User:Chrishm21/sandbox7

Promotion

Tour

Main article: Who's That Girl World Tour

Madonna singing second single "Papa Don't Preach" on the Who's That Girl World Tour. The song became the singer's fourth to reach the first spot of the Billboard Hot 100.

Madonna sang album track "Love Makes the World Go Round" at the Philadelphia Live Aid benefit concert on July 13, 1985, one year before True Blue's release. The album was promoted on 1987's Who's That Girl World Tour, her second concert tour. It was her first world tour, and marked her first visit to Europe and Asia. Musically and technically superior to the Virgin Tour (1985), with a larger stage and four huge video screens used as backdrops, it was described by Madonna herself as a "theatrical multimedia spectacular". Collaborating with Marlene Stewart on the wardrobe, she expanded the idea of "bringing her popular video characters to life onstage", recreating scenes from "True Blue", "Papa Don't Preach" and "La Isla Bonita". Who's That Girl was critically appreciated, with reviewers singling out the performances, Madonna's vocals and confidence as a performer. The tour's performance of "Papa Don't Preach" marked her first conflict with the Vatican, as she dedicated it to Pope John Paul II, who urged Italian fans to boycott the concerts in the country. With a total gross of US $25 million, Who's That Girl was the second most successful female tour of the year, behind Tina Turner's Break Every Rule World Tour.

Singles

In the United States, "Live to Tell" was released as lead single on March 26, 1986, whereas in Europe, the release date was April 14. It was featured on At Close Range, a film starring Madonna's husband Sean Penn. Upon release, "Live to Tell" was acclaimed by critics, with some deeming it Madonna's best ballad, and singling out her vocal performance. It was also commercially successful, becoming the singer's third number one in the US Billboard Hot 100, and her first number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows the singer in a more demure, toned down appearance, inspired by actresses such as Grace Kelly, intercut with clips from At Close Range.

On June 11, "Papa Don't Preach" was released as True Blue's second single in the United States; in Europe, it was issued five days later. It was lauded by critics, who applauded its hook, maturity, and referred to it as a milestone in Madonna's career. It reached the top spot of the Hot 100 ―her fourth number one there― the United Kingdom, and Australia. The clip, also directed by Foley, shows the singer in her first "head-to-toe" image makeover, with a leaner, more toned body, and cropped platinum blonde hair. Its main storyline has Madonna trying to tell her father, about her pregnancy; these scenes are juxtaposed with shots of her dancing and singing in a small, darkened studio, and spending a romantic evening with her boyfriend. Shortly after its release, the song caused heated discussions about its lyrical content. Women's organizations and others in the family planning field criticized Madonna for encouraging teenage pregnancy, while groups opposed to abortion saw the song as having a positive anti-abortion message.

Madonna performing "La Isla Bonita" on 2015—2016's Rebel Heart Tour. The song reached the first spot of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

Title track "True Blue" was released as third single; first on Europe on September 29, and then in the United States on October 9. It was generally well received by music critics, who praised its retro-inspired sound and felt it was a throwback to girl groups. "True Blue" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and reached the third position of the Hot 100. Two music videos were shot for the single: the official one was directed by Foley and shows Madonna with three dancers and a 1950s car in an all-blue diner. An alternate video was made through MTV's "Make My Video" contest; the three entries selected portrayed a fifties-style production, and made allusion to the song's theme.

Released in the US on November 12, 1986, and in Europe on December 1, fourth single "Open Your Heart" gave Madonna her fifth number one in Hot 100; she became the second female artist – behind Whitney Houston – to score three number ones from one album. The song received positive reviews from critics and was deemed a highlight from the album. Its accompanying music video, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, depicts Madonna as an exotic dancer at a peep show who befriends a little boy. Critical reception towards the clip was generally positive: the singer was praised for presenting women as the dominant sex, but the plot of a child entering a strip club received criticism.

The last single from the album was "La Isla Bonita", released on on February 25, 1987. Critics reacted positively to the song and applauded its Latin-influenced sound. Peaking at number 4, it was Madonna's eleventh top five hit on the Hot 100, a feat surpassed at the time only by the Beatles and Elvis Presley. "La Isla Bonita" also gave the singer her second Adult Contemporary number one. Mary Lambert directed the music video, which shows Madonna as two opposite characters – a young Catholic woman, and a flamenco dancer.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Chicago Sun-Times
Christgau's Record Guide	B
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	B
Q
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Spin Alternative Record Guide	5/10

True Blue was well-received by critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it was "one of the great dance-pop albums", that showcases Madonna's skills as a "songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun". This opinion was echoed by the staff of Billboard, who were impressed with the "confident" album, and the singer's growth as writer and producer. Erika Wexler from Spin wrote: "Madonna knows her days as the chanteuse for teenage romance are numbered. With perfect timing, [she] gently distanced herself from that role, and although some of the songs [on True Blue] have the sophistication of a training bra, there are glowing moments". The New York Times' Stephen Holden noted that, despite lacking the "gleaming ultra-sleek aural surfaces" of Like a Virgin, True Blue's made up of "shrewdly crafted teen-age and pre-teen-age ditties that reveal Madonna's unfailing commercial instincts", and find her singing with "a lot more heart". This opinion was shared by Rolling Stone, where Davitt Sigerson referred to True Blue as a "sturdy, dependable, lovable" album, and singled out the singer's voice for sounding "better than ever".

Robert Hilburn from the Los Angeles Times, pointed out that the "most obvious growth" was Madonna's voice, which is "so finely tailored that she actually extends the punch and appeal of the production touches". He went on to say: "True Blue isn't revolutionary music, but it is imaginative, highly energized pop that recognizes the limitations and pleasures of Top 40 fare". PopMatters' Peter Piatkowski also applauded the singer's more mature vocals, and deemed the record "brilliant, one that speaks to its time but also celebrates the disparate cultures that influence [Madonna's] sound at the moment". True Blue is the "most polished" of Madonna's first three albums, according to El Hunt from the Evening Standard. In the same vein, Mary Von Aue from Stereogum said it has "more vocal range and lyrical complexities" than Like a Virgin and Madonna. True Blue was hailed "nine tracks of 80s pop perfection [...] Madonna’s strongest effort from that decade" by the staff of Gay Times. For Joseph Earp from Australian website Junkee, "with its era-defining production, and sweaty sheen of subversion, [True Blue is] the singer's way of understanding everything that came afterwards [...] most pop singers never release a record this good in their whole career".

Somewhat critical was Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine. Despite naming it a "supreme archetype of '80s pop music", with its tracks being "undeniably more mature" than her previous endeavors, he felt True Blue includes some of Madonna's "biggest clunkers", and is "undeniably of its time". For Daryl Easlea, author of Madonna: Blond Ambition, the album's main flaw is that the five singles are "so strong they overshadow" the remaining tracks, which seem "slight by comparison". In the same vein, John Quayle from the Observer–Reporter noted that, "five great songs are enough to convince even her worst critics that Madonna does have talent - and lots of it". Mary Von Aue was less favorable; she noted that the album experiments with "different sounds that are well executed as singles, but ultimately sound disjointed", ultimately concluding that, "[True Blue] doesn’t live up to the strength of [its singles]". The Record-Journal's Jim Zebora also gave a lukewarm review: "[True Blue] contains one absolutely marvelous torch song called 'Live To Tell' [...] Unfortunately, the rest is barely competent post-disco [...] So let's call it a C plus and program the CD player to ignore eight out of [its] nine songs". According to Don McLeese from the Chicago Sun-Times, although it represents a "valiant -and necessary- attempt on Madonna's part to expand her artistic range, [True Blue] just isn't as much fun" as her previous records.

Legacy

"The album where Madonna truly became Madonna the Superstar ―the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer that knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews― and make good music while she's at it".

—Stephen Thomas Erlewine on True Blue.

Bibliography

• Bego, Mark (2000). Madonna: Blonde Ambition. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-0-8154-1051-5.
• Butler, Jeremy G. (2002). Television: critical methods and applications. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-4209-8.
• Clerk, Carol (2002). Madonnastyle. Music Sales Group. ISBN 0-7119-8874-9.
• Forbes, Bruce David; Mahan, Jeffrey H. (2005). Religion and Popular Culture in America. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24689-6.
• Fouz-Hernández, Santiago; Jarman-Ivens, Freeya (2004). Madonna's Drowned Worlds. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3372-1.
• Guilbert, Georges-Claude (2002). Madonna as Postmodern Myth. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1408-1.
• Mitchell, Jolyon P. (2000). Visually Speaking: Radio and the Renaissance of Preaching. Westminster – John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-22244-7.
• Rettenmund, Matthew (1995). Encyclopedia Madonnica. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-11782-5.
• Taraborrelli, Randy J. (2002). Madonna: An Intimate Biography. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-2880-4.