We've all heard Madonna's recent music. Madonna's went to number 1 ever since the new sound of her Ray Of Light album. She's even toured stadiums. Her sales total over 400 million. But does Madonna count as the world's largest dance artist?

Even though she'd be the highest selling in Dance and all of Electronic music there's a small problem. She was famous before she became a dance artist. She was first a op artist for 15 years. Even though she did some Dance songs then it was her Pre-ROL days that made her popular. So I'm asking is it her work in 2000 that's made her a stadium sellout or just cause she's Madonna and has been since '83.

King of Dance

Madonna or Lady GaGa?

From the beginning, Madonna had greater success in the dance charts than in the pop charts. Her first 2 singles "Everybody" and "Burning Up" both went top 3 in the clubs charts despite not cracking the Hot 100. She's maintained a strong grip on the Club charts ever since!

Well yes Madonna started in the club scene, in New York infact. Everybody was her only Pre-Madonna Dance song to get airplay. Burnin Up and everything after that was pretty much Pop. She was and still is considered a Pop artist Even though you're on the Dance charts doesn't make you a Dance artist(EDM). Anything fom Pop,R&B,Hip Hop to Elektro-Industrial remixes can be big hits on Dance Charts here in The US . Dance and Alternative mean different things in Europe. I know MC Hammer wonfor best Rock artist or was nominated one year. He was big and had no guitars or anything to do with Rock in his music.

[Edited 1/2/11 14:34pm]

fluid said:

Well yes Madonna started in the club scene, in New York infact. Everybody was her only Pre-Madonna Dance song to get airplay. Burnin Up and everything after that was pretty much Pop. She was and still is considered a Pop artist Even though you're on the Dance charts doesn't make you a Dance artist(EDM). Anything fom Pop,R&B,Hip Hop to Elektro-Industrial remixes can be big hits on Dance Charts here in The US . Dance and Alternative mean different things in Europe. I know MC Hammer wonfor best Rock artist or was nominated one year. He was big and had no guitars or anything to do with Rock in his music.

[Edited 1/2/11 14:34pm]

The version of "Burning Up" that was played was a dance version:

"Holiday" sounds like a dance song to me, too! She definitely specialized in dance-pop, but the dance elements are all over that first album.

Hmm well actually I'm incorrect by asking GaGa. Dido sold 20 million on her debut album. GaGa's Fame onster though new has only sold 15. It is a remix-rerelease f The Fame which sold 5 million. Together that is 20 millon. Dido I believe was more Jngle-Drum'N Bass but that counts as Dance.

Burnin Up I thought had an almost Rock sound. But anyhow it sounds like a Pop song with a few Dance sounds. Anyway i wouldn't count cause Dance Music in hey Techno-House sense didn't come along til The late 80s.

[Edited 1/2/11 14:55pm]

fluid said:

Hmm well actually I'm incorrect by asking GaGa. Dido sold 20 million on her debut album. GaGa's Fame onster though new has only sold 15. It is a remix-rerelease f The Fame which sold 5 million. Together that is 20 millon. Dido I believe was more Jngle-Drum'N Bass but that counts as Dance.

Burnin Up I thought had an almost Rock sound. But anyhow it sounds like a Pop song with a few Dance sounds. Anyway i wouldn't count cause Dance Music in hey Techno-House sense didn't come along til The late 80s.

[Edited 1/2/11 14:55pm]

The video version of "Burning Up" definitely has a rockier sound! As for dance music, it has meant different things at different times. I think the fact that her music has been so consistently successful on the dance charts means that Madonna does qualify as a dance artist. You are right in that she has focused more on dance elements since Ray of Light, but it isn't a stretch (in my book, at least!) to say that her initial success came with dance music as well.

She can't dance, though.

Obviously you haven't seen her tours. She may be short or not be Michael but she dances good. Se introduced The World to Vogueing. Vogue which may have been her first true Dance song of The 90s Dance era. Once again you have to make a seperation between Common Dance Music and Electronic Dane Music(EDM). While Madonna was a Dance artist on The Billboard Charts she wasn' truely EDM til Ray Of Light. Bedtime Stories have Dance sounds and the tittle track was very dance oriented.

She may have had an eecronic sound in the clubs but after 3s Madonna came out she was pretty much Pop with light elements of Rock and Soul.

So Madonna is The Queen of Pop but is she The King of Dance? Lady gaga is probrably the biggest selling dance artist right now. But she's not of all time. Madonna woul be my first guess followed by Dido, Kylie Minogue and Paul Oakenfold. There's The 90s Dance Sound of Electronic Music. Then there's The 80s Synth side of which Depeche Mode are the gods. Nine Inch Nails would be the lords of Industrial. But DM and NINs titles may be endangered cause Linin Park has sold far mor than them in a short time. Well Hybrid Theory outsold Violator and Downward Spiral at 24 million. Then there's the issue of what are they. Linkin Park is Punk,rock,Hip Hop, and Electronic mixed together not just Electronic. Eitherway they have no respect on The Undergound so DM and NIN are the kings of Electrctronic Alternative.

Of course there's Usher Beyonce,and Rihanna which are all R&B artists who have recently dabbled into Dance. Bu neither is curently outselling GaGa so she is the reigning Queen or King(not just cause she's bisexual) of Dance-Pop. Oh hen there's Chris Brown but I'm not sure he's back on he high horse ever since what he did to Rihanna. BTW who is The Queen of R&B. It used o be Beyonce but a year or 2 ago everybody was calling Chris&Rihanna the reiging couple of Urban Music.

Madonna has had 40 Number 1 Hot Dance Club hits. It's more than twice as many as the next person, whoever that may be

No. I think someone who gets that title has to be purely a dance artist. Madonna is much bigger than the dance genre so I think its too confining a title.

Arnotts said:

No. I think someone who gets that title has to be purely a dance artist. Madonna is much bigger than the dance genre so I think its too confining a title.

Hmm so you think like me sorta Wel let me as this. Should Madonna be The Queen or King of Pop. King's are just male but they're the one's generally more in ower That being that the former King of Pop is gone that leavs Madonna as his heir. The largest artist and therefore King of Pop music today.

Well we'll see since GaGa's outsold her latest efforts. She should be due out wih somethin in 2011.

Eitherway I thought Madnna is the king cause she's so manly with muscles and Michael so soft and fragile he was the Queen really.

Same with Janetand Prince. Janet's a hue tomboy so she's actually the prince and rince as you know wears high heels and has his hair done so he'd be Princess really. The 80s, everything in culture was different.

When I think of Madonna, I think of the numerous 12" singles that went to #1 on the dance chart here in the states first (since I have almost all of them) so to me she is a dance artist more than anyone else and deserves the #1 dance artist title easily.

I never think of songs like "Take A Bow" haha.

madonna is her own genre, why compare her to these other artists? She was always the most famous for her dance sound, which were different dance sounds throughout the three decades. She even made club dance sounds famous by bringing them to the mainstream.

mynameisnotsusan said:

Madonna has had 40 Number 1 Hot Dance Club hits. It's more than twice as many as the next person, whoever that may be

I believe the "next person" is either Janet or Christine W. But yeah I get the point of this thread, I mean when I participate in a conversation about dance music from the '90s for example, I will definitely not talk about Madonna or Janet (even though I am a huge fan of both) but about Snap, Prodigy, Cece Peniston, 2 Unlimited etc. Madonna became much more than just the most successful dance act of all time to me

[Edited 1/4/11 6:03am]

jiorjios said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

Madonna has had 40 Number 1 Hot Dance Club hits. It's more than twice as many as the next person, whoever that may be

I believe the "next person" is either Janet or Christine W. But yeah I get the point of this thread, I mean when I participate in a conversation about dance music from the '90s for example, I will definitely not talk about Madonna or Janet (even though I am a huge fan of both) but about Snap, Prodigy, Cece Peniston, 2 Unlimited etc. Madonna became much more than just the most successful dance act of all time to me

• Artists with the most number-one Hot Dance Club Songs hits:

1. Madonna — 40^[6]

2. Janet Jackson — 19^[6]

3. Donna Summer¹ — 16 ^[3][7]

4. Mariah Carey — 15 (tie)^[6]

4. Kristine W — 15 (tie)^[6]

6. Beyoncé — 14^[8]

7. Whitney Houston — 13^[8]

8. Rihanna — 12^[9]

9. Deborah Cox — 10 (tie)^[10]

9. Pet Shop Boys — 10 (tie)^[11

I would say that both Madonna and Gaga are pop/dance rather than pure dance/electronic artists. They both took dance club sounds and made them pop and accessible to the radio and general public.

Pure dance is just played at clubs and is house/trance type of music sometimes without any vocals or very few vocals.