Solo Artist · Queen of Pop
Most frequent collaborator: Mirwais Ahmadzai · 27 tracks
Holds writing credit on 176 of 186 tracks
Yes, on almost all of them, as a co-writer. Madonna holds a writing credit on around 95% of her catalogue, though she rarely writes alone. She co-writes with the producer who defines each era, from Patrick Leonard on 'Like a Prayer' to William Orbit on 'Ray of Light' and Mirwais on 'Music.' Her earliest hits, though, like 'Like a Virgin,' 'Holiday,' and 'Material Girl,' were written entirely by others.
Across all 186 tracks: how many Madonna wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Share of all 186 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Madonna's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
Where Madonna sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
None of the signature songs above fall in this category.
Covers all 15 studio albums.
Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire / Warner Bros. Records
Maverick / Sire Records
Maverick / Sire Records
Maverick / Warner Bros. Records
Maverick / Warner Bros. Records
Maverick / Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Interscope / Verve Records
Interscope / Verve Records
Interscope / Verve Records
Warner Bros. Records
No albums from this decade.
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. MA Mirwais Ahmadzai · PL Patrick Leonard · WO William Orbit · SP Stuart Price · SP Shep Pettibone · SB Steve Bray
Data Insight
Madonna's authorship story is one of the most dramatic creative evolutions in pop history. Her debut and Like a Virgin relied heavily on professional songwriters like Reggie Lucas and Billy Steinberg, but by Like a Prayer (1989) she co-wrote every single track, entering a decade-long period of near-total creative ownership that defined her as something far more than a pop performer.
Quick Facts
Creative Fingerprint
A career co-writer who reinvents: Madonna holds a writing credit on around 95% of her catalogue, almost always co-writing with the producer who defines each era, from Patrick Leonard to William Orbit and Mirwais. Only her earliest hits, like 'Like a Virgin,' were written entirely by others.
The Story
Madonna Louise Ciccone, known mononymously as Madonna, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who has dominated popular music since the early 1980s. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in the late 1970s to pursue dance and music, signing with Sire Records in 1982 and releasing her self-titled debut the following year. Often referred to as the Queen of Pop, she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 300 million records sold worldwide, earning recognition from the Guinness World Records as the best-selling female recording artist. Her career is defined by constant reinvention, musically, visually, and culturally, across more than four decades, with each album era arriving with a distinct aesthetic identity and sound. Critically, her relationship with songwriting evolved dramatically over the course of her career: her earliest recordings relied significantly on outside writers, but from True Blue (1986) onward she became an increasingly dominant creative force, co-writing and co-producing the majority of her own catalog.