Can you believe it's been 35 years to the day since Madonna dropped her self-titled debut album? And still it remains as relevant to the world of pop as it ever was. She's a stalwart in the development of modern music and will always be true musical royalty.

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Madonna was just 24 when she embarked on her musical career in 1982, signing to Sire Records following the success of her debut single 'Everybody', and less than a year later releasing her first album 'Madonna' which reached the top 10 in both the UK and the US.

With four other singles - 'Burning Up', the US Dance number 1 'Holiday', 'Lucky Star' and 'Borderline' - the album was produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez and Reggie Lucas, the latter of whom was replaced by the former over creative differences between he and Madonna.

That in itself marks an important moment in music history especially in regards to female artists. She was tenacious in her mission to make the music that she wanted, and risked a lot in pushing against what Lucas wanted for her album. She was also the primary writer for the majority of the songs, which was not entirely surprising for its time as the era of mass-produced manufactured pop was yet to come.

It was re-titled 'Madonna: The First Album' for the 1985 re-release, the same year she embarked on her first concert run: The Virgin Tour. But it wasn't just the album that became a hit; the videos were just as captivating, and a later released video compilation ended up being the best-selling videocassette of 1985 in the US.

'Madonna' would go on to sell 10 million copies globally and was instrumental in setting the standard of dance music and breaking the glass ceiling for female pop artists of the 80s. 

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To this day Madonna remains perhaps the most influential female popstar in the world, and her well-deserved title of 'Queen of Pop' is demonstrated by her having sold 300 million records worldwide and becoming history's best-selling female recording artists.