On May 16 1989, the Like A Prayer single was certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipment of one million units in the U.S.
Monthly Archives: May 2024
Today in Madonna History: May 15, 2015
On May 15 2015, Madonna’s Ghosttown (from the Rebel Heart album) hit the top spot on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart for the week ending May 30th.
Ghosttown became Madonna’s 45th #1 hit on the chart. She had this to say to her fans about the success of the song:
“Thanks to all my fans on & off the dance floor, I’ll always be your partner.”
Today in Madonna History: May 14, 2015
On May 14 2015, Madonna’s Ghosttown became her 45th #1 dance club hit, breaking George Strait’s record of total number ones.
Here’s what Billboard had to say about Madonna’s achievement:
The Queen of Pop reigns with Ghosttown giving her the most No. 1s of any artist on a single Billboard chart.
The Queen of Pop is now unequaled chart royalty. Madonna makes momentous Billboard chart history, as she now has the most No. 1s ever, 45, by an act on a singular Billboard chart. She earns her 45th No. 1 on Dance Club Songs, where Ghosttown lifts 3-1.
With the coronation, Madonna passes another icon, George Strait, who’s logged 44 No. 1s on Hot Country Songs.
“Thanks to all my fans on and off the dance floor,” Madonna said in an exclusive statement to Billboard. “I’ll always be your partner.”
With her 45th leader on Dance Club Songs, which measures reports submitted by a national sample of club DJs, Madonna pulls further ahead of runners-up Beyonce and Rihanna. In fact, Madonna has tallied more No. 1s as they have combined: 22 each. (The chart launched as a national survey in the Billboard issue dated Aug. 28, 1976.) Madonna bests Strait (still, and always, the King of Country), who’s sent 44 singles to No. 1 on Hot Country Songs between 1982 and 2009. He first reigned with “Fool Hearted Memory” (Aug. 28, 1982) and most recently ruled with “River of Love” (April 18, 2009).
Today in Madonna History: May 13, 1991
On May 13 1991, Madonna attended the premiere of Truth Or Dare at the Cannes Film Festival. In Europe the documentary was re-titled In Bed With Madonna.
Today in Madonna History: May 12, 2008
On May 12 2008, Madonna’s Hard Candy album was released in the UK in a Limited Collector’s Edition Candy Box.
The Candy Box included a 14-track edition of the hit album (containing the standard version of the album and two bonus 4 Minutes remixes), a bag of Starlite Mint candies and a 16-page booklet.
The exact same version was released in North America on April 29 2008.
Track listing:
1. Candy Store
2. 4 Minutes
3. Give It 2 Me
4. Heartbeat
5. Miles Away
6. Shes Not Me
7. Incredible
8. Beat Goes On
9. Dance 2Night
10. Spanish Lesson
11. Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You
12. Voices
Bonus tracks:
13. 4 Minutes – Tracy Young House Edit
14. 4 Minutes – Rebirth Remix Edit
Today in Madonna History: May 11, 1985
On May 11 1985, Crazy For You hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. for one week. The track had spent the two previous weeks in the runner-up position behind the all-star single, We Are The World. In Canada, Crazy For You took a few weeks longer but also managed to displace USA For Africa’s charity track to become the county’s number-one single on May 25th.
The song was Madonna’s second chart-topping hit, and her first ballad to be released as a single.
Today in Madonna History: May 10, 2003
On May 10 2003, Madonna’s American Life album reached #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart in the USA.
In 2008, Sal Cinquemani had this to say about American Life in Slant magazine:
In hindsight, American Life isn’t the masterpiece that Erotica so quickly revealed itself to be. It’s frequently self-indulgent, misguided, unpleasant, difficult to listen to, silly yet somehow humorless, but it’s also consistent, uncompromising, and unapologetic. The album is a testament to the artist’s willingness to take risks and her refusal to stay inside her comfort zone. In the grand scheme of things, the album might rank as one of the weakest in Madonna’s extensive catalog, and the ones that followed have been as good, if not better, but American Life stands as the last time Madonna seemed to make music without the primary objective of scoring a hit. It’s interesting to imagine what Madonna’s career would look like today had American Life been a success: For better or worse, that pink leotard and Justin duet might never have existed.
Today In Madonna History 