Madonna at 65: still the Queen of Pop?
Last week Madge launched her postponed Celebration tour in London

Last week was a big one in the pop world, said Neil McCormick in The Daily Telegraph.
On 13 October, a concert film of the most popular female artist of her generation, Taylor Swift, opened in cinemas around the world. Only a day later, the best-selling female recording artist of all time, Madonna, launched her postponed Celebration tour in London, "kicking off a 78-date global trot that will see her perform to over a million fans".
At 33, Swift is almost half Madonna's age, yet like Lady Gaga and almost every other modern female artist, she owes a huge debt to the older singer. Madonna was "really the first female global superstar". With her catalogue of monster hits, her influence on dance and fashion, her constant image reinventions and defiance of norms, the "Queen of Pop" paved the way for a host of others to follow.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Onstage smut and snogging'
I was among the faithful at London's O2 Arena for Madonna's concert, said Sarah Vine in the Daily Mail – and great fun it was. The place was a "sea of lace fingerless gloves and giant crucifixes", leather jackets, white tulle and conical bras. The audience loved the songs and the costumes and the nostalgia, but there was something "slightly embarrassing" about the "onstage smut and snogging".
Does Madonna really need to keep trying to prove how "edgy" she is, by writhing about on beds and cavorting with oiled-up and topless dancers? Now that she's a grown woman and a "global icon", rather than a boundary-breaking young artist, can't she move on and start acting more her own age?
'Still got the chutzpah'
Madonna could have taken "the Barbra Streisand route and headed towards intimate cabaret performances for her loyal fans", said Will Hodgkinson in The Sunday Times. Instead, she's sticking unashamedly to her formula. And since she can still carry it off, vocally and physically, why not?
Quite, said Eleanor Mills in The Independent. The Rolling Stones are still prancing about in tight leather trousers in their 80s and nobody is telling them to "grow up". Madonna has always loved outraging people. If she's "still got the chutzpah and the stamina to raise the roof" at the relatively tender age of 65, good luck to her.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
UK-US trade deal: can Keir Starmer trust Donald Trump?
Today's Big Question White House insiders say an agreement is 'two weeks' away but can Britain believe it?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Netanyahu's Qatar problem
Two of the prime minister's key advisers are accused of taking bribes from the Gulf state in exchange for favourable publicity
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK
-
Cartier at the V&A: a 'dazzling' show
The Week Recommends A 'once-in-a-lifetime' display of the French jeweller's 'exquisite' objects
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK
-
Cartier at the V&A: a 'dazzling' show
The Week Recommends A 'once-in-a-lifetime' display of the French jeweller's 'exquisite' objects
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK
-
What is Free Speech?: a 'meticulous' look at the evolution of freedom of expression
The Week Recommends Fara Dabhoiwala provides both history and critique while 'correcting misconceptions'
By The Week UK
-
Rupert Gavin shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The theatre impresario picks works by Dan Jones, Annie Ernaux and Floella Benjamin
By The Week UK
-
What They Found: Sam Mendes's powerful debut documentary
The Week Recommends The Oscar-winning director's harrowing film features footage and first-hand accounts of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
By The Week UK
-
The Return: a 'lethally effective' Odyssey adaptation
The Week Recommends Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reunite in Urberto Pasolini's 'emotionally gripping' drama
By The Week UK
-
Critics' choice: Three takes on tavern dining
Feature A second Minetta Tavern, A 1946 dining experience, and a menu with a mission
By The Week US
-
Film reviews: Warfare and A Minecraft Movie
Feature A combat film that puts us in the thick of it and five misfits fall into a cubic-world adventure
By The Week US
-
Music reviews: Perfume Genius, Momma, Elton John & Brandi Carlile
Feature "Glory," "Welcome to My Blue Sky," and "Who Believes in Angels?"
By The Week US