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many critics who initially discounted her as simply a pop princess. As hard as it was for many "serious" music fans to admit, this sexy and vivacious lady had an amazing ear for music which can only be described as pure genius.

After the phenomenal success of the Like A Virgin album which sold over 12 million copies worldwide, Madonna released a single called Crazy For You, which was on the soundtrack of a movie that she made a minor appearance in called Vision Quest. This song was a total departure from the simplistic dance/pop formula of earlier releases as it was much more mature and musically complex, and it was wholeheartedly accepted from listeners who made it her second number 1 hit.

This success was followed by an album that would place her in a category reserved only for true, veritable superstars. True Blue was a critical and commercial success that continued with the usual mix of dance/pop fusion, albeit with a harder rock edge at times, and also included the traditional bit of controversy with the lead off single Papa Don't Preach, which dealt with unwanted pregnancy. But other songs such as Live To Tell, True Blue, and Open Your Heart were all over the musical map and were proving that Madonna was going to be much more than a simple pop diva, capable of only singing simplistic dance tunes.

She would prove this beyond a doubt with her next release, and another notch in her musical belt, as both the album and song Like A Prayer would continue the long history of success, controversy, and musical evolution that was becoming the mainstay of her career. By the time this album was released, Madonna had become tabloid fodder due to her turbulent marriage to actor Sean Penn, whom she had since separated from amid rumours of physical abuse. The song Til Death Do Us Part included the sounds of breaking glass and evoked lyrical images of a violent and abusive relationship that was no doubt symbolic of what she had endured. Another song entitled Oh Father dealt with her sometimes contentious relationship with her father, which was probably the most personal song she had written to date, and reinforced the belief that Madonna should never be considered a lyrical lightweight.

Madonna's career seemed to have hit its' apex with the release and success of Like A Prayer, as although she had impressive successes with many future releases during the '90's, there was no doubt that the grunge movement was responsible for displacing artists such as Madonna as passe or irrelevant. But in an ironic twist that would prove both the extent of her personal mettle and the genius of her musical instincts, she would release the album Ray Of Light in 1998 to a response that she hadn't received since the days of Like A Prayer. Many music pundits heralded this release as one of her best to date, and the fans agreed as it sold over 14 million worldwide to become one of the biggest selling albums of the '90's.

She followed this with the release of another well-received album called Music in 2000, American Life in '03, and then later with '95's Confessions On A Dance Floor. This album sold over 3 million copies in Europe in its' first week of release and sold over 12 million worldwide to prove that Madonna continues to be one of the most popular artists even today, about 25 years after she first became a household name as the sexy and provocative blond who stripped out of a wedding dress on national television.

Learn more about this author, Shane Christensen.
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