ABSTRACT
Madonna's transformational imagery, lovers and sexual escapades have provided ample fodder for tabloid-style commentary, with little or no attention paid to her skills as a songwriter and performer. This chapter examines Madonna's songs and performance style, showing how both have evolved significantly over the years. It selects for detailed commentary five songs that represent a cross-section of her vocal styles: 'Material Girl', 'Papa Don't Preach', 'I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You', 'Frozen' and 'Music'. The subtext of McClary's argument is unambiguous: music by artists such as Madonna or Prince, with their frequent use of dance idioms and subsequent association with gay or sexually liberated audiences, is seen as somehow inferior to 'real' rock and roll. But Madonna's music refuses to be defined by narrow boundaries of gender, sexuality or anything else. At the twentieth anniversary of Madonna's first album, fans, audiences and critics were still as keen to analyse her latest moves, coinciding with the release of American Life.
