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Live To Tell as a single was one of her riskiest moves


Shane

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I remember being surprised by her look when I saw the video.

However, at the time, I was still in shock that she'd married Jeff Spicoli.

I was a teenager and loved Madonna's persona and look at the time. Like Jan I was somewhat shocked by this song and the video. I remember listening intently to the song and the just watching the video in a calm awe. It was such an interesting turn and she looked so beautiful.

i was nervous because she just gotten married, so i thought she was getting all 'dressed up' with ballads...

but then she cropped her hair off for the At Close Range premiere and while wearing a ball gown she was lugging around a leather jacket! then the True Blue album was released and Papa came and she was in her bustier with nips popping doing her dance routine and then Open Your Heart and puss hanging out with pasties and i knew everything was going to be ok. :rotfl:

really.

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I saw the movie At Close Range on cable recently. I thought it was really sweet how the first credits at the end was for Madonna for the song Live to Tell, and her name was in huge letters compared to everyone else. Was the song nominated or considered for nomination for an Oscar, or did they find some excuse like they always seem to for not giving her the proper recognition? If any song ever deserved to win an Academy Award, it's this one.

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I saw the movie At Close Range on cable recently. I thought it was really sweet how the first credits at the end was for Madonna for the song Live to Tell, and her name was in huge letters compared to everyone else. Was the song nominated or considered for nomination for an Oscar, or did they find some excuse like they always seem to for not giving her the proper recognition? If any song ever deserved to win an Academy Award, it's this one.

She wasn't even nominated. :( Take My Breath Away by Berlin from the movie Top Gun took home the prize.

Everyone has already said everything I could about this song. Like Supernatural said, most artists would've milked that "Virgin" image for all its worth. She really could've done that and been successful for at least one more album. Very bold and risky move on her part. Glad she did though as this remains my favorite Madonna song. It's pure magic. There is a feel to this song that is unlike any of her other songs. The intro alone gives me chills!!

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i was nervous because she just gotten married, so i thought she was getting all 'dressed up' with ballads...

really.

Me too! I was thinking "Oh no. She's gone all mumsie!"

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:bow:

They were both so gorgeous...

This song was so incredibly mature. Well, the whole True Blue album was pivotal. Her first with most major megahits penned by herself, the drastic change of style, burying the toyboy Madonna that wannabes were still copying...

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I actually thought the reinvention felt genuine and went very well with little risk ( the song is too georgeous to flop :) ) It's pretty embarrassing to see artists on their third albums still singing lolly pop shit aimed at 12 year olds ( Britney, Katey, gaga, Taylor etc ).

I thought the bigger risk was This Used to be my Playground... After the dance and slutness of Immaculate, Vogue, Hanky Panky, JML and Rescue me, along came a little ballad that popped out of thin air and no-one saw coming. Then it was back to being a dance slut with Erotica :) + it's a better ballad then LTT ;)

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It was a really risky move, but Madonna of course knew what she was doing. This was the move that solidified her as an artist and pop icon and was the start of her move into creating pop music that was as close to art as possible.

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I used to think people had amnesia when it came to her changing her looks. To me, when I saw LTT, I thought "oh it's just Material Girl in another dress"- I wasn't shocked. When I saw her with the new hair cut, while everyone else was shocked, I thought, "oh the "Madonna" album again, but no bracelets. It did remind me of the movie, "The Legend of Billie jean" (that movie actually shocked me lol with the hair cut scene), and when OYH came out, at the split second she had the "black hair", THAT surprised me, but when it turned out to be a wig, I was disappointed, because I LOVED the black hair on her better. It reminded me of the Eurythmics "Missionary Man" video (which I was in love with). I thought it was risky that she released LIB and WTG, both being Spanish songs back to back. LTT, to me at the time, was just another ballad people do after a few uptempo songs. Now that I look back, it is more interesting. I also don't think the LAV look really went away, because even after she cut her hair, there are pictures of her with bows in her hair, and other reminiscent outfits/jewelry that were similar. She just does a good job at making things look different each time. This is what makes me so fascinated!

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I actually thought the reinvention felt genuine and went very well with little risk ( the song is too georgeous to flop :) ) It's pretty embarrassing to see artists on their third albums still singing lolly pop shit aimed at 12 year olds ( Britney, Katey, gaga, Taylor etc ).

Exactly. Nowadays there's no real evolution in any pop artist. Beyonka is doing the same she did 8 years ago. Katy Perry is always the weird mong, Rihanna is the same as she was in 2010, not to mention the rest.

Everything is so REDUCTIVE. We all laugh at Gaga but the rest are the same. Can we name a very popular artist nowadays who is evolving in any way? I can't.

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One of her best songs ever. I felt it was also the highlight of the WTG tour, when her face comes together on those big screens. light years before flashing backdrops. :old:

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She wasn't even nominated. :( Take My Breath Away by Berlin from the movie Top Gun took home the prize.

Everyone has already said everything I could about this song. Like Supernatural said, most artists would've milked that "Virgin" image for all its worth. She really could've done that and been successful for at least one more album. Very bold and risky move on her part. Glad she did though as this remains my favorite Madonna song. It's pure magic. There is a feel to this song that is unlike any of her other songs. The intro alone gives me chills!!

It wasn't eligible, because Pat originally worked on the instrumental with another movie in mind. It was rejected, so Madonna wrote lyrics and a melody and then they presented it to James Foley (the director of "At Close Range"). In a nutshell, because it wasn't created from scratch for "At Close Range", it wasn't eligible for an Oscar. No conspiracies or flimsy excuses involved - it simply wasn't eligible.

Madonna's only Oscar snubs are as follows:

Who's That Girl

Causing A Commotion

The Look of Love

Can't Stop

TUTBMP

Beautiful Stranger

Die Another Day

None of her other soundtrack appearances met the strict eligibility criteria.

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I wrote about this huge moment in her career back in august on my page......

Live to Tell. The moment in Madonna's career when she went from being a "Pop tart" to creating "Pop art". When she first started she was being written off as a "disco dolly" and a "flash in the pan". One critic even said she sounded like "Minnie Mouse on helium". Yes for her first two albums we were given songs that would go on to become dance pop classics. Songs like Lucky Star, Borderline, Holiday, Like a Virgin, Material Girl, Dress You Up, and Into the Groove.

But ...still, many didn't take her seriously. She was simply a dance act with an interesting style, and a few catchy tunes that would surly enter the realm of "has been land" soon enough right? That all changed when she released Live to Tell. The first major "reinvention" of her career.

Gone were the jelly bracelets, the fishnets, the leggings, the crimped messy 80s hair, the boy toy belts, the lace gloves. A style that inspired a generation of girls to want to dress just like her. Usually the public decides when a fad is over, but this time it was Madonna herself telling her fan base that I am moving on and growing as an artist. Take it or leave it.

To showcase this more adult look required a more adult sound, and it was given to us in the form of Live to Tell. One of the most haunting pop ballads ever made. The risk of alienating her legions of Madonna "wannabes" as they were called paid off, as this song and the album to follow, True Blue catapulted her from superstar status, to MEGA star icon status. Live to Tell went to #1 where it belonged, and expanded her fan base from tween and teen girls to a more older and mature crowd.

This was Madonna showing the world that she was in this business for the long haul. This was Madonna showing the world that there was much more depth, and emotion, and artistry to her then just being a chick who sang catchy dance tunes.

This was Madonna demanding that people begin to take her seriously, and many sat up, took a second look at her, and did just that.

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