Like a Virgin (album)
Like a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984, by Sire Records. Following the success of her 1983 self-titled debut album, Madonna was eager to start working on its follow-up. She selected Nile Rodgers to produce the album due to his work on Let's Dance (1983) by David Bowie, which she was a fan of. To ensure it be exactly as she envisioned it, Madonna chose all the songs for the album: She penned six of her own, five of which were co-written with former boyfriend and collaborator Steve Bray, and six written by other artists. Recording sessions took place at Power Station Studio in New York City. Rodgers enlisted the help of his former Chic bandmates Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson.
Like a Virgin
Upon release Like a Virgin received mixed reviews from music critics: Rodgers' production received praise, but Madonna's vocals were criticized. It became Madonna's first number one album on the Billboard 200, as well as the first female album to sell over five million copies in the United States. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) later certified it diamond for shipment of ten million units. Overseas, it reached number one in Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. With sales of over 21 million copies worldwide, Like a Virgin remains one of the best-selling albums of all time. Four official singles were released from the album ―all reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, with the title track becoming Madonna's first number one, and "Material Girl" reaching number two.
The album was promoted on Madonna's first concert tour, the Virgin Tour of 1985, which only visited cities in North America. Like a Virgin has ben noted the album that made Madonna a superstar, as well as the one that proved she was not a one-hit wonder. On top of that, the younger female population began emulating the singer's fashion style. In 2023, Like a Virgin was selected for preservation in the United States' National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress due to it being considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Composition[edit]
Alexis Petridis from The Guardian described Like a Virgin as a "cocktail of post-disco dance music, with a dash of hip-hop and a surprisingly large shot of choppy, angular new wave".[23] Noted an "80s teen-pop" take on Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", opener "Material Girl" is a synth-pop song with disco and new wave elements.[24][25][26] A tongue-in-cheek satire on the superficiality and materialism of the 1980s, Madonna sings in a shrill voice about how she won't accept men who cannot provide her with wealth and luxuries, because we are living in a material world.[2][7][27] Throughout the song, a robotic male voice repeats the hook living in a material world.[7] Second track "Angel" begins with the sound of twinkling synths and giggles.[28] It is an "ode to heavenly love" with a new wave overtone, built on an ascending hook consisting of a three chord sequence, which serves for the verse and chorus.[29][7] One of the lyrics is taken from Public Image Ltd's "Death Disco" (1979), while Rodgers provides pizzicato guitars.[30]
Title track "Like a Virgin" is a "mildly titillating" dance-rock song, in which the singer talks about how true love can make a girl feel shiny and new.[24] The bass-line on the introduction is a reworking of the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" (1965).[7] Madonna sings in a "little girl lost" voice the opening line I made it through the wilderness/Somehow, I made it through/Didn’t know how lost I was until I found you.[8] The drums, played by Tony Thompson, give the track "far more whallop than a drum machine ever could", according to Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna.[7] The lyrics to fourth track "Over and Over" talk about determination and picking oneself up from disappointments;[7] I get up again, over and over, Madonna sings in the refrain.[28] Instrumentation and production are sparse, featuring only a "silky" guitar.[7]
"Love Don't live Here Anymore" is the only ballad on the album, as well as the most soulful.[28] The song echoes back to Philadelphia soul, and features acoustic guitar and synth strings on the first half.[24][7] Lyrically, it's about a woman being abandoned and "emptied of love".[31] Madonna sings in a "tearful, angsty" tone as the track "builds and the strings undulate, belting that last anymore until she’s literally panting for breath".[32] Included only on the 1985 international re-issue of Like a Virgin, Madonna's voice in "Into the Groove" is doubletracked.[12] The track has a "bumping" synth-bass line, while the lyrics celebrate "dancefloor escapism", and juxtapose music, dance, sex and love.[25][16][33] "Dress You Up" is a "drum machine-driven" dance song with a nu-disco beat, consisting of a two-chord verse.[26][12] It features a guitar solo on its bridge, while Madonna sings about clothes she would like to drape over her lover, so that she can cover him with "velvet kisses", and caress his body with her hands.[26][12]
Seventh track "Shoo-Bee-Doo" begins as a stripped-down piano ballad, before turning into a "deceptively bouncy ditty".[28] The song reminiscences doo-wop and girl groups like the Shirelles and the Ronettes, while the lyrics deal with relationship problems, and Madonna trying to get through to her confused lover.[12][28] Starting with the chorus, followed by an opening verse, eight track "Pretender" is a synth-pop song about seduction and the insecurity felt by Madonna as she "[lets] things happen too fast" with a man who "isn't what he seems".[12][28] Like a Virgin closes with "Stay", a song that features a fast triple rhythm with synths.[12] The hook consist the phrase stay, darling being repeated over and over.[28] Also present is the noise of someone slapping a microphone and a spoken sequence towards the end.[12]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, Like a Virgin debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200 on December 1, 1984.[115] The following week, it climbed to number ten.[116] The album reached the chart's first spot on February 9, 1985, where it spent three weeks.[117] Madonna became the third female artist in the 1980s decade ―after Barbra Streisand and Kim Carnes― to score both a number one album and single, as the title track had reached the Hot 100's top spot two weeks prior.[118] Three weeks after its release, Like a Virgin had sold over three million copies.[119] By July 1985, it had become the first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the United States.[107][120] The record came in at the third spot on the Billboard 200 year-end chart for 1985.[121] It was eventually certified ten times platinum (diamond) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipment of ten million copies.[122] After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 574,000 copies as of August 2010.[123] Another 882,000 units were sold at the BMG Music Club, which are not counted by the Nielsen SoundScan.[124] Along with True Blue (1986) and The Immaculate Collection (1990), Like a Virgin is one of Madonna's best-selling albums in the United States.[122]
In Canada, Like a Virgin debuted on the 78th spot of the RPM Albums Chart on November 10, 1984;[125] it climbed up the chart and eventually reached the third spot on February 16, 1985.[126] The album was present for a total of 74 weeks on the chart, and was certified diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), for shipment of one million copies.[127][128] Like a Virgin reached the fifth position of RPM's 1985 year-end chart.[129] 750,000 copies were sold in Latin America as of June 1986.[130]
In the United Kingdom, Like a Virgin debuted at number 74 on the UK Albums Chart, on November 24, 1984. However, it fluctuated on the chart for the next eight months and it wasn't until September that it finally reached the chart's top.[73] The album was certified three times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and has sold over a million copies there.[131][132] In France, the album debuted and peaked at number five on the French Albums Chart on October 6, 1985, staying there for eight weeks.[133] Like a Virgin was certified two times platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipment of 600,000 copies.[134] Like a Virgin reached number the first place on European countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.[135][136][137][138] Like a Virgin became Madonna's first number one album on the European Top 100 Albums, reaching the summit on November 18, 1985, and remaining there for two weeks.[139] Over 2 million copies were sold across Europe by the end of 1985.[140]
In Australia, the album debuted and peaked at the second position of the Kent Music Report albums chart, and was certified seven times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 490,000 copies.[141][142] Like a Virgin remained at the top of the New Zealand Albums Chart for three consecutive weeks, and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for the shipping of 75,000 copies.[143][144] With over 21 million copies sold worldwide, Like a Virgin is one of the best-selling albums of all time.[145]
All tracks produced by Nile Rodgers
Notes[46]