A Madonna impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates American singer-songwriter Madonna. Professional or dedicated Madonna impersonators have existed since at least the mid-1980s, and were sometimes sorted as "tribute acts". As an established artist, Madonna impersonators have seen a notable demand, many of them performing in front of thousands people and visiting several countries in their professional Madonna career as some media outlets have reported. Notable Madonna impersonators include Denise Bella Vlasis and Venus D-Lite. Others impressionists have included Madonna in their repertoire, such as Tracey Bell, Charlie Hides and Véronic DiCaire.
First impersonations on Madonna started with her fans, mainly young female audience when they copied Madonna-style and emulated her no later than 1985, and which were counted by thousands around the world. This phenomenon was later defined as the "Madonna wannabe". Prominent look-alikes contests were made and received press coverage. An example occurred in 1985 led by Macy's and had Andy Warhol and Nina Blackwood among others as judges. The winner, gained nationwide briefly fame as "the best Madonna look-alike" according to MTV. Since then, impersonations on Madonna have been documented among her fandom, through fan conventions, tours, and themed parties among other cultural manifestations, such as competitions and TV shows.
In early 2000s, J. Randy Taraborrelli considered Madonna as "one of the most emulated female performers in show business history". At some stage of her career, American journalist Ricardo Baca also estimated her as the most imitated woman in the world. Madonna herself, have dedicated the song "She's Not Me" from her 2008 album Hard Candy, which talks about of being emulated by another woman. The world record as the largest gathering of people dressed as Madonna at the same time in a single event is 440, registered in the Guinness World Records in 2014.
Background and origins
Madonna inspired a substantial number of her fans to dress like her in her early years. The frenzy also called the Madonna wannabe phenomenon, made possible to some retailers opened up clothing departments inspired in her style. "Look-a-like Madonnas popped up all over the world", wrote European magazine Music & Media in 1985. One of the most significant contests was made by Macy's when they inaugurated Madonnaland the same year, having Andy Warhol, Madonna's stylist Maripol, MTV contributor Nina Blackwood, and Madonna: Lucky Star author Michael McKenzie as the judges. The winner, a 16-years-old girl, gained nationwide briefly fame as the best Madonna look-alike around according to Nicole Guanlao from MTV.
Professor Santiago Fouz-Hernandez wrote in Madonna's Drowned Worlds (2004), that for her emulators, there was a roadmap of designers, boutiques, stylists and personal shoppers, further saying "the list drew a map that any Madonna impersonator, from a professional drag performer to someone merely dressing for a social engagement, could follow". Since that year, part-time or full-time Madonna impersonators have existed.
Levels of imitations
Types and reviews by authors
Over her decades-long career, Madonna impersonators have been look-alikes, cosplays, sound-alikes also incorporating drag performance, pastiche or parody. Various of her impersonators are tagged as tribute bands and even impressionists. Throughout amateur and other flattery forms, various fans have channeled the singer.
Journals or other authors have dedicated commentaries and analysis, including Australasian gay & lesbian law journal in 1993, and Joanne Garde-Hansen from University of Warwick in her book Media and Memory (2011). Justyna Stępień from University of Szczecin, also analyzed Madonna's case of impersonators and tribute bands such as all-males acts, "Mandonna" and "The Madonna". The first band, choose a kitsch representation of Madonna, in their fashion and vocal, which led Stępień to call it a "camp impersonation". Talking about gender differences, authors of Intercultural Communication: A Reader (2014) illustrated this point using Madonna's case: [A] female impersonator will attempt to look and sound as much like Madonna as possible, to create the illusion of Madonna as a tribute to her talent. The drag queen, on the other hand, will portray an exaggerated version of Madonna, playing with her persona to distort it in humorous or ironic ways.