It was in a sleeveless khaki jacket and chinos accompanied by short, floppy hair and throwing some (very limited) dance moves in a low-budget music video that 24-year-old Madonna Louise Ciccone made her official musical debut.
Released in 1982, “Everybody” was not a roaring success. And, despite her eponymous debut album of the following year now garlanded with cult status, it wasn’t until three years later in 1985 that the singer got her first number one, with the rollicking Calypso-style “Holiday”.
This year, Madonna releases her latest album Madame X with 300 million album sales already under her belt (21 of which have earned top 10 status), 22 film appearances, a Grammy Award and the undisputed moniker as the “Queen of Pop”. Madonna is one of the most famous women in the world.
Zeitgeist-defining from the off, she has not simply survived but dominated where many female artists have been chewed up and spat out by the brutality of an industry that values youth and novelty above all else.
As she releases Madame X, The Independent’s lifestyle and culture teams have hand-picked their favourite Madonna song, and what it means to them.
