Biography of Madonna
The most controversial female artist of the last thirty years has never received her critical due in spite of massive worldwide success. Her unabashed sexual confidence, her canny marketing sense, her support of gay causes, her interracial relationships, and her consistent exposing of the hypocrisy of our male-dominated society have made her the scorn of critics and social commentators; she's been lambasted everywhere, from Rolling Stone to Entertainment Tonight. But Madonna's music deserves to be heard on its own terms. She's been a trailblazing and innovative force in dance-pop. The formula she set with her first album has been mimicked by some of the hottest acts of the '80s and '90s, including Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. Her celebrity and notoriety, however, would be as vacuous as Cher's if her music weren't so good -- if it didn't ring in the ears and stick in the brain like all classic pop should. ~ John Floyd