Madonna

Referring to Madonna as simply a “superstar” seems painfully inadequate. With sales of over 300 million records worldwide, she’s the best-selling female artist of all time, and her 40-year career path is liberally strewn with industry awards. 

Born and raised in Michigan, but launching her career in New York City in the late 70s, Madonna Louise Ciccone rose to stardom with her self-titled debut album in 1983 – and she’s never looked back. Pop’s ultimate mistress of reinvention, she’s been tapped into the zeitgeist for four decades, and her ability to convince – whatever genre-hopping approach she takes – has led to landmark albums ranging from 80s classics Like A Virgin and True Blue through to the controversial Erotica and more recent Grammy-winners Ray Of Light and Confessions On A Dance Floor. Inspired by the fado and samba music inherent in her newly-adopted hometown of Lisbon, Portugal, her most recent studio set, 2019’s Madame X, was yet another bold, leftfield move which once again revealed that, when it comes to pop’s premier spokespeople, no one expresses themselves quite as boldly as Madonna.