Does Gay Music Really Uplift? A dive into one of pop culture's most iconic albums - True Blue by Madonna

As the blog's inaugural critical review, we decided to bring a classic album in pop culture with highly acclaimed hits to this day. True Blue, Madonna's album released in 1986, was the third album of the singer's career, released just three years after her first true hit: Like a Virgin. The album features tropical beats and a lot of keyboards, which is to be expected for a pop hit of the decade, and definitely does not fall short when the topics are social criticism.

Papa Don't Preach:

Starting with a hit in Madonna's career, Papa Don't Preach is a song that has touched generations of young people around the world. With a catchy melody and social criticism of great impact for the time - and even today - Madonna definitely did not let anything be desired on this one, especially as an introduction to the entire album.

Vivi: This one for me would be a 9/10 - for reasons of: it's a timeless classic and has a catchy instrumental with lyrics that tell a story that could easily be that of several darlings on a Brazilian corner.

Liv: I'm too biased towards this song to give it a simple 9/10. But in general, I don't disagree with viter's opinion!

Open Your Heart:

Vivi: I give this one a 4.5/10 because, even though it's lyrically cute, it doesn't offer much compared to others by the diva.

Liv: I think this one is a solid 5/10. It's good for pop at the time and matches the aesthetics and sound of the album, but it's still mediocre compared to the other songs.

White Heat:

Vivi: Now “White Heat” is offering everything the last one lacked; a stronger and more emotional vocal. The two are very similar but stand out a lot just for the vocal factor. 7/10

Liv: For me it's also a 7/10. This song carries a lot of emotion and energy, Madonna definitely knows how to mix the sound elements well, in addition to the amazing samples that the song brings.

Live To Tell:

Vivi: 5/10. Too monotonous for my personal taste. But the second part managed to please me a little, so I gave it an extra point.

Liv: The music is beautiful and complements the album's overall concept of self-discovery and inner beauty incredibly well. Instrumental backgrounds and an extremely pleasant melody to hear, in addition to the message saying not to give up on the journey that is life. Definitely one of my favorites; 10/10.

Where's The Party:

Vivi: Okay, Where's the Party is cute and fun but it doesn't offer anything that other upbeat Madonna songs haven't already done (and done better). I consider this the most filler so far because it is very disconnected with the rest of the work. 4.5/10.

Liv; One thing I didn't fail to notice is that the album alternates between a song full of messages and another very upbeat song to relax. Honestly, this song is a 5/10 for me. She is very festive, apart from the atmosphere that the previous one left, it served the purpose well.

True Blue:

Vivi: This one is really cute and very girly. Nothing too outstanding but nothing too forgettable either! 6/10.

Liv: This one is really sweet, it talks about a fresh and true love and listening to it you can even imagine yourself having a teenage crush. A little weak for the title of the album, but still good. 6/10!

La Isla Bonita:

Vivi: 100000/10. Very good, beautiful, very well produced, iconic and above all it has lyrics that anyone with sense knows by heart!

Liv: A true hit in everything it proposes. La Isla Bonita being one of the main and most famous songs that Madonna has ever released, it leaves nothing to be desired. With sensual and fresh beats, this is the song that she has already played inside everyone's house on a cleaning day. True Latin Anthem - 10/10!

Jimmy Jimmy:

Vivi: 4/10 was not to my liking, very repetitive both in lyrics and instrumental. Maybe she reminds me of a friend...

Liv: Forgettable. That forbidden passion classic that honestly isn't even that forbidden because you're not even in love with a real bad guy, the real thing is that he's just a good-for-nothing. Repetitive, not my taste. 3/10.

Love Makes The World Go Round:

Vivi: 5/10 just for being “cute”, but it's too long for what it sets out to do, I wanted to do something big and in the end, it didn't do anything much.

Liv: The song's proposal is good, especially considering the world political situation at the time, but this convoluted talk that "true love cures everything" and that people's happiness only comes with it is liberal nonsense and we're all past that phase huh! 4/10.

(The last two tracks are extended remixes of the songs "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita", we don't feel it necessary to comment on that, it doesn't change anything)

In general, “True Blue” is a good album, with several classics and iconic singles for its time, but it also has its flaws. The fillers in the form of music that seem to have been placed just to fill sausage in a work that didn't need it is one of them. Madonna is a hugely renowned artist today, and although she was still finding her career peak at that time, we know that she had the potential for much more than she delivered.

But not that I'm just going to complain, because I think it's pretty fair of you to hand me boring b-sides on an album that has "Papa Don't Preach" and "La Isla Bonita" as tracks.

Skipable: White Heat, Jimmy Jimmy and Where’s the Party

Legendary: Papa Don’t Preach, La Isla Bonita and True Blue - The color mix.

Final Rating: 8/10