Madonna rare

UNWRAPPING THE CANDY Peter Magennis investigates B-Sides and hidden gems from the most collectable diva of all

So sings Madonna on Give It 2 Me, the latest single from her latest album, Hard Candy – revenge never sounded so sweet! Having survived 25 years of critics predicting her demise, who can blame Madonna for sticking the proverbial up at her detractors? She has outlasted her contemporaries from the decade that spawned her, choosing against disappearing into her own Neverland or Paisley Park, and has just released what is perhaps the most talked-about album of her career. And with a back catalogue boasting such masterpieces as True Blue, Like A Prayer, Ray Of Light, Music and Confessions On A Dance Floor - that’s a pretty remarkable achievement.

“Give me a record and I’ll break it”, continues Madonna on Give It 2 Me. When 4 Minutes, the hyperactive first single from Hard Candy, hit Number 1 in April (based on downloads alone) she broke her own record for the most Number 1 singles for a female artist - 13 and counting. In May, when Hard Candy became her tenth Number 1 album – she broke yet another of her own records by scoring the most Number 1 albums by a female artist in the UK. In the US, when 4 Minutes took not much longer than its title to catapult into the Top Ten (her 37th on the Billboard Hot 100), the song became the fastest climbing single in chart history …

by Peter Magennis
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