Why is Madonna so popular?

[jasc15]

She is held up as some legend.  What did she do differently from all the other 80's pop singers?

[Zook]

Spikey boobs.

[Adami]

She had sex with every single one of her fans from the 80's.

[Arcaeus]

She had sex with every single one of her fans from the 80's.

Exactly this.

[Progmetty]

She used to be hot.

[Adami]

She used to be hot.

I'd still hit it.

[KevShmev]

-Good, catchy pop songs
-Sex appeal (although I never thought she was that attractive, but she knew how to present herself, move, what to wear, etc.)
-Creative and edgy videos that got constant MTV play back in the 80s and 90s
-She knew exactly how to market herself to appeal to her target audience

[SPNKr]

Just on RYM looking at her albums. She made an album called Erotica *dips sunglasses*.

Btw Kev, that's your 4000th post!!

[sneakyblueberry]

Because sex

[mizzl]

Because she keeps taking on other forms/personalities.

[PixelDream]

Because she was never the trendfollower, but the trendsetter.

For the musical style of a new album, she would always turn to the underground, to see what's there. For example, for her album 'Ray of Light', she worked with William Orbit, and for 'Music' she turned to some kind of underground French Techno artist.

[SPNKr]

Because she was never the trendfollower, but the trendsetter.

For the musical style of a new album, she would always turn to the underground, to see what's there. For example, for her album 'Ray of Light', she worked with William Orbit, and for 'Music' she turned to some kind of underground French Techno artist.

Music! Man was that a hit nine years ago, I think I loved that song at the time

[Zydar]

Because she made brilliant pop singles in the 80s and sold huge amounts of records. This was under the golden era of MTV.

[Arcaeus]

Thank you.

lol @ prog snobs

[SPNKr]

So where would be a good start into Madonna?

[Zook]

Her vagina.

[SPNKr]

Her vagina.

Good answer.

[cthrubuoy]

Her vagina.

[wolfking]

One hot MILF if you ask me.  When she took on the Marylin Monroe image around Justify my Love and Vogue, she was so incredibly hot, she was perfect.

Her sex appeal is undeniable.

[Jamesman42]

Her vagina.

You win one internet. I'm not ashamed to tell you that.

[Fluffy Lothario]

I only have Ray of Light, but it's incredible, and I've heard plenty of other songs I really liked, so I'll be getting more albums in time.

I just find her music to be better than most pop, and as PixelDream said earlier, I think it has to do with her always handpicking and working with the exact producers she wants. I don't know the extent of her involvement in the writing of her music - I'd say that it was less in her early days - but she definitely has quite some hand in it, and a LOT in how the music sounds as a final product.

Madonna is like some meticulously marketed brand. She's in almost complete control of her image at any point in time, and that inevitably reflects on how people perceive the music.

I couldn't tell you if that's very different from other pop stars in the 80s, but she's definitely done it for a long time and done it well.

[j]

All I know is that if I hear a Madonna song somewhere, I usually can't get it out of my head for the rest of the day.  That's gotta be worth something.

Also her sluttiness during the 80s and 90s, as others have said.

-J

[lonestar]

I'll give an honest answer from a fogey who was in high school when she came out.  I was into Maiden and Slayer and Metallica at the time, and a buddy of mine(who was not, he was a latino and a breakdancer) popped Modanna into his car stereo and told me to check it out.  I think the song was Lucky Star, and though it wasn't my style, the beat was infectious.  I later saw the video, and what she looked like and her style, and had an instant flashback to MJ and Thriller.  I knew that her style and beat and look was going to be a female MJ.  Not that I was being a guru or anything, but at the time, that was the effect. that no matter how she changed her style or music, it was going to work.

[Jakartabassplayer]

Because she keeps taking on other forms/personalities.

Also a reason Bowie kept Popular

[Zook]

Her vagina.

You win one internet. I'm not ashamed to tell you that.

*takes a bow*

[DREAMS FTIME45]

Madonna won't be popular for much longer I am afraid.
Lady Gaga will pick up where Madonna leaves only Lady Gaga will do it better.

[Fluffy Lothario]

Completely wild and baseless predictions FTW.

The rise of one pop artist doesn't immediately mean the fall of another.

Not to mention that Madonna isn't popular right now, not pop radio popular, anyway. She's going through a quiet period.

[SPNKr]

Completely wild and baseless predictions FTW.

The rise of one pop artist doesn't immediately mean the fall of another.

Not to mention that Madonna isn't popular right now, not pop radio popular, anyway. She's going through a quiet period.

All of this, thank you sir.

[CrimsonE]

Madonna was one of the first artists, and I believe the first female artist, to really take advantage of the image-consciousness of the MTV era.  She had a very provocative image at the outset, and yet she always managed to adapt to the times.  Plus, she had no problem stirring controversy, whether it was writing onstage in a bridal gown on the MTV music awards, singing a song about pregnancy and abortion, or including Christ imagery in her video Like a Prayer.  And she only took it to another level in the 90's with Justify My Love (a video too racy for MTV), and her book Sex. And when image petered out a bit as her driving force, she reinvented herself in the mid 90's with some solid dance-oriented albums. 

[emindead]

Madonna won't be popular for much longer I am afraid.
Lady Gaga will pick up where Madonna leaves only Lady Gaga will do it better.

I agree with you. Though the same was said with Britney.

[KevShmev]

FYI, for anyone who still enjoys her music, some of the songs from her newest album are quite good.  Check out:

Some Girls
Love Spent
Beautiful Killer

[kirksnosehair]

-Good, catchy pop songs
-Sex appeal (although I never thought she was that attractive, but she knew how to present herself, move, what to wear, etc.)
-Creative and edgy videos that got constant MTV play back in the 80s and 90s
-She knew exactly how to market herself to appeal to her target audience

Pretty much these.  She's not that great of a vocalist, but she's a hell of a performer and her live shows are -even to this day- a spectacle. 

[chknptpie]

woah necro thread!

[Phoenix87x]

So where would be a good start into Madonna?

I would say Bedtime Stories. Its a solid album from beginning to end and its pretty laid back.

Also check out the songs Live to Tell, The look of love, and Love don't Live here anymore.

besides that True Blue is another pretty strong album.