Madonna Louise Ciccone

2010–present: W.E. and other projects
Madonna performed "Like a Prayer" at the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert in January 2010. In March she released her third live album, Sticky & Sweet Tour. It was her first release under Live Nation, but was distributed by Warner Bros. She announced plans directing her second film, W.E., a biopic about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. It was co-written with Alek Keshishian. She later clarified that the film is about a woman's journey and was not going to be about the duchess' life. Instead, the duchess would act as the woman's spiritual guide. Madonna granted American TV show Glee the rights to her entire catalogue music, and the producers planned an episode which would feature Madonna songs exclusively. Titled "The Power Madonna", the episode was approved by her, telling Us Weekly that she found it "brilliant on every level", praising the scripting and the message equality. The episode also received positive reviews from critics. Ken Tucker Entertainment Weekly called it "one the best hours TV you’re likely to see all year", writing that the episode pays Madonna "the highest compliment possible" in not just expressing admiration for the singer, but "demonstrat a potent understanding why Madonna matters." Glee: The Music, The Power Madonna, an EP containing eight cover versions Madonna songs featured in the episode was released in May. The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with 98,000 copies sold in the United States.
Madonna's music has been the subject much analysis and scrutiny critics. Robert M. Grant, author Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2005), commented that what has brought Madonna success is "certainly not outstanding natural talent. As a vocalist, musician, dancer, songwriter, or actress, Madonna's talents seem modest." He asserts Madonna's success is in relying on the talents others, and that her personal relationships have served as cornerstones to the numerous reinventions in the longevity her career. Conversely, Rolling Stone has named Madonna "an exemplary songwriter with a gift for hooks and indelible lyrics, and a better studio singer than her live spectacles attest." Mark Bego, author Madonna: Blonde Ambition, called her "the perfect vocalist for lighter-than-air songs", despite not being a "heavyweight talent." Madonna has always been self-conscious about her voice, especially in comparison to her vocal idols such as Ella Fitzgerald, Prince and Chaka Khan.