When Madonna first sang "Everybody" back in 1982, few could have imagined the influence she was to have upon the entertainment industry. Today, 25 years after the release of her first album, Madonna's influence upon modern culture cannot be disputed. Her influence upon the music industry emphasises Madonna's ability not only to set musical style, but also to challenge existing trends in music.

Aided by the emerging music video market, Madonna's first hit songs were accompanied by videos highlighting her unique dress sense and performances. The bleached hair, cropped lace tops, fishnet stockings, skirts worn over leggings and necklaces with large crosses became a popular trend among young female fans. In 1983 she followed up her debut album "Madonna" with "Like a Virgin", and its title track became her first number one. Not only did the song title push the boundaries of relatively conservative popular music at the time, its video mixture of pictures of a prowling lion and Madonna dancing on a gondola caused a sensation. The song has been cemented in popular culture it is mentioned in a scene in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", and the kiss shared between Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears during a performance of the song at the 2003 MTV Video Awards show created columns of sensational media coverage for months afterwards.

In 1986 Madonna's third album, "True Blue" marked a change of direction in her appearance and in her musical style. Gone was the obviously bleached hair, replaced with a short, sleek blonde cut reminiscent of the film stars of the 1940s and 1950s. She abandoned the lacy tops and garish jewellery for clothes that highlighted her toned body, maintained by a strict fitness programme. Four of the songs on the album were written by Madonna, a feat she repeated the following year when she appeared in the film "Who's That Girl".

1989's album "Like a Prayer" broke new ground when its title track was released. The controversial video featured burning crosses and stigmata, and caused condemnation from the Catholic Church and such outrage a contract Madonna had recently signed with Pepsi was cancelled. The adverse publicity did little to harm the sales of the album. Several songs on the album were sexually provocative, and the music video accompanying the song "Express Yourself" proved Madonna was beginning to push the boundaries of sexual and religious themes in popular music.

The following year she appeared

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