September 22, 2009 - Behind even the most jaded facade beats the heart of someone with powerful memories of Madonna. A pop icon with an undeniable gift for provocation and reinvention, the singer-writer-producer-actor has entered her 50s as a regal sort of musical stateswoman. But in the past 30 years, she's been virtually everything else: a superstar, a lightweight, an unapologetic sex object, a godzillionaire businesswoman, a movie star, an author (of sorts) and a dance-floor-filler of the highest order.

On Sept. 29, she looks back in a collection called Celebration, which attempts to sum up Madonna's remarkably successful career — spanning seven No. 1 albums and more than three dozen Top 10 singles — with 34 remastered hits and two new collaborations, one with DJ Paul Oakenfold and one with rapper Lil' Wayne. Celebration will be available in numerous forms (including a double-disc set, a single-disc distillation and a DVD of videos), but NPR Music has assembled some of its highlights here for the week leading up to its release.

Most of these songs will be instantly familiar to virtually anyone, so NPR Music has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of Madonna fans — culled from NPR's stable of music producers, pop-culture bloggers, arts reporters, newsmagazine hosts and justice correspondents — to offer memories, commentary and analysis of the compilation's highlights.

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Madonna fans! We’ve just launched a brand new contest allowing you to win a ‘Celebration’ promo-only CD!

Are you ready to play with us? To do so, you will need to design your own ‘Celebration’ single cover...

We have 10 promo-only CDs ready to ship, so click here for more info and to enter the contest now!

As announced earlier, a second version of the ‘Celebration’ video has been created and features footage of fans filmed during the Barcelona and Milan stops of Madonna’s 2009 ‘Sticky & Sweet Tour’!

Make sure to check Madonna’s official Myspace page by 8:00am GMT tomorrow for the video premiere as well as a related Myspace based game!

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In Billboard's September 26th issue (out next week) Our Lady of The Dancefloor Madonna will have her 40th!!! - that's right ' her 40TH NUMBER ONE SINGLE on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart" - more than any artist in the history of that chart. A list of all her preceeding Number One's follow (feel free to sing along):

1. Holiday/Lucky Star (1983)
2. Like a Virgin (1984)
3. Material Girl (1985)
4. Angel/Into the Groove (1985)
5. Open Your Heart (1987)
6. Causing a Commotion (1987)
7. You Can Dance (LP Cuts) (1988)
8. Like a Prayer (1989)
9. Express Yourself (1989)
10. Keep It Together (1990)
11. Vogue (1990)
12. Justify My Love (1991)
13. Erotica (1992)
14. Deeper and Deeper (1993)
15. Fever (1993)
16. Secret (1994)
17. Bedtime Story (1995)
18. Don't Cry For Me Argentina (1997)
19. Frozen (1998)
20. Ray of Light (1998)
21. Nothing Really Matters (1999)
22. Beautiful Stranger (1999)
23. American Pie (2000)
24. Music (2000)
25. Don't Tell Me (2001)
26. What It Feels Like For A Girl (2001)
27. Impressive Instant (2001)
28. Die Another Day (2002)
29. American Life (2003)
30. Hollywood (2003)
31. Me Against the Music [Britney Spears featuring Madonna] (2003)
32. Nothing Fails (2004)
33. Love Profusion (2004)
34. Hung Up (2005)
35. Sorry (2006)
36. Get Together (2006)
37. Jump (2006)38.
4 Minutes [featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland] (2008)
39. Give It 2 Me (2008)
40. Celebration (2009)

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