I'm not really a big bio fan, but when I was selected to read this intimate biography of the queen of pop by J. Randy Taraborrelli I jumped at the chance because quite frankly I'm a huge Madonna fan. As a teenager I read a number of bios on Madonna and just a few chapters in I realized that much of the early content here I have in fact read before so I assume this is more of an updated copy - with the the last 10-15 years of Madonna's life & career simply added to the end. I know quite a lot about Madonna's childhood and early years and so I flipped to the mid-way point.

Taraborrelli is a well know celebrity biographer and certainly has a knack and style which leads for an interesting believable read. He seems to know his subject matter well and doesn't veer too much into sensationalism. What we have here is a rather well balanced read which is none the less interesting and inspiring.

Overall a great little read for Madonna fans or those wanting to know a little more about the queen of pop.

Although the author clearly adores Madonna as a person and as an artist, he is brutally honest and doesn't leave out the dirty bits. I really appreciate this straightforwardness in telling Madonnas life-story from toddler to a 60-year-old woman. Lots of private details and conversations are included (and we just have to trust the author on its authenticity, because he seldomly reveals his sources, mostly only writes "a friend") and they paint a very personal picture of Madonna! For me a sometimes surprising one.

I knew that Madonna is a diva, but I was truly amazed to see that this didn't come with her success, but she was a very egoistic, self-centered and manipulative b*tch right from the very beginning. She only did what was good for her (ok, nothing wrong with that) and didn't much care about other ppl feelings (mmh, maybe not so ok). One of her friends said: "She wasn't intentionally malicious, but just incapable of seeing life from anyone else's point of view. She wanted what she wanted, and if you didn't give it she turned her back on you."
Already in the 80s she was so big-headed that she didn't allow people being on tour with her (as part of her staff) to talk directly to her - only through her representatives. When she left the stage, she was screened by big white sheets so that the dancers or roadies couldn't get to look at her more than necessary!
Of course she didn't do all that on her Blond Ambition Tour at the beginning of the 90s, because then she was being filmed for her "In Bed with Madonna" documentary and extra nice to all the ppl working with and for her.

But regardless of what I think of her as a person (especially now, after reading this unauthorized biography), I did like her music from the 80s - and still like to listen to them! All the songs from her "Immaculate Collection" are great, in my opinion. The only two songs missing are "Dear Jessie", a favorite of mine, and "Who's that Girl" which was also quite good.
From the early 90s only two songs impressed me, and both are from movie soundtracks: "This used to be my playground" and "I'll remember". Her later "Ray of Light" album is not my cup of tea (and I was kinda surprised to read in this book that it was actually a nod to Techno and Eurodance, omnipresent in discos at that time. I thought this album to be rather spiritual, but maybe my opinion got largely influenced by her new look and behavior). Although Madonna did return to her roots of pop and disco later on, for example with "Music" and "Hung up", I don't like her songs from the 2000 not nearly as much as I like those from the 80s. Actually I was surprised to find out that she did so many albums in the past 20 years! Somehow she disappeared from my radar, it seems... Maybe this book put her back on, and I'll listen more closely the next time a (more recent) song by her is playing on the radio.

Apart from her music career, I also learned quite some other things about her in this book. For example that she actually wanted to become a professional dancer when she first came to New York. When she couldn't live by what she earned for dance gigs, she came into singing rather by accident (and through one of her many, many boyfriends). Speaking of which, I also didn't know that she had sooo many lovers, even including John Kennedy Jr., Tupac and Prince. In Carpool Karaoke with James Cordon she reveals that she even seduced Michael Jackson into kissing her. (yes, I got easily distracted while reading this book, and was constantly googeling names, photos, looking up lyrics and watching music videos) The only thing the book doesn't mention (and this really surprised me a lot) was the video to "Like a prayer" and all the controversy and uproar it created. Not. One. Word!

Although Madonna sure is a "high maintenance" person, you have to give her some credit (actually, make that a lot of credit!) for becoming such a superstar! And not by chance either, but with determination. Madonna said in the spring of 1983 ""I plan on being one of this century's biggest stars!" Author Randy Taraborrelli comments this with:"(...) no reigning beauty she, and - judging from her first record - equipped with only a fair voice, yet she thinks she's going to become a dominant influence in pop music, a big star". So how did she do that, when she wasn't the most beautiful and not the best singer in the world? She did it by being different, by being edgy & cool, by setting trends, also by provoking a lot - especially in the first 10 years of her career - and thus getting lots and lots of attention by the media. She did it by always being focused on her goal and she did it with lots and lots of really hard work. Madonna said in her documentary "In Bed with Madonna" (1991): "I know I'm not the best singer or dancer in the world. I know that. But I'm not interested in that, either. I'm interested in pushing buttons." And she sure did push them whenever they came her way, no matter what other people thought or said about her.

I've always been a big fan of Madonna. Her music, her forever changing style and her ability to adapt in order to remain the ultimate Queen of pop. This biography takes us from the beginning right up until 2018. It's a fantastic in depth look at her life and what makes her the music legend that she is. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A must read for all those Madonna fans out there.

Although there were elements of this that were interesting, I found the writing style really grated. I don't read many celebrity biographies so perhaps it's good for its type but on the whole I was disappointed.

I've been a fan of Madonna since forever, so this was quite a treat for me! Seeing something behind the scenes of this iconic woman.
It was an entertaining read, recommended for all her fans.

And your name is?
Madonna
And your last name?
Do I look like someone that needs a last name?

And somehow it make no sense and perfect sense at the same time.

I loved every single page of this book, I dont think theres an event in madonna's life that is not covered here. It takes us from the beginning to 2018 and it's a very impartial account. Other books I've read on Madonna tend to be overly negative or overly positive towards her, I felt this account was very balanced.

Madonna is a bitch, self centred, stubborn, kind, generous, controversial, controlling, emotional. I could list a hundred things, and for me this book showed all those character traits.

'I know I'm not the best singer or dancer in the world. I know that. I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in pushing buttons' .... and she has, personally I've enjoyed the ride, the soundtrack to my entire life and I cant wait to see what we have next from this icon.

I’ve always admired Madonna. Love her or hate her she’s an icon. I really enjoyed this book. Lots I didn’t know about her and well written. A must read for any fan

I am a fan of Madonna having grown up in the 80's and loved her music, seen her perform twice however in recent years I have not really followed her as much. This book is very interesting and gives you an insight into the way Madonna approaches life and how she sometimes 'uses' people along the way. Hopefully one day Madonna will work with the author to do her official biography as that would be a fantastic read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this new edition before release in April 2019