Madonna's Most Unusual/Questionable/Strange Moves

[albertogerard]

This is my list of things that have "bothered" me about M through the years. If you can shed light on any of these, please do.

10. Pulling the "American Life" video. Nuff said.

9. Has Yet to perform "Take A Bow" on tour. Madonna's longest running #1 hit on the Billboard. Maybe she's saving it for her "Take A Bow" farewell tour?

8. Her public inconsistencies. Madonna DOESN'T watch tv, yet claims her favorite show is The Office(Yes, I'm aware she could have bought the DVD's but still, it's a TV show). Has never eaten a slice of New York pizza? Right. When you're starving in NYC, it's one of the cheapest things to get. Not likely.

7. Ricky Martin. Madonna once said that if she were to do a duet with Michael Jackson, she didn't want it to be some "schmaltzy" ballad. Yet, that's exactly what we got with Mr. Livin' La Vida Loca. I remember when word got out that Ricky & M were doing a duet, every fag I knew nearly wet their pants. Then they heard it. THUD.

6. Bad Girl/Fever. After the commercial disappointment of Erotica, M releases Bad Girl as the 3rd single. Huh? Aside from performing it on Saturday Night Live, that was it. Fever on the other hand got the royal treatment. Endless remixes. Madonna performed it on SNL, Arsenio Hall & made it one of the highlights of The Girlie Show, apparently Bad Girl wasn't good enough for her show.

5. Directing. Madonna never directed one of her own videos. Hell, Cyndi Lauper & Mariah Carey did. Madonna said she made Filth & Wisdom because she needed to do something "small" before directing something "epic". Why not one of her own videos?

4.Nothing Really Matters at the Grammy's. Yes, she looked FIERCE. Another iconic look to add to her list. I never understood why she chose NRM instead Ray of Light, which would have made more sense, seeing as it was up for Record & Song of the Year. Instead she picked a generic song that many saw as forgettable. I realize that the single had just been released and was trying to promote it...Which brings me to...

3. Madonna's Corporate Schizophrenia. Let's face it, Madonna wants to sell as many records as she possibly can, at least that's what she told Matt Lauer in 2003. Yet she seemingly does everything in her power to prevent that. Examples: the forementioned Bad Girl. In 1994 Warners wanted to release "Don't Stop" or "Inside Of Me" as the 3rd single but Madonna picked "Bedtime Story, a song she HAD to know would probably not get airplay in the U.S. In 2001, radio wanted "Amazing", Madonna snubbed her nose at the idea. For Hard Candy, she could have kept momentum from 4 Minutes by releasing DWRY, Beat Goes On etc etc. I realize Madonna doesn't like to repeat herself and remain cutting edge but, you can't have your cake & eat it too.

2. Seemingly not caring about her legacy. For example, fans had waited YEARS for a complete video retrospective. Videos are one her biggest contributions to pop culture. Yet she allows WB to censor "Justify My Love" because WAL-MART would disapprove? WTF?! What happened to "I will not compromise my artistic integrity"?

1. I'm Breathless. Before the release of IB, Madonna was MTV's most played artist. A younger audience was discovering her again. And her biggest rivals on the charts were Paula Abdul & Janet Jackson. Then, because of Madonna's obsession with becoming a movie star, she loses all momentum with her MTV audience by releasing an album that NO self respecting teen would be caught dead listening to. I'm thinking this is when Madonna became irrelevant with "kids". Am I wrong?

Perhaps I've answered my own questions with some of these but, these things have bugged me for awhile. Do you guys have anything to add to these?

[Kurt420]

1. I'm Breathless. Before the release of IB, Madonna was MTV's most played artist. A younger audience was discovering her again. And her biggest rivals on the charts were Paula Abdul & Janet Jackson. Then, because of Madonna's obsession with becoming a movie star, she loses all momentum with her MTV audience by releasing an album that NO self respecting teen would be caught dead listening to. I'm thinking this is when Madonna became irrelevant with "kids". Am I wrong?

I think IB continued the trend, but I've always thought the irrelevance with the kids (at least in comparison to LAV and TB eras) began with LAP. Sure the song LAP was probably her biggest hit at the time but the subjects she touched on with the album and just her image in general became a bit more mature...just a little darker. She wasn't just singing feel good pop songs anymore. I'm not sure she was relateable to teens at this point compared to before. In comparison to Janet and Paula's albums, LAP fell short in sales and sold half of what TB sold 3 years earlier.

[agclef]

Boy, you've really given this a lot of thought and thought this one through...

DEAD-WRONG on your number 1 statement though. 'I'm Breathless' barely made an impact so it's unlikely that it made her irrelevant to a younger audience, that comes naturally with age and the fickleness of the general buying public over time.

[GimmeSomeMo]

I like that Madonna is not constantly sales oriented and will follow her creative muse even if it means less sales (releasing Bedtime Story, botching Amazing as a single, releasing Erotica as a whole when she could have released another album full of radio ready perfect pop singles etc.)

[Ai Papi Si.]

I thank ye gods for #9. What a dud that would be on tour.

[nightcutter]

TAB will be good on tour one day. But it will need some remix treatment.

I like the bootleg mix by Density 54. That is really good. And would sound good live.

At the time TAB was one of the most unlikely songs ever for her to record. I'm not suprised it isn't on her radar. I would even say I bet she hates the song now.

But she has bigger sounding ballads that can impress more in an arena/stadium setting than TAB.

I'm sure she realizes that her days of teen adoration are long gone. I'm sure she isn't really worried that much. She cannot compete in terms of age, and media support with new acts like GaGa. But I think she may get more sales than might be predicted for her next album seeing that r'n'b is definitely on the wane in the UK (and US I believe). Even Usher has gone pop.

Some of her decisions have been odd. I think projects that she drops like stones (e.g Bad Girl) are possibly because she put a lot of emotional effort into them. For them to fail probably hurts so she never revisits it.

I think IB may have sold more copies than LAP in the UK or at least come close to it. Anyway Blond Ambition and TIC certainly regained any footing she may have lost with IB.

I think the withdrawing of the AL video was a major damage limitation exercise in more than one way. Not only because the concept of the video was poor but because the single itself was shit and early reviews of the album were poor. I really do think they were going to go all out for Hollywood as the more definitive intro to the project (a la Mimi and Obsessed v IWKWLI). But the damage was done. The media were pretty bored with her at that point.

Lets just hope that the next post-greatest-hits album doesn't suffer the same poor commercial and review fate of Erotica and AL.

And of course she watches TV. I expect she is just very selective with what she watches - like most adults!

[gemini1313]

i hear you dude.

i must say though, Madonna wants to sell reocords yes, but still, she overrides corporate single choinces,

only bcuz she releases and enjoys songs that SHE will ENJOY to SHARE * PERFORM publicly.

she calls the shots.

if given the chance, im sure you would too.

[BoyToy]

I like that Madonna is not constantly sales oriented and will follow her creative muse even if it means less sales (releasing Bedtime Story, botching Amazing as a single, releasing Erotica as a whole when she could have released another album full of radio ready perfect pop singles etc.)

[ryan]

blah blah blah

[Apples388]

I disagree with most of these.

[Lucky guy]

The public inconsistency thing (they are lies really, let's be fair) just seems to be a personal habit. My Dad is a bit like that, when he's re-telling a story it's usually been embellished or given a different slant, but to him at that moment it's the truth. It pisses me off, but some people are like that.

It's not a strange move, but that Parky interview where she suddenly talks about going to Paris and being driven around in a Limousine before she hit big, and then turning down the deal because it 'felt wrong'? Um, no. There's a lot more to that story than meets the eye.

[loomer]

Interesting. I'm Breathless did have "Vogue" tacked on to sweeten it, of course. She was red hot then so the album didn't matter as much.

"Vogue" solidified all she'd done and recovered the aforementioned slacking sales of LAP, making Madonna top again, usurping Pauline Abdul and Janice. I love how it was the biggest selling single of the year in the US, UK sales were disappointing and low overall for singles in 1990

[jonski43]

I'm soooo glad she released Bedtime Story. I love the song, the video and the remixes. I think TAB should have been shelved in the UK for Love Tried to Welcome Me or possibly Inside of Me. It tanked and I think the latter two were better for the UK market.

As for 'Amazing', it was just a Beautiful Stranger clone - we all wanted Impressive Instant. Major screw up by Warner's.

I'm impressed with how she sticks to her guns - that is artistic integrity even if it leaves us banging our heads against a wall. If I could, I would have completely remixed AL, retitled it and repackaged it but ultimately, that is the record she wanted to present to us for better or worse.

[Guest Evil M]

This is my list of things that have "bothered" me about M through the years. If you can shed light on any of these, please do.

10. Pulling the "American Life" video. Nuff said.

7. Ricky Martin. Madonna once said that if she were to do a duet with Michael Jackson, she didn't want it to be some "schmaltzy" ballad. Yet, that's exactly what we got with Mr. Livin' La Vida Loca. I remember when word got out that Ricky & M were doing a duet, every fag I knew nearly wet their pants. Then they heard it. THUD.

6. Bad Girl/Fever. After the commercial disappointment of Erotica, M releases Bad Girl as the 3rd single. Huh? Aside from performing it on Saturday Night Live, that was it. Fever on the other hand got the royal treatment. Endless remixes. Madonna performed it on SNL, Arsenio Hall & made it one of the highlights of The Girlie Show, apparently Bad Girl wasn't good enough for her show.

3. Madonna's Corporate Schizophrenia. Let's face it, Madonna wants to sell as many records as she possibly can, at least that's what she told Matt Lauer in 2003. Yet she seemingly does everything in her power to prevent that. Examples: the forementioned Bad Girl. In 1994 Warners wanted to release "Don't Stop" or "Inside Of Me" as the 3rd single but Madonna picked "Bedtime Story, a song she HAD to know would probably not get airplay in the U.S. In 2001, radio wanted "Amazing", Madonna snubbed her nose at the idea. For Hard Candy, she could have kept momentum from 4 Minutes by releasing DWRY, Beat Goes On etc etc. I realize Madonna doesn't like to repeat herself and remain cutting edge but, you can't have your cake & eat it too.

Perhaps I've answered my own questions with some of these but, these things have bugged me for awhile. Do you guys have anything to add to these?

These points are the only ones I can seriously agree with.

I hate how she says she won't do something, i.e. do a cheesy you sing a verse/i'll sing a verse duet or try to sound like everyone else, and then ends up doing duets with Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and a WHOLE ALBUM with Timbalad, Timberlake and Pharell.

Plus, her singles choices are bizarre. If she even bothers to release them these days.

[loomer]

I'm soooo glad she released Bedtime Story. I love the song, the video and the remixes. I think TAB should have been shelved in the UK for Love Tried to Welcome Me or possibly Inside of Me. It tanked and I think the latter two were better for the UK market.

As for 'Amazing', it was just a Beautiful Stranger clone - we all wanted Impressive Instant. Major screw up by Warner's.

I'm impressed with how she sticks to her guns - that is artistic integrity even if it leaves us banging our heads against a wall. If I could, I would have completely remixed AL, retitled it and repackaged it but ultimately, that is the record she wanted to present to us for better or worse.

It was remixed though wasn't it? The record company were appalled with what she presented to them and made her go back and re-record it. So that's another example of commercial cowardice.

As for TAB, didn't it just get lost in the Xmas market. It actually sold better than some supposed hits that were top 10.

[Guest Evil M]

It was remixed though wasn't it? The record company were appalled with what she presented to them and made her go back and re-record it. So that's another example of commercial cowardice.

As for TAB, didn't it just get lost in the Xmas market. It actually sold better than some supposed hits that were top 10.

allegedly.

What proof of that was there other than some tabloid article?

[loomer]

Was it in the tabloids? I thought Madonna sites had reported it. It makes a lot of sense...

[Supernatural]

This is my list of things that have "bothered" me about M through the years. If you can shed light on any of these, please do.

10. Pulling the "American Life" video. Nuff said.

9. Has Yet to perform "Take A Bow" on tour. Madonna's longest running #1 hit on the Billboard. Maybe she's saving it for her "Take A Bow" farewell tour?

8. Her public inconsistencies. Madonna DOESN'T watch tv, yet claims her favorite show is The Office(Yes, I'm aware she could have bought the DVD's but still, it's a TV show). Has never eaten a slice of New York pizza? Right. When you're starving in NYC, it's one of the cheapest things to get. Not likely.

7. Ricky Martin. Madonna once said that if she were to do a duet with Michael Jackson, she didn't want it to be some "schmaltzy" ballad. Yet, that's exactly what we got with Mr. Livin' La Vida Loca. I remember when word got out that Ricky & M were doing a duet, every fag I knew nearly wet their pants. Then they heard it. THUD.

6. Bad Girl/Fever. After the commercial disappointment of Erotica, M releases Bad Girl as the 3rd single. Huh? Aside from performing it on Saturday Night Live, that was it. Fever on the other hand got the royal treatment. Endless remixes. Madonna performed it on SNL, Arsenio Hall & made it one of the highlights of The Girlie Show, apparently Bad Girl wasn't good enough for her show.

5. Directing. Madonna never directed one of her own videos. Hell, Cyndi Lauper & Mariah Carey did. Madonna said she made Filth & Wisdom because she needed to do something "small" before directing something "epic". Why not one of her own videos?

4.Nothing Really Matters at the Grammy's. Yes, she looked FIERCE. Another iconic look to add to her list. I never understood why she chose NRM instead Ray of Light, which would have made more sense, seeing as it was up for Record & Song of the Year. Instead she picked a generic song that many saw as forgettable. I realize that the single had just been released and was trying to promote it...Which brings me to...

3. Madonna's Corporate Schizophrenia. Let's face it, Madonna wants to sell as many records as she possibly can, at least that's what she told Matt Lauer in 2003. Yet she seemingly does everything in her power to prevent that. Examples: the forementioned Bad Girl. In 1994 Warners wanted to release "Don't Stop" or "Inside Of Me" as the 3rd single but Madonna picked "Bedtime Story, a song she HAD to know would probably not get airplay in the U.S. In 2001, radio wanted "Amazing", Madonna snubbed her nose at the idea. For Hard Candy, she could have kept momentum from 4 Minutes by releasing DWRY, Beat Goes On etc etc. I realize Madonna doesn't like to repeat herself and remain cutting edge but, you can't have your cake & eat it too.

2. Seemingly not caring about her legacy. For example, fans had waited YEARS for a complete video retrospective. Videos are one her biggest contributions to pop culture. Yet she allows WB to censor "Justify My Love" because WAL-MART would disapprove? WTF?! What happened to "I will not compromise my artistic integrity"?

1. I'm Breathless. Before the release of IB, Madonna was MTV's most played artist. A younger audience was discovering her again. And her biggest rivals on the charts were Paula Abdul & Janet Jackson. Then, because of Madonna's obsession with becoming a movie star, she loses all momentum with her MTV audience by releasing an album that NO self respecting teen would be caught dead listening to. I'm thinking this is when Madonna became irrelevant with "kids". Am I wrong?

Perhaps I've answered my own questions with some of these but, these things have bugged me for awhile. Do you guys have anything to add to these?

9- It's a boring song.

8- I think Madonna says she doesn't watch TV or read papers so that the people who use it as an outlet to trash her can be under the impression that she isn't going to hear it. Defense mechanism.

7- She saw RM at the Grammies and wanted to get on that ASAP so they ended up recording a thowaway track. RM was never going to offer anything to a colaboration, anyway.

6- Fever was there to aide Bad Girl, there was only so much you can do with that track- as good as it may be it was never going to be commercial. Madonna probably just wanted to do the Bad Girl video (also see #3).

3. It's not just about selling records for her. Yes she wants to sell a lot but there's many other things she wants to do and I think that should be common information for her fans. Sometimes these things set her back in the sales department. Madonna obviously wanted Bedtime Story and Human Nature because of their music videos, while Inside Of Me and Don't Stop could have maybe done better and had Mariah Carey style videos but years later nobody would care anymore (while BS and HN remain fan favorites, at the very least). I think she made the right decision, especially coming off the radio made Take A Bow.

2. I don't think it's that easy. What if Warner refused to release it at all if they couldn't sell it in WalMart, etc. Was she even informed?

1. I can remember thinking when IB was released that people were going to buy it and probably never buy another Madonna album again... but I don't think it did any damage in the long run.

[Guest nothingfails0603]

I think IB continued the trend, but I've always thought the irrelevance with the kids (at least in comparison to LAV and TB eras) began with LAP. Sure the song LAP was probably her biggest hit at the time but the subjects she touched on with the album and just her image in general became a bit more mature...just a little darker. She wasn't just singing feel good pop songs anymore. I'm not sure she was relateable to teens at this point compared to before. In comparison to Janet and Paula's albums, LAP fell short in sales and sold half of what TB sold 3 years earlier.

I agree with Kurt on this.

I was a little grade school kid, but I was aware what others were into. I was in first grade when True Blue was big, and I remember the eighth grade girls loved me because I would sing along with them to Madonna songs, and the older kids who were into hard rock thought she was hot. I was in third/fourth grade when Like A Prayer was big. Those girls were now in high school and replaced by people who more cared for Paula Abdul and thought Madonna was a whore. I remember only one other kid in my class who liked Madonna in 1989, everyone else was into Paula Abdul, Guns N' Roses and NKOTB. Madonna was old news and a slut and I was being called a fag for liking her. Janet wasn't particularly popular around then either, it was all about Paula Abdul at my school in 89 and 90.

[Guest nothingfails0603]

I thank ye gods for #9. What a dud that would be on tour.

I can think of more exciting songs, but I wouldn't be upset if she decided to take a break from La Isla Bonita, Ray Of Light and Music and added Take A Bow to the next tour.

[Guest nothingfails0603]

I never thought IB was a make or break album in any form. Sure "Vogue" was placed on there to sell more records but it was promoted as a 40's inspired album from the get-go and I don't think it was meant to help or hurt her any more than Who's That Girl or You Can dance, just a fun album done to promote a summer blockbuster with her getting into character and making that type of music knowing it was a one-off thing.

[Guest]

It was remixed though wasn't it? The record company were appalled with what she presented to them and made her go back and re-record it. So that's another example of commercial cowardice.

It isn't cowardice. I have to address this general idea. When you sign a recording contract it may be for the next five or ten years/albums in advance. The record company has a lot of say in what goes on with your input. The artist and RC might not always agree, but to have some success they have to work together for each other. Sometimes artists contracts mean that they are held to a position which means they have to undertake certain tasks they do not wish to. There are a lot of choices to make in life. It's silly to say that she is ignoring her creativity and sacrificing it simply because she collaborates with other artists and her record company.

Secondly I don't 'WATCH' TV, but I do have a concept of certain programmes etc every now and again. I might catch a glimpse of it over at a friends, or they might put on a DVD to introduce me to something or send me a link of a youtube video. I think what Madonna means is that she doesn't veg out in front of it. She doesn't give it much time and she certainly doesn't seem to give it much power. She's said that there ARE decent things on TV, but she believes it supresses your creativity and imagination etc. I think her position on the matter is clear and consistent, but then I understand what it's like to not come home and immediately switch on the Television. Some people don't understand that you can find out about things without having to be a couch potato.

[albertogerard]

I like that Madonna is not constantly sales oriented and will follow her creative muse even if it means less sales (releasing Bedtime Story, botching Amazing as a single, releasing Erotica as a whole when she could have released another album full of radio ready perfect pop singles etc.)

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that Madonna does things like this. I was just thinking out loud really, just random thoughts. As a lot of Madonna obsesssed people, I probably spend too much time thinking about her. I mean do I really want Madonna to pull out Take A Bow for a tour? No. I do however, wonder why she hasn't. Is it because as someone already mentioned, she probably doesn't like the song or for some other reason? Anyhow, thanks GimmeSomeMo for your insight.

[albertogerard]

These points are the only ones I can seriously agree with.

I hate how she says she won't do something, i.e. do a cheesy you sing a verse/i'll sing a verse duet or try to sound like everyone else, and then ends up doing duets with Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and a WHOLE ALBUM with Timbalad, Timberlake and Pharell.

Plus, her singles choices are bizarre. If she even bothers to release them these days.

Oh man, am I with you on that one. It's funny, as I was reading your post, I suddenly remembered Madonna saying "Never Say Never".

[Supernatural]

I mean do I really want Madonna to pull out Take A Bow for a tour? No. I do however, wonder why she hasn't. Is it because as someone already mentioned, she probably doesn't like the song or for some other reason?

Hard to sing live?

[Guest nothingfails0603]

Hard to sing live?

Lament was certainly not an easy song to sing live, and ROL has some pretty hard notes to sing and she does that every go-round

[Glindathegood]

Hard to sing live?

Don't think it's that. I think it's more that the lyrics give the impression that a performer's career is over. She doesn't want people to think she is over. That's why she loves Don't Tell Me and Give it to Me. They talk about going on forever.

[IsaacHarris]

I will throw a shoe at her if she ever tries to sing Take A Bow on tour.

[Guest bluejean]

The only things I haven't liked about Madonna are:

- Her crappo films and less tours as a result.

- American Pie, Imagine covers.

- Her fake british accent of the 00's.

- Her plastic surgery.

- Her children's books.

- Her constant snub of Australia.

Most of those things I can live with. I don't mind the way she contradicts herself, it seems normal to me. I'm sure most people do the same thing, and we're analysing almost 30 years of quotes there.

[GimmeSomeMo]

The only thing I dislike about Madonna is Mehsus and the surgery. How MIDLIFE CRISIS. She should have known better.