Editor's Note: We have mentioned it before, but it bears repeating here. There is a huge gap between #3 Whitney Houston and #4 Barbra Streisand. There is also a huge gap between the #2 Artist we are about to feature, Madonna, and #3 Whitney Houston. And, there is a big difference in total points between #1 and #2.
Madonna Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Pontiac and Avon Township (now a part of Rochester Hills). Her mother died when Madonna was five years old. Her father later married the family's housekeeper, which caused Madonna feelings of anger towards her father that lasted for years.
She was a straight-A student and cheerleader at Rochester Adams High School, then received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and moved to New York City to pursue a career in dance.
She began working as a backup dancer for other established artists, such as Patrick Hernandez ("Born to Be Alive"). While touring with Hernandez in 1979, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. After the tour, Madonna and Gilroy formed the group the Breakfast Club, with Madonna singing and playing drums and guitar.
That group was short-lived, and the two soon formed a group called Emmy. Producer Mark Kamins heard their music, and arranged for a meeting between Madonna and Seymour Stein, founder of Sire Records. In 1982, Madonna signed a recording contract with Sire and released the singles "Everybody" and "Burning Up" in 1983. Both were #3 Dance songs, and paved the way for her self-titled debut album.
In 1988, Madonna was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the American Music Awards. Madonna toured the world, including a stop in Paris, France, that drew 130,000 people. A remixed album of hits, You Can Dance, reached #14 on the Album chart. But all was not going well with Madonna, who filed for divorce from Penn in 1989.
A world tour sparked the release of a Laserdisc, which earned Madonna a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.
The album sold four million copies in the first ten days. "Don't Tell Me" became Madonna's 17th #1 song in Italy, a position she also attained in Canada. The single also hit #4 in the United States and the U.K. and reached #7 in Australia, and gave Madonna her sixth career ASCAP Pop Award.
Madonna won her sixth career Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album, and was nominated for Best Dance Recording (for "Get Together") and Best Long Form Music Video (for "I'm Going To Tell You A Secret"). But, like throughout most of her career, Madonna was not nominated nor did she win any of the major awards.
Madonna then went on another world tour in 2006, performing before 1.2 million people, and setting a record for the highest-grossing tour by a female artist to date ($193.7 million). She won a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video for the accompanying DVD.
She continued to make enemies, however, as both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia urged their members to boycott the concerts, and The Vatican condemned Madonna as blasphemous. When you have the Catholics, the Orthodox and Jewish people against you, it's nearly universal.
Two additional singles from the album had only spotty success in a few countries.
By this time, however, Madonna had gone over 200 million in albums sold. She launched the clothing line M by Madonna in collaboration with retailer H&M in 2006.
Madonna left Warner Brothers, and signed a ten-year deal with Live Nation. She wrote and produced the documentary I Am Because We Are about problems faced by Malawians, and then directed the movie Filth and Wisdom.
In 2008, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She released the album Hard Candy, which reached #1 in 37 countries. "4 Minutes" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, while "Give It 2 (sic) Me" was nominated for Best Dance Recording.
Madonna again toured to support her album, and her set of concerts grossed $280 million, breaking her own record at the time by a solo artist. The tour added European dates, and all told, pulled in $408 million.
Madonna filed for divorce from Ritchie in 2008. The following year, she released another compilation, Celebration. The album went to #1 in the U.K., tying her with Elvis Presley for the most solo number one albums on that chart.
At the conclusion of the decade, Madonna was the best-selling single artist in the United States and the most-played artist in the U.K. She ranked behind only the Rolling Stones and U2 with a concert gross of $801 million from 2000-2009, with 6.3 million people attending her shows and 244 sell-outs.
In 2010, Madonna performed at the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert. She released the live album Sticky & Sweet, and a clothing line called Material Girl under the Macy's label. She also opened several fitness centers around the world named Hard Candy Fitness, a partnership with 24 Hour Fitness. In 2011, Madonna and MG Icon announced a second fashion brand called Truth or Dare by Madonna.
Madonna directed another movie, W.E. She recorded the song "Masterpiece" for the soundtrack album, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture. Madonna performed at halftime of Super Bowl XLVI.
In 2012, Madonna released the album MDNA, which went to #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, Italy and Spain, #2 in Switzerland and France and #3 in Germany and Austria. The single "Move" reached #1 in Canada, #2 in Italy, #3 in France, #6 in Switzerland, #8 in Germany and #10 in the U.S.
Madonna's subsequent tour grossed $305.2 million from 88 sold-out shows, the top tour of 2012 and the ninth highest-grossing tour of all-time. Madonna won Billboard Music Awards for the Top Touring Artist, Top Dance Artist and Top Dance Album.
Madonna's Raising Malawi organization has now built ten schools in that country to educate 4,871 children.
Madonna earned the first four World Music Award nominations of her career in the upcoming show from Monte-Carlo: Best Female Artist, Best World Album (for MDNA) and Best World Song and Best World Video (for "Give Me All Your Luvin (sic)").
Madonna was nominated for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 but did not win.
Madonna's voice has always been more than adequate, and she writes catchy tunes. But her real strength is her ability to market herself, and to constantly reinvent herself.
Madonna has won seven Grammy Awards in her career out of 28 nominations. She has three career wins in the American Music Awards out of 17 nominations. Madonna has 39 Billboard Music Awards to her credit out of 40 nominations. She also received two Golden Globe Awards from seven nominations, and one People's Choice Award. Madonna has won eight MTV Video Music Awards with 31 career nominations. She was the first female to win the Video Vanguard Award from MTV.
Madonna has now sold over 300 million records worldwide, and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the best-selling female recording artist of all-time. In the United States, she is a distant second to Barbra Streisand with 64.5 million albums sold.
Madonna Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Pontiac and Avon Township (now a part of Rochester Hills). Her mother died when Madonna was five years old. Her father later married the family's housekeeper, which caused Madonna feelings of anger towards her father that lasted for years.
She was a straight-A student and cheerleader at Rochester Adams High School, then received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. In 1978, Madonna dropped out of college and moved to New York City to pursue a career in dance.
She began working as a backup dancer for other established artists, such as Patrick Hernandez ("Born to Be Alive"). While touring with Hernandez in 1979, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. After the tour, Madonna and Gilroy formed the group the Breakfast Club, with Madonna singing and playing drums and guitar.
That group was short-lived, and the two soon formed a group called Emmy. Producer Mark Kamins heard their music, and arranged for a meeting between Madonna and Seymour Stein, founder of Sire Records. In 1982, Madonna signed a recording contract with Sire and released the singles "Everybody" and "Burning Up" in 1983. Both were #3 Dance songs, and paved the way for her self-titled debut album.
Dissatisfied with her initial producer, Madonna turned to then-boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez. Benitez remixed most of the songs to Madonna's satisfaction, and the album was released. "Holiday" became her first big hit, landing at #2 in the U.K., #4 in Australia, #9 in Germany and an underrated #16 in the United States.
Madonna first cracked the Top 10 in the U.S. with "Lucky Star" (although as mentioned above, it should have been with "Holiday".) "Lucky Star" reached #4 in the United States and #8 in Canada.
Sales of the album were not initially as you might expect from the #2 Female Artist of the Rock Era*, but increased steadily with her popularity, to the point of five million now in the U.S. and ten million worldwide. "Borderline" gave Madonna a #10 hit and sold over one million copies in the United States, and it also peaked at #2 in the U.K. The video gave Madonna an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
The album Like a Virgin in 1984 was the one that sent Madonna into superstardom. The title song reached #1 for six weeks in the U.S., was certified Gold, and became one of the biggest hits of the year and one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*. It also peaked at #1 in Canada, #3 in the U.K., #8 in France and Australia and #9 in Switzerland.
Madonna released the single "Material Girl" next, which landed at #2 in the U.S., #3 in the U.K., #4 in Canada and Australia and #8 in Austria, and earned Madonna a nomination for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Madonna made a brief appearance in the movie Vision Quest in 1985. She recorded "Crazy for You" for the soundtrack album, and released it as a single. The song climbed to #1 in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and peaked at #2 in the U.K. The single sold over one million copies, and earned Madonna a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Madonna then went back to the album for the next release, "Angel", a #1 smash in Australia, and #5 in the United States, the U.K. and Canada.
Madonna was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the American Music Awards. She won seven Billboard Music Awards for her work: Top Pop Artist, Top Pop Album Artist--Female, Top Pop Singles Artist, Top Pop Singles Artist--Female, Top Dance Sales Artist, Top Dance Club Play Artist and Top Music Video (for the album Madonna). Madonna received the Video Vanguard Award from the MTV Video Music Awards.
The album Like a Virgin has gone over ten million albums sold in the U.S. alone, and 25 million worldwide. Madonna also appeared in the comedy Desperately Seeking Susan, which included the song "Into The Groove". It wasn't released as a single in the U.S., but reached #1 in the U.K., Australia and Italy, #2 in France and Switzerland, #3 in Germany and #6 in Austria. "Into The Groove" wasn't originally on Like a Virgin, but was included when it was re-released in 1985.
Madonna toured North America in support of the album, and Live--The Virgin Tour won a Billboard Music Award for Top Music Video. "Dress You Up" became another smash hit, Madonna's seventh straight Top 10 in the United States at #5. It also reached #5 in the U.K. and #10 in Canada.
In 1986, Madonna received a second straight nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the American Music Awards, and she was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist. She also had a European hit with "Gambler" from Vision Quest. She also had an outstanding album track on Like a Virgin, doing a great cover of the Rose Royce song "Love Don't Live Here Anymore".
In 1986, she released her album True Blue, dedicated to her husband Sean Penn. "Live To Tell" hit #1 in the U.S., Canada and Italy, and reached #2 in the U.K., #4 in Switzerland and #6 in France. "Live To Tell" was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Single at the American Music Awards, and she was awarded an ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for having one of the Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures.
True Blue went to #1 album in no less than 28 countries. "Papa Don't Preach" topped charts in the United States, the U.K., Canada, Australia and Italy, hit #2 in Germany and Switzerland, and reached #3 in France and #4 in Austria. It was certified Gold, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and is another of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.
Madonna won her first American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist, and was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist for the third straight year. The "Papa Don't Preach" video earned Madonna an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.
The album became the biggest-seller of her career, with seven million sold in the United States and 25 million across the globe. The title track also sold over one million copies, and went to #1 in the U.K. and Canada, and peaked at #3 in the U.S., #4 in Italy, #5 in Australia, #6 in Germany, France and Switzerland and #9 in Austria.
Madonna won three more Billboard Music Awards: Top Pop Singles Artist, Top Pop Singles Artist--Female and Top Dance Sales Artist. She also pulled in the People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Musical Performer.
A fourth single from True Blue, "Open Your Heart", was another #1 smash, especially on the Dance chart, and reached #4 in the U.K., #6 in Italy and #8 in Canada. The video joined winner "Papa Don't Preach" as a nominee for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Madonna next moved to pull in Hispanics to her fan base with the single "La Isla Bonita", a #1 song in every major country except the U.S. (#4), Australia (#6) and Italy (#18). The hit extended Madonna's streak to twelve consecutive Top 10 songs.
Madonna earned BMI Pop Awards for "La Isla Bonita", "Live To Tell" and Open Your Heart" as Most Performed Songs.
Madonna starred in Shanghai Surprise, a flop with critics. The next year, she starred in Who's That Girl, and recorded four songs for the soundtrack. One of those was the title song, another #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Italy, #2 in Germany, France and Switzerland, #4 in Austria and #7 in Australia.
Madonna received another Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures Award from ASCAP, and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
Madonna won her twelfth career Billboard Music Award for Top Adult Contemporary Artist, and amazingly, she had won every Billboard Award she had been nominated for thus far. The album has now been certified Platinum in the U.S. and has sold over five million copies worldwide. A second single from the soundtrack, "Causing A Commotion", was #2 in the United States and Canada, #4 in the U.K. and Italy, #7 in Australia and #9 in Switzerland.
In 1988, Madonna was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the American Music Awards. Madonna toured the world, including a stop in Paris, France, that drew 130,000 people. A remixed album of hits, You Can Dance, reached #14 on the Album chart. But all was not going well with Madonna, who filed for divorce from Penn in 1989.
Next, Madonna released the best album of her career, Like a Prayer. The title song was another smash, making it fifteen straight Top 10 songs for the Material Girl. "Like A Prayer" hit #1 in every major country except Germany and France, where it was #2. The single sold over two million copies in the U.S. and over five million worldwide, and also became one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.
Madonna received an MTV Video Music Award for Viewer's Choice and she was nominated for Video of the Year for "Like A Prayer". She was also nominated for Favorite Dance Single at the American Music Awards.
Madonna released "Express Yourself" as the next single, and it too took the expressway to the top in Switzerland and Italy, and peaked at #2 in the United States, #3 in Germany, and #5 in the U.K., Australia and Austria. Madonna was nominated for another MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.
The next single, "Cherish", was another across-the-board smash, #1 in Canada, #2 in the United States, #3 in the U.K. and Italy, #4 in Australia and #10 in Switzerland. It too is a solid member of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.
The next single, although it reached #6 in Italy, ended her streak of consecutive Top 10's in the U.S., although it shouldn't have. The peak of #20 makes "Oh Father" one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. The accompanying video was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.
The album has now sold four million copies in the U.S. and 13 million across the world. By the end of the 1980's, Billboard, MTV and Musician all selected Madonna as the "Artist of the Decade". The single "Keep It Together" hit #8 in both the U.S. and Canada, and became Madonna's tenth Gold single in the last seven years.
Madonna received a fifth career nomination for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the American Music Awards, an honor she has never won. Another great track from the album is "Till Death Do Us Part".
Another top track on the album is "Spanish Eyes".
In 1990, Madonna starred with Warren Beatty in the movie Dick Tracy. She released the soundtrack album I'm Breathless, which included the smash "Vogue", #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and Italy, and #2 in Switzerland, #4 in Germany, #7 in Austria and #9 in France.
Madonna received her second career American Music Award for Favorite Dance Single for "Vogue", and she was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Single. She was nominated for Video of the Year, Viewer's Choice, Best Female Video and Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Madonna was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Dance Artist at the American Music Awards. A follow-up, "Hanky Panky", raced to #2 in the U.K., and reached #4 in Italy, #6 in Australia and #10 in the United States.
I'm Breathless is over two million units sold in the United States and seven million worldwide. The soundtrack also included "Sooner Or Later", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture for songwriter Stephen Sondheim.
A world tour sparked the release of a Laserdisc, which earned Madonna a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.
Madonna released her compilation album The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs. "Justify My Love" topped charts in the U.S. and Canada, and ran up to #2 in the U.K. and Italy, #3 in Switzerland, #4 in Australia, #7 in Austria and #10 in Germany. The single sold over two million copies.
The Immaculate Collection is now the top-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history (The Eagles have the #1 compilation overall), topping 10 million copies sold in the United States and 30 million around the world. "Rescue Me" landed at #3 in the U.K., #7 in Canada and #9 in the United States, and was certified Gold.
Madonna won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Long Form Video for The Immaculate Collection.
In 1991, Madonna released the documentary Truth or Dare, which chronicles her world tour. Ten years into her career, she won her first Grammy Award, a trophy for Best Long Form Music Video, for her Blond Ambition World Tour Live.
The following year, she starred in the movie A League of Their Own. Madonna released the single "This Used To Be My Playground" from the soundtrack album, which became her tenth career #1 song in the United States. The single also hit #1 in Canada and Italy, and peaked at #3 in the U.K., #6 in Germany and Switzerland, #7 in France and #9 in Australia. It too went Gold, and earned Madonna a third ASCAP Award for being one of the Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures, and her first ASCAP Pop Award. Madonna was also nominated for Favorite Dance Artist at the American Music Awards.
Madonna and Time Warner founded the entertainment company Maverick, which included Maverick Records, Maverick Films, and related music publishing, book publishing, television broadcasting and merchandising divisions. Madonna was given an advance of $60 million for the project and 20% royalties from music proceeds, equaled at that time only by Michael Jackson's royalty rate from a contract with Sony the year before.
Madonna released the album Erotica, which reached #2 on the Album chart. The title track, a #1 song in Italy, reached #3 in the United States and the U.K., #4 in Australia and #8 in Switzerland. "Erotica" sold over one million copies in the U.S.
The follow-up single, "Deeper And Deeper", again topped the Italian chart and was #2 in Canada, #6 in the U.K. and #7 in the U.S.
The album sold two million in the U.S. and six million worldwide, great numbers in and of themselves, but pale in comparison to past efforts. Four successive singles either flopped completely, or were only hits in selected countries. "Rain" did reach #1 in Italy, #2 in Canada, #5 in Australia and #7 in the U.K., although it was a mid-charter (#14) in the United States.
Madonna starred in the movies Body of Evidence and Dangerous Game. Her career had gotten off track, as had her life. She offended the entire nation of Puerto Rico during one concert in 1993, and her appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in 1994 not only required censorship, but left people wondering about her sanity.
The ballad "I'll Remember" in 1994 was Madonna's attempt to tone down the criticism and jokes about her. It was included in the movie With Honors. The single was #1 in Canada and Italy, #2 in the United States and #7 in the U.K., and sold over one million copies. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film.
The effort worked, but only slightly. Madonna released the album Bedtime Stories, which contained more of the same old, same old. The poor girl did not realize that no one cared about her views on sex and that most men wouldn't want anything to do with her. The single "Secret" reached #1 in Canada and Switzerland, #2 in France, #3 in the U.S. and Italy and #5 in the U.K. and Australia. It also sold over one million copies.
Madonna did score one of her biggest hits in "Take A Bow", a #1 song for seven weeks in the United States. It also landed at #2 in Canada, #3 in Italy and #5 in the U.K. and Australia, and gave Madonna an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.
Madonna won Billboard Music Awards for Top Hot 100 Singles Artist--Female and Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist, and the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Bedtime Stories sold three million in the U.S. and seven million worldwide. But again, two subsequent singles found only spotty success in Europe and were flops (#42 and #46) in the United States.
Madonna released the compilation Something to Remember, a collection of ballads, in 1995. The album featured three new songs, including "You'll See", a #2 hit in Canada, #5 in the U.K., Austria and Italy, #6 in the United States, #8 in Switzerland and #9 in Australia. "You'll See" was one of the Most Performed Songs of the Year, and earned Madonna an ASCAP Pop Award.
Something to Remember sold three million in the United States and ten million worldwide. In 1996, Madonna starred in the title role in the movie Evita, and drew praise for her performance. She won Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards and released three singles from the "Evita" Soundtrack. "You Must Love Me" won an Oscar for Best Song from a Motion Picture, although the public wasn't sold on it--only two countries placed it in their Top 10.
The "Evita Soundtrack" sold over five million copies in the United States and 11 million worldwide, and was nominated for Favorite Soundtrack at the American Music Awards. The song that did do well was "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", #1 in France, #2 in Italy, #3 in the U.K., Germany and Austria, #4 in Switzerland, #8 in the United States and #9 in Australia.
Madonna became interested in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah. She released the album Ray of Light in 1998, an album which reflected her change in perception. The album went to #1 in the U.K., Canada and Australia. The single "Frozen" landed at #1 in the U.K. and Italy, and reached #2 in the United States, Germany, Canada, France, Austria and Switzerland, and #5 in Australia. It sold over one million copies in the United States alone. "Frozen" enabled Madonna to set a Rock Era record for the most number two songs.
Ray of Light has now sold four million copies in the United States and 20 million across the world. The follow-up single, "Ray Of Light", was a #2 song in the U.K. and Italy, and peaked at #3 in Canada, #5 in the United States and #6 in Australia. The video received eight MTV Video Music nominations, winning five, including Video of the Year and Best Female Video.
Madonna won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, and "Ray Of Light" won Grammys for Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video, and was nominated for Record of the Year. Both hits from the album received recognition from the ASCAP Pop Awards as some of the Most Performed Songs.
Madonna released the single "Beautiful Stranger" from the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999. It hit #1 in Canada and Italy, #2 in the U.K., #5 in Australia and #6 in Switzerland, but only #19 in the U.S.
Madonna earned a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, and she was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Beautiful Stranger". She received Best Video from a Film and was nominated for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna also won an ASCAP Pop Award and another ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for the song.
In 1998, the Guinness Book of World Records announced that "No female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world." In 2000, Madonna starred in the movie The Next Best Thing, and recorded two songs for the film's soundtrack. One was a cover of Don McLean's song "American Pie", which stalled at #29--never remake a classic!
Madonna released her eighth studio album, Music, which topped album charts in over twenty countries, and became her first U.S. #1 since Like a Prayer 11 years earlier. The title song was #1 in the U.K., the U.K., Canada, Australia, Switzerland and Italy, and was #2 in Germany, #5 in Austria and #8 in France. The single was certified Platinum, Madonna's 20th single to sell at least one million copies, and her fourth to go over two million.
The album sold four million copies in the first ten days. "Don't Tell Me" became Madonna's 17th #1 song in Italy, a position she also attained in Canada. The single also hit #4 in the United States and the U.K. and reached #7 in Australia, and gave Madonna her sixth career ASCAP Pop Award.
Music was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, while the title song earned nominations for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Both "Don't Tell Me" and "Music" earned BMI Pop Awards as Most Performed Songs. The album has now sold three million copies in the United States and 15 around the globe.
In 2000, Madonna married movie director Guy Ritchie. She began her fifth concert tour the following April. Madonna's tour of the U.S. and Europe was the top-grossing tour of the year by a solo artist, earning $75 million. Madonna received a Grammy nomination for Best Short Form Music Video for "Don't Tell Me", and an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video.
Madonna released her next compilation, GHV2, which has gone over one million units in the United States and seven million worldwide. She then starred in her husband's movie, Swept Away, and appeared in the 2002 London play Up For Grabs.
Later in the year, Madonna released the single "Die Another Day" from the James Bond movie of the same name. The song became yet another #1 in Italy, and also topped charts in Canada and Switzerland, and hit #2 in Austria, #3 in the U.K., #4 in Germany and #8 in the United States.
Madonna had a cameo appearance in the movie, and was nominated for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture at the Golden Globe Awards. The song also earned nominations at the Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video, and a nomination for Best Video from a Film at the MTV Video Music Awards.
In 2003, Madonna won her third career American Music Award, this time for International Artist of the Year. She released the album American Life. The title song reached #1 in Canada, Italy and Switzerland, #2 in the U.K., and was #7 in both Australia and Austria, but a meager #37 in the United States.
American Life has sold one million albums in the U.S. and five million total. Madonna's next four singles releases, however, failed to be universal hits. Madonna signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to write five children's books. The first, The English Roses in 2003, was a New York Times Best Seller and the fastest-selling children's picture book of all-time.
Meanwhile, Madonna's business venture, Maverick Entertainment, was involved in lawsuits which resulted in Warner Music Group being allowed to purchase shares of Maverick.
Madonna's world tour in 2004 was the highest-grossing tour of the year, earning near $120 million. She filmed a tour documentary called I'm Going to Tell You a Secret. In 2005, Madonna performed John Lennon's classic "Imagine" at Tsunami Aid, and also performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London.
In 2005, Madonna released the album Confessions on a Dance Floor, which has sold one million copies in the U.S. and twelve million worldwide. The album went to #1 in 40 countries, while the lead single, "Hung Up", was a #1 song in 41 countries, with the United States being the only major country to not rank the song at #1 (#7). It did, however, go Platinum in the U.S., and tied Madonna with Elvis Presley for the Rock Era record with 36 Top 10 singles.
Madonna was nominated or Video of the Year, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Madonna's follow-up, "Sorry", peaked at the embarrassing position of #58 in the United States. It was a Top 10 hit everywhere else, giving her a twelfth #1 in the U.K., also topping the Italian chart, and reaching #2 in Canada, #4 in Australia and Switzerland, #5 in Germany and France, and #8 in Austria.
Madonna won her sixth career Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album, and was nominated for Best Dance Recording (for "Get Together") and Best Long Form Music Video (for "I'm Going To Tell You A Secret"). But, like throughout most of her career, Madonna was not nominated nor did she win any of the major awards.
Madonna then went on another world tour in 2006, performing before 1.2 million people, and setting a record for the highest-grossing tour by a female artist to date ($193.7 million). She won a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video for the accompanying DVD.
She continued to make enemies, however, as both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia urged their members to boycott the concerts, and The Vatican condemned Madonna as blasphemous. When you have the Catholics, the Orthodox and Jewish people against you, it's nearly universal.
Two additional singles from the album had only spotty success in a few countries.
By this time, however, Madonna had gone over 200 million in albums sold. She launched the clothing line M by Madonna in collaboration with retailer H&M in 2006.
Madonna left Warner Brothers, and signed a ten-year deal with Live Nation. She wrote and produced the documentary I Am Because We Are about problems faced by Malawians, and then directed the movie Filth and Wisdom.
In 2008, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She released the album Hard Candy, which reached #1 in 37 countries. "4 Minutes" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, while "Give It 2 (sic) Me" was nominated for Best Dance Recording.
Madonna again toured to support her album, and her set of concerts grossed $280 million, breaking her own record at the time by a solo artist. The tour added European dates, and all told, pulled in $408 million.
Madonna filed for divorce from Ritchie in 2008. The following year, she released another compilation, Celebration. The album went to #1 in the U.K., tying her with Elvis Presley for the most solo number one albums on that chart.
At the conclusion of the decade, Madonna was the best-selling single artist in the United States and the most-played artist in the U.K. She ranked behind only the Rolling Stones and U2 with a concert gross of $801 million from 2000-2009, with 6.3 million people attending her shows and 244 sell-outs.
In 2010, Madonna performed at the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert. She released the live album Sticky & Sweet, and a clothing line called Material Girl under the Macy's label. She also opened several fitness centers around the world named Hard Candy Fitness, a partnership with 24 Hour Fitness. In 2011, Madonna and MG Icon announced a second fashion brand called Truth or Dare by Madonna.
Madonna directed another movie, W.E. She recorded the song "Masterpiece" for the soundtrack album, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture. Madonna performed at halftime of Super Bowl XLVI.
In 2012, Madonna released the album MDNA, which went to #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, Italy and Spain, #2 in Switzerland and France and #3 in Germany and Austria. The single "Move" reached #1 in Canada, #2 in Italy, #3 in France, #6 in Switzerland, #8 in Germany and #10 in the U.S.
Madonna's subsequent tour grossed $305.2 million from 88 sold-out shows, the top tour of 2012 and the ninth highest-grossing tour of all-time. Madonna won Billboard Music Awards for the Top Touring Artist, Top Dance Artist and Top Dance Album.
Madonna's Raising Malawi organization has now built ten schools in that country to educate 4,871 children.
Madonna earned the first four World Music Award nominations of her career in the upcoming show from Monte-Carlo: Best Female Artist, Best World Album (for MDNA) and Best World Song and Best World Video (for "Give Me All Your Luvin (sic)").
Madonna was nominated for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 but did not win.
Madonna's voice has always been more than adequate, and she writes catchy tunes. But her real strength is her ability to market herself, and to constantly reinvent herself.
Madonna has won seven Grammy Awards in her career out of 28 nominations. She has three career wins in the American Music Awards out of 17 nominations. Madonna has 39 Billboard Music Awards to her credit out of 40 nominations. She also received two Golden Globe Awards from seven nominations, and one People's Choice Award. Madonna has won eight MTV Video Music Awards with 31 career nominations. She was the first female to win the Video Vanguard Award from MTV.
Madonna has now sold over 300 million records worldwide, and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the best-selling female recording artist of all-time. In the United States, she is a distant second to Barbra Streisand with 64.5 million albums sold.
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