Madonna Louise Ciccone only wanted to be a dancer. That was initially the plan when she dropped out of college at age 20 and moved to New York City in 1978. While her terpsichorean skills did earn her breaks, her path unprecedentedly shifted. A year later, she found herself alternately serving as vocalist, drummer, and guitarist for the Breakfast Club – a band she joined with then-boyfriend Dan Gilroy. It was an all-too-brief stint, but apparently, that experience sufficed. Just like that, she became a musician.

By the turn of the 80s, she began trying her luck as a solo artist. She did the rounds, sent demos to various record companies, and even in night clubs. Then, after an encounter with DJ Mark Kamins, she got discovered. And by 1982, her first single was underway.

“Everybody” was released on October 6, 1982, under her now-legendary mononym. Curiously, the 12” single’s sleeve depicted NYC’s hip hop scene, instead of her image. According to Sire Records, they purposely kept her identity and ethnicity ambiguous , to market the song to R & B listeners. Not that it was ever necessary. The post-disco ditty still excelled through its own merits and hit #3 in Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. By 1983, her identity was finally revealed through the song’s music video.

“Burning Up” followed soon after, and that showed her tapping into pop-rock. With its reliance on electric guitar riffs and synthesizers, it was a fitting entry into the New Wave era. But it was, by no means, going to be her genre. Come to think of it, she wouldn’t be stifled by any.

With the two hits giving her prior leverage, Warner Records finally gave her the green light. Even with not much new material, Madonna’s eponymous debut finally came out on July 27, 1983. Despite containing only eight cuts, the album clocks in at 40 minutes. That’s because half of the tracks are more than five minutes in length. The longest is the nearly-seven-minute “Physical Attraction“, originally a Burning Up B-side and arguably the best non-single here.

Then came the triple punch of Billboard hits, two of which were released only two days apart. First was the euphoric Holiday, with its appropriately festive tempo. It became reason to celebrate, all right. It became her first ever Top 100 entry.

The mystifying Lucky Star followed as UK single soon after. It was originally going to be the title track, granted the album actually took on that title. Obviously, that didn’t happen. But no problem: it hinted what she was bound to become: a star. The song eventually peaked at #4 in the US.

Prior to all that, both singles also jointly reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart, thus breaking Everybody‘s record.

The momentum would carry over until 1984, when Borderline was released as the final single of the album. Just like Everybody, the song featured post-disco stylings, sounding a bit like a 70s remnant. It was deemed the album’s most complex song upon release, with some considering it Madonna’s best vocal performance at the time. The single peaked at #10.

Since then, the album achieved Platinum status in several countries, most notably 5X Platinum in the United States, with 10 million copies sold worldwide. It’s easy to see why some call this album quintessential. Because, really, if every debut would have more than half of its tracks busting the charts, every artist would be a superstar. Having the staying power, though, would still be rare. That much Madonna proved in late 1984, when just a months after Borderline, a new album already beckoned. That’s when naysayers gathered that she was no flash-in-the-pan act. On the contrary, she had only arrived.