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Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (born on 16 August 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, United States), known simply as Madonna, is a recording artist, entrepreneur and occasional actress. Throughout her career, often referred to as The Queen of Pop, many of her songs have hit number one on the record charts, including Like a Virgin, Papa Don't Preach, Like a Prayer, Vogue, Frozen, Music, Hung Up and 4 Minutes. Madonna has been praised by critics for her diverse musical productions while at the same time serving as a lightning rod for religious controversy.

Her career has been further enhanced by film appearances, despite mixed reviews She won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in Evita (1996), but has received harsh feedback for other film roles. Madonna's other ventures include being a fashion designer, children's book author, film director and producer. She has been acclaimed as a businesswoman, and in 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million contract with Live Nation.

Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna number two (after The Beatles) on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the chart. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the 20th Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. She is recognized as an inspiration among numerous music artists.

After signing to Sire Records in 1982, Madonna's debut single Everybody was released in October of the same year. One year later, her eponymous debut album followed, and since then hits such as Holiday, Like a Virgin, Papa Don't Preach and Like a Prayer catapulted her to massive success. By the 1990s, her commercially successful albums, constantly reinvented image, groundbreaking music videos and controversial nature would earn her the title Queen of Pop.�

Apart from achieving 12 No.1 singles, 37 top 10 singles and 48 top 40 hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Madonna also maintains the record for the most separate calendar weeks as a female artist with a charting single in any position (853+ weeks). She has also garnered 21 MTV Video Music Awards - the most by any artist (including the special Video Vanguard Award) - eight Grammy Awards, as well as a Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) Golden Globe Award for her performance in Evita�. Two soundtrack cuts performed by Madonna, Sooner or Later and You Must Love Me, were awarded with Oscars. On the United World Chart, Madonna is the Most Successful Singles Artist of All Time and has a record of 13 number one singles. Madonna also holds the record of 40 #1 Hot Dance Club Play hits in the US, the most for any artist ever.

Madonna most recent studio album, Hard Candy, was released in April 2008, debuting at #1 in a record-breaking 37 countries.
It was lauded by Rolling Stone as an impressive taste of her upcoming tour.� The single, 4 Minutes, scored Madonna her 37th Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit, thus surpassing Elvis Presley as the artist with the most top-ten hits. In the United Kingdom, she retained her record for the most number one singles for a female artist, this being her thirteenth.
To further promote the album, Madonna embarked on the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which was her first major venture with Live Nation and became the highest-grossing concert tour ever by a solo artist, with gross of US$ 408 million.

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