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".
Like a Prayer (album)
In the United States, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number 11 on the "Billboard" 200, on the issue dated April 8, 1989. It quickly rose to the top of the chart after its third week, where it remained for six consecutive weeks, making it Madonna's longest-running number 1 album. The album spent a total of 77 weeks on the chart. The album also reached a peak of number 55 on "Billboard"s R&B Albums list. It was eventually certified multi Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of three million units. After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 575,000 copies. "Like a Prayer" has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In Canada, the album debuted at number two on the RPM Albums Chart on May 1, 1989. It remained on that position during four weeks, before dropping to the third position the week of May 29, 1989. The album was present for a total of 37 weeks on the chart, and was certified five times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipments of 500,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, on April 1, 1989. It remained on this position for two weeks and a total of 72 weeks on the chart. The album was certified four times platinum on February 1, 1995 for shipments of 1,200,000 copies. In France, the album debuted at number one on the French Albums Chart on April 9, 1989, staying there for two weeks, then descending down the chart, having spent a total of thirty-six weeks on it. On July, 1989, it was certified Platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipments of 300,000 copies, and once again on 2001, for shipments of 600,000 copies.