has sold the most worldwide with 20 million copies. Every single released from it went to #1 in either the US or the UK. A feat that hasn't been done on any other Madonna album.

1. Live To Tell #1 US Pop/Japan #2 US Adult Contemporary/UK #7 Australia
2. Papa Don't Preach #1 US/UK/Australia #4 Dance
3. True Blue #1 UK/Japan #3 US #5 Australia #6 Dance
4. Open Your Heart #1 US Pop/Dance/Japan #4 UK #16 Australia
5. La Isla Bonita #1 UK/US Adult Contemporary #4 US Pop #5 Japan #6 Australia

In the summer of 1987 the soundtrack to Who's That Girl was released & while it didn't sell huge it still managed to go to #7 & sell 5 million copies worldwide. The same can not be said the film. Released to horrible reviews, it was another commercial flop. To this day I actually like the movie & thought it was quite funny. Then again, that's just me. Meanwhile, the singles from the soundtrack were big hits. Then at the end of 1987, the remix album You Can Dance was released & while it only went to #14, it still sold a million copies. It would later start the trend for artist to release remix albums. Such as Milli Vanilli, Jody Watley & Paula Abdul (just to name a few). The album did contain one new song, Spotlight. It was originally supposed to be on the True Blue album but was taken off. While it was releases as a radio airplay single, it wasn't released commercially in the states. But, it was released in Japan where it was a big hit. During 1987 she also embarked on the larger scale Who's That Girl Tour. It grossed 20 million in the few months she was on tour. While playing at MSG, all proceeds of the show went to the American Foundation for AIDS research.

1. Who's That Girl #1 US/UK/Japan #5 Adult Contemporary #44 Dance #7 Australia
2. Causing A Commotion #2 US #1 Dance/Japan #4 UK #7 Australia
3. The Look of Love #9 UK
4. Spotlight #3 Japan #1 Dance (as You Can Dance LP cuts instead of Spotlight)

In 1988, there was no new music released & she pretty much stayed out of the spotlight. She did act on Broadway in the play Speed The Plow. During this time her marriage to Sean Penn had began to crumble. On True Blue she had dedicated the album to him & said he was 'the coolest guy in the universe'. By Like A Prayer, it was obvious that had all headed south. Released in March of 1989 it was critically acclaimed & the scandal of the video caused Pepsi to back out of it's promotions for her. After all was said & done the videos from each single were masterpieces. She performed at the '89 VMA's & won the Viewer's Choice award for Like A Prayer, which in turn was sponsored by Pepsi. Express Yourself also won Video of the year. The album went on to sell 13 million copies worldwide & it was to be her last US #1 album for at least another decade. The album also featured a collaboration with Prince & Randy Jackson playing guitar on the title track.

1. Like A Prayer #1 US/UK/Japan/Australia/Dance #3 Adult Contemporary #20 R&B
2. Express Yourself #2 US/Japan #1 Dance #5 UK/Australia
3. Cherish #2 US #1 Adult Contemporary #3 Japan/UK #4 Australia
4. Oh Father #20 US #16 UK (released in 1996) #59 Australia
5. Dear Jessie #5 UK #41 Australia
6. Keep It Together #8 US #1 Dance #5 Japan #66 R&B

1990 was a big year for the Material Girl. She went on tour with The Blonde Ambition Tour (to this date my absolute favorite) which was also documented for the Truth or Dare. Just ask me or any of my friends & we can still quote lines from it. Ok we still do. This was also the time that she taught the world how to Vogue. It had been an underground dance style in NY for a few years. The 'children' would pose & get in limber moves to Balls all over NY. Meanwhile, I was 11 & played the video over & over & over again just to make sure I had the moves down. I think I have stated that I won my first dance contest while dancing to it. But enough about me lol, back to M. I'm Breathless was released in May to coincide with the film Dick Tracy. The film finally found her playing a character that was more Madonna suited & it was a commercial success. Originally the song Vogue wasn't even supposed to be a hit. It was to be the b-side to Keep It Together, but the record company thought it was too strong of a song so it was tacked onto the album last minute. It went onto be another worldwide #1 single & the album sold 5 million copies worldwide. She performed on the 1990 VMA with the now classic performance. It's no lie..... this is my most favorite song ever by her.

1. Vogue #1 US/UK/Japan/Australia/Dance #16 R&B
2. Hanky Panky #10 US #2 UK #6 Australia #17 Japan

The Immaculate Collection was released in November of 1990 & to date has become one of the best greatest hits album seller's ever. Worldwide it has sold 23 million copies to date. It amassed most of her hits from 1983 to 1990's Vogue. Unfortunately, there were quite a few songs but the tracklist had to include new singles Justify My Love & Rescue Me. Justify My Love was her first video ever banned by MTV for its scandalous scenes & she found a way to profit off of it by releasing it as the first video single. Needless to say she profited highly off of it. I always considered that song to be inferior to Rescue Me but I think the controversy around it helped it. The song was the first #1 single of 1991. The following year she appeared in another hit film A League of Their Own. This film paired her with her soon to be BFF Rosie O' Donnell. She also had another #1 single from the film, which would be her last #1 single for a few years.

1. Justify My Love #1 US/Dance #42 R&B #2 UK #4 Australia
2. Rescue Me #9 US #6 Dance #3 UK #11 Japan #15 Australia
3. This Used To Be My Playground #1 US/Japan #3 UK #4 Adult Contemporary #9 Australia

I was a Freshman in October of 1992, when Erotica was released. This was the time of the Madonna backlash. The Sex book had taken controversy to a whole new level. No other pop star had ever been so in your face with nudity & thoughts of sexual shenanigans. I wasn't old enough to buy the book & my mom was like you will not have such filth in this house. Between the album, the book, & the film Body of Evidence..... Madonna's uhhh body of work was everywhere. The album debuted & peaked at #2 & sold 5 million copies worldwide. Which was her lowest number at that time. The film was an absolute flop & in many ways seemed to be a rip off of Basic Instinct. The book did completely sell out & even today it's hard to get your hands on unless you go to Ebay or Amazon. As for the album, I feel it's highly under-rated & in fact is one of my favorite albums by her. In the end it spawned 6 singles. In 1993, she went on her Girlie Show Tour. Which was to be her last tour for at least 7 years.

1. Erotica #1 Dance #2 Japan #3 US/UK #4 Australia
2. Deeper & Deeper #1 Dance #6 UK #7 US #11 Australia
3. Bad Girl #10 UK #11 Japan #32 Australia #36 US
4. Fever #1 US Dance #6 UK #7 Japan #51 Australia
5. Rain #14 US #7 Adult Contemporary/UK #2 Japan #5 Australia
6. Bye Bye Baby #15 Australia/Japan

1994 found her dealing with the backlash of the Sex scandals but she found a new scandal by her appearance on Letterman saying the word Fuck over & over. Scandals aside, she did a song for the soundtrack to With Honors & it became a big success chart wise. It was held out of the top spot by I Swear by All 4 One but stayed at #2 for 4 weeks. By the end of October, Bedtime Stories was released & peaked at #3. It found her going the more R&B approach & dabbling in a techno sound that she would later touch upon on albums to come. The album sold 7 million copies worldwide & Take A Bow became her longest running #1 single in the US at 7 weeks.

1. I'll Remember #1 Japan #2 US #7 UK/Australia
2. Secret #1 Dance #2 Adult Contemporary/Japan #3 US #5 UK/Australia
3. Take A Bow #1 US/Adult Contemporary/Japan #15 Australia #16 UK
4. Bedtime Story #1 Dance #4 UK #5 Australia #42 US
5. Human Nature #2 Dance #8 UK #10 Japan #46 US

Something To Remember was released at the end of 1995 & was more or less a ballads collection. It did feature 3 new songs & a remix of Love Don't Live Here Anymore which had originally been only released in Japan in 1985. I Want You, a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic, was released in video form only. Something that she had not done before. The album debuted & peaked at #6 & worldwide sold 10 million copies. The following year she played the title role in Evita to rave reviews. She won the Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy & the song You Must Love Me won Best Original song at the Oscar's. The soundtrack went to #2 in the US & #1 in the UK & worldwide sold 17 million copies. She also gave birth to her daughter Lourdes in October of 1996. Once again Madonna had reinvented herself from the Material Girl to the Material Mom.

1. You'll See #1 Japan #5 UK #6 US #9 Australia
2. One More Chance #11 UK #35 Australia
3. Love Don't Live Here Anymore #16 Dance #78 US #27 Australia
4. You Must Love Me #10 UK #11 Australia #17 Japan #18 US
5. Don't Cry For Me Argentina #1 Dance/Japan #3 UK #8 US #9 Australia
6. Another Suitcase In Another Hall #7 UK
7. Buenos Aires #3 Dance

In March 1998 Ray of Light was released to the best reviews she had since Like A Prayer. The techno sound had re-emerged & she found massive success commercially again. Lourdes had re-energized her & for a moment she took on a pseudonym of Veronica Electronica. Worldwide, the album sold 18 million copies & was kept out of the #1 spot on the Billboard chart by the soundtrack to Titanic. As we all know Celine's heart went on & on & on. By 1999 the Grammy's showed her love in the form of 3 Grammy's. She also won Video of the year for Ray Of Light at the 1998 VMA's.

1. Frozen #1 Dance/UK/Japan #2 US #5 Australia
2. Ray Of Light #1 Dance #2 UK #5 US #6 Australia
3. Drowned World/Substitute For Love #10 UK/Japan #16 Australia
4. The Power of Goodbye/Little Star(b-side in the UK) #6 UK #11 US #33 Australia
5. Nothing Really Matters #1 Dance #4 Japan #7 UK #15 Australia #93 US

In 1999 she did a single for the soundtrack to the Austin Powers soundtrack & although it wasn't released commercially, it debuted on the hot 100 due to new chart rules of airplay only tracks able to chart. This would pose as the problem for the next single American Pie. A cover for the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing. Which turned out to be another bomb acting wise. Single wise, they were huge around the world & if had been released commercially here would have done much better. American Pie had done so well in fact that in other regions around the world it was tacked on to the album Music which was released in September 2000. Earlier in the year she had filmed the video while pregnant for her second child Rocco with Guy Ritchie. The single was a huge success & was her 12th #1 single in the US. It put her in a tie with Janet Jackson as the only artists to have #1 singles in the 80's, 90's & 2000's. The song was nominated for Record of the Year in the 2001 Grammy's. The album went to #1 & was her first #1 album in the US since Like A Prayer. It sold 13 million copies worldwide & 2 other singles were released as commercial singles. Impressive Instant got a club only release & the song Amazing was originally set to be the last single but was pulled from release. In 2001 Madonna went on tour for the first time in 7 years, the Drowned World Tour. This was my first time ever seeing her perform live & as you can imagine.... I was overwhelmed with happiness.

1. Beautiful Stranger #1 Dance/Japan #2 UK #5 Australia #19 US
2. American Pie #1 Dance/UK/Australia/Japan #29 US
3. Music #1 US/UK/Japan/Australia/Dance
4. Don't Tell Me #1 Dance #4 US/UK #7 Australia
5. What It Feels Like For A Girl #1 Dance #6 Australia #7 UK/Japan #23 US
6. Impressive Instant #1 Dance

GHV2 was released at the end of 2001 & while it contained most of her greatest hits since the Immaculate Collection it had no new singles. Still it went onto sell 7 million copies worldwide. Her next projects went back to acting. Swept Away was released in 2002 & even being a huge Madonna fan, I must say I've seen it once & that was enough for me. It was another commercial flop & critics ravaged her performance. It's in fact the last film that she has done playing a character. Will she come back to acting? It's not like ALL the films have been bad, but I just think it needs to be better roles. Ones more suited for her. She did make a cameo in 2002's Die Another Day playing a fencing instructor. The bigger hit for her was the single released from it. It was the biggest Bond theme song since A View To A Kill. This would in fact be her last top 10 single in the US for years to come because the next album completely bombed. American Life debuted at #1 on the US album chart but fell off very quickly & to date is her lowest selling album here ever. I must say it's my least favorite Madonna single ever. This was also the first time since her career debut that singles released from an album didn't even chart on the hot 100. The album did sell 5 million copies worldwide & the singles did well in the UK. They in fact did very well on the dance chart here. She holds the record for scoring 7 top 10 Dance hits from one album. A record no other artist has. During this time, she performed at the 2003 VMA's with the memorable performance seen round the world for that kiss with Britney. Which lead to the pairing on Britney's single from her In the Zone album. Unfortunately, it didn't blow up in the US but was a hit in clubs & round the world. Remixed & Revisted, an EP of remixed songs from American Life, was released in 2003. Debuting & peaking at #115 in the US it still sold 1 million copies worldwide.

1. GHV2 Megamix #5 Dance
2. Die Another Day #1 Dance #3 UK #5 Australia #8 US
3. American Life #1 Dance/Japan #2 UK #7 Australia #37 US
4. Hollywood #1 Dance #2 UK #16 Australia #103 US (called the Bubbling Under chart)
5. Nobody Knows Me #4 Dance
6. Me Against The Music w/Britney Spears #1 Dance/Australia/Japan #2 UK #35 US
7. Nothing Fails #1 Dance #101 US (Bubbling Under)
8. Love Profusion #1 Dance #11 UK #25 Australia #106 US (Bubbling Under)
9. Mother & Father #9 Dance

After the failure of American Life, Madonna went on tour again & reminded us all why she was still #1. The Re-Invention Tour sold out 55 of it's 56 shows & made $125 million. While doing many songs from the American Life album, she also performed songs that were her greatest hits over the past few decades & for me it was my most favorite tour that I had seen. It was so nice I saw it twice. The following year, 2005, she went back to what I had always loved..... dance music. Confessions On A Dancefloor debuted at #1 in 29 countries, a record for a solo artist. It went on to sell 8 millions copies around the world. The single Hung Up was a monster #1 single everywhere in the world, but here. It was her first top 10 in years but that was solely based on sales. In fact, it was widely reported that she was being banned from the radio stations due to anti-war statements she had made with American Life. While the rest of the singles did well in other countries, they did best here on the dance chart. In 2006, I'm Going To Tell You A Secret film & DVD was released. Another documentary style film but Truth or Dare this definitely wasn't. It showed how she had grown as a person & mother & her love for Kabbalah. It was the first time she had ever released a Live album commercially it debuted at #33 in the US in 2006 & sold 1 million copies worldwide. Also in 2006, she went on her Confessions Tour & it became the biggest selling concert by a female artist ever at $194.8 million. I saw this one as well, but that shouldn't be a surprise. This time, it was shown on NBC & the controversy about her on a cross was all the press seemed to talk about. Once again a Live album & DVD was released & this time it debuted higher at #15 in the US & worldwide sold 1.2 million copies.

1. Hung Up #1 Dance/UK/Australia/Japan #7 US
2. Sorry #1 Dance/UK/Japan #4 Australia #58 US
3. Get Together #1 Dance #7 UK #13 Australia #59 Japan #106 US
4. Jump #1 Dance #9 UK #29 Australia #105 US

Recently, Hard Candy was her 7th #1 album in the US & puts her in 2nd place behind Barbara Streisand as the female with the most #1 albums. It's no lie that I worried this album would suck when I originally heard she was going to work with Timbaland, Justin & Pharrell. The first time I heard the demo's & then the debut single I hated it. But somehow, it grew on me. New single Give It 2 Me is about to make noise on charts all over the world. Other stand out tracks are Miles Away which has already been playing in Japan on a tv show. Candy Shop & The Beat Goes On are also single worthy. 4 Minutes has become her biggest hit here in the US since Music 8 years ago. While staying at #1 on the digital sales chart for 3 weeks it missed out on the #1 hot 100 chart due to the fact it's airplay wasn't enough. Either way it's got her another hit & she is now about to tour again on her Sticky & Sweet tour. A couple months ago she was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

1. 4 Minutes #1 Dance/UK/Australia/Canada #2 Japan #3 US
2. Give It 2 Me #57 US #8 Canada (so far)

For all you other Madonna fans I hope you enjoyed this. It took over a day to fully complete. As promised the next blog will get back to all things NSP. Have a good Memorial Day Weekend & mad love to you all!!!