In February 1985, Madonna began dating actor Sean Penn, whom she met on the set of the music video for her single "Material Girl". She recalled that Penn was someone "whose work I'd admired, and I think he felt the same way [...] We have so much in common he is almost like my brother". They dated casually and married six months later, on Madonna's 27th birthday. Afterward, the newlyweds starred together in the film Shanghai Surprise (1986), which was a critical and commercial failure. After the tour ended, Madonna asked Leonard if he wanted to work with her. They met at a barbecue at his house, where he showed her a song he'd created in his studio called "Love Makes the World Go Round", which Madonna sang at the Philadelphia Live Aid benefit concert on July 13, 1985. Leonard and Madonna's next collaboration was a ballad called "Live to Tell", which was conceived as an instrumental for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire (1986). Paramount, however, rejected the track; Leonard then asked Madonna if she could write the lyrics. One month later, the title was confirmed to be True Blue, named after a favorite expression of Penn's. Described by the singer as her "most personal" work at the time, she wanted to reach a wider, more mature audience.
Development
True Blue has been noted as the album that made Madonna an icon and a "credible" artist. Stephen Thomas Erlewine deemed it the point where she "truly became 'Madonna the superstar'—the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer that knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews—and make good music while she's at it". Patrick Leonard himself explained: "The music got more serious, so I think she got taken more seriously [...] [Madonna] took some chances that I don't know most people would have. There were things [in True Blue] that weren't normal in pop music at the time".
Slant Magazine considered True Blue one of the best albums from the 1980s; Jonathan Keefe wrote that it marked the point where, "it became readily apparent that Madonna was more than just a flash-in-the-pan pop star. It's when she began manipulating her image —and her audience— with a real sense of clarity and purpose". Piatkowski wrote that it "set the stage for the exponential ascent of Madonna's brilliance", that began with 1989's Like a Prayer and reached its peak on 1998's Ray of Light. The album also helped popularize marketing singles, according to Billboards Paul Grein: "10 or 20 years ago you would have had two singles from an album at the most. Now we’re in an era where Madonna is on her fifth [from True Blue]".
True Blue was 1986's best-selling album, and the best-selling of the 1980s decade by a female artist, with Madonna being 1986's most successful female. The album held the record for being number one in a total of 28 countries around the world. With over 17 million copies sold, it was named the highest-seller of all time by a female in the 1991 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records; True Blue has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide, and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Track listing
Notes
- signifies additional lyrics
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
|1
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (IFPI/SIBESA)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Brazilian Albums (ABPD)
|1
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Canadian Albums (The Record)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Danish Albums (Music & Media)
|1
|-
|-
!scope="row"| European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
|1
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Hong Kong Albums (IFPI)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Irish Albums (IFPI)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Israeli albums (IFPI)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|1
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Philippine Albums (PARI)
| align="center"|1
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|UK Disco Albums (Music Week)
|1
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100 Albums
| align="center"|1
|-
!scope="row"|Venezuelan Albums (IFPI)
| 1 <!--PEAK 3 in 2020: https://www.top-lista.hr/www/lista-prodaje-strano-14-tjedan-2020/ -->
|-
!scope="row"|Greek Albums (Billboard)
|5
|-
|-
<!-- see peak on exclamation sign -->
|-
|}
Monthly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
|+ Monthly chart performance for True Blue
|-
!scope="col"|Chart (2020)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Croatian International Vinyl Albums (HDU)
|6
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+ 1986 year-end chart performance for True Blue
! scope="col"| Chart (1986)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
|10
|-
!scope="row"|Brazilian Albums (ABPD)
|8
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
|2
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|13
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Norwegian Summer Period (VG-lista)
|3
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
|5
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|37
|-
!scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100 Albums
|7
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+ 1987 year-end chart performance for True Blue
! scope="col"| Chart (1987)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
|16
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|10
|-
!scope="row"|European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)
|align="center"|3
|-
!scope="row"|German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|7
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|39
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
|11
|}
Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+1980–1989 decade-end chart performance for True Blue
! scope="col"| Chart (1980–1989)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
|10
|}
All-time charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+ All-time chart performance for True Blue
! Chart
! Position
|-
!scope="row"| US Billboard 200
|align="center"| 179
|-
!scope="row"| US Billboard 200 <small>(Women)</small>
|align="center"| 48
|}