Madonna Revealed Why She’s So Controversial
Madonna is controversial yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We’ll be talking about the Material Girl‘s scandals for as long as we’re talking about popular music. Interestingly, the Queen of Pop revealed why she is an agent provocateur. It has something to do with a style of rock music from the 1970s.
Madonna said she’s controversial but she doesn’t always think through her actions
Madonna has been controversial almost from the start of her career. Her first album was filled with bubblegum music but her second album, Like a Virgin, was a lot more scandalous. The title track and “Dress You Up” cemented her image as one of the most risque artists ever to hit the mainstream.
From there on, Madonna kicked numerous hornets’ nests by singing about teen pregnancy (“Papa Don’t Preach”), attacking the Roman Catholic Church (“Like a Prayer”), promoting BDSM (“Justify My Love”), and kissing Britney Spears onstage. That was just a list of her biggest controversies — she has had tiny controversies every other minute. Perhaps no singer was as consistently inflammatory as the Queen of Pop.
During a 2015 interview with HuffPost, the Queen of Pop discussed her artistry. “There’s a part of my character that’s on automatic, that just likes to be a provocateur,” she said. “And to a certain extent, maybe some of the things that I did didn’t really have any thought process behind them necessarily, but they got attention. I wasn’t really thinking of anything specific.”
Madonna said her approach to being a pop star came from her punk-rock days
The Material Girl said her approach to controversy was punk. “I mean, I could even think of shows that I did on the Lower East Side, when I was first starting in punk-rock bands,” she said. “I can’t say that every creative decision I made was altruistic or came from the deepest part of my soul or with the best intentions or was really well thought-out or anything like that. Sometimes I just did s***, you know? Just to, like, throw a firebomb in the room.”
Madonna has been criticized for appropriating other cultures. For example, she drew from Latin American culture for “La Isla Bonita,” African American dance styles for “Vogue,” and Judaism for the music video for “Die Another Day.” She didn’t care, dismissing the idea that she is appropriating anything. “That’s our job as artists, to turn the world upside down and make everyone feel bewildered and have to rethink everything,” she said. She compared herself to Elvis Presley, another icon who is divisive for the same reason.
The Queen of Pop revealed what she thought of other controversial singers
Madonna’s attitude toward provocation extends to other artists. According to Yahoo! News, she said that artists who are labeled problematic or scandalous are “probably onto something.”
Of course, there are numerous ways for scandalous artists to do the wrong thing. However, sometimes scandal is for the better. Love them or hate them, the most popular artists of all time each had their share of inflammatory moments. Perhaps Madonna is onto something with this quote!
Many writers have assumed that Madonna was edgy simply because she wanted attention. Meanwhile, the Queen of Pop said edginess is just part of her personality.
