Tag Archives: Certification

Today in Madonna History: May 25, 1985

May 25, 2020 By in 1985, May Tags: , , , , 3 Comments

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On May 25 1985, Madonna performed The Virgin Tour at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The show was filmed by Daniel Kleinman, and released by Warner Music Video and Sire Records on November 13 1985.

Here is the dialog from Madonna’s famous Virgin Tour introduction (filmed by James Foley for the video release, it was not present during the concerts):

“I went to New York. I had a dream. I wanted to be a big star, I didn’t know anybody, I wanted to dance, I wanted to sing, I wanted to do all those things, I wanted to make people happy, I wanted to be famous, I wanted everybody to love me. I wanted to be a star. I worked really hard, and my dream came true.”

Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour was an enormous success.  The home video release was the top selling music video cassette of 1986 in the USA, and the video was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 100,000 copies.

Today in Madonna History: February 9, 1995

February 9, 2020 By in 1995, February Tags: , , 2 Comments

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On February 9 1995, Madonna: The Girlie Show – Live Down Under video was certified gold for sales of 50,000 units in the USA.

Originally released on home video and laser disc in 1994, it later became Madonna’s first commercially available DVD – and one of the first concert DVD’s marketed by Warner-Reprise Video – when it was reissued in the format in 1997.

Today in Madonna History: January 6, 1993

January 6, 2020 By in 1993, January Tags: , , 9 Comments

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On January 6 1993, Madonna’s Erotica album was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 2 million units in the USA.

What is your favourite track from Erotica?

Today in Madonna History: December 10, 1992

December 10, 2019 By in 1992, December Tags: , , 2 Comments

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On December 10 1992, Madonna’s Erotica single was certified gold in the USA for the shipment of 500,000 units.

In 2011, Slant Magazine listed Erotica at number thirty-four on their list “The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s”, stating that Madonna’s “throaty” delivery throughout the song was effective in making the lyrics “incredibly honest”. The magazine went on to say that Madonna’s “invitation to the dance, a slithering, sinister snake rising from a gaudily ornate chalice. The beats are, by design, hypnotic—at once alluring and devious. With Erotica, Madonna promises to get you off, but not without giving you something”.

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Today in Madonna History: September 19, 1990

September 19, 2019 By in 1990, September Tags: , , 2 Comments

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On September 19 1990, Madonna’s Hanky Panky was certified gold (for shipment of 500,000 units) in the USA.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna talked about getting a good “spanky”:

The spanking thing started because I believed that my character in Dick Tracy liked to get smacked around and that’s why she hung around with people like Al Pacino’s character. Warren Beatty asked me to write some songs, one of them, the Hanky Panky song, was about that. I say in the song ‘Nothing like a good spanky’, and in the middle I say, ‘Ooh, my bottom hurts just thinking about it’. When it came out everybody started asking, ‘Do you like to get spanked?’ and I said: ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do’.

Today in Madonna History: August 11, 1987

August 11, 2019 By in 1987, August Tags: , , 2 Comments

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On August 11 1987, Madonna’s True Blue album was certified 5x platinum (for shipment of 5 million units) in the USA.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that “True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became ‘Madonna the Superstar’—the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer that knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews—and make good music while she’s at it.”

Today in Madonna History: July 16, 1985

July 16, 2019 By in 1985, July Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

 On July 16 1985, Madonna’s hit single, Crazy For You, was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of one million copies of the single in United States—the requirement for a gold single prior to 1989.

According to the book Risky Business: Rock In Film, the single has sold two million copies in the U.S., making it one of her biggest selling physical singles, behind Vogue and Like A Prayer. The lack of any further certification to verify this figure is plausible considering Crazy For You was released through Geffen Records; because Madonna was not a Geffen recording artist they would have had little incentive to invest in additional certifications once the initial promotional push for the soundtrack had ended.

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