Madonna (album)

Template:For-multi Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Like a Virgin1984studioMadonnaMadonna, debut album cover.pngyesMadonna's image with her right hand placed on her right cheek and with the left hand, she holds on to a number of chains wound on her neck.MadonnaTemplate:Start dateApril 1982 – May 1983Sigma Sound, New York CityTemplate:Hlist40:47Template:HlistTemplate:Hlistx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}} Madonna is the debut studio album by American singer Madonna, released on July 27, 1983, by Sire Records. In the late 1970s, Madonna had established herself as a singer in downtown New York City; alongside her Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray, she put together a demo tape with four dance tracks and began pitching it around local nightclubs. She managed to get Mark Kamins, the resident DJ at Danceteria, to play "Everybody"—one of the songs from the tape. The song drew positive reception from the crowd, and Kamins took Madonna to Sire Records, where label president Seymour Stein signed her on for three twelve-inch singles. Following its release on October 6, 1982, "Everybody" found success on the dance scene, and the label approved the recording of an album.

For the album, Madonna worked with Warner Bros. producer Reggie Lucas, who had worked with artists like Roberta Flack and Stephanie Mills. Soon, however, problems between the singer and Lucas arose, as she was not happy with his production outputs. Madonna then invited John "Jellybean" Benitez, her boyfriend at the time, to work and remix the rest of the album. Madonna is mostly a dance-pop post-disco album, and features the newest technology of the time, including the LinnDrum drum machine, Moog bass and Oberheim OB-X synthesizer. Its songs talk mostly about love and partying. Five singles were released from the album: "Everybody" and "Burning Up" were published months before it was completed; neither song made a major impact on the charts. "Holiday" was Madonna's big breakout single, followed by "Lucky Star" and "Borderline".

Upon release, Madonna received generally positive reviews from critics, who highlighted its dance-oriented nature and sound. In the United States, it peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and was certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It reached the Top 10 of the charts in Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and has sold an estimated 10 million copies worldwide. Between 1983 and 1984, Madonna promoted the album and singles through a series of live appearances in nightclubs and television programs across the United States and Europe. The singles were then performed on the Virgin Tour of 1985, Madonna's first concert tour. In retrospective reviews, Madonna has been referred to as one of the greatest debut albums of all time, and one of the best albums from the 1980s. Critics have also said that it helped to make dance music popular again, and "set the standard" of dance-pop for decades afterwards; its influence can be seen in the work of female artists such as Janet Jackson, Debbie Gibson, Kylie Minogue, and Lady Gaga.

Background

File:Madonna Celebration Tour (53332208691) (cropped).jpg

Madonna singing "Everybody" on the Celebration Tour (2023–2024). Released as her debut single, the song's success led her to be signed up and offered a record deal by Sire Records.

In 1979, Madonna was trying to establish her music career in New York City. She was the drummer of a band called Breakfast Club, which was headed by the Gilroy brothers, Dan and Ed.<ref name="tara1">Template:Harvnb</ref> The following year, after a dispute with Dan, Madonna left the band.<ref name=Cross0>Template:Harvnb</ref> She then called her former Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray, who "readily" agreed to join her on New York.<ref name=Cross0/> Along with Gary Burke and Brian Syms, they formed a band called The Millionaires. Then, when the Gilroy brothers rejoined the group, they changed their name to Emmy, another of Madonna's many nicknames.<ref name=Cross0/> In 1981, after attending one of Emmy's gigs at Max's Kansas City, Adam Alter and Camille Barbone from Gotham Records signed a contract with Madonna, who at this point already had a "small downtown cult following in the gay scene".<ref name=Cross0/> However, the association was short-lived and dissolved the following year due to creative differences between the label and singer: Gotham was interested in rock and roll whereas Madonna wanted to pursue disco.<ref name=Gnojewski>Template:Harvnb</ref>

By 1982, the singer was living with Bray in an unused rehearsal studio.<ref name=Cross2>Template:Harvnb</ref> After coming to the realization that "funky dance records were in style on the radio and dance floor", they created a demo tape with four dance tracks, including "Everybody", "Burning Up", and "Ain't No Big Deal", which was described as a "bright Michael Jackson/Donna Summer confection".<ref name=Gnojewski/><ref name="Quietus" /> With no record label to back her up, Madonna began pitching the tape on her own, visiting local nightclubs trying to get DJs to play it.<ref name=Gnojewski/><ref name=Cross2/> She managed to get Mark Kamins, the resident DJ at Danceteria nightclub, to play "Everybody", which was met with a positive reception from the crowd.<ref name=Cross2/><ref name="rikky2"/> Kamins promised Madonna he would help her get a record deal on the condition that he would get to produce it.<ref name="rikky2"/> As he was also an A&R scout for Island Records, Kamins took the tape to his boss Chris Blackwell, but he wasn't impressed nor interested in signing Madonna.<ref name=morton2>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Kamins then approached Sire Records president Seymour Stein, who at the time was at Lenox Hill Hospital recovering from a heart surgery.<ref name=morton2/> Stein had his secretary send the tape to the hospital so he could listen to it; "I liked the hook, I liked Madonna's voice, I liked the feel [...] I liked it all and played it again", the executive recalled.<ref name=HowIMetMadonna>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He signed the singer on for three twelve-inch singles with an option for albums;<ref name="MadonnaOralHistory"/> she would get $15,000 for each one, but would also have to pay for all recording costs.<ref name=morton2/> Sire A&E executive Michael Rosenblatt, who oversaw the entire process, wanted to release a double-sided single with "Ain't No Big Deal" as A-side and "Everybody" as B-side. "Ain't No Big Deal", however, "did not come out well", so Roseneblatt decided to put "Everybody" on both sides of the record: One version lasted 5:56, while the other was a dub form with a duration of 9:23.<ref name=Cross2/><ref name="rikky2"/><ref name=cnndebut>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since he had recorded the demo, Bray argued that he should be the producer for the single, but Stein decided to appoint Kamins, "for the sheer interest of seeing where it would go".<ref name=HowIMetMadonna/> Kamins, however, wasn't interested in producing, wanting to focus on A&R instead; he approached musician Kashif to see if he was interested in working on the song, but he turned down the offer.<ref name="RecordCollector">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Everybody" was released as Madonna's debut single on October 6, 1982.<ref name="Everybody" /> It failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was more successful on BillboardTemplate:'s Dance Club Songs chart, where it reached the third spot.<ref name="Debut30"/> Music promotor Boby Shaw recalled that, "['Everybody'] made noise enough to give her an album deal".<ref name="cnndebut" />

Development and recording

According to Michael Rosenblatt, he wanted the album to have an "R&B feel", hence he brought in Warner Bros. producer Reggie Lucas, who had worked with artists like Roberta Flack and Stephanie Mills. Rosenblatt also felt Madonna needed to work with someone who "could really help her with her vocals. Mark [Kamins]'s strength was grooves, not working with a girl who's never been in the studio before".<ref name="MadonnaOralHistory"/> Upon meeting her, Lucas wasn't impressed with the singer's "boho-punk style", and thought she didn't seem "particularly avant-garde".<ref name="BorderlineRS">Template:Cite magazine</ref> "Everybody" was recorded at the Bob Blank's Blank Tape Recording Studios in April 1982, in a span of three days.<ref name="RecordCollector" /><ref name="Quietus" /> Barry Eastmond had been hired as the track's arranger, but left the project after getting into an argument with Madonna; she felt his work was "too slick", and lacked the "edge of the club-land grooves she was hankering after".<ref name="Quietus" /> Rosenblatt made the decision to replace Eastmond's keyboard parts, and it was Arthur Baker, an assistant to Kamins, who brought in Fred Zarr to redo all the keyboards.<ref name="Quietus" /><ref name="RecordCollector"/>

The rest of the songs were recorded at the Sigma Sound Studios in New York.<ref name="liner" /> Prior to entering the studio, Madonna wrote three more songs for the album: "Lucky Star", "Think of Me" and "I Know It".<ref name="Begeo" /> The lyrics to "Lucky Star" were written on a yellow legal notepad, while the music was created on a Casiotone keyboard with a cassette player Kamins had given Madonna.<ref name="cnndebut" /><ref name=morton2/> She wrote it as a thank you to him, and with the hope that he'd play it in his sets at Danceteria.<ref name=morton2/><ref name="RS50Lucky" /> One of the earliest recorded versions of "Lucky Star" Madonna and Lucas created was described as being very "R&B-leaning", while another one was heavy on guitars, but due to a negative experience involving Madonna and a rock guitarist, was quickly discarded.<ref name="RS50Lucky" /> Soon however, the singer realized there were not enough songs for the record, to which Lucas then brought two compositions of his own: "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline", written specifically for Madonna.<ref name="rikky2" /><ref name=Atlantic>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Subscription required</ref> The latter was the first song where Lucas used a drum machine instead of a drummer;<ref name="MadonnaOralHistory" /> he and Madonna worked on the track while she was staying at artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's apartment.<ref name="MadonnaOralHistory" /><ref name=Atlantic/> Problems between the singer and Lucas arose, as she felt he was "moving [the songs] away from the sparse form of the original demos", something she did not approve of; the producer ended up leaving the project without altering the tracks.<ref name="rikky2" /> John "Jellybean" Benitez, her boyfriend at the time, remixed three songs that would appear on the album.<ref name="liner"/><ref name="rikky2" /> In the case of "Burning Up" and "Lucky Star", Benitez added extra guitar riffs and additional vocals; for the latter he also added a "synthesized disco beat with soulful flourishes", and elements of New Wave.<ref name="rikky2" /><ref name=AV>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Another issue arose after Madonna learned Bray had sold "Ain't No Big Deal" to disco act Barracuda, thus rendering it unavailable for her album.<ref name="rikky2" /> Benitez approached Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens-Crowder from band Pure Energy, and asked them for a song.<ref name="PureEnergyInterview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Titled "Holiday", the track was written by Hudson and Stevens-Crowder for Pure Energy, but their label Prism Records decided not to record it.<ref name="PureEnergyInterview"/> "Holiday" had been previously offered to Mary Wilson from The Supremes, and Phyllis Hyman.<ref name="DigHoliday" /> After she was given the demo, Madonna quickly recorded the vocals. Benitez assembled the musicians, hummed the music to them, and asked the singer to sing in a "very soulful approach".<ref name=OBrien>Template:Harvnb</ref> Hudson played guitar, and his brother Raymond the bass; Madonna herself played the cowbell that can be heard towards the beginning, while background vocals were provided by Norma Jean Wright and Tina Baker.<ref name="PureEnergyInterview" /> Just before it was completed, Benitez and Madonna took the tape to Zarr, so he could add what the singer referred to as "Zarrisms": "creative flourishes" that would provide the "finishing touches", which ended up being a piano solo towards the end.<ref name="morton1">Template:Harvsp</ref>

Composition

Template:Listen AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Sal Cinquemai from Slant Magazine noted that Madonna is a dance-pop post-disco album.<ref name="AllMusicAlbum" /><ref name="Slant40Ranked">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most of its songs talk about "love, heartbreak and hedonism in general".<ref name="Ibero">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, author Rikky Rookbsy wrote that the record's overall sound is "dissonant, upbeat synthetic disco".<ref name="rikky2"/> Instrumentation includes Linn drum machine, Moog bass and the OB-X synthesizer, some of the newest technology from the time.<ref name="rikky2"/> Opening track "Lucky Star" begins with the sound of a "shimmering, programmed" glissando, which is followed by "clanging rhythm guitars, synth atmospherics, and [a] chugging bass";<ref name="Slant40Ranked"/> the lyrics are a double-entendre and compare a lover's "heavenly body" with the stars in the sky, while the "simple" refrain refers the nursery rhyme "Star Light, Star Bright".<ref name="RS50Lucky">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="LuckyStarAllMusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Second track "Borderline" has Madonna singing in a more "refined and expressive" way, and lyrically finds a woman complaining of her lover's chauvinism.<ref name="tara1"/> Its sound has been compared to Stephanie MillsTemplate:' "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (1980), while the chord progression evokes Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (1974);<ref name="rikky2"/><ref name="MadonnaOralHistory" /> the inversions are similar to the sound of the 1970s, specifically disco, Philadelphia soul, and the work of Elton John.<ref name="rikky2"/>

"Burning Up" is a "yearning" New wave-influenced dance track, with lyrics that conflate sex with ambition. It has a "starker" arrangement brought about by bass, single guitar and drum machine.<ref name="MetroWeek">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="tara1"/><ref name="Quietus" /> Also present are tom-tom drum beats ―similar to the ones used on the work of Phil Collins― and electric guitars.<ref name="Slantdebut" /><ref name="rikky3">Template:Harvnb</ref> The refrain is a repetition of the same three lines of the lyrics, while the bridge consists of a series of double entendres that describe what she is prepared to do for her lover, showcasing that she "has no shame" and is "not like the others".<ref name="rikky3"/> Fourth track "I Know It" features "shades of ’60s girl-group melodrama", with instrumentation from piano and saxophone.<ref name="rikky3"/><ref name=Pinkranked40/> In the song, Madonna brushes off a lover who's hurt her.<ref name="Slant40Ranked" /> The next song is "Holiday", which talks about the "universal sentiment" that everybody needs a holiday from their daily lives.<ref name="rikky3"/> It has been noted as being "devoid of any particular structure", and has a chord sequence comparable to that of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" (1984).<ref name="rikky3"/> The refrain is sung by the singer in a "completely deadpan" way, while for the verses, she uses her lower register to give the lyrics a "more positive spin".<ref name=AllMusiccomp>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Present throughout the song are "Chic-styled" guitar flickers, electronic clapping, and synthesized strings.<ref name="rikky3"/>

Sixth track "Think of Me" opens with high staccato piano notes, which are followed by the sound of drums.<ref name="rikky3"/><ref name="BBRankingofTracks">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The R&B influenced song features a "slinky" saxophone solo towards the middle, and has Madonna warning her lover to pay attention to her or else she'll leave him.<ref name=Pinkranked40/><ref name="rikky3"/> Lasting almost seven minutes, "Physical Attraction" is the longest song on the album.<ref name=Pinkranked40/> It is a medium-paced track, in which Madonna "tellingly offer[s] her permission to take things to the next level" over a "libidinous" bass line.<ref name="Slant40Ranked"/><ref name="BBRankingofTracks"/> Also present is a spoken section and "Collins-style" drums.<ref name="rikky3"/> Madonna's vocals were doubletracked for album closer "Everybody", which, in her own words, talks about "getting people to dance and lose their inhibitions".<ref name="rikky3"/><ref name="IndependentMark">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> BillboardTemplate:'s Joe Lynch pointed out that the track "drops the bright, buoyant vibes that characterized the rest of the album and closes it on a dark, sensuous note".<ref name="BBRankingofTracks"/>

Artwork and release

According to Mary Cross, Lucky Star was the album's original title, but Madonna decided to change it, sensing a singular name could have more "star power". Her mother was also an inspiration, as she's "the only other person I have ever heard of named Madonna [...] It's pretty glamorous".<ref name=Cross2/> The original cover was shot by photographer Edo Bertoglio, while the sleeve was designed by Madonna's friend Martin Burgoyne.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Seymour Stein, however, Madonna dismissed this cover as it "just wasn't iconic enough".<ref name=Stein>Template:Harvnb</ref> The official cover was shot by photographer Gary Heery and directed by Carin Goldberg.<ref name="liner" /> The image shows Madonna with short-cropped platinum hair, wearing a number of black rubber bangles on her hands and a dog chain around her throat.<ref name=Metzcover>Template:Harvnb</ref> A journalist from Radio & Records described the singer as looking like "Marilyn Monroe crossed with Jean Harlow" in the image.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The singer's navel is also prominent on the inner sleeve; she commented: "The picture inside the dust of sleeve of my first album has me, like, in this Betty Boop pose with my belly button showing. Then when people reviews the album, they kept talking about my cute belly button. [...] I think there are other unobvious places on the body that are sexy and the stomach is kind of innocent."<ref name=Metzcover/> Regarding the album photoshoot, Heery recalled:

[Madonna] arrived at my Broadway studio in New York with a small bag of clothes and jewelry, and no entourage. Then, in front of the camera she was explosive, like a great model, but with her own unique style. She came over the next day to see some prints and the proofs, and there was shot after shot to choose from. We agreed on every choice and whittled it down to the album cover images. I had no idea what I had just been a party to.<ref name="heery">Template:Cite book</ref>

Madonna was released by Sire Records on July 27, 1983.<ref name="Debut30"/> The singer dedicated the album to her father, Tony Ciccone, with whom her relationship had not been good up until the release. In an interview with Time magazine, Madonna explained: "My father had never believed that what I was doing here [in New York] was worthwhile, nor did he believe that I was up to any good. [...] It wasn't until my first album came out and my father started hearing my songs on the radio that he stopped asking the questions".<ref name="clerk">Template:Harvnb</ref> In 1985, in the "midst of 'Madonnamania'", the album was re-released in Europe, Australasia and certain Asian and Latin American territories as Madonna: The First Album, with a different cover created by George Holy.<ref name=Madonnica2>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> This image shows the singer with crucifixes as earrings. Of this, she said that, "[wearing a crucifix] is kind of offbeat and interesting. I mean, everything I do is sort of tongue-in-cheeks. Besides, [they] seem to go with my name".<ref name="Cross2" /> On May 22, 2001, Warner Bros. released a remastered version of the album with its original artwork and additional remixes of "Burning Up" and "Lucky Star".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="liner2001" /> It was reissued on crystal clear vinyl on November 8, 2019.<ref name=world2 />

Promotion

Live performances and tour

File:MadonnaVirginTour.jpg

Backstage picture of Madonna and her entourage during the Virgin tour.

Prior to the album's release, Madonna promoted the singles through a series of live appearances in nightclubs and television programs across the United States and Europe. She performed "Everybody" as part of Haoui Montaug's No Entiendes cabaret revue on December 18, 1982, on the second-floor stage of Danceteria.<ref name=Katz>Template:Harvnb</ref> In 1983, she travelled to the United Kingdom and presented "Everybody" and "Burning Up" at London's Camden Palace, and Manchester's The Haçienda.<ref name=Mortonclub>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="DigHoliday"/> "Holiday" was sung on June 4 at New York's Studio 54, and on October 13 at the Camden Palace.<ref name=Katz/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following year, Madonna performed "Holiday" on British television program Top of the Pops, where she was joined by her brother Christopher Ciccone;<ref name="HolidayOfficialCharts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> she also sang it on Discoring, The Tube, The Haçienda, and on American television series American Bandstand and Solid Gold.Template:Efn Finally, in February 1984, Madonna appeared on The Dance Show and performed "Borderline", joined by her brother, and dancer Erika Belle.<ref name="DigBorderline" />

The album's singles were included on the Virgin Tour, Madonna's first concert tour, which visited cities in the US and Canada from April to June 1985.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name=Advocate>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Warner Bros. wanted to cash in on the success of Madonna's second studio album Like a Virgin (1984) and officially announced the tour on April 6.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Despite mixed critical reviews, the tour was a commercial success, with Billboard reporting a gross of $3.3 million ($Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation-year dollarsTemplate:Inflation-fn);<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> all 17,672 tickets for the concert at New York City's Radio City Music Hall sold out in a record-breaking 34 minutes.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On top of that, young girls would show up to the concerts dressed in a style similar to Madonna's.<ref name=mortonTour>Template:Harvnb</ref> One of the Detroit concerts was filmed and released in VHS as Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref>

Singles

File:Madonna - Rebel Heart Tour 2015 - Paris 1 (24036597741) (cropped).jpg

Madonna performing third single "Holiday" on 2015―2016's Rebel Heart Tour. The song was her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 16.

The twelve-inch single of "Everybody" was released on October 6, 1982.<ref name=Everybody>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Due to its R&B elements and not including Madonna's image on the cover artwork, marketing for the song gave the impression that she was a black artist.<ref name="MadonnaOralHistory">Template:Cite magazine</ref> That misconception was cleared with the song's music video, which was directed by Ed Steinberg, and shows the singer and two backup dancers performing at New York's Paradise Garage.<ref name="Cross2" /> "Burning Up" was released in a double-sided single with "Physical Attraction" on March 9, 1983.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was Madonna's first top twenty hit in Australia and, like its predecessor, peaked at number three on the Dance Club Songs chart.<ref name="kent">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Debut30"/> The music video was directed by Steve Barron and shows the singer writhing submissively in the middle of the street.<ref name=Quietus>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some authors noted that the visual was an introduction to the singer's "sexual politics".<ref name=Quietus/><ref name="morton2"/> The double-sided release of "Lucky Star" and "Holiday" was issued on mid August 1983, and became Madonna's first number one on BillboardTemplate:'s Dance Club Songs chart.<ref name="Debut30"/>

On September 7, "Holiday" was released as the album's third stand-alone single.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Considered Madonna's breakthrough, it was her first entry on the Hot 100, where it reached the 16th position.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> "Holiday" also reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, where it remains one of Madonna's best selling singles.<ref name="HolidayOfficialCharts"/> In Europe and the United Kingdom, "Lucky Star" was first published on September 9,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> whereas in the United States it was released almost one year later, on August 8, 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Lucky Star" peaked at number four on the Hot 100, becoming the singer's first top-five hit.<ref name="Madonna40Biggest">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The music video was directed by Arthur Pierson, and shows the singer, her brother Christopher, and Belle dancing in front of a white backdrop.<ref name="ciccone">Template:Harvnb</ref> Following the clip's release, the singer's fashion and style became a trend among the young generation of the time.<ref name="RS50Lucky"/>

In the United States, "Borderline" was released on February 15, 1984, as the fourth single from the album;<ref name="DigBorderline">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in the United Kingdom, it was published as the album's fifth single on June 2, 1984.<ref name="Begeo">Template:Harvsp</ref> To "keep the Madonna mania going on", a second European release was done in January 1986.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="DigBorderline" /> It was commercially successful: in 1984, it gave Madonna her first top-ten hit on the Hot 100.<ref name="Madonna40Biggest"/> The 1986 release saw success across Europe - it became the singer's second number one in Ireland, and reached the top 3 in the United Kingdom, Belgium and The Netherlands.<ref name="dean">Template:Harvnb</ref> In the music video, which was directed by Mary Lambert, Madonna portrays the girlfriend of a Hispanic man, to whom she returns after being enticed to pose and model for a white British photographer.<ref name="fouz">Template:Harvnb</ref> Author Douglas Kellner pointed out that with the visual, the singer broke the taboo of interracial relationships.<ref name="kell1">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Video compilation

A VHS video compilation titled Madonna was made available in December 1984; it included the videos for "Borderline", "Burning Up", "Like a Virgin", and a "special extended dance mix" of "Lucky Star".<ref name="BBVideo">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The release topped BillboardTemplate:'s Music Videocassette chart from April 13 to November 9, 1985, and was the year's best selling music videocassette.<ref name="MusicVideoCassette">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=TopVideo>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Additionally, Madonna was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 100,000 units, and was recognized as the "Best Selling Video Cassette Merchandised as Music Video" by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers.<ref name="riaavideo" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to The Saturday Evening Post, the video has sold over one million copies.<ref name=tsep-1kk>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To promote the release, a party was held on Chicago's Cabaret Metro on February 9, 1985. Dubbed "The Virgin Party", it drew a crowd of around 1,200 people; attendees were encouraged to wear white, and for $5 admission fees, were able to view the Madonna videocassette and the music video of the then-upcoming "Material Girl". The event was organized as a drive to promote music videos, which at that point did not have a large market.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Critical reception

Contemporaneous

Template:Music ratings Madonna received generally positive reviews.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Billboard and Rolling Stone, among other sources, praised Madonna's voice.<ref name = "SmashHitsrev"/> It was distinctive, made the "pretty standard dance tunes" "a bit special", and included an addicting "distinguishing feature" of a "girlish hiccup".<ref name = "TheGazette1983review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="RSDebutreview">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Jeff Simon, music critic for The Buffalo News, predicted Madonna would overtake Debbie Harry as "blonde dance-rock queen".<ref name = "Buffalo News">Template:Cite news</ref> The production was also considered high-quality and pristine, its dance style "music-and-motion" and "will go down a storm in discos."<ref name = "TheGazette1983review"/><ref name="RSDebutreview"/> Explained Simon, "she debuts by veering between the electric and pop sides of electro-pop and sounds good either way."<ref name = "Buffalo News"/> As Marcia Smith opened her review for The Boston Globe, "combine Madonna's vocal energy with a strong, driving beat and you have the makings of this hot dance album."<ref name = "Boston Globe review">Template:Cite news</ref> Less positively, Dave Rimmer of magazine Smash Hits argued Madonna's music suffered from attempting to be "Madonna Summer".<ref name = "SmashHitsrev"/> Richard Defendorf, music critic for Orlando Sentinel, opined: "Madonna not only turns out some decent tunes (...) in a straight and clean musical style, but her lyrics – usually simple disco fare – twist neatly around the perpetually gyrating sounds produced by her backup musicians". However, he criticited her "tiny" voice.<ref name = "Orlando sentinel"/>

An extremely unfavorable review came from The Arizona RepublicTemplate:'s Woody Wilson. He derogatorily categorized the genre as "Chipmunks in Discoland", with a "cross between Brenda Lee and Alvin and the Chipmunks" over an extremely simple drum-machine-and-synth arrangement.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When it came to the lyrics, no critic thought they detracted from the experience, but were not Shakespeare-level and could have been better.<ref name = "Buffalo News"/><ref name = "Boston Globe review"/>

Retrospective

Template:Music ratings For Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, Madonna is "one of the most auspicious musical debuts of the 80s".<ref name=Madonnica2/> The QuietusTemplate:' Matthew Lindsay called it one of the singer's best and a "simple soundtrack to complicated times", and Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it a perfect five-star review for AllMusic.<ref name="AllMusicAlbum"/><ref name="Quietus" /> Joseph Earp from Australian website Junkee referred to Madonna as "uneven, but in an exciting rather than disappointing way", "at once endearingly cautious [...] and shockingly self-assured".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While the staff of The Advocate highlighted the singles, they felt album cuts such as "I Know It" and "Think of Me", "sound like B-sides for a Lisa Lisa single".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album's overall tone was reported to be energetic and joyful.<ref name = "PlainDealer2013">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=BBDebut>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Sal Cinquemani said Madonna sounds "just as fresh today as it did almost two decades ago", while some Madonna book authors thought its production was a "trifle flat" and "now sound rather harsh".<ref name="rikky2"/><ref name="Slantdebut">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Easlea2>Template:Harvnb</ref> Some 2010s reviews found its 1980 synthpop tropes simultaneously futuristic.<ref name="ElHuntStandard"/><ref name="Quietus" /><ref name=Pitchfork>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Erlewine described its instrumental and vocal elements as "utterly irresistible" combined despite being uninteresting on their own.<ref name="AllMusicAlbum">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Also of common discussion was the dance style, which was occasionally categorized as either post-disco, "club-disco" and disco-influenced.<ref name = "PlainDealer2013"/><ref name="ElHuntStandard"/><ref name="PortlandMercury"/><ref name="EWReview"/> Phrases such as "infectiously kinetic" and "really fucking fun" also described it.<ref name="Vice" /> Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly wrote that Madonna's ability to mix it with "peerless pop" had been established on the album and set her apart from other post-disco acts.<ref name="EWReview">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Vice called it "bright, sexy, and unfussy pop [that] doesn't falter once".<ref name=Madonnica2/><ref name="Vice" /> Some writers thought, even though it was a classic, it was not one of Madonna's most mature, with nothing to indicate her later groundbreaking work.<ref name=BBDebut/><ref name="Tidal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, dismissed it as "musical candyfloss - okay in the right spot at the right time".<ref name="rikky2">Template:Harvnb</ref>

The vibes of New York City were also felt by critics. One stated it "feels wrenched straight out of Danceteria" and another noticed the "grit" of the city's art scene.<ref name="ElHuntStandard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name = "PlainDealer2013"/> According to Daryl Easley, in his book Madonna: Blond Ambition, "[Madonna] represents the heat and rush of a city [New York] and marks the last time [she] would be writing directly at street level".<ref name=Easlea1>Template:Harvnb</ref> Portland MercuryTemplate:'s Mark Lore also perceived a punk rock attitude and a similarity to Devo and Gary Numan in its synthesizers.<ref name="PortlandMercury">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 190 on the week of September 3, 1983.<ref name="Debut30">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It had a slow and steady climb, ultimately peaking at number eight the week ending October 20, 1984, more than a year after its release.<ref name="bb200" /> Madonna also reached the 20th position of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.<ref name="r&b" /> Within a year, the album had sold 2.8 million copies in the United States.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> By the end of 1985, it ranked 25th on the Hot 100.<ref name="Yearend1985">Template:Cite magazine</ref> After 17 years since its release, the album was certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of five million copies across United States.<ref name="riaa" /> With the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 450,000 copies as of August 2010.<ref name="Nielsen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Canada, the album debuted at number 87 on the RPM chart on March 10, 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After 6 weeks, on April 14, it reached number 57.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Madonna re-entered the chart at number 95 on August 4;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> it reached its peak at 16 during its 29th week on the chart, where it remained for a total of 47 weeks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Madonna was 1984's 50th best selling album in Canada.<ref name="Canadayearend1984" />

In the United Kingdom, the record debuted at the 85th position of the albums chart on the week ending February 11, 1984;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> almost two months later, on the week April 20, it reached number 37.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On July 13, 1985, following the Madonna: The First Album re-release, it re-entered the chart at number 91, eventually peaking at 6 five weeks later.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="uk" /> On December, the album was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 300,000 copies.<ref name="bpi" /> Throughout Europe, the record saw a moderate success; in Spain, despite not charting during its inicial release, it was certified Gold by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE) association for shipments of 50,000 copies.<ref name="spaincert">Template:Cite book</ref> It wasn't until November 2019 that Madonna entered the Spanish album charts at number 35.<ref name="spain" /> The album reached the top ten of the charts in the Netherlands and France;<ref name="nl"/><ref name="fra"/> it saw less success in Sweden and Italy, where it barely cracked the top 50.<ref name="swe" /><ref name="ita" /> Madonna went on to reach the 14th spot on the European Top 100 Albums chart.<ref name="Eurotipsheet">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In Australia, the album peaked at the 10th spot of the Kent Music Report albums chart, and received a Triple Platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).<ref name="ARIA" /> In New Zealand, it reached the chart's sixth spot and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).<ref name="nz" /><ref name="nz2">Template:Cite book</ref> In Japan, Madonna reached the 20th position of the Oricon albums chart.<ref name="oricon">Template:Cite book</ref> In Hong Kong, it was granted a Platinum certification for shipments of 20,000 copies.<ref name="HongKongCert"/> Worldwide, Madonna has sold over 10 million copies.<ref name=world1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=world2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Legacy

Template:Quote box Madonna has been referred to as one of the greatest debut albums of all time.<ref name=BBDebut/><ref name="RSDebuts">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Paste">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="DigDebut">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It has also been mentioned among the best albums from the 1980s.<ref name="ClassicPopMag">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SlantBest80s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Slantbest1983">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With the album, the singer has been credited with "revolutionizing" dance music. Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "[Madonna's] eponymous debut isn't simply good, it set the standard for dance-pop for the next 20 years".<ref name="AllMusicAlbum" /> Erlewine went on to explain that the album was released in an era where disco was seen as an "anathema" to mainstream music; by incorporating "great pop songs with stylish, state-of-the-art beats", Madonna had a "huge role in popularizing dance music as popular music again", Erlewine concluded.<ref name="AllMusicAlbum" /> Similarly, SpinTemplate:'s Michaelangelo Matos said that it "reinvigorated disco for a generation that wanted nothing to do with polyester suits, ending an era and birthing a new one".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Rosenblatt himself went on to explain: "There was disco, and there was new wave. And there was nothing in the middle [...] Madonna was really coming out of the new wave clubs in a way that never really happened before. Nobody was doing the disco/new wave thing, [the] R&B thing the way Madonna did".<ref name=cnndebut/> The staff of Rolling Stone added that, "[Madonna] put downtown New York electro grooves all over the Top 40".<ref name="RSDebuts"/> In ViceTemplate:'s ranking of the "99 Greatest Dance Albums of All Time"—where Madonna came in at number 26—the staff concluded that with the record, the singer "provided the New York City dance scene a much needed post-disco palate cleanser and drew the blueprint for future dance pop".<ref name=Vice>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Joey Guerra from the Houston Chronicle elaborated:

The album's blend of pop, disco, New Wave and R&B is ubiquitous today. But at the time, it was a revelation. Disco had been metaphorically demolished a few years earlier. New Wave was still seen by many as eccentric and weird. Madonna, who came up in New York City's club scene, tempered those sounds with her fierce ambition and desire to be a superstar.<ref name=Houston/>

Template:Multiple image Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of Madonna's Drowned Worlds, wrote that the album features "several key trends that have continued to define [Madonna's] success [...] a strong dance-based idiom, catchy hooks [and] highly polished arrangements". They came to the conclusion that the singer introduced a style of "upbeat dance music" that would prove "particularly appealing" to gay audiences.<ref name="fouzvocal">Template:Harvnb</ref> PasteTemplate:'s Matt Michell declared: "Without Madonna, the landscape of dance music suffers greatly. It’s the best debut album of the 1980s by a woman, and, perhaps, one of the greatest debuts of all time".<ref name="Paste"/> Both Andrew Morton and Martin Charles Strong agreed that the album helped to make Madonna a household name and to establish her base as an artist.<ref name=Mortonclub/><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> According to some publications, the singer and album's influence can be seen in the work of other female artists such as Janet Jackson, Debbie Gibson, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue.<ref name="RSDebutBestBackground">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Pitchfork" /><ref name=Houston>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Subscription required</ref> Marcus Wratten from PinkNews added: "Her music is, and always will be, the blueprint for the best pop records of our generation. And it all began with Madonna".<ref name=Pinkranked40>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

For Entertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson wrote: "Madonna’s sound, and of course her look, would be heavily copied for years to come, but [the album] heralded something much bigger: the arrival of the pop diva as a singular force who put personality above all else".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Mark Lore added that, "[Madonna] had a confidence and sexuality that hadn't been captured since Donna Summer. It was just what pop music needed".<ref name="PortlandMercury"/> Finally, for Rolling Stone, the album's biggest achievement was "introducing the most important female voice in the history of modern music".<ref name="RSDebuts"/>

Track listing

Notes

• ^{Template:Note}signifies a remixer/additional producer
• ^{Template:Note} An extended version of "Everybody" (6:02) is used on the 2001 remastered edition of the album.<ref name="liner2001" />

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref name="liner" />

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 Musicians

• Madonna – lead vocals, background vocals, cowbell (5)
• Dean Gant – synthesizers, acoustic piano, electric piano
• Ed Walsh – synthesizers
• Fred Zarr – synthesizers, electric piano, acoustic piano (5), Fender Rhodes (5), Oberheim OB-X (5), Moog bass (5), drums (5), co-arrangements (5)
• Paul Pesco – guitars (1, 3)
• Reggie Lucas – guitars, LinnDrum programming
• Ira Siegel – guitars
• Russ Powell - guitar
• Curtis Hudson – guitars (5), arrangements (5)
• Anthony Jackson – electric bass (2)
• Raymond Hudson – bass (5)
• Leslie Ming – LinnDrum programming
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (5)
• Bob Malach – tenor saxophone
• Chrissy Faith – background vocals
• Gwen Guthrie – background vocals
• Brenda White – background vocals
• Norma Jean Wright – background vocals
• Tina B. – background vocals (5)

Production

• Reggie Lucas – producer (1–4, 6, 7)
• John "Jellybean" Benitez – producer (5), remixing (1, 3, 7)
• Mark Kamins – producer (8)
• Jim Dougherty – sound engineer (1–4, 6, 7)
• Jay Mark – remix engineer (1, 3, 7), mixing engineer (5)
• Michael Hutchinson – sound engineer (5)
• Butch Jones – sound engineer (8)
• Ted Jensen – audio mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City)
• Freddy DeMann – management
• Ron Weisner – management

Design

• Carin Goldberg – art direction
• Gary Heery – photography
• George Holy – photography (Madonna: The First Album)

Charts

Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for Madonna

Chart (1983–2019)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="kent" />	10
Croatian International Albums (HDU)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	57
European Top 100 Albums (Eurotipsheet)<ref name="Eurotipsheet"/>	14
French Albums (SNEP)<ref name="fra">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	38
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	29
Japanese LP Albums (Oricon)<ref name="oricon" />	20
South African Albums (RiSA)<ref name=Africa>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	65
UK Dance Albums (Music Week)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	8

Weekly chart performance for Madonna (video)

Chart (1985)	Position
UK Music Videos (Music Week)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	1
US Top Music Videocassette (Billboard)<ref name="MusicVideoCassette"/>	1
US Top 15 Music Videocassettes (Cash Box)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	1

Monthly charts

Monthly chart performance for Madonna

Chart (2018)	Position
Croatian International Albums (HDU)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	3

Year-end charts

1984 year-end chart performance for Madonna

Chart (1984)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="Aus1984">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	10
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref name="Canadayearend1984">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	50
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref name="BByearend1984">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	15
US Top 100 Albums (Cash Box)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	41

1985 year-end chart performance for Madonna

Chart (1985)	Position
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	95
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	28
US Billboard 200<ref name="Yearend1985"/>	25

1986 year-end chart performance for Madonna

Chart (1986)	Position
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	12
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	55

Year-end chart performance for Madonna (video)

Chart (1985)	Position
UK Music Videos (Gallup)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	2
US Videocassette Sales (Billboard)<ref name="Yearend1985"/>	28

Bibliography

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External links

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• Template:YouTube