Feature

Madonna: The Cash Queen of Music

Dr Binoy Barman

I am an enthusiastic fan of Madonna. I like her songs as I find them a source of aesthetic pleasure. Her songs are soothing as well as exciting -- relaxing and stimulating at the same time. Her music is enriched with the melody of her voice and rhythm of her choreography. The 49-year-old singer has won the hearts of millions around the world with her musical entertainment. She is a talented artist -- the queen of music.

But recently Madonna has been crowned with the honour of another queen. She has been a 'Cash Queen'. In the survey conducted by the Forbes.com, Madonna is now the richest of all the female singers of the world. In other words, she is the highest-earning woman in music. She secured the top Cash Queen position by virtue of her income of $72 million between June 2006 and June 2007.

The total wealth of Madonna is estimated over $325 million. Her personal fortune was boosted by her successful 'Confessions Tour' in 2006, which generated a staggering $260 million worldwide. The tour holds the record for the highest grossing concert tour by a female artist ever. She also benefited financially from working with high street fashion chain H+M, general record sales and her deal with US broadcaster NBC. This is just great.

For determination of Cash Queens, the wealth of other singers was also measured by Forbes. In terms of wealth, the top 10 were: 1. Madonna, 2. Barbra Streisand, 3. Celine Dion, 4. Shakira, 5. Beyonce Knowles, 6. Gwen Stefani, 7. Christina Aguilera, 8. Faith Hill, 9. Dixie Chicks, 10. Mariah Carey. The second place winner Barbra Streisand earned $60 million in the specified time, Celine Dion $45 million, Shakira $38 million, Beyoncé $27 million. The survey made a list of top 20 women who earned a combined fortune of $420 million.

Madonna is a blessed girl in the world of music and show biz. The full name of Madonna is Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie. She was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township. She was born in Bay City, Michigan in the United States on August 16, 1958. Her father was Silvio Tony P. Ciccone and mother Madonna Louise. Her father was a first-generation Italian-American who worked as a Chrysler/General Motors design engineer. Madonna is the third of six children. Her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. Madonna is a distant relative of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Prince Charles. Her mother died of breast cancer at the age of 30 on December 1, 1963. Her father later married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children, Jennifer and Mario. Madonna was married with Guy Ritchie in 2000. She is the mother of three children. Of them, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon was born in 1996 and Rocco John Ritchie in 2000.

In her childhood Madonna attended ballet classes in schools. After graduating from high school, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. In her second year, in 1977, she left the university for New York City to pursue a dance career. Madonna had little money and had to live in poor condition. Madonna wrote: “When I came to New York, it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done.” The lady with only $35 has now turned into the richest singer. It took a time of about 30 years. Fortune favours the brave, after all!

Her Catholic and Italian background had major influences on Madonna's life and career. Her mother's premature death left a lasting emotional burden throughout her adolescence and adulthood. As an entertainer, Madonna has occasionally touched on these subjects in her song lyrics and visual presentation. In her early youth, Modonna took great interest in literature, art and classical music. Baroque was her favorite style, and she loved Chopin because of his 'feminine quality'. She was also influenced by Karen Carpenter, Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde who paved the way for her.

Since her debut in 1982, Madonna has released many chart-topping albums, selling more than 200 million worldwide. Her tenth studio album, the Grammy-winning Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) sold more than eight million copies. Her 'A New Day' show grossed more than $400 million since it opened at Caesars Palace in March 2003. In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records listed Madonna as the “World's Most-successful Female Musician”. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her 36 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. RIAA named Madonna the Best Selling Female Rock Artist of the twentieth century. On March 10, 2008, she will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Madonna formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club in New York in 1979 with musician Dan Gilroy. In it, she sang and played drums and guitar before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray. She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs. Her distinctive style became an iconic female fashion trend in the 1980s.

Her debut album was Madonna, a collection of dance songs. Her hit albums include Like a Virgin, True Blue, You Can Dance, Like a Prayer, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Something to Remember, Ray of Light, The Next Best Thing, Music and American Life. Some of her popular songs are: 'Like a Virgin', 'Crazy for You', 'Angel', 'Material Girl', 'Papa Don't Preach', 'Open Your Heart', 'True Blue', 'La Isla Bonita', 'Causing a Commotion', 'Spotlight', 'Express Yourself', 'Cherish', 'Oh Father', 'Keep It Together', 'Like a Prayer', 'Justify My Love', 'Rescue Me', 'Erotica', 'Where Life Begins', 'Did You Do It', 'I'll Remember', 'Secret', 'Take a Bow', 'Human Nature'. 'Take a Bow', 'I Want You', 'You'll See', 'You Must Love Me', 'Get Together', and 'Hung Up'.

Madonna's 1998 album Ray of Light was one her best creations. Her real mettle was tested in it. There were some Sanskrit shlokas in the album and Madonna could not pronounce them correctly. After some errors in pronunciation, the BBC, London, arranged for her to take telephonic lessons from eminent scholar Dr B P T Vagish Shastri. After that she could perform well. Amazon.com described the album as 'her richest, most accomplished record yet', while Rolling Stone credited Madonna and her co-producer William Orbit for 'creating the first mainstream pop album that successfully embraces techno', stating that musically Ray of Light is her 'most adventurous record' yet. The album won three awards at the 1999 Grammy Awards and has been ranked 363 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Microsoft used the Ray of Light title track in its 2001 advertising campaign Yes you can, to introduce Windows XP.

Madonna acted in films. In 1985, she entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. Later that year, she appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan. In 1990, she starred as 'Breathless' Mahoney in a film adaptation of the popular comic book series Dick Tracy. In 1991, she starred in her first documentary film, Truth or Dare, which chronicled her successful 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, as well as her personal life. The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League of Their Own with a mostly critically praised portrayal of Italian American Mae Mordabito, and recorded the film's theme song, “This Used to Be My Playground”, which became her tenth 1 single in the United States. In 1996, Madonna's most critically successful film, Evita, was released. In 2002, she starred in the film Swept Away.

The conservative mind often hesitates to accept Madonna as a singer in household arena for her extra 'openness'. The “Queen of Pop”, however, has shown a religious bent of mind in her presentation of music. She often uses religious themes and symbols in her work. During Confessions Tour, her use of religious symbols such as the crucifix and crown of thorns in the performance of “Live to Tell” caused controversy. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia urged all members to boycott her concert in Moscow. In Dusseldorf, prosecutors threatened to open an investigation on charges of insulting religious beliefs over her mock crucifixion.

Those who love Madonna's songs must know that she has a big heart for humanity. In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song “Imagine” on the televised US aid concert “Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope”, which raised money for the tsunami victims in Asia. In July 2005, Madonna performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London, run in support of the aims of the UK's Make Poverty History campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty. In October 2006, Madonna flew to Malawi to help build an orphanage, which she also funded as part of the Raising Malawi initiative. During her stay in India in last January she visited some slums to see and help them.

The greatest achievemnt of Madonna is probably being recognised by the scientist community. In 2006 a new water bear species (Latin: Tardigrada), Echiniscus madonnae was named after Madonna. The paper with the description of E. madonnae was published in the international journal of animal taxonomy Zootaxa in March 2006. The authors' justification for the name of the new species was: “We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one of the most significant artists of our times, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie”.

Madonna is a singer-songwriter, musician, dancer, record producer, film producer, actress and author. She is beautiful, physically and mentally. She is rich in health as well as wealth. She is cool and she is hot. She is an empress of the music world. I congratulate on her being elected as the top Cash Queen.

(Photo Source Internet)
The writer is an Assistant Professor of English at Daffodil International University. Email: binoy_barman@yahoo.com