Madonna (Madonna album)
Madonna (retitled Madonna: The First Album for the 1985 re-release) is the debut album by American singer Madonna, released on July 27, 1983 by Sire Records. After having established herself as a singer in downtown New York City, Madonna was signed by Sire president Seymour Stein, due to the success of her debut single, "Everybody" (1982). She became the sole writer for most of the album's tracks, and chose Reggie Lucas as its primary producer. Unhappy with Lucas's production outputs, she invited John "Jellybean" Benitez to complete the album, who remixed three tracks and produced "Holiday".
Confessions on a Dance Floor
[The album] went straight to No. 1 everywhere except Mars. So too did the first single, "Hung Up", the video for which is on every time you turn on the TV. [Madonna] has reclaimed her place in the pop firmament with unrivaled ferocity. And she is a sterling example of pop survival. In a firmament that eats up artists like popcorn and where chart success is as fleeting as Jessica Simpson's attention span, Madonna remains an inspiring, intimidating beacon of permanence. Her longevity has thrived on her ability to continually reinvent herself by reading the winds of pop culture and taking her cue from there.
With the "Confessions on a Dance Floor" era, Madonna broke several world records and the album resuscitated her music sales and popularity, after the critical and commercial disappointment of "American Life". According to "The Jerusalem Post", the album sold 4 million copies worldwide during the first week of release. Madonna became the best-selling female artist in the European market and the fifth best-selling artist overall, with a quadruple platinum award by the IFPI. In the United Kingdom, "Confessions on a Dance Floor" became one of the fastest selling albums ever, with first week sales of 217,610 copies according to the Official UK Charts Company. Also, Madonna earned a place in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the "oldest artist to simultaneously top the UK singles and album charts". With estimated sales of over 10 million copies worldwide, "Confessions on a Dance Floor" is considered to be one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s.