When was the last time Madonna was really relevant to the general public?

[Pootz333 2,702]

As far as music goes, yes 4 Minutes was a worldwide hit. And I heard it on the radio a lot. It's held up well even though I wish it was a duet with anyone else besides Justin.

Hung Up was the last time a new Madonna song release was an EVENT. The way every club I went to would scream and carry on as soon as "Time goes by..." and the ticking started. And these were mixed clubs with lots of straight people. Now yes, there were some people who thought it was cheap damage control that relied too heavily on the Abba sample. But they were the minority.

I have not seen that kind of reaction to new Madonna music since by the gp. And please remember I'm talking about new releases. Of course a million people will show up to the free Rio show. That's not what I'm talking about here.

 

 

 

[MDNA22 1,209]

Yeah Hung Up was the last time there was a great response to her music  - that record was huge 

[Blue Jean 15,346]

9 hours ago, Gonzus said:

I also think that she lets a lot of time pass between each album release, during which time, new artists rise to stardom and threaten her status and relevance in the music industry (only Sade can allow herself to put out albums every ten years). Look at Swift, Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey: they release albums almost every year, whereas Madame X came out in 2019! Sometimes I think that making abums bores her, but she is compelled to continue for the sake of relevance, it's just my impression

I actually wonder if there was too much label intervention with these past few albums for her to really enjoy doing them. Madame X sounds like the label came in half way through and said we need some trap, reggaeton, collabs etc. If the album was all Mirwais and her it could have evolved into something more interesting.

[Blue Jean 15,346]

As for Madonna and relevancy, I think Hard Candy was when she started to become less relevant.

However I feel the last few years, in a strange way, she has become more relevant again. Yes the perception of her can be negative but she is more often in the news and being talked about, and her impact is again felt. There was a period before that where it actually seemed like nobody was even aware of what she was up to anymore and the younger generation didn’t even know who she was. I think her social media presence has grown though through tik tok, the tour, her back catalogue getting released properly on streaming/youtube and so on. Her streaming numbers have increased a lot in recent years. And yes, the shitty sexist/ageist commentary has actually helped her profile too.

[Anapausis 5,920]

3 hours ago, Blue Jean said:

I actually wonder if there was too much label intervention with these past few albums for her to really enjoy doing them. Madame X sounds like the label came in half way through and said we need some trap, reggaeton, collabs etc. If the album was all Mirwais and her it could have evolved into something more interesting.

But Mirwaïs produced both Medellín and Faz Gostoso...

[maddy1111 1,620]

3 hours ago, Blue Jean said:

As for Madonna and relevancy, I think Hard Candy was when she started to become less relevant.

Having one of the biggest hits in US and one of the most visited worldwide tour doesn't really sound like less relevant to general public to me, just sayin'

[bstranger 477]

IMO, the last time was during Four Minutes worldwide hit and Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008/2009. Celebration was the last song I listened in the radio. It's not a great song, but it's fun. 

SuperBowl was the perfect time for another reborn after the lack of four years of absense, but she was more interested to promote W.E. and released a weak album with only the purpose to make another major world tour, but it failed. As a fan, I was expecting something similar to Superbowl, but the setlist was poor and she changed the arrangements of basically all the hits. 

Although MDNA Tour had a very good box score, it was not a tour for the general public and people didn't buy the idea.

And since MDNA album and tour, she never had the same relevancy and power star status she used to. 

RH era was a good fan base moment in my opinion, I like it a lot, but I think MX whole era was a complete disaster. 

On the other, The Celebration Tour bring back her to her royal status again and Popular helped her to get attention from the new generation. 

So, I really hope she utilizes this very good moment and releases a fresh new album, at least, until the end of this year or begin of the next. 

 

[Cyber-Raga 242]

I often hear Popular on the radio (target demographic is 16 - 25) so this happened rather organically. I wouldn’t necessarily say that she is “relevant” because of this song, since today we have a much more fragmented / divided society and it’s hard to measure TikTok and social media into valid numbers to compare them to success stories in the 80s, 90s or hell even the 2010s. So much has changed. 
If we go by hard numbers then yes, the Celebration Tour generated enough buzz and money to put it up there with the MDNA Tour in terms of box office and ironically Celebration the song in terms of charts success. 

[Debord 439]

There are a lot of considerations in this. I think folk would instinctively use 'relevant' to mean 'doing really well in the charts' but the charts have become less and less relevant and I don't think most folk pay much attention to them. Music is also far more fragmented than ever before and even with big stars like Taylor and Beyonce, loads of the 'general public' barely know their music aside from big hits from years ago. Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys was speaking the other day and was asked about Taylor Swift and said he always found himself wondering 'what's Taylor Swift's Billie Jean?' which I think is saying basically this.

Madonna will always be 'relevant' cos she's one of the last of the megastars from an era where they just totally dominated culture and had a string of hits that were impossible to avoid. Folk know who she is, even if they don't actively listen to her. But in a more prosaic sense of relevancy the tour definitely helped - she was all over the UK media when the tour started here and the lunchtime magazine show This Morning had a whole episode dedicated to her the day before it kicked off.

[Andymad 10,446]

When was the last time she was relevant to the gp? Today.

[adirondak 1,619]

The GP now is so basic, I don’t care if she’s not relevant to them. But I would say 4 minutes is the last time she was internationally relevant. 

[Drownedboy 1,685]

Very interesting. She also changed soo much to the eye of the public, her words, her looks, her face..I think she was lost for the people who knew her since forever and new generations didn´t paid atention those last years cause I don´t think either she was doing her highest quality work. And also the world has changed a lot in a few years. 

 But, I think with this latest tour she conquered again her lost status of mega legendary big diva with such a long and important carreer, so I´m happy again. 

 

[Alibaba 1,523]

13 hours ago, I am madonna said:

What's really funny is that you're saying exactly the same thing as the other people who put their opinions here. You're just putting it in a different way.

 

So Just tell us your thought. When was the last time She was really contemporary phenomenon in general public?

LOL

Perhaps, but I expressed it with far more effective and exploratory language. Take note.

[Starchild 3,087]

'Relevant' is the wrong word.

What you really mean is when was the last time she was the most popular and appealing to the general public.

Musically? I would say the charts say it all, and that was 4 Minutes.

Performance-wise? I would say the Super Bowl.

Very sad but true.

[Blue Jean 15,346]

Madonna had much greater longevity in the singles charts worldwide than any of her peers. Even MJ's chart career was dead long before Madonna. A lot of her alleged peers like Mariah and Janet never really had many hits outside of the US.

 

[androiduser 2,487]

12 minutes ago, Blue Jean said:

Madonna had much greater longevity in the singles charts worldwide than any of her peers. Even MJ's chart career was dead long before Madonna. A lot of her alleged peers like Mariah and Janet never really had many hits outside of the US.

 

that's true, but in MJ's case, we need to take into account that his career started long before Madonna's. He had 30 years worth of chart hits just like Madonna, but the timelines were not the same.

[Blue Jean 15,346]

36 minutes ago, androiduser said:

that's true, but in MJ's case, we need to take into account that his career started long before Madonna's. He had 30 years worth of chart hits just like Madonna, but the timelines were not the same.

True but he was in a group, his solo career pre Off the Wall produced only a couple of hits. And there was a huge slump in his solo career from 1973 to 1979.

It’s like Cher too, she had hits across many decades but lots of years of flops. Madonna had consistent chart success worldwide 1984 to 2012 which is unprecedented.

[I am madonna 77]

22 hours ago, Alibaba said:

 

She just isn’t a contemporary phenomenon any longer.

 

 

7 hours ago, Alibaba said:

Perhaps, but I expressed it with far more effective and exploratory language. Take note.

 

Note : Do not ask this person that what is the last time Madonna is relevant to the general public, just ask this person that what is the last time Madonna is contemporary phenomenon to the general public. (Either way, this person will avoid answering and just run away cowardly.)

Ok bye lol

[Sheridan1980 1,119]

Why wonder if Madonna is relevant to a public of uneducated junk food, reality TV and crap singers who prefer to judge her on her age and injections rather than her talent?
Madonna is and always has been relevant, period. On the other hand, it's true that she's never won the unanimous approval of idiots because she's a rebel and irreverent, but that's always been the case.
The real question is not whether Madonna has become less relevant, but rather whether people have become more and more stupid.

[maddy1111 1,620]

37 minutes ago, Sheridan1980 said:

The real question is not whether Madonna has become less relevant, but rather whether people have become more and more stupid.

And the answer to that question is yes, they did. 

[remixed224 505]

Sometimes I just don’t understand how Madonna didn’t do any impact to younger generations. Yesterday I went to Declan McKenna concert, before show songs were playing - they played ABBA Dancing Queen - everyone were singing and dancing and after Like a prayer played - just few older people were singing :/ 

[Redha DBL 7,428]

On 7/28/2020 at 4:17 PM, Mp1992 said:

Not her fanbase but the GP in the world

 

In the US, I would say up until 2003 with American Life and then she spent another 10 years of so, until 2012-2013, being semi relevant

 

Outside the US, I would say until 2009, notice her worldwide album sales were still good until then and she was still having hit single after hit single outside the US until Celebration

 

Thoughts?

"Everybody"

[Jackie 8,102]

She’s relevant right now - her tour has been a massive success and is about to have over a million people watch her perform in Brazil -

[Donna 16,655]

Relevancy is subjective.  She's always been relevant to me and will always be.  Certainly like any artist, she will not interest everyone. She definitely had a lot of high career moments, more than others.  She will always be a famous icon for years to come.  But of course, I don't expect future generations will get her like most of us fans have in previous generations.  Like any iconic figure, she will peak interest from new generations, but expecting any commercial success as she had in the past is unrealistic. Certain individuals will cling to her in the future like many other iconic entertainers.  For me, she will always peak my interest. That's all that matter. Will it measure up to the past work, maybe not, but at the same time, she tends to produce a few songs with each new album that I really love.  That's enough for me!

[Starchild 3,087]

At times, this forum feels like a twilight zone...