When and where did I say she is the best ever?

You don't really keep up with music news, Lady Gaga is about to embark on a tour in a few weeks that is selling out in mintues worldwide, Rolling Stone Magazine believes it could be one of the biggest tours of all time and it's already breaking ticket sales records. Artists who have longtivity tend to have big tours like these. MJ, U2, and Madonna are testiments to that.

She will vanish? One of the most followed persons on Facebook? Most followed person on Twitter? Please do tell what artist that has emerged in the last 5 years will surpass Lady Gaga and will vanish her into thin air?

I'm 28. I know what I like, new and old. I know talent when I see it.

You might be amused by someone using the Beatles and Boyz to Men in the same sentence, but I cringe when I hear people say the Beatles are better than Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, or Queen.

The problem with statements like that is in terms of influence and legacy. Songs like 'A Day In The Life' truly redefined pop music, they didn't sound like anything else before them. Their later work did more to change pop music than perhaps any other artist - only comparable influence would probably be Bob Dylan.

Dylan ain't got shit on Boyz 2 Men tho...

Michael Jackson was one of the most talented; but I think there is easily a lot of proof that there are many more female singers who are much more talented than Madonna. Mariah Carey comes to mind; she's a singer, songwriter, composer, and producer who had a vocal range of over 5 octaves (vastly superior to Madonna's vocals)

Could Madonna sing this?

This was the first cover that Mariah Carey did, although it is substantially different from the original, and ended up being much more popular, also appearing on Music Box. Could Madonna sing this?

The thing about Madonna is that she actually didn't sell as many LPs as either Mariah Carey or Celine Dion. Her sales came from all of the greatest hits and compilations which are not really trend-setting pop material, they're more novelty things. I.E. Beatles 1 album that sold like 25-30 million copies, it doesn't mean the Beatles were the top pop band, it was a novelty album. ACDC and Rolling Stones are demolishing records with concerts, and just in the last few years; are they the top pop acts of all time? Or would you consider them more of a novelty act?

Madonna didn't have an LP to stand up to Mariah Carey's Music box in terms of talent or success. Madonna's top selling LP sold 25M, Music Box sold 32 million. In terms of voice, Madonna's voice does not compare to Mariah's, or even Whitney Houston's or Celine Dion's.  If Mariah had been born 10 years earlier, and started in the 80's, she would have beaten Madonna easily in record sales - she did sell more original LPs than Madonna, but if you add in the greatest hits albums that Madonna released, than Madonna sold more (largely because of way more releases than Mariah overall); but Mariah was close.

There are many singers that are not as popular who are just insanely talented. Janelle Monae comes to mind:

The Rolling Stones aren't a novelty act. Exile on Main Street, Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet, I could go on. All of those are albums that would be considered amongst the greats - they're milestones in the development of rock.

The three albums you listed were all released between 68 and 72; these are well before even I was born. Their gigantic success in the last 15 years is linked to the novelty of the celebrity of the Rolling Stones; not because they're top pop artists or leading pop trends current music currently (they did at a time, but that was all 40-45 years ago).

The point I was getting at is that Madonna's situation is similar. Pretty much all of her success since the 1980's is due to her being a well known celebrity, and not because she is leading any sort of pop trends. I feel that while she did shine brightly in her time, I felt Mariah Carey and Celine Dion shone at least as brightly in the 90's when they were leading the pop trends in music, and more brightly (in my opinion). At the very least, Madonna didn't totally outshine other female pop acts the way that Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and Elvis did; Elvis is the King of Rock, Michael Jackson is the King of Pop. The Beatles are the Beatles, and their name in itself is sort of anachronistic of the top band of all time; and Madonna completely lacks the sort of distinction that these acts have - calling her "The Queen of Pop" would be a gross exageration of her success as a pop star.

Madonna is an all around performer, those are singers. Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are the only ones competing to be the all around artist. You could say Beyonce, but shes less artistic. Madonna was a artist who fought the norm in her day...a rebel if you will for womens sexuality and artist creativity. Id say Janet Jackson gave her the hardest time, but Janet fell out of the race. Madonna will never be surpassed in terms of profit because as I said, as far as record and CD sales are concerned in the 80-90's were amazing. The internet and piracy wasn't as big back then, but I think Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are the only ones going for her crown because not only are they great performers, they are artists. Beyonce does the same thing everytime. 

There are about 100 artists in my music library that surpass Madonna vocal abilities, but it's not just about singing. Not saying Madonna is the queen of though, I prefer Kylie Minogue lol.

Btw amazing performances, I don't like her voice but damn it she is definitely one the best female vocalists.

Actually, during her performances, all Madonna ever does is sing too. Lady Gaga plays the Piano at least.

In terms of artistry, you can't even compare Madonna to Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey is WAY more successful as an artist than Madonna ever was, and ever will be. 

Starting with accolades: Madonna has never even been nominated on any award platform as a Producer, or as a songwriter. Mariah Carey on the otherhand is a three time Grammy Nominated Producer, and has 'won' dozens of "Best Songwriter of the Year" awards across various award platforms. Actually, Lady Gaga has one Best Songwriter of the Year Award from BMI, that puts her ahead of Madonna.

In terms of success on the market for their own work, again, many of Madonna's songs are other people's, and even those she does have a writing credit for does not include composition. Mariah Carey on the otherhand wrote all the lyrics and melodies, and composed or co-composed every song she's ever done (with the exception of a few covers she's done including Without You and I want to Know Love Is; which in themselves are more or less re-imaginings of the original songs.). In terms of market success, she is the fifth most successful Music Producer in history, and the only female producer who has distinguished herself with such massive success. As a songwriter/composer, she is the second most successful female; and as a singer/songwriter/composer she is the most successful female artist by far, and also the third most successful overall (male included) coming only behind Paul McCartney and John Lennon. In terms of a singer/songwriter/composer/producer, Mariah Carey is the most successful music artist in history.

Mariah Carey's Melismatic vocal innovations are still largely heard throughout music today (this includes just about the whole pop idol generation, and a large number of other pop singers, including Beyonce Knowles who you mentioned. Although Mariah's ability to add in high level opera style extensions puts her in a whole other category from them.).

Honestly, I just don't see how Madonna compares to Mariah in terms of musical artistry; maybe she is more creative with her make-up, but who gives a crap about that; but that has nothing to do with music; and besides, Lady Gaga is much more creative there than anyone else I have ever seen =P

As far as her being a rebel for women's sexuality. Madonna came in the 80's when that was already well underway with female singers. While it really started quite a bit earlier: in terms of embracement by a musical performer - you just can't brush over the 1970's and Debbie like that =P

Back to Mariah Carey. She was one of the major early 90's anti-poverty voices in music, that also included the likes of Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur. Mariah's music tackles poverty and race issues that she had to personally deal with. When it comes to being real, Mariah's music is about as real as any top pop artist has ever gotten. She came from a family broken by poverty and racial situations; her mother was disowned by her family for falling in love with a black man (whom she married); and Mariah herself grew up in poverty, and sometimes homelessness. These three videos are Mariah speaking from her life experiences:

While Through The Rain a more recent song, and one that doesn't display the same sorts of vocal excellence of the above tracks, I think that the theme of this song is fitting for what I wrote above - and certainly very relevant to her life experiences.

I agree on the piracy issues. I think that album sales for acts like Lady Gaga and such would be much higher if the state of the industry was like it was in the 80's and 90's.

Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato.

/trollface :D