Erotica might have sold more than 2m domestically - Soundscan wasn't that reliable in 1992.
[Edited 5/31/07 16:09pm]

Ellie said:

Yeah..they were still working the kinks out...but looking back..brilliant album that it was came during the big Madonna Backlash of 92-93...the 'Sex' book offended the conservatives, 'Body Of Evidence' was a flop, people were just over her and the oversexed persona they saw her as. 'Erotica' had mostly glowing reviews but it did fall quickly due to the backlash. I personally loved this era...one of my Top 3...including the 'Girlie Show' tour.

peace

It's so unfortunate that the album got caught up in the big media mess with Madonna at the time. Seriously, it's such an unsexy record. It's brilliant, but apart from 2 tracks there's nothing that explicit or distasteful on it.

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Yeah, people were ripe to reject Madonna regardless of the quality of the album she released.

Ellie said:

I could not agree more...'In This Life' and 'Why's it So Hard' are too of her most moving songs ever...

peace

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Yeah, the album is quite positive and heartfelt in many places. Add "Rain" and "Bad Girl" to that list too!

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

I LOVE THE GIRLIE SHOW!
It's still her best tour. I wish I had the live CD still that went with the book..."Why's it So Hard" live was fucking outrageously beautiful.

I wish she would do a tour with the LIVE BAND the way she did TGS. That band was awesome, and they KILLED it on SNL when she sang "Fever." She should not have let them go, they bordered on Funky. Fantastic drummer and percussionist, whoever they were. That's my MAJOR complaint about her most recent tours...all 3 have been great visually, (well 2 of them have been, at least) but Stuart Price has basically just been a DJ of pre recorded sound cues and effects, with very little live instrumentation. Half the time I wonder if the drummer or guitar player is really playing. It's so distasteful and almost embarrassing for an artist of her stature, not to mention the amount she charges for tickets.
She should spend an hour less working out everyday during tour rehearsals and rehearse with a REAL band next go round.

badujunkie said:

OMG! SNL performance was HOT. It was probably the funkiest she'd been...that version of 'Fever' is incredible...and she was so sexy singing it...very subtle look she had going...the black suit, the blonde hair and little make up..she looked beautiful!

peace

I think I have that live one of 'Why's It So Hard'. It was on the CD single to 'I'll Remember'. It was when I fell in love with that song hearing the live version.

The best was when she opened up that SNL episode singing 'Happy Birthday Mr. President' and they had Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks as Bill and Hilary
[Edited 5/31/07 16:38pm]

Ellie said:

That was so great...and when she ripped the picture of Joey Buttacfuco after 'Bad Girl'..mocking the Sinead episode...classic Mo!

peace

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

see, people always say that was her 'slump' phase,but she was still hot in a way that she just isn't now. she was in her early 30s, and still grabbing headlines all over, and even though E wasn't her best selling, i don't know...she was witty and with it in a way that she just isn't now...i personally think from 1992-1995 was when she was the most on top of her game...

badujunkie said:

89-95 you have to include Like A Prayer and Blonde Ambition.

twink69 said:

You are correct. There was an article that stated that "HIStory" made almost as much as "Thriller" in profits. The HIStory Tour was also the biggest grossing tour of that year. HIStory was a commercial success. Btw, It got great reviews from the NY Times and many other outlets. This was MJ's most personal album and the songs reflected that. I absolutely love the disc of original songs.

badujunkie said:

Jamie King had orginally picked Michael Bland to be the drummer on DWT, but was replaced by Stuart on day 3 of rehersal. Jamie also canned her light director after DWT. He was amazing and the light show for RIT and Confessions suffered for it. I persoanlly would love to see her get rid of Jamie and Stuart and either go back to Christopher and Jay Winding or find new people.

I think the Girlie Show is her best tour.

badujunkie said:

It's pretty clear now that her 'slump' phase was 2003 and 'American Life'...it was really weird not seeing her album do so well..she was getting older and radio was not playing her anymore...the album had potential hits but it was clear that radio had moved on to playing crap. But look how she bouced back with 'Re-Invention'....the way I look at it...she no longer has to prove anything to anyone...whether she sells 5 million or 50,000...she's proved herself time and time again and her next album will be much anticipated by her hard core fans...myself included

ehuffnsd said:

I am so sick of Jamie King. He has made her stage productions look so tiny. WTF was up with "Get Together" on the last tour? The best song on the album, it had massive potential for a great, memorable performance, and it was...wack. It had choreography out of 1987, and the dancers looked like they were bad immitations of 1990 Vogue.

And don't get me started on that god awful Reinvention tour...

badujunkie said:

my only problem with RIT is haven't been able to see what message she was trying to get across, but maybe that's the lack of a quality recording of the show.

the symbolism was easier to spot on other tours.

I thought it sold less than that...."Warning" came out zery much after their peak and the rise of alt rock (and even punk). It's a let down but I didn't even expect those kinds of numbers....

Why isn't Janet on the list? I don't even know if people know that "20 YO" is out there!

Cinnamon234 said:

According to mjjcharts,
Motown sales(as of 1990):(J5)39,132,600 singles
66,401,100 albums

(solo)14,037,300 singles
27,138,600 albums

Epic sales(in selected markets)-(Jacksons)-14,927,000 singles
11,220,000 albums

(solo)-61,166,400 singles
180,876,000 albums

Unfortunately, the sales aren't all up to date and some haven't been for awhile(e.g. Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, and the Motown releases) and only reflects certain markets

Ellie said:

Erotica is my favourite Madonna album.

skyecute said:

Not only that, it also got a Grammy nomination in 1996 for Album of The Year!
[Edited 6/2/07 9:17am]

SoulAlive said:

Well...u are right about MJ's high album budgets...But your math is a little fuzzy...You don't have to sell 50 million copies to equal $30 million...When you start selling 50 million copies, thats when u get in the three figure million gross range...But yes, u are correct that MJ's "flops" have been largely attributed to his skyrocketing album budgets...

I really don't understand why people like the "erotica" album, apart from the singles that were released (excluding fever) the album is unbearable to listen to.

The lyrics to the album tracks are so laughable that I seriously think Madonna was punking us.

Now the "like a prayer" album is another story...

mancabdriver said:

I also don't get the Erotica love-fest. It's O.K., but way too long and uneven to be among her best IMO.