“Power. Innovation. Identity. Madonna has combined all of these and more in a career that spans music, fashion, movies and more,” the New York Times  wrote on the occasion of the queen of pop’s 60th birthday in 2018.

Queen of pop Madonna performs during her Celebration tour – Photo: WireImage

Five years later, her influence continues to spread with the  Celebration global tour.

Old age is nothing to Madonna

At the age of 65, Madonna has just reached a new milestone of attracting 1.6 million people to her recent concert in Brazil – the highest in her 40-year career.

Although the concert was free, the huge audience was still a clear testament to the singer’s appeal. And Madonna did not perform for free but received a high fee from the Rio city government.

At the age of 65, Madonna continues to set new milestones in her career even though her peak has passed – Photo: France 24

During the show, Madonna performed dozens of songs for more than two hours, starting from 10:45 p.m. until late at night, including iconic songs such as Like a Prayer, Vogue and Express Yourself…

This strength is astonishing for a human, let alone a 65-year-old woman who was hospitalized last year, unconscious and not expected to survive.

Old age for the queen of pop is still music and theater – Photo: Getty Images

In mid-2023, the singer was hospitalized with a serious infection and overwork leading to exhaustion while preparing for the Celebration tour .

At that time, few people imagined that she would end Celebration with an explosive performance in the city of Rio, beside the ocean, mountains, the statue of Christ the Redeemer and 1.6 million spectators.

With what she is doing, Madonna is breaking the stereotype that older women are “outdated” and no longer valuable.

“People say I’m controversial, but I think the most controversial thing I’ve ever done is still being here,” the pop queen said in 2016.

During the first two decades of her career, she faced severe sexism. But for the rest of her four-decade career, she challenged ageism.

Gen Z ignores or hates the queen of pop?

Madonna’s cultural influence in the 20th century is undeniable. Like other leading names in world music such as Michael Jackson, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, she has influenced many areas of popular culture.

The older generation had people who worshiped Madonna. For the next generation of artists, it is impossible to count the number of people who were influenced by her style and artistic thinking. Many of those artists are idols of Gen Z.

But each generation will have its own kings and queens, for example Taylor Swift is considered the music queen of generation Y and generation Z.

And the question is, has Gen Z never heard of Madonna or even hated her?

This is a topic of discussion on several multi-generational music forums. 

On Madonna Infinity – a fan forum – a viewer said that when Madonna’s name was mentioned in high school, her friends either didn’t know who she was or made derogatory comments about her because she was old.

It was only when they saw Madonna’s performances that these young people changed their minds and recognized her as a true legend.

Another viewer commented that Gen Z doesn’t hate Madonna, it’s just that they ignore her because of the huge generation gap.

This indelible gap, combined with Madonna’s lack of new hits in recent years, makes it understandable that Gen Z is unfamiliar with her.

Rolling Stone magazine commented that Madonna’s tour reminds us of immortality – Photo: Rolling Stone

Madonna’s influence and iconic status have transcended many cultural boundaries, and are therefore difficult to grasp for those who have not taken the time to learn about her.

Madonna peaked in the 1990s. Many of the artists who were popular back then are no longer active, or are still active on a much smaller scale than they were at their peak. That’s Madonna’s class.

She possessed all the qualities that her contemporaries found difficult or impossible to maintain: intelligence, ambition, perseverance, discipline and health. 

But in old age, to have health, you also need discipline and perseverance.

Bohemian Rhapsody , a 2018 biopic, although not an excellent portrait of the artist, has successfully completed one mission: bringing the name Freddie Mercury and the band Queen of the 1970s and 1980s to a new generation of audiences.

Michael –  a biopic about the late King of Pop  Michael Jackson – has also been completed, starring his grandson, and is set to be released in 2025. The film is expected to give many audiences a better understanding of the man and his musical legacy.

With Madonna, there is every hope that her life and influence will be captured in a biopic so that future generations can know and love her better.

Madonna is very young in love

When it comes to Madonna, we can’t ignore this interesting fact: she dates guys from young to very young.

Since 2008, Madonna has only dated men 28 years or younger than her. 2008 was a milestone because it was when Madonna divorced her ex-husband Guy Ritchie (10 years younger than her), and had a brief relationship with Alex Rodriguez (17 years younger than her).

The pop queen’s current boyfriend is Josh Popper, dating since February 2023, 35 years younger than her.