Madonna Ciccone
Madonna Ciccone
Madonna Louise Cicconeis an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and businesswoman. She achieved popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Madonna is known for reinventing both her music and image, and for maintaining her autonomy within the recording industry. Music critics have acclaimed her musical productions, which have generated some controversy. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", Madonna is often cited as...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth16 August 1958
CountryUnited States of America
I'm sure other people have a very strange view of my lifestyle.
I think it's just that as a creative person, in all the different things that I've done or ways that I've found to express myself, I've consistently come up against resistance in certain areas. I think that the world is not comfortable with female sexuality. It's always coming from a male point of view, and a woman is being objectified by a man - and even women are comfortable with that. But when a woman does it, ironically, women are uncomfortable with it. I think a lot of that has to do with conditioning.
In the end, by having a point of view, by taking a stand for things you believe in, you're ultimately always going to offend people. That's good. It's certainly more important to take a stand on some thing and offend people, than to be careful all of your life and have everyone approve of what you do. Or, as my psychiatrist likes to say, better to live one year as a tiger than 100 as a sheep.
I could never work in a recording studio where you have this lovely view and a beach and the waves are crashing. For me, it's all about being in a tiny room with little windows. It's almost like you have to be in a prison. And you can create beauty when you're in that sort of deprived environment, which is a re-creation of your formative years.
My point of view and philosophy continues to change and grow. As the years go by you go through this evolution.
I tend to write during the day so I can see my children at night. But if my kids aren't with me and I have a chunk of time when I'm a single woman living in my house for a miraculous week, I will get to write at different hours.
Writing is a very intimate thing, especially when you write lyrics and sing them in front of someone for the first time. It's like a really embarrassing situation. To me, singing is almost like crying, and you have to really know someone before you can start crying in front of them.
I like to think I'm a role model for women. But I also don't like to just limit it to women. I like to think I'm a role model for human beings in general.
When I first moved to New York, I wanted to be a dancer. I danced professionally for years, living a hand-to-mouth existence. I never tapped into nightlife; all I knew was dancers. We went to bed early and got up early and went to free concerts at the Lincoln Center and Shakespeare in the Park.
I'm attracted to artists like Frida Kahlo, because her work was her life, her questions, her outrage, her suffering, her pain. Everything is in her work.
When I left Michigan and I came to New York, that was my goal, to be a professional dancer. And I sort of fell into singing by accident in a way.
I believe sometimes we aren't always in charge of everything that we do creatively. We submit to things as we're going on our own journey.
I think a lot of people have a problem with the fact that I've adopted an African child, a child who has a different color skin than I do.
Men are such power-seeking creatures, and they usually kill people to get to the throne.