What is the Best Lead Single from every album?

[GhostOrchid 702]

6 hours ago, MikeyK said:

I agree the True Blue singles can go either way; I consider PDP to be the lead as it was the one that really launched the album release campaign/era and look, and had no prior connections. 

Everybody was NOT a “lead single” under any stretch of the imagination. She didn’t even have an album deal at that point. They didn’t know what they were gonna do w/her yet. That album rollout was wonky but Holiday was what launched the album in the mainstream.

By nowadays standards Everybody and Burning Up would be considered “buzz singles”. Idk why there was a narrative shift in recent years to consider them her first two attempts at hits that flopped. They were 12” singles that were aimed at club goers.

Thank you, my points exactly.

[GhostOrchid 702]

5 hours ago, androiduser said:

I think it's because an album would have been rushed to be released if either of the two had made enough buzz.

They did make enough buzz, for an unknown artist. They were targeting clubs and that's what they achieved, they were massive club hits - No.3 in the whole country. Not bad for an underground NYC-focused girl on a minor, new wave label. The reason why she got the album deal one month after Everybody was released was because it was successful. As soon as it was evident that Everybody is doing really well in the club charts they offered her a 2-album deal.

People look at Everybody and Burning Up as if they are some kind of flops, only because they are seeing from the perspective of the mega star Madonna. No one sees that they are successful first steps.

[GhostOrchid 702]

5 hours ago, Rebel Hugo said:

How can "Holiday" being considered as the "lead single" of her debut album when the whole album was already released more than 1 month and a half? 💀 So under that logic "Burning Up" can be considered as her "lead single" because by that time Madonna already got hired to Sire Records and her debut album was almost finished. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Because Burning Up was released to fulfill her 2-singles contract. it was recorded, together with Physical Attraction, for that purpose in November 82 aimed at March 83 release. Both were recorded a short time before Madonna signed the 2-album deal, also in November 82. The work on the album started only in January 83. So it was not there to kick off the album release, but for another purpose.

[proxy 2,574]

All those lists of lead, second & third single's showing how amazing catalog of songs M have. It's also funny how some second & third singles are better than the lead 

[Ayham 5,485]

Like A Prayer is seriously sooo overrated… my choice will be between Frozen, Music and Hung Up. 

[Voguerista 11,831]

This is so hard. All of them were so good and impactful in some way. Personally, I’m going to pick Music. I’ll never forget the lead up to it thinking the name was so lame. Was I ever wrong, the name for the single and album really said it all. To this day, it’s one of my top favorite dance singles and relevant to this day. 

[Tony Fortin 1,791]

My vote Papa Don't Preach

song/video/look

confirming again and again that she rules the world!!

[SweetMadonna 1,641]

Like a Prayer 

[Donna 16,494]

On 9/8/2023 at 1:02 AM, GhostOrchid said:

Show me one piece of evidence where Warner or Madonna stated they consider Live to Tell and Everybody as the "lead singles". And don't say "from the forthcoming album" or similar lines because that doesn't mean anything, it just says the single will be included in the album. Don't even say that the back of True Blue single says - third single from the album because yes, it was the third single released that is included there, to me it doesn't prove my point.

Holiday is the lead single and was released a month after the album due to technicalities, but was in fact there to promote the album kick off.

Everybody was part of a 2 single deal, and had Sire been unhappy with her they would have dropped her without the album. It is a single that was later included on the album.

We are looking at this from different angles, and while I see yours, you're not seeing mine and there's nothing I can do about it.

Sorry, you are re-writing Madonna history. "Everybody" IS and officially considered the first single and the album had two singles by the time the album was released.  Therefore, Holiday was not the "lead single" being it came after the release.  Again, you are spinning it to fit your narrative.

Live to Tell was indeed the lead single for True Blue as well.  It is listed as so on her website and has always been acknowledged as so among Warner Bros as the kick off single.  Again, you are simply spinning it to fit your narrative. 

I'm not going to disagree that Papa Don't Preach didn't further help kick off True Blue, but Live To Tell was the lead single from the album.  Feel free to spin however you like, but you are incorrect to dismiss Live To Tell as the "lead single"  All official sources, consider Everybody and Live To Tell as lead single to their parent albums.

If you need further proof.. Google "What is Madonna lead single to her debut (True Blue) album?"  The answers will be "Everybody" and "Live To Tell". 

Madonna.com says "Everybody" is her first single: https://www.madonna.com/discography/album/1/

Madonna.com says "Live to Tell" and I quote: "The lead-off track"  :  https://www.madonna.com/discography/album/3/

Nearly every music source including official sources like Billboard, Rolling Stone and Official charts list both songs as lead singles:

https://www.billboard.com/lists/madonnas-40-biggest-billboard-hits/music-hot-100-peak-position-1-four-weeks-peak-year-2000/

https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/how-madonna-became-madonna-an-oral-history-94288/

https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonnas-lead-singles-ranked__26119/

In fact Official charts ranked them back in 2009:

Madonna's lead singles ranked in combined sales order:

 SONG SONG  PEAK ALBUM YEAR

1LIKE A VIRGIN 3LIKE A VIRGIN1984

2LIKE A PRAYER1LIKE A PRAYER1989

3HUNG UP1CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR2005

4VOGUE1I'M BREATHLESS1990

54 MINUTES1HARD CANDY2008

6FROZEN1RAY OF LIGHT1998

7MUSIC1MUSIC2000

8WHO'S THAT GIRL1WHO'S THAT GIRL OST1988

9LIVE TO TELL 2TRUE BLUE1986

10YOU'LL SEE5SOMETHING TO REMEMBER1995

11EROTICA3EROTICA1992

12JUSTIFY MY LOVE2IMMACULATE COLLECTION1990

13CELEBRATION3CELEBRATION2008

14SECRET5BEDTIME STORIES1994

15YOU MUST LOVE ME10EVITA1996

16AMERICAN LIFE2AMERICAN LIFE2003

17LIVING FOR LOVE26REBEL HEART2015

18GIVE ME ALL YOUR LUVIN37MDNA2012

19EVERYBODY N/A MADONNA1982

 

Other sources: and there are more than just these, but I listed a few:

https://www.idolator.com/7752032/madonna-14-lead-singles-ranked

https://madonna.fandom.com/wiki/Discography

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/27/madonna-debut-album-40th-anniversary-every-track-ranked/

 

 

[Donna 16,494]

Double post!

[gst6662000 295]

and i thought deeper and deeper was the first single.... never saw the erotica video until the 2010s 

 

[gst6662000 295]

On 9/8/2023 at 6:12 AM, McDonna said:

No, you are incorrect.... Most MADONNA lead singles were released a month or more before the album release.

"Everybody"  was released 9 months before MADONNA

"Vogue" was released two months before I'm Breathless

"Erotica" was released nearly a month before the Erotica album

"Secret" was released a month before Bedtime Story

"Ray of Light" was released a month before Ray of Light

"Music" was released a month before Music (but this leaked and so both the single and album were pushed up)

"American Life" was released a month before American Life album

"4 Minutes" was released a month before Hard Candy

"Celebration" released more than a month before Celebration

 

 

 

 

u mean FROZEN ?

[Honey Little 3,996]

Live to Tell

Die Another Day

say hola 

[Aiwa08 16,217]

23 hours ago, Ayham said:

Like A Prayer is seriously sooo overrated… 

Oh, you are a man without fear.... (I agree with you a little bit).

[Prayer 14,379]

"Like A Prayer", simply, have it all:

- A killer song, in general

- A killer chorus

- A killer vocal (and it's the original demo vocal!!!)

- A killer controversial video

- A killer middle 8

- A whole narrative around it (Pepsi, the Vatican, etc.)

- A Madonna classic loved by the GP

It's the one.

[Aiwa08 16,217]

46 minutes ago, Prayer said:

It's the one.

Not for me. Yes, I know why fans think that Like A Prayer is the one, and please don't misunderstand me, I love the song (especially the 7’’ version and the 7’’ dance version). But in my opinion she has at least twenty better songs. Anyway I don’t want to debate about "Like A Prayer" because it’s a lost battle.

[Donna 16,494]

4 hours ago, gst6662000 said:

u mean FROZEN ?

Yes, I mistakenly wrote "Ray of Light".  You're right "Frozen". 

[A. A. Aardvark 4,843]

On 9/7/2023 at 10:47 PM, McDonna said:

But it DID kick off the album promotion.  It was listed on the single sleeve as coming from the "forthcoming" True Blue album.  I specifically recall back in the day when the song and video were played, many DJ's mentioning it was from her forthcoming album at the time. I agree the song was intended for the soundtrack, but she was recording True Blue at the time.  There is no way they were going to leave this off her studio album at the time. Even her record company was hesitant about it kicking off the album, as it was a ballad and they preferred a upbeat song to kick off the album, but Madonna wanted to release this first to coincide with the Soundtrack release as well. In the end, it was a huge success for her.

U know some Bryan Ferry fans slag of his Bête Noire record as  ''a Madonna album''.

In many ways Live To Tell is one of her most important singles.

[Blue Jean 15,261]

On 9/8/2023 at 7:18 AM, GhostOrchid said:

One could argue that Everybody, Live to Tell, American Pie or Die Another Day should be included instead, but I went with the logic of which single kicked off the album promotion cycle.

Me: Papa Don't Preach

There is no argument. Everybody, Live to Tell and Die Another Day WERE the lead singles.

Also, why is Vogue not listed? #floppoll

[Fabiolous 5,494]

1 hour ago, Blue Jean said:

There is no argument. Everybody, Live to Tell and Die Another Day WERE the lead singles.

Also, why is Vogue not listed? #floppoll

Die another day was NOT the lead single

[Brendanlovesu1 12,010]

26 minutes ago, Fabiolous said:

Die another day was NOT the lead single

Preceding the american life album release, "Die Another Day" was released as a single to promote the twentieth James Bond film of the same name. The song peaked at number eight in the United States, and number three in the United Kingdom.

technically it was the lead (and only) single for the soundtrack album for the film that released on November 12, 2002

[MikeyK 687]

I love how anal people get about semantics and the indignant insistence that “lead” MUST = very first. 🤣🤣🤣

I like looking at it in a more abstract sense, and seeing PDP, Holiday, American Life, etc, as the album launchers. Idk what the correct verbiage should be, but I absolutely understand @GhostOrchid‘s point.

[Blue Jean 15,261]

1 hour ago, MikeyK said:

I love how anal people get about semantics and the indignant insistence that “lead” MUST = very first. 🤣🤣🤣

 

Well lead single does mean the first single from the album 

By this threads logic Girl Gone Wild and Crave should be the lead singles of their respective albums 

[Blue Jean 15,261]

2 hours ago, Fabiolous said:

Die another day was NOT the lead single

It depends who you ask. It was always planned to be on the album though.

[MikeyK 687]

1 minute ago, Blue Jean said:

Well lead single does mean the first single from the album 

It doesn’t, necessarily. That’s what some of us are getting at. That’s why they didn’t call it “best *first* single”.

With some releases it’s very obvious what the “lead” is- LAV, LAP,  Erotica, Secret, Frozen, Music, HU, 4M.

Some album rollouts less so. That’s why some of us think Holiday, PDP,  AL belong with those instead of Everybody, LTT, DAD.