On March 11 1986, Madonna was named Favorite Female Musical Performer at the 12th annual People’s Choice Awards. Madonna accepted her award from the set of Shanghai Surprise in London, England.
Category Archives: 1986
Today in Madonna History: December 27, 1986
On December 27 1986, RPM magazine published their list of the top charting singles of 1986 in Canada.
Here’s how Madonna’s singles stacked up in the year-end ranking:
- Live To Tell – #2
- Papa Don’t Preach – #13
- True Blue – #37
A stark departure from her earlier pop hits, Live To Tell was initially considered by her record label to be a risky choice for a single. Its success showed that programmers were willing to give Madonna some room to grow on radio.
Today in Madonna History: December 1, 1986
On December 1 1986, Madonna appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine, with photos by Bruce Weber. Madonna is photographed alone, as well as with her many brothers and sisters.
The headline: That Fabulous Couple: Madonna and the Camera.
Quote from Life Magazine:
“Her greatest role, is the one she was born to play: Madonna.”
Today in Madonna History: November 22, 1986
On November 22 1986, Madonna’s True Blue single peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Hot Adult Contemporary chart in the USA. The hit single would eventually spend 16 weeks on the AC chart.
Today in Madonna History: October 18, 1986
On October 18 1986, Madonna appeared on the cover NO.1 magazine (UK), to promote Shanghai Surprise.
Today in Madonna History: September 8, 1986
On September 8 1986, Madonna’s third album, True Blue, was certified double platinum (for shipment of 2 million units) in the USA.
Here’s a snippet of Davitt Sigerson’s review of True Blue from Rolling Stone (July 17, 1986):
Madonna’s sturdy, dependable, lovable new album remains faithful to her past while shamelessly rising above it. True Blue may generate fewer sales and less attention than Like a Virgin, but it sets her up as an artist for the long run. And like every other brainy move from this best of all possible pop madonnas, it sounds as if it comes from the heart.
Today in Madonna History: September 5, 1986
On September 5 1986, Madonna was honoured with the Video Vanguard Award for her visionary videos at the 3rd annual MTV Video Music Awards at the Palladium in New York City.
Madonna found immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her videos depicted controversial subjects such as teen pregnancy, racism, religion, sex and violence. She received the Video Vanguard Award for her contributions to the world of music video.
While there’s no denying Madonna was an early innovator in the art of music video, little did MTV – or those of us watching – know at the time that her most artistically groundbreaking work in the medium was yet to come.
Two things we did know at the time, however:
- Madonna’s insistence on sending Nikki Finn to collect awards on her behalf during this period was cute and everything, but mostly it just seemed…well…reductive.
- Madonna really liked that dress. But was it a dress?
Today In Madonna History 