Madonna: ‘I don’t consider myself a pop act’
By Will Stroude
Her Madgesty has graced the cover of a special edition of Love magaxine, which has been publicised to coincide with the icon’s 58th birthday today (August 16).
LOVE by Mert Alas is a special edition collector’s issue for London Fashion Week and supported by Marc Jacobs.
The cover shows Madonna at her most relaxed – a selfie, in bed, thumb planted firmly in mouth.
In the issue, the Living for Love singer talks fame in the social media age – and she reckons that, while fame is easy to get nowadays, good artistry is harder to hold onto.
“I was already famous before social media, so for me fame isn’t the burden,” she said. “Fame is the manifestation or the by-product of my work, and that was two decades before social media. Now to me the burden is people are more focused on fame than actually doing the work or being an artist. Now it’s easy to become famous.
“What isn’t easy is to develop and grow as an artist without being distracted or consumed with fame.”
She also opened up about how she sees herself in the world of music, revealing that despite her Queen of Pop moniker, she doesn’t see herself as a pop act, adding that “acceptance by the establishment equals death.”
“I don’t consider myself a pop act, I consider myself an artist,” she says. “And it’s an artist’s responsibility to be revolutionary in our work. It’s our responsibility, our duty and our privilege.”
Long may she reign.
LOVE 16.5 ‘LOVE by Mert Alas’ goes on newsstands 19 September 2016.
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