Like a Virgin

Like a Virgin
Information
Released	November 12, 1984
Recorded	April to September 1984
Studio	Power Station Studio (Manhattan, New York)
Genre	Pop Dance pop
Length	43:10
Label	Sire Warner Bros.

Like a Virgin is Madonna's second studio album that was released on November 12, 1984 by Sire and Warner Bros. Records.

Tracklisting

1. Material Girl 4:04
2. Angel 3:57
3. Like A Virgin 3:39
4. Over And Over 4:13
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore 4:51
6. Dress You Up 4:02
7. Shoo-Bee-Doo 5:18
8. Pretender 4:31
9. Stay 4:09

Chart Performance

"Like a Virgin" was recorded and finished by September 1984, but the release of the album was held up (much to Madonna's frustration) by the continuing sales of her debut album, which was approaching two million sales in United States.

The album debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200 issued for December 1, 1984. It reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 on December 8, 1984 and after a month, it reached the top of the chart on February 9, 1985, where it stayed for three weeks. It also reached a peak of ten on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

After 14 weeks, the album sold 3.5 million copies. By July 1985, it became the first album by a female artist to be certified for sales of five million units in the United States.

"Like a Virgin" was eventually certified ten times platinum (diamond) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipment of ten million copies of the album. It placed at three on the year-end chart for 1985, with Madonna becoming the top pop artist for the year.

After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 574,000 copies. It sold additional 882,000 units at the BMG Music Club, which are not counted by the Nielsen SoundScan.

In Canada, "Like a Virgin" debuted at number 78 on the RPM Albums Chart, on November 10, 1984. It reached a peak of number three, on February 16, 1985.

The album was present for a total of 74 weeks on the chart, and was certified diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), for shipment of one million copies of the album. The album ranked sixth on the RPM Top 100 Albums for 1985.

In the United Kingdom, "Like a Virgin" debuted at number 74 on the UK Albums Chart, on January 12, 1985; however, the album fluctuated on the chart for the next eight months and it was only in September that it finally reached the top of the chart. It remained at the top for two weeks, and a total of 152 weeks on the chart.

"Like a Virgin" was certified three times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and has sold over a million copies there.

In France, the album debuted at number five on the French Albums Chart on October 6, 1985, staying there for eight weeks, then descending down the chart. It was certified two times platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipment of 600,000 copies.

In Australia, "Like a Virgin" debuted and peaked at two on the Kent Music Report albums chart, and was certified seven times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 490,000 copies of the album.

The album reached the top of the New Zealand Albums Chart and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipment of 75,000 copies.

Elsewhere, "Like a Virgin" reached number one in Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, while peaking within the top five in many other countries, including Austria, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland.

The album also became Madonna's first number-one album on the European Top 100 Albums, reaching the summit on November 23, 1985, for two weeks.

"Like a Virgin" has sold more than 21 million copies worldwide as of August 2008 and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Critical Reception

According to Q magazine, "Like a Virgin" was the album that "propelled [Madonna] into the stratosphere – and rightly so. The songs are smart, funny, sexy and irresistible."

Taraborrelli said, "It was Like a Virgin which reflected Madonna as a more versatile and artistic performer and vocals on this album being reflectively sharper in contrast to her early works in the music industry."

Michael Paoletta from Billboard commented that the songs on the album sustain a "fevered dance-rock momentum".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic commented, "Overall, the album adds up to less than the sum of its parts—partially because the singles are so good, but also because on the first album, she stunned with style and a certain joy. Here, the calculation is apparent, and while that's part of Madonna's essence—even something that makes her fun—it throws the record's balance off a little too much for it to be consistent, even if it justifiably made her a star."

Debby Miller from Rolling Stone preferred Madonna's debut album over "Like a Virgin."

In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau was also lukewarm towards the record, writing "[Madonna's] so sure of herself she's asking men and women both to get the hots for the calculating bitch who sells the fantasy even while she bids for the sincerity market where long-term superstars ply their trade. And to make the music less mechanical, she's hired Nile Rodgers, who I won't blame for making it less catchy."

Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly said that "In addition to raising the Madonna/whore ante with songs like the title cut, Virgin cradled the kind of '80s hits ("Dress You Up") built to transcend the Dynasty era."

Alfred Soto from Stylus Magazine remembered the first time that he heard the songs from the album and commented: "Lots of critics think something similar occurred when Madonna followed her eponymous debut with Like a Virgin, helmed by Nile Rodgers with all the fixin's—too calculated next to the 'raw passion' of the debut. This is nonsense; it misses how Madonna conflated notions of spontaneity and calculation. Rodgers is the ideal collaborator."

Stephen Holden from The New York Times said: "With a tough-cookie voice that's both coy and streetwise, Madonna's singing harks back to the rock-and-roll girl-group tradition that preceded the Beatles. But where girl groups, from the Shirelles to the Ronettes, worshipfully extolled their boyfriends' cars, haircuts and rebel poses, Madonna's point of view is decidedly more self-interested. In matters of love, she is a comparison shopper with a shrewd sense of her own market value. The words 'shiny and new' describe not only the way the love-smitten singer feels in the title song but the sound of the album." Matt Damsker from Los Angeles Times commented: "Madonna's beating vibrato sometimes makes her sound so robotic in the album."

Lou Papineau, while writing for The Providence Journal, said that "In Like a Virgin, Madonna proves she's shallow, but spunky."

Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine gave a positive review, saying: "Though not as innovative as her debut, Like a Virgin stands as one of the most definitive pop artifacts from the indulgent Reagan Era. The mid-tempo ballad 'Shoo-Bee-Doo' and a soulful cover of Rose Royce's 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' proved Madonna could churn out more than just novelty hits, while the sugary 'Angel' and the irresistible 'Dress You Up' contributed to the singer's record-breaking list of consecutive Top 5 hits (16 in all). The retro-infused 'Stay' and the percussive 'Over and Over' are the album's hidden gems."

Ed Stevenson from People felt that "Madonna does have a sense of humor, though she is buried under so many layers of self-parody it's hard to tell sometimes ... She is backed on this by the reliable rhythmic touch of veteran Nile Rodgers, whose contributions have helped her create a tolerable bit of fluff."

Hugo Mistry from Chicago Tribune felt that "Like a Virgin" was Madonna's breakthrough, "playing off her self-conscious campiness with a series of hot dance tracks, attention-grabbing lyrics and steamy videos."