Madonna: Effortlessly Fabulous at 50
by 
Kimberlee Morrison on August 21st, 2008
On Saturday, Madonna celebrated the big 50 and everybody has been doing retrospectives on her career, and the journey from Material Girl to reigning Queen of Pop. Madge may have gone through many a transition, but she has found a way to stay on top for nearly two decades when so many of her peers have fallen by the wayside. More amazing, is looking back and realizing that she didn’t even envision herself sustaining her music career as long as she has. Watch her try to check John Norris when he brought that up in a recent interview, and Norris goes and pulls the tape. I love it!
Growing up, I was not all that into Madonna; her music, that is. I’ve never been a huge fan of 80s pop, and on top of that, my mom was rather strict about the music I was allowed to listen to; Madonna was a bit too racy. I was able to listen to the radio and watched music videos when mom wasn’t home. Too young to actually remember Madonna’s debut, the VMA “Like a Virgin” performance became a part of the modern pop-culture cannon, and something my friends and I reenacted mockingly in middle school. My early experiences with the Material Girl were through movies; Dick Tracy was one of my favorites as a kid. It wasn’t 
until the release of Bedtime Stories - already a decade into her career mind you -that I actually began to appreciate Madonna’s music.
What I have found profoundly interesting, is watching Madonna go through all of these transitions. She literally grew up before our eyes; from writhing on the stage at the 1984 VMAs to one of the most respected and powerful women in entertainment. Not only has Madonna managed to adapt with each paradigm shift in the entertainment industry, she contends with and out performs her younger peers, the most promising of whom probably won’t make it to 30, according to NY Daily music critic Jim Farber.
The achievements of Madonna and her equals feel particularly poignant and meaningful at a time when it looks doubtful that the current crop of music stars will make it to 30 alive, let alone to 50 and thriving.
Can you see Amy Winehouse wheezing on this Earth much longer? And if Britney does survive, do you see her having a vibrant career five years on?…
The continued energy of Madonna and Prince is mirrored in their still-smashing looks. The two appear especially spry when compared to their predecessors, the pop gods of the ’60s and ’70s, who date from the drug culture and therefore have, in some cases, aged to an especially alarming degree. [source]
Madonna: philanthropist, movie producer, author, business woman, wife mother, and international pop star. She’s is fabulous, living proof that women can age beautifully in the spotlight and still maintain an edge without making it all seem effortless.
Image via Newscom
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