American singer-songwriter

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, throughout her career, spanning five decades, has obtained a remarkable series of statistical achievements, setting and breaking several

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

s with her participation in entrepreneurial activities, of

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

and her performance in the musical scene for her

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singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...

, and

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. Her first appearance in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' was in 1986 with her third studio album, '' True Blue''. Thereafter she has earned multiple appearances, including her title as the world's best-selling female recording artist in history, recognized since the 20th century. As of February 2012, she retained 20 entries at the same time in the Guinness World Records, a very similar figure obtained by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

in 2003; the highest number of record holding at same time by a musician with 26. Madonna's commerciality and numbers has achieved scrutiny from different point of view in the academia world or by marketers. However, she also scored some less favourable records, such as the most

Golden Raspberry The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

won by a female or then the largest drop by a number-one album in the

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

period during its second week. A large array of outlets, including music

trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for t ...

s or newspapers of record, have

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Madonna variety due her success, such as the "Queen of Charts", "Queen of the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

", "Queen of Dance Clubs" or an "Airplay queen". In 1992, Bob Tannenbaum from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called to her as "the most statistically significant artist of the 80s". Overall, Madonna has been placed high in the summary and anniversaries of

record charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include r ...

in various major music markets. That's the case in the United Kingdom, named by

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

(OCC) as "the most successful female artist in UK charts history". In Germany, was named "the most successful singles artist" by

GfK Entertainment charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindus ...

and in the United States, "the most successful solo artist of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100", as well "the most successful act of the

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

" and fifth "Greatest

Chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

All-Stars" (all charts combined). The Guinness also recognized her as the most successful US DVD chart artist. Furthermore, she is both the most successful female artist in the '' RPM'' charts and in ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' charts of the continental Europe.

Critical commentaries

Madonna's records, achievements and statistics have been commented by the press, business theorists and other observers. After ending her first decade of her career, the 1980s, Bob Tannenbaum from ''

'' called her in 1992, "the most statistically significant artist of the 80s". In 2019, Vanessa Grigoriadis from same newspaper, called her "world's highest-charting female musician". By 2004

Roger Blackwell Roger Blackwell, Ph.D., is an American marketing expert and public speaker. He was described in the '' New York Times'' as one of America's top speakers on business and marketing, along with Daniel Burrus and Tom Peters. He has served on the boar ...

stated "she has eclipsed the commercial accomplishments of many other more talented musicians because of the overall package she has created". '' The Cut'' editor Rebecca Harrington paraphrasing said in 2013, "Madonna's actual accomplishments are too much for the modern human to even contemplate". In 2008, Damian Corless from ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' said "Madonna's stunning vital statistics are all her own work". In the same year, 2008, Nina Simosko from American business magazine ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

'' commented that she "has achieved accomplishments unrivaled by any other artists in the music industry ever". Prior years, in 1991, British rock music journalist,

John Tobler John Hugen Tobler (born 9 May 1943) is a British rock music journalist, writer, occasional broadcaster, and record company executive. With Pete Frame, he was one of the founders of ZigZag magazine in April 1969. The magazine focused on the "und ...

shared similar feelings about her records: At the height of her peak success, authors Ray B. Browne and

William Labov William Labov ( ; born December 4, 1927) is an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of ...

observed that "after the release of her eponymous 1983 debut album", Madonna's songs reached the top of the pop charts with unprecedented regularity". Greg Seigworth wrote in the academic compendium ''The Madonna Connection'' (1993): "Madonna's visibility and numbers overseas (her sales abroad are more than double her domestic sales) are hard to overlook". Madonna was

variously for her success in different formats. For example, the staff of ''Billboard'' named her as the "Queen of

Charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

", "Queen of the Hot 100", the "Queen of Dance Clubs", or "Queen of Touring". ''Forbes'' contributor Hugh McIntyre named Madonna the "Queen of ''Billboard'' charts", while ''

'' called "Airplay queen". Devon Maloney from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' headlined her as the "Queen of Album sales", and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' viewed her as a "chart queen".

Madonna's responses and reviews on them

Music writer Dave McAleer, made the question in ''Chart Beats'' (1991): "Does Madonna cherish all the records she has broken?". Madonna has talked about in multiple times about her sales, numbers, awards and records. In an interview with British magazine ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' she expressed that awards "are overrated" and they don't represent the success of her career and admits she pays no heed to her accolades. Priors years, she refused awards such as the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

in 1990. Back in 1987,

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

reported that Madonna was "nonchalant" for the honor of receiving two awards from the first edition of World Music Video Awards. After winning the ''

'' award "Eurochart Artist Of The Decade" in 1994, she recalls about

: "I am not obsessed with chart positions ..I don't buy magazines to see the charts. I rely on my management to call me to inform me on chart positions. I'd rather be distantly aware of it than putting too much importance to it". In an interview with British journalist

Simon Garfield Simon Frank Garfield (born 19 March 1960) is a British journalist and non-fiction author. Biography Garfield was born in London in 1960. A similar situation occurred in an interview with

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...

, when he reminded Madonna about her 300 million record sales, and for which she answered: "Yeah, I don't focus on my accomplishments, I focus on things I haven't done yet". Carrie Havranek, wrote in ''Women Icons of Popular Music'' (2009), that she "is not necessarily interested when her manager tells her how quickly a concert has sold out; she is more interested in whether she is satisfied with it as an artistic achievement".

Definitions

* Many records that weren't featured at the Guinness, are supplied by official measures firms, record charts, trade magazines or by others notable reference books * Weekly, hour or yearly general achievements such as those from ''Billboard'' Year-End aren't included here, if don't represent an all-time records, by genre or cumulative feats * Decennials feats are generally excluded, with some exceptions apply * Madonna's personal accomplishments such as "the most weeks spend" from a title in her catalog at a determinate record chart are excluded, unless represent a general achievement by any artist * In many places, Madonna is one of a selected group to have specific accomplishments but these feats aren't usually included, unless represent Madonna being the "first" or having the "most" at some point

Selected global and regional records and achievements

Except for the top position that belongs to " Scream" by Michael and Janet Jackson, Madonna has the second, third and fourth most expensive videos in the industry. Just behind Michael Jackson and Celine Dion, Madonna along with the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Whitney Houston have three albums with sales of over 20 million copies sold worldwide, while she is the woman with most album of 10 million units sold. Numerous of her tours are ranked as the highest-grossing in terms of decades, female or of all-time. Madonna also remains the only woman in history to have two solo concerts with 100,000 sold tickets; her Who's That Girl World Tour's concert in

Parc de Sceaux Sceaux () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Sceaux had a population of 20,004. A wealthy city Sceaux is famous for the Château de Sceaux ...

, Paris, drew over 130,000 audience, while her Girlie Show's concert in

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...

, Rio de Janeiro, drew over 120,000 audience.

Companies record

Europe

Ending the 1980s, Madonna topped the three ''Music & Media'' charts of that time during two different years, a feat achieved only before by Michael Jackson (1987 and 1988), thus make the first female singer to reach that feat in Europe. In 1986, Madonna became the first and only female artist to have her entire album catalog charted in the year-end European charts. Madonna is the first artist to dominate the ''Music & Media'' Year-End awards in three different years (1985, 1986 and 1987).

Australia

Her number-one albums (female record) span five decades in Australia (female record): 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. According to Australian magazine ''

The Music Network ''The Music Network'' is an Australian magazine launched in 1994 by John Woodruff. In 2017, it was acquired by Jake Challenor, who serves as its publisher and editor. History ''The Music Network'' was founded by John Woodruff in 1994, initi ...

'', "all her albums have been hits" in the country, "one of the first markets to break her". Based in a Noise11.com article in 2019, until the release of ''Madame X'', all her 14 studios albums entered at the Top-ten in the country, and a total of 20 of her releases (including compilations and soundtracks). In 2022, she attained another top-ten album with ''Finally Enough Love'' debuting at number-one position. Her number-one singles (female record), span three different decades: 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

Brazil

Canada

Both Madonna number ones albums and singles in Canada (the most by any other act) span four consecutive decades: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. She achieved two diamond albums in the country.

Chile

France

All her major album catalog, including compilations and soundtracks, and with the exception of ''Celebration'' and ''Rebel Heart Tour'' have reached the Top-10 in France, including 7 number-one, 10 number-two and 3 number-three. She also has three albums with a Diamond status in the country.

Germany

As of 2018, Madonna spent a combinative 1,632 weeks (31 years) at the German charts, divided in 884 weeks for singles and 748 weeks in albums. With her charted songs from 1983 to 2018, she was always a Top 100 singles charter artist. '' Ray of Light'' is also one of the best-selling albums in Germany. Her number-one albums (female record) span four decades in Germany: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.

Italy

Japan

She became the first and only international artist with number-one albums in three consecutive decades: 1980s (''Like a Prayer''), 1990s (''I'm Breathless'') and 2000s (''Hard Candy''). In the 1980s, she scored two of the best-selling albums of that decade, the most by any other foreign act. As of 2019, she is tied with Mariah Carey, and both are behind South Korean female artists

Twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, ...

and BoA, as the international female artist with most number-one albums on the Oricon Weekly Charts.

Netherlands

United Kingdom

She is also the first female singer to have had two albums that both contained five different UK Top 40 singles. In addition, she is the first female to have a studio album that feature the most UK number-one singles, with ''True Blue'' (3), a feat later surpassed by

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, bo ...

(5) and Spice Girls and Lady Gaga, with four each. Madonna has scored number-one albums (female record) across four consecutive decades: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Madonna has never missed the top-ten with a studio album, and only one didn't make the top-five: her self-titled debud which peaked at 6. All of them have been number-one or number-two until the release of ''Madame X''. During the

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the 9/11 attacks in 2001; the euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled during th ...

, she scored more number-one singles by a female artist, with five. Her UK number-one singles (female record) span three decades: 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. 2007 was the first year since Madonna's career began that she didn't have a single appear on the chart at all. She'd previously had years without any new entries –1988 and 2004– but there had been a couple of songs lingering in the Top 40 from the previous year. Her singles have spent 516 weeks as of 2022, in the Top 40 since her first hit in 1984, nearly 10 years.

United States

United States and United Kingdom (simultaneous)

At some point of her career, the Guinness and ''

British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

'' named Madonna the most successful female artist in both United Kingdom and the States. The 1988 edition of the Guinness, named her the "female leading vocalist" that has headed the single charts regularly in Britain and the US since her "Holiday" single in June 1984. Madonna is the first U.S. artist ever to go straight in at the top of the Official Albums Chart; she did it with ''True Blue''. She is one of the selected female artists to have one or more simultaneous UK and US number-one albums (''True Blue'' and ''MDNA''). She is indeed, the first female artist to have a simultaneous UK and US number-one album, with ''True Blue''. "Like a Prayer" is also a simultaneous UK and US number-one single.

Selected other countries

Madonna at chart anniversary-lists (worldwide)

Madonna was placed high in record charts of most major musical markets, either as soloist or female artist. Madonna is the first female artist ranked in ''Billboard''s "Greatest Pop Stars" (created in 1981). She is also, the first artist to repeat as a year's "Greatest Pop Star": in 1985 and again in 1989.

Money-earns records and achievements

Madonna at ''Forbes'' earning lists

Madonna appeared in ''Forbes'' earning lists in four different decades: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Across these decades, she featured multiple times as the top-grossing female musician. Author Clifford Thompson, noticed that for several years running, she was listed high remaining among the Top Ten highest-paid entertainers, while biographer Adam Sexton summed up she stayed near the top. Madonna indeed, was ranked as "the highest-grossing woman in entertainment" for a while according to ''Forbes'' themselves prior to 1990. That year, they stated: "While performers like Whitney Houston and Cyndi Lauper rise fast and fade fast, Madonna has stayed near the top for all five years ''Forbes'' has compiled its list of America's highest-earning entertainers". Around those decades, only

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

prevented Madonna to reach the title of highest-grossing woman in entertainment in multiple years; the only time Madonna ranked above any entertainer in terms of money-earnings was in 2013. In addition, Madonna is the first female singer to earn more than $100 million within a single year twice (2009 and 2013). She also topped the first inaugural ''Forbes'' list "Cash Queens of Music" in 2007. As of 2017, she was the second highest-ranked entertainer in ''Forbes'' America's wealthiest women, just behind Winfrey. Madonna ended as the top-earning female in the entertainment industry Madonna second only behind Oprah Winfrey in the whole entertainment industry

Records about and inspired in Madonna

Madonna as a subject has generated records titles by others ways in ''

''. They said: "You might not be able to run as fast as Michael Johnson, or sell as many records as Madonna but everyone can set a record".