I don't know why I haven't thought of starting a Madonna blog before. After all, she's been a hugely important part of who I am since I was just a kid! I'm celebrating my 20th anniversary as a fan in 2012, so what better way to show my appreciation and gratitude (and just how crazy a fan I am) than to start a blog that's completely devoted to worshipping Madonna?! I'm way too excited to start writing about all things Madonna because those are among the things that make me happiest and that also inspire me the most in my life. For me, Madonna means everything, and by that I don't mean just being a fan in general and loving everything she does, but also other things: Because of Madonna, I fell in love with the English language and became an English teacher. Because of Madonna, I learned to be open-minded and accepting of different people, and also found it easier to accept myself the way I am as a result. Because of Madonna, I've travelled to many amazing places in the world, and I fell in love with everything New York is about way back when. And because of Madonna's music, I've felt deeper feelings than you can possibly imagine. She's my source of inspiration, my teacher, and a kindred spirit, in addition to being my favourite singer and The Queen. I love her and have her under my skin and I'm so glad to have become a fan at such a young age!
It all started with this:
I was 9 years old and watching In Bed With Madonna, or Truth Or Dare, with my mum. She'd taped it off the TV, and I guess I just happened to be there since I don't remember planning to watch it with her or anything. Anyway, once Holiday (above, the exact same version) started playing, something happened inside me - I can't explain it, something simply changed in that moment and I haven't been the same since. It wasn't just "love at first sight", either, because I simply became a completely different person inside. It was just incredible how much I loved Holiday there and then and how in awe of Madonna I was. I hate to admit it, but prior to that, I'd found her incredibly annoying and hadn't liked her at all. Certainly not how I felt after watching In Bed With Madonna! After that, I spent hours and hours watching the film, and we also had Blond Ambition live from Barcelona on video, which I watched over and over again, every day. I'd always done A LOT of singing, too, but after falling in love with Madonna, singing became an obsession because I just wanted to live those songs and deliver them myself, too. I sang them in the shower, while watching Blond Ambition, under my blanket at night before falling asleep, I taped myself singing; I listened hard for the right lyrics (since I'm not a native speaker and was just 9 years old, most of my misheard versions of the lyrics were insane :D!)...Anyway, we watched In Bed With over the weekend, and when I went to school on Monday, I said to my best friend, "Guess what happened to me over the weekend?" and she replied, "You've become a Madonna fan!!!!". I don't get it!! How the hell did she decide to say that?!? We had NEVER even talked about Madonna before! It was all very mysterious.
I had to be a closeted fan at first since my dad hated Madonna and thought she was a slut and whatnot. I thought his opinions were horrible and insulting but was too scared to stand up for Madonna (and myself). I got my first Madonna cassette at Christmas 1992 (Like A Prayer) and remember guessing what was inside from the shape of the present - I tore off a tiny bit of the wrapping paper, saw what it was, and went to my room to hide the tape in my desk drawer. I was SO happy, though! It was the best Christmas present I got that year! Luckily, my parents didn't live together anymore so after my dad had gone home after Christmas, I finally got to listen to Like A Prayer. I loved it! I still love the same songs off it that I first fell in love with back then, which would be Till Death Do Us Part, Promise To Try, Cherish, Oh Father and Keep It Together. It was amazing to own an actual Madonna album - till I got the cassette, I'd been listening to tapes I'd made by recording songs off the TV with my boombox. I'd put Blond Ambition on, be really quiet and tape the songs so I could listen to them in my room without having to watch the videos whenever I wanted to hear Madonna's voice, which was all the time. Anyway, I was still somewhat embarrassed of listening to Madonna so I preferred it if no one was at home when I was listening to my tapes in my room. Though that quickly changed - I don't know how my mum and my sister never had any complaints!
To this date, I remember where I first heard all of my favourite Madonna songs. I love everything she does in some way, but the 1980s and the early 1990s are my favourite Madonna era by far.
And from Blond Ambition to Super Bowl 2012 - I feel like I've come a full circle today when I watched her halftime performance from last night.
What an amazing, amazing performance! The Queen is here, and like a friend of mine put it, Madonna really only needs 12 minutes to show everyone why she is the Queen of Pop. I can't wait to celebrate my 20 years as a fan with a new album and an incredible tour, which will hopefully have elements of the past like I felt the Super Bowl show had. Bring it all on, I'm waiting!
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