Madonna 6.5: still ahead of everyone

And Madonna beats her contemporaries Michael Jackson, George Michael, and Whitney Houston completing 65 years of life in the midst of preparations for a tour to celebrate 40 years of career (completed in July 2023, when she celebrated the anniversary of the release of her first album ). I don’t like to mention her age because Madonna has been one of the main targets of ageism for at least 25 years. But it is impossible. We managed to celebrate Mick Jagger‘s 80th birthday by praising his on-stage sway, but Madonna? It’s almost a “How dare you still dance after 60?” Yes, misogyny and ageism. She deserves more.

If there’s one thing Madonna has taught her worldwide following of worshippers, it’s that strength is part of her legacy. Short, with a small voice and an ego that is triple her height, she never saw negatives as limiting. If her music is exposed to harsher criticism for being pop and not necessarily complex, her personality has always been at least 20 years ahead of everyone else, whether in fashion, speech, or art. That can’t be taken away from her.

Madonna Louise Ciccone had a trajectory that today can be considered ‘quick’ because she became a star at 23 and became a world fever at 25. Compared to Michael Jackson, however, who was a legend since she was little, she celebrated having had “a life” before becoming an idol. So ironic and young! In the 1980s, when we said the world was obsessed with her it was because her only rival on magazine covers or paparazzi hounding was Princess Diana. Just to understand “what was Madonna”. She was the most famous woman on the planet, no exaggeration. And she loved.

Interest in her has waned over the last 15 years, with the power of social media and other (younger) stars taking her space. For always talking about equity, pan genres, among some other flags, Madonna ran into unpopularity among conservatives and her music did not have enough strength to overcome the strong competition. Not her movies. Madonna, who also anticipated the wave of reality documentaries that controlled the narrative with the spectacular Truth or Dare back in 1990, is better when she’s just herself.

The grandeur and theatrics of concerts today – with cast dancers and screens supporting the singers – may not have been created by her, but they certainly gained relevance because of Madonna. The Virgin Tour, in 1985, had two dancers as backing vocals, but from True Blue, it increased and today it is a Broadway or Cirque du Soleil show. Everyone copies and no one comes close to her.

In 2023, the world held its breath when the news that the singer was found lifeless for a few minutes in her room, after the exhaustive rehearsals of the 40th anniversary tour, reminded us frighteningly of the fate of Prince and Michael Jackson. She was hospitalized, officially because of a bacterial infection and has only now been seen to be circulating and doing well. Immortality is something that sadly no star on Earth has, but we’re not ready to be without Madonna.

Her biopic project – Live to Tell – was shelved after two years of intense work. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t want to hand the project over to someone else to write or direct. But that wasn’t why she didn’t score, of course. The time she always weaves into her lyrics as her challenge or antagonist, she always sings that she doesn’t have enough to lose, and may have caught up with the race in the field that turned out to be the worst: age. At age 65, Madonna no longer speaks to younger generations. Even Britney Spears fans, today all over 30, she even managed to play, but she is light years away from delighting Taylor Swift Swifties or Billie Eilish fans. I say as a witness at home.

It’s a pity for current generations because if diversity is possible today, much is due to Madonna’s pioneering spirit. Sex, religion, or nudity have never been out of her sight. The search for a better world, which comes from his connection with Kaballah since the early 2000s, surpassed the independent love songs that marked the 1980s. And that’s the fun: Into the Groove was a girl who challenged her partner to keep up with her rhythm (and not her asking him to let her follow him), Unapologetic Bitch already discards him without any regret for not deserving -there. Empowerment – above the feminine or gender – has been at the heart of Madonna’s message for four decades. There is consistency in her view.

Having said all that, she was still torn on trying to go see her on stage when she returns at Celebration 40. Her choreography details aren’t always appreciated on stage and she was thinking of waiting for the bluray. On the other hand, she deserves our love and respect. Mick Jagger rolls around and does shows at 80. I want Madonna until she’s 100. We have 35 years of the Queen if all goes well! Let’s not let time pass. Congrats Madonna!