Every Madonna Song That Has Reached Number 1 In Australia

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Every Madonna Song That Has Reached Number 1 In Australia

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Madonna, 2008 (Photo by Donald Kravitz/Getty Images)

Since the ARIA chart began in 1983, no one has achieved more number 1 singles than Madonna, who has amassed 11 chart-toppers during her career. After kicking off her tally in 1984, she quickly amassed five number 1s by the end of the 80s, adding a sixth in 1990. 

She enjoyed another hit streak in the early 2000s, chalking up four more between 2000 and 2005, with her final chart-topper to date coming 11 years ago. Only The Beatles and Elvis Presley have more number 1 hits to their names in Australia, with their successes mostly coming before the inception of the ARIA chart.
 
"Like A Virgin"
Year: 1984
Weeks on top: Five

In April 1984, Madonna ventured into the ARIA top 50 for the first time with “Holiday”, quickly following that up with three more hits from her self-titled debut album, “Burning Up”, “Borderline” and “Lucky Star”. Off the back of that, the lead single from her second album was always going to be massive, but thanks to a headline-making performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards in which she writhed around on the floor wearing a wedding dress and a big budget music video shot in Venice, “Like A Virgin” became one of the most iconic releases in music history. Its racy (for 1984) lyrics helped it gain attention, too. Written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg (the duo also behind “True Colors” and “Eternal Flame”), and produced by Nile Rodgers, “Like A Virgin” transformed Madonna from pop star to music superstar.

 

 
"Angel/Into The Groove"
Year: 1985
Weeks on top: Four

If 1984 had been a big year for Madonna, 1985 was enormous as she released a succession of five top 10 hits throughout the year, including this double A-side release. The third single from Like A Virgin, “Angel” was a classy pop song, but it was the track found on the B-side of the 12” single that was the release’s real selling point. A completely new track, “Into The Groove” was taken from Madonna’s feature film acting debut, Desperately Seeking Susan, and celebrated the joys of letting go on the dance floor. Combined, the two songs ruled the roost throughout July 1985.

 

 

 
"Crazy For You"
Year: 1985
Weeks on top: Four

Achieving something that had not been done on the Australian chart in a decade, Madonna replaced herself at number 1, with another brand new soundtrack effort knocking “Angel/Into The Groove” off the top. Her first ballad single, “Crazy For You” was featured in the long-forgotten movie Vision Quest (which was released under the title Crazy For You in Australia) and established Madonna’s versatility. She even appeared as a nightclub singer in the movie to perform the track and another of her 1985 hits, “Gambler”.

 

 
"Papa Don’t Preach"
Year: 1986
Weeks on top: Six

Madonna next reached number 1 with the second single from third album True Blue. Accompanied by her most radical image change to date – a bleached blonde crop – “Papa Don’t Preach” tackled the issue of teenage pregnancy. Although its anti-authoritarian stance was perfectly on-trend for Madonna, the song was written by Brian Elliot and found by record company executive Michael Ostin (who’d also sourced “Like A Virgin”), with the singer making some lyrical adjustments.

 

 
"Like A Prayer"
Year: 1989
Weeks on top: Five

After a seemingly endless stream of singles between 1983 and 1987, Madonna took 1988 off, making her return in 1989 with fourth album Like A Prayer a major event. Also momentous, the music video for the lead single and title track, which got religious conservatives all fired up and resulted in a Pepsi commercial she had filmed being shelved. No stranger to controversy, Madonna benefitted from all the fuss, with “Like A Prayer” becoming the highest-selling single of the year in Australia. Musically, it was also her most mature and accomplished release up until that point, and remains one of her best regarded singles.

 

 
"Vogue/Keep It Together"
Year: 1990
Weeks on top: Five

Bringing mainstream attention to New York’s underground vogueing scene, Madonna’s first new single in 1990 was also her first collaboration with producer Shep Pettibone, who had previously remixed some of her tracks. With its sophisticated, black-and-white, David Fincher-directed music video and quotable spoken word section that listed some of the biggest names in Hollywood history, “Vogue” was another iconic moment in Madonna’s career. In Australia, Like A Prayer track “Keep It Together”, which had been a single in its own right in some countries, was given double A-side status.

 

 

 
"American Pie"
Year: 2000
Weeks on top: One

Despite releasing some of her most acclaimed music during the rest of the ’90s, Madonna would not return to the number 1 position in Australia until the new millennium. Recorded for the soundtrack to movie The Next Best Thing, in which she starred, her cover version of Don McLean’s “American Pie” was much shorter than the eight-and-a-half-minute original. A co-production with Ray Of Light collaborator William Orbit, it was also very different in style.

 

 
"Music"
Year: 2000
Weeks on top: Four

Madonna was back on the dance floor for the title track and first release from her eighth studio album, Music. Showcasing a new collaboration with French electronic music producer Mirwais Ahmadza, who would work with her again on her next two albums and this year’s Madame X, “Music” was the sound of an artist still at the peak of her creativity almost 20 years after she started releasing records. 

 

 
"Me Against The Music"
Year: 2003
Weeks on top: Two

She hasn’t released that many duets during her recording career, but if there was anyone the Queen Of Pop was going to record with in 2003, it was the reigning Princess Of Pop, Britney Spears. Released in the wake of the pair’s explosive MTV VMA performance (alongside Christina Aguilera), “Me Against The Music” started out as a Britney song, but Madonna agreed to perform on the track after she heard it during rehearsals for the awards show. The result: a worldwide smash that was bigger than anything from Madonna’s own album that year, American Life.

 

 
"Hung Up"
Year: 2005
Weeks on top: One

Based around a sample from ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” – one of very few samples the Swedish stars have approved over the years – and sounding like a throwback to her mid-’80s dance-pop successes, “Hung Up” kicked off the Confessions On A Dance Floor era of Madonna’s career. It was a time marked by pulsating club tunes like “Sorry”, “Get Together” and “Jump”; a massive live concert tour and lots of leotards.

 

 
"4 Minutes"
Year: 2008
Weeks on top: Three

Madonna’s most recent number 1 hit was the first track lifted from 11th studio album Hard Candy, and saw her collaborate with hitmakers of the day Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. Lyrically, “4 Minutes” deals with the need to do something about all the chaos in the world, but also to not lose sight of having a good time while taking action, with the production lending the track a sense of urgency. True to its name, the song clocks in at just a touch over four minutes.

 

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