’Like a Prayer’ the most groundbreaking video - July 25, 2020
Madonna’s ’Like a Prayer’ has been voted the most groundbreaking video of all time. The singer topped a poll conducted by music channel MTV, beating off stiff competition from such classics as Michael Jackson’s ’Thriller’ and Britney Spears’ ’Baby One More Time’.
A spokesperson for MTV said: "Featuring burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus, ’Like a Prayer’ even brought condemnation from the Vatican for its use of religious imagery."
The top 10 "videos that broke the rules" was released yesterday (24.07.06) as part of the channel’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Jackson’s 14-minute epic ’Thriller’, the longest promo ever made, came third in the poll, in which 10,000 MTV viewers voted.
The eccentric singer, along with sister Janet, also landed the sixth spot with ’Scream’ - the most expensive video ever made, costing a whopping $7 million. Madonna also landed fourth and fifth place with ’Ray of Light’ and ’Vogue’ respectively. Robbie Williams’ graphic ’Rock DJ’ video - in which the singer appears to be peeling off his skin - came seventh, while the promo for the Spice Girls’ first single, ’Wannabe’, was placed at number ten.
Top Ten Videos That Broke The Rules:
1. Madonna - Like A Prayer (1989)
2. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time (1999)
3. Michael Jackson - Thriller (1983)
4. Madonna - Ray of Light (1998)
5. Madonna - Vogue (1988)
6. Michael & Janet Jackson - Scream (1995)
7. Robbie Williams - Rock DJ (2000)
8. Eric Prydz - Call On Me (2004)
9. Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity (1997)
10. Spice Girls - Wannabe (1996)
Madonna is adopting a child - July 21 ,2006
Madonna is planning to adopt a child, her father-in-law has claimed. John Ritchie revealed the pop superstar and his son, director Guy Ritchie, are considering expanding their family in order to seal their love for one-another following a turbulent few months.
He told In Touch Weekly magazine: "Nothing would make me happier than if they adopt. How lovely to have another one. "I’m sure Rocco and Lourdes would love it as they are so close and another sibling would be super. It is the children that keep them together." Five-year-old Rocco is the son the married couple had together, while Lourdes is Madonna’s nine-year-old daughter by her former partner Carlos Leon.
It is believed Guy and Madonna have made tentative plans to adopt a baby from the Vista del Mar Child and Family Services centre, in California, and have already begun the lengthy adoption process. A source revealed: "They’ve begun the application process and are currently undergoing an evaluation typical of adoptive parents. "So far, they’ve been interviewed and fingerprinted to begin the process."
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The following year Madonna broke away from Kamins and recorded Holiday which went straight in to the American top 20 and was a hit across Europe. She cemented her raunchy image with Like A Virgin, her first US number one, and Material Girl with it’s iconic video. By this time Madonna was becoming one of the most emulated and best loved artists in the world and she became even more popular thanks to her part in Live Aid and a high profile marriage to Sean Penn.
The pop diva followed up her success with several singles from the True Blue album and turned her hand to acting for the first time in the poorly received A Certain Sacrifice and of course, Desperately Seeking Susan. Her first real flop was alongside her husband in the laughable Shanghai Surprise. Her failure’s in the film department didn’t stop David Mamet from casting her in a Broadway production of Speed the Plow - by this time talent or no, Madonna’s was name that guaranteed attention.
1989 saw the singer court controversy with the video for Like A Prayer, featuring a black Jesus, which outraged and shocked the Catholic church and caused Pepsi to cancel a sponsorship deal. But far from ruining her career, this stunt saw her become the icon that we know today. The 1990s were the pinnacle of Madonna’s success, her divorce from Sean Penn pushing her further in to the lime light, beginning with a part in Dick Tracy opposite Warren Beatty and a fantastic soundtrack album alongside featuring hit song Vogue. Documentary film Truth or Dare and her Blonde Ambition tour (with that pointy bra) followed with further controversy.
In 1992 she signed a multi million pound deal with Time Warner guaranteeing the release of music, films and books through her own record label, Maverick. She made the most of the deal with picture book Sex, which caused another controversy but rocketed up the bestsellers charts nonetheless. Erotica was her first album for years though not to generate a US number one. People thought that perhaps Madonna had gone too far with her need to shock, and perhaps she had realised it too as her next album was far mellower and a part in Evita in 1996 made her bankable again.
Later that year she fell pregnant with Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, daughter of her personal trainer. But far from slowing her work, having a child only seemed to spur Madonna on, she released the runaway success, Ray of Light which produced hit after hit and recorded Beautiful Stranger for the second Austin Powers movie. she also starred alongside Rupert Everett in romantic comedy The Next Best Thing.
It was around this time that Madonna met British director Guy Ritchie - the man who would change her life. They had son Rocco in 2000 and they married in 2002 after Madonna moved permanently to England, took to wearing flat caps and drinking tea. The title track of her album Music gave her a transatlantic number one hit. Collaborations with Ritchie, especially their film Swept Away, have generally been unsuccessful but Madonna’s music career continues to go from strength to strength, her latest album American Life has been a worldwide hit and she has even found time to pen a children’s book, The English Roses. Now, an honorary Brit and devout follower of Kaballah, Madonna lives with her family in Marylebone and Wiltshire. She also owns a ?4 million Spanish-style villa in Beverly Hills, a house in Miami and a duplex overlooking Central Park in New York.
(Updated April 04)
October 2007