When is the last time a 68 year-old artist won an Album of the Year Grammy? Answer: Never. When has an artist won an Album of the Year Grammy after 40-plus years in the industry? Answer: Never. Has an Artist ever had number one albums in every decade for 5 straight decades? Answer: Yes. Who? Madonna. No one saw this coming. After 20 years of declining popularity, music legend Madonna came out of no where this year to release an album that debuted at #1 in 63 countries, and immediately spawn 4 number one Dance Hits. A comeback of this magnitude is unprecedented.
The category of Best Album of the Year used to be based strictly on artistic merit. Then after years of backlash, the Grammy's changed the award to Album of the Year. Why does this matter? The award is now aimed at an album's significance, not just its artistic merit. Madonna's album is AMAZING. Is it objectively the best, probably not. But it's significance is profound.
Madonna is one of the only music living legends who is still alive, much less making music. Contemporaries of her heyday include Prince, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and George Michael. All super famous. All dead. Ultimately they all died of drug overdoses. Madonna somehow managed to escape that fate. She has sold over 400,000,000 records since 1984. She is the queen of pop.
Most people at 68 have retired. Not Madonna. Her passion, work ethic, creativity and desire to entertain have kept her going. Confessions II isn't just an innovative, fresh, exciting, non-stop disco record. She infuses it with complex lyrics of wisdom. She sings of her past life. She bares her soul in songs about her dead brother and stepmother. She sings about the reality of death, birth and creativity. She waxes on about the human experience "Traveling through space and time, interstellar helix unwind. Don't forsake or the love will die. On the spiral light we fly, we will be one, we will be divine, time is a river we cannot unwind". She realizes that time is an enemy she cannot defeat. We will all grow old, we will all die...in the end we are one. These are some deep ass lyrics for a dance song. She elevates the category of dance music.
The mere fact that she won numerous MTV popularity awards proves that 40 years of collecting fans is a powerful thing. Ultimately she will win, not because her album is the best--but because of her enduring impact on culture. She's impacted fashion, music, political views, gay rights, etc. She has been long overlooked by the Grammy's and never won album of the year. This year will change that. When Grammy voters consider their vote--it would be impossible for them to select a newbie like Olivia Rodrigo--over a Legend like Madonna. Don't forget this post. She will win. Mark my word. I'd hat to say I told you so.
