In terms of record sales, Madonna is regarded as the best-selling woman in music history recognized by Guinness World Records since the late 20th-century. A large group of critics have retrospectively credited her presence, success and contributions with paving the way for female artists (as well she transcended gender) and changing the music scene for women in music -most notorious for dance and pop stages-with Billboard staff saying that "the history of pop music can essentially be divided into two eras: pre-Madonna and post-Madonna". Grant or Guilbert have seen and discussed how the singer was conspicuously referred "the most famous woman" on the planet, while writer Matt Cain expressed she is "one of the most famous women ever to have lived".įrom a musical perspective and despite Madonna's music played a second place in scholarship analysis, she has been discussed with euphemism by multiple international authors as the "greatest" woman in music or arguably the most "influential" female artist in history. As a premier example, scholars such as Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Robert M. Both Madonna's references and impact are found -but not limited to- in the arts, literature, cinema, music and even science.Ī subject of diverse listicles, Madonna achieved a high-profile of being referred with superlatives in her entire career from virtually all-areas that her work was analyzed in both negative and positive ways.
Her critical reception, alongside her media coverage made Madonna one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age". Madonna, which also gained a cult status amongst different audiences according to professor Sheila Jeffreys, has been called a Gesamtkunstwerk herself.
Frenchman scholar Georges-Claude Guilbert attributed her a greater cultural significance and proposed the singer as a postmodern myth. In addition to becoming an icon in many of these fields, Madonna is commonly typified as an archetype, precursor or the most visible example in numerous concepts and themes, from both inside and outside the music industry and for which other authors coined idiomatic expressions or terms after Madonna noting her effects.Ĭalled a "major ' historical figure'" by academic Camille Paglia, Madonna attained the status of a " cultural icon" as was noted by cultural theorists or sociologists like Stuart Sim and Suzanna Danuta Walters. This contributed to the rise of the Madonna studies, an academic and critical response dedicated to her work and persona for which Madonna's semiotic and image was diversified in a wide-ranging of theoretical stripe from feminism to queer studies among others. Madonna has built a legacy that goes beyond music and has been studied by sociologists, historians and other social scientists. 1958) has had a social-cultural impact on the world through her recordings, attitude, clothing and lifestyle since her early career in the 1980s. An international array of intellectuals have noted the continued Madonna's cultural influence and legacy in the 20th and 21st centuries.Īmerican singer-songwriter Madonna (b.
Madonna, seen here on her Rebel Heart Tour (2015).